Wilshire Blvd and Westgate area (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: rent, condos, good hotels)

[chattypatty]

I will be visiting this area in a couple of months and want to know if it is safe. Can I walk around day and night? Are there good hotels? I will be there just a couple of days. If I rent a car and want to go to Universal Studios, will it be reasonably easy to travel from Wilshire area to there?

[LASam]

I live very close to that intersection. It's very safe around there day and night... but you are in a city so you shouldn't ever let your guard completely down. What price range are you interested in for a hotel? To get to Universal Studios you just take the 405 N which is close to Westgate and Wilshire, then take the 101 S to Lankershim. So long as it isn't rush hour, you should be able to get there in 45 minutes or so.

[Captain Phingerbyngur]

It's safe, but watch out for reckless taxi drivers taking people to and from Q's and the two other adjacent bars.

[greggd]

Originally Posted by chattypatty

I will be visiting this area in a couple of months and want to know if it is safe. Can I walk around day and night? Are there good hotels? I will be there just a couple of days. If I rent a car and want to go to Universal Studios, will it be reasonably easy to travel from Wilshire area to there?

There is a small hotel about 2 blocks west of Westgate on Wilshire Blvd.
1 story small cottage units. safe.
They are most likely the cheapest around but you may need to reserve in advance. Wilshire Motel Los Angeles

If you want to be close to westgate, this is a good deal. There are few others down the road in Westwood, but they are more expensive and are considered "hotels" $250+ per night minimum.

[King0fthehill]

I'm there everyday!

There's not much in terms of sights or things of that nature, but its somewhat centrally located, with Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Westwood, UCLA etc all not too far away.

And yes, you can walk around. The area is mainly business parks and old school mom & pop shops, so the chances of something going down are nil. However, its worth noting that some of the neighborhoods south of Pico have a sizable gang presence...same for that whole area really (South of Wilshire), but thankfully the new McCondos and ensuing gentrification are making it a thing of the past.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

I'm there everyday!

There's not much in terms of sights or things of that nature, but its somewhat centrally located, with Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Westwood, UCLA etc all not too far away.

And yes, you can walk around. The area is mainly business parks and old school mom & pop shops, so the chances of something going down are nil. However, its worth noting that some of the neighborhoods south of Pico have a sizable gang presence.

And an even worse homeless presence due to how desolate that part of West L.A. is. Pico really needs more stuff going on at night.

..same for that whole area really (South of Wilshire), but thankfully the new McCondos and ensuing gentrification are making it a thing of the past.

I have a friend who lives on Westgate near Santa Monica Blvd. He says it's a nice area EXCEPT between 3-7 pm, i.e. after Uni lets out, given that school has some really bad people attending it the overwhelming majority of whom don't live in the neighborhood (and THAT's when the problems tend to happen)What a shame that my old alma mater has become such a craphole. According to him it's peaceful at night and perfectly walkable and safe once all the kids have gone home. There are many nice parts of L.A. which are unnecessarily degraded during the afternoon due to LAUSD's bad influence, all the more reason to abolish it and/or break it up.

[greggd]

Originally Posted by majoun

And an even worse homeless presence due to how desolate that part of West L.A. is. Pico really needs more stuff going on at night.



I have a friend who lives on Westgate near Santa Monica Blvd. He says it's a nice area EXCEPT between 3-7 pm, i.e. after Uni lets out, given that school has some really bad people attending it the overwhelming majority of whom don't live in the neighborhood (and THAT's when the problems tend to happen)What a shame that my old alma mater has become such a craphole. According to him it's peaceful at night and perfectly walkable and safe once all the kids have gone home. There are many nice parts of L.A. which are unnecessarily degraded during the afternoon due to LAUSD's bad influence, all the more reason to abolish it and/or break it up.

Why don't they simply have neighborhood kids attend neighborhood schools.
There was a time where you attended the school you lived closest too.
I think they should return to that program and instead of hauling kids across the city, there should be the small local yellow buses like they had before.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by greggd

Why don't they simply have neighborhood kids attend neighborhood schools.
There was a time where you attended the school you lived closest too.
I think they should return to that program and instead of hauling kids across the city, there should be the small local yellow buses like they had before.

Great idea. Sadly it makes too much sense for LAUSD to ever adapt it.

[King0fthehill]

I have a friend who lives on Westgate near Santa Monica Blvd. He says it's a nice area EXCEPT between 3-7 pm, i.e. after Uni lets out, given that school has some really bad people attending it the overwhelming majority of whom don't live in the neighborhood (and THAT's when the problems tend to happen)What a shame that my old alma mater has become such a craphole. According to him it's peaceful at night and perfectly walkable and safe once all the kids have gone home. There are many nice parts of L.A. which are unnecessarily degraded during the afternoon due to LAUSD's bad influence, all the more reason to abolish it and/or break it up.

You're telling me !

I'm in my last year there, and let me tell you...there are definitely some characters there. I think the school would be a whole lot better and more appetizing to locals if the "opportunity transfer" and busing from South LA neighborhoods would end.

Basically, we get all of the undesirables and their ilk from South LA because an opportunity transfer allows for someone who is fooling around in school (writing graffiti, fighting, poor grades, etc) to be transferred to a school in a different, far away neighborhood under the premise that they'll get their act together. HA HA

[greggd]

Originally Posted by majoun

Great idea. Sadly it makes too much sense for LAUSD to ever adapt it.

I'll bet there would be a major transformation. Many of the local kids that are in private schools would go back to public. The cost of private school is a major burden on many families I know. A re-focus on the community schools with 90-100% local attendance would enable those local parents to get involved and re-distribute a portion of the tuition savings into the school to enhance it even more if they desire.

This would leave schools in the inner city, many which are brand new, to hold and empower themselves to direct their own fate either to bow down to the 5-10% negative students or if the majority supresses them via peer pressure.