Where do I even start to look? (Los Angeles, Long Beach: apartments, rental market)

[somedaynow]

I'm considering a move from the Northeast to CA for a number of reasons. The bottom line is that I know very little about the area and am looking for some general suggestions as to areas in LA that might be right for me.

I'll be self-employed, so commute isn't a problem. I'm hoping to spend under $2K on an apartment (less would be better, $2K is the max), would like to live somewhere safe (I'm single and female), that's not completely sleepy, but I'm also not into clubs and heavy nightlife...I'm just looking for somewhere with bookshops and cafes that's a little walkable (though I do have a car). Since I'll be self-employed, having a bit of a neighborhood is important so that I'm not always trapped in my apartment. I've heard a lot of negatives from friends (who all live in Boston, NY, and Providence) about the sprawl of LA. Is what I'm hoping to find non-existent?

A couple of notes: I have spent the last ten years living in the Boston area (Cambridge, Waltham, Allston, and Cambridge again), so am used to expensive cost of living. In fact, based on apartment searching online, the rental market looks noticeably cheaper in parts of LA than it is in Boston/Cambridge proper. Also, when I say "safe," I say it with the experience of living as a single female in a city who isn't going to walk around alone late at night or leave my doors unlocked...

Just looking for some ideas of where I should look when I come out to visit. Thanks for any info you can provide!

[uptown_urbanist]

These questions get asked quite a bit, so take some time to skim through the forum to see what's been said before. LA gets a bad rep for sprawl, but the reality is that there are many neighborhoods that are very walkable. Some areas that come to mind are Los Feliz, parts of Pasadena, Eagle Rock, parts of Santa Monica, parts of Long Beach, South Pasadena, parts of Alhambra, Silverlake, Burbank, parts of Hollywood, parts of downtown, etc. The main thing that I find is lacking in LA compared to the Boston area is the number of bookshops, but there are still nice ones to be found.

LA isn't for everyone, but I'm guessing your friends either haven't lived in LA or haven't spent much time visiting. There are certainly sprawling, car-dependent neighbborhoods to be found, too, but what you're after is by no means non-existent.

Personally, I'd probably go for either Los Feliz (home to Skylight Books, among many other things), Pasadena, or maybe downtown.

[Santa's Neighbor]

I have many of the same criteria as you and I can tell you what I decided on (and I researched for a long time). Bear in mind I haven't actually been there yet, so I might be way off! But walkable is #1 for me, so I've rented in Park La Brea. Short-term lease, and I have to admit I've heard mixed reviews of the place, but it met my walkability and walkable/bikeable to interesting things criteria, and it's a gated (for whatever that means, probably not much) community. Also was within my budget, and having lived in a very wide range of apartments in my life, for a short-term lease I can't see it being unlivable, and I can look for another place once I am there if I hate it. I too have a car and it came with parking. The units start at around $1500 for a 1 bedroom, and go up from there depending on what amenities the unit comes with.

Other areas I considered were Santa Monica (probably still too expensive for me, but rents are coming down), Venice, West Hollywood, Los Feliz/Silverlake. I would have liked to be closer to the beach, but this location met so many of my other criteria better than Santa Monica would have, that I thought I'd give it a try.

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Personally, I'd probably go for either Los Feliz (home to Skylight Books, among many other things), Pasadena, or maybe downtown.

uptown_urbanist, I'm surprised you're not pushing Pasadena more specifically. It's a little more casual than Los Feliz, and there are good bookstores along Colorado Blvd (Vroman's, Cliffs, Book Alley) with the Gold Line really convenient to downtown. West Hollywood offers Book Soup and walkability too, but it can feel a little too nightclubby an area. As far as bookstores, there's no reason to live in Santa Monica since Midnight Special's closing. Great, great place. Boo to the Promenade. Park La Brea's OK for a pretty central location.

