Heading to USC (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pasadena: apartment, to rent, houses)

[phdphd]

Hi folks,

I'm from Latin America and I'm moving to LA this fall. I'm looking for a place to live and despite the fact that I'm from Sao Paulo I felt really scared after reading some posts in this forum about how dangerous LA can be in specific areas. My girlfriend is coming with me, I'll start graduate studies at USC and she will take an English course in a school at Westwood. We're looking for a studio or 1 bedroom apartment for $1000-$1200 and our main concern is about security and commuting time. I'm used to take the metro in my city but I'm considering to buy a car, as everybody says that it's essential in LA. Could you please help me suggesting places to live and general recommendations about LA? Just one more thing, I heard something like "the public transportation in LA is not efficient", can you expand your thoughts on this, specially regarding the metro?

Thank you very much in advance,

Best,

[artichoke63]

Are you planning to buy a car and drive to school every day? USC is a beautiful campus. It's in a rough area of Los Angeles, but you should not worry too much. Just find a nice safe place to live once you are here, you'll adjust very quickly. You're fellow students will show you around!

Artie

[phdphd]

Thank you very much for your repply Artie. I'm considering to buy a car but if possible I'd prefer to live in a safe place where I can take the underground to go to USC. Is it possible this way? Which areas do you recommend? By the way, is it feasible to live in Pasadena or South Pasadena or the commuting time doesn't worth it?

[Sorcerer68]

It's feasable. As much as I love Pasadena, I might be tempted to live in West Adams if I was going to USC. I love the gorgeous homes.

[fairweathergolfer]

One of my faculty commuted from S. Pasadena to USC on the train. I don't know the specifics about the train or what the approapriate name for it is locally. I am sure others on this site will comment or you can look it up. Either way, he said he preferred Pasadena for this reason: its easy access by rail to USC and downtown. Can someone else confirm? I think it would be worth considering. Of course you will also want to purchase a vehicle at some point as well so you can explore all the other wonderful areas and activities LA and its surrounding environs has to offer, which are great.

Originally Posted by phdphd

Thank you very much for your repply Artie. I'm considering to buy a car but if possible I'd prefer to live in a safe place where I can take the underground to go to USC. Is it possible this way? Which areas do you recommend? By the way, is it feasible to live in Pasadena or South Pasadena or the commuting time doesn't worth it?

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by fairweathergolfer

One of my faculty commuted from S. Pasadena to USC on the train. I don't know the specifics about the train or what the approapriate name for it is locally. I am sure others on this site will comment or you can look it up. Either way, she said she preferred Pasadena for this reason: its easy access by rail to USC and downtown. Can someone else confirm? I think it would be worth considering. Of course you will also want to purchase a vehicle at some point as well so you can explore all the other wonderful areas and activities LA and its surrounding environs has to offer, which are great.

Yes of course, the Gold Line! I must have had a brain tumor for breakfast.

[fairweathergolfer]

LOL!

Originally Posted by Sorcerer68

Yes of course, the Gold Line! I must have had a brain tumor for breakfast.

Good call, I believe that's it--the Gold Line of course, not the tumor. :-)

[fairweathergolfer]

I do know someone that owns like 10 of those houses that Sorcerer68 mentioned and rents out rooms etc to the USC students throughout the year. I will look for their info. (hopefully I have not thrown it away!) and post if you have any interest.

Must your girlfriend attend a specific school for her studies or is she flexible? Pasadena would be far away from Westwood in a very intolerable commute sort of way. If she must attend the Westwood school then I would not move to Pasadena as she will be a bear to live with in the few hours that you will see her, as her commute will be bad.

You asked about the efficiency of our transportation. Compared to United States' east coast and even San Francisco, LA has an archiac transportation system. Basically we have cars or buses (and park and rides, but I can't even go there right now--someone else may be able to). As you know LA has several freeways that go every which way. Taking one bus is not a usual commute for many. Many must take several buses to go to another part of town and/or to their destination point. The buses themselves are not always very well, um . . . welcoming when it comes to fellow passengers. This is what I have been told anyway. I must admit, I have never had the bad fortune to have to take the bus in Los Angeles. Maybe I am mistaken, maybe it is a glorious undertaking and one not to be missed,
but I doubt it.