[Lovetheoutdoors]

L.A. is spread out so those "tight" neighborhoods you are used to may not exist. However, L.A. does have distinct neighborhoods with all the amenities you desire. You just may have to walk a bit further than you would back home.

I agree with uptown_urbanist in the areas that was mentioned, especially the Los Feliz or Pasadena area. Either of those places would be a good place to start until you can explore the city on your own.

[bhcompy]

I would suggest Belmont Shore(Long Beach). Bit cheaper than the areas in the city of LA and offers all you want

[MIKEETC]

I recommend Pasadena.

I like Pasadena because it has desirable big city attributes without all of the big city problems. It has a modest night life, plenty of restaurants, an interesting downtown core, a variety of people, etc. while undesirable attributes such as wannabe criminals do not have what I call a "lurking, lingering presence that you must always be aware of", it is clean, and traffic is manageable and not so zoo-like.

Then you have the various neighborhoods. I used to work for the gas company reading meters for about 4 years. I think I walked just about every type of street and neighborhood possible from parts of Los Angeles I wouldn't venture through at night to San Marino where the homes are simply O_O!!

Anyway, I almost always liked route assignments in Pasadena. Although I was working, it was like a quiet walk in the park as practically all of the streets are lined with mature trees with beautiful canopies overhead. There are a lot of desirable homes in Pasadena and the yards are well-maintained. And, architecturally many are very nice and I found myself thinking it is too bad they don't make them like that anymore. Some homes are excellent examples of their respective architectural styles/eras.

The cool thing about the city is it is reasonably close to everything else without being too close - it is strategically located which allows for a lot of destinations such as the beach or the mountains to be within reasonable driving distance.

Other surrounding places I recommend are Sierra Madre, Arcadia, and South Pasadena.

Good luck.

[somedaynow]

Wow, thanks! This is exactly the kind of start I was looking for (was feeling overwhelmed, even looking and searching through the forums). Searching the forums, I was finding mostly advice given to families, people younger than me, or people who weren't used to cities. Thanks for the specific pointers. I'll definitely look into the areas you all mentioned...and it also gives me the sanity check I was looking for.

[uptown_urbanist]

South Pasadena is great, but the bookstore options are limited. Still, it's pretty close to Vroman's, and the library is very nice. It certainly offers the walkability and the cafes.

I absolutely love Pasadena, and would choose it over Los Feliz, too (but Los Feliz i s also very nice, and convenient if you think you'll be spending more of your time in that general side of the city.) It's beautiful, historic, has some very walkable neighborhoods, has decent public transportation (especially if you live along the Gold Line), has lots of museums and culture, and is overall a great place to live. Nice bookstores, too!

I haven't spent much time in Sierra Madre, but that's a good suggestion, too. It feels like a small town, but has a nice central downtown area, and does have cafes and at least one bookstore. There's also a jam factory, complete with its own orchards and a mini-museum; you can walk in and buy fresh jam straight from the source. We used to bring visitors there because it was a nice taste of the area's agricultural days.

[Latchkey Kid]

Originally Posted by Santa's Neighbor

I have many of the same criteria as you and I can tell you what I decided on (and I researched for a long time). Bear in mind I haven't actually been there yet, so I might be way off! But walkable is #1 for me, so I've rented in Park La Brea. Short-term lease, and I have to admit I've heard mixed reviews of the place, but it met my walkability and walkable/bikeable to interesting things criteria, and it's a gated (for whatever that means, probably not much) community. Also was within my budget, and having lived in a very wide range of apartments in my life, for a short-term lease I can't see it being unlivable, and I can look for another place once I am there if I hate it. I too have a car and it came with parking. The units start at around $1500 for a 1 bedroom, and go up from there depending on what amenities the unit comes with.

I haven't been a Park La Brea unit in a decade, but I think they are fairly nice. You will certainly be in easy walking distance of plenty of things, you could probably avoid the car for weeks if not longer at a time. The only thing is you should probably be aware of your surroundings when you are out. The only friends I've had to get mugged in LA both lived in the area.