Even though there are bus lanes, the buses themselves get stuck in this traffic. Given that if one has to transfer to a new bus or a second or third bus I can not imagine that the arrival and departures are timely. I may be wrong. I look forward to hearing from someone who actually rides 'the tempest' and may be able to comment with clear evidence and examples of its efficiency. The Gold Line that Sorcerer68 mentioned is a clear example of how the LA transportation system can work, so if you move to Pasadena that will be a plus for you. It is just not replicated in great enough numbers to provide comparable options to a car or even a bus to other locales and venues.

If your girlfriend must commute to Westwood, I hope it is not daily, but if so living closer to USC would be your best bet as opposed to Pasadena. If she has to commute daily Pasadena is not (in my opinion) even optional if she wants to keep the brighter part of her soul. Even though there are not so safe areas surrounding the USC campus, you mostly have college students living nearby and those are the areas I would stick to and there are, as Sorcerer68 mentioned, some gorgeous old homes in the area. After I had been going to USC for sometime and commuting though the closeby neighborhoods someone told me the area was not safe. So it is not readily apparent that a tough community surrounds the University to everyone. I never felt threatened until someone said something.

Off hand I can not think of safe, affordable housing that is half way between Westwood and USC. Maybe someone else will comment that has more exposure to housing options between the two. What I know of is either expensive or areas that I would not feel safe living. Hancock Park is nice, but unless you rent a room, the rent may be too high.

Originally Posted by phdphd

Hi folks,

I'm from Latin America and I'm moving to LA this fall. I'm looking for a place to live and despite the fact that I'm from Sao Paulo I felt really scared after reading some posts in this forum about how dangerous LA can be in specific areas. My girlfriend is coming with me, I'll start graduate studies at USC and she will take an English course in a school at Westwood. We're looking for a studio or 1 bedroom apartment for $1000-$1200 and our main concern is about security and commuting time. I'm used to take the metro in my city but I'm considering to buy a car, as everybody says that it's essential in LA. Could you please help me suggesting places to live and general recommendations about LA? Just one more thing, I heard something like "the public transportation in LA is not efficient", can you expand your thoughts on this, specially regarding the metro?

Thank you very much in advance,

Best,

[phdphd]

Originally Posted by fairweathergolfer

I do know someone that owns like 10 of those houses that Sorcerer68 mentioned and rents out rooms etc to the USC students throughout the year. I will look for their info. (hopefully I have not thrown it away!) and post if you have any interest..

Tks a lot, I'll really appreciate. I saw some pictures of West Adams and I liked it very much. Besides, it's closer to USC, which is a plus for me.

Originally Posted by fairweathergolfer

Must your girlfriend attend a specific school for her studies or is she flexible? Pasadena would be far away from Westwood in a very intolerable commute sort of way. If she must attend the Westwood school then I would not move to Pasadena as she will be a bear to live with in the few hours that you will see her, as her commute will be bad.

Yeah, definitely, and I don't want a bear living with me But unfortunately she's already enrolled at this school in Westwood. But as I'm not sure for how long she'll stay I'd prefer to rent a place better suited for me, maybe at her expense.

Originally Posted by fairweathergolfer

You asked about the efficiency of our transportation.

The Gold Line is good news if I eventually end at South Pasadena. In my entire life I was used to drive from my place to the university that I attended in Sao Paulo. Usually it was an one hour trip, definitely not a joy. But then I moved to Europe and got completely addicted to the underground, so if possible I'd like to continue using the metro/rail system. On the other hand, if I'm supposed to take the bus in LA I'd rather buy a car, as with the former I would get stuck in the traffic anyway.

Originally Posted by fairweathergolfer

If your girlfriend must commute to Westwood, I hope it is not daily, but if so living closer to USC would be your best bet as opposed to Pasadena. If she has to commute daily Pasadena is not (in my opinion) even optional if she wants to keep the brighter part of her soul.

Bad news I was told that Pasadena is a very charming place...

Originally Posted by fairweathergolfer

Even though there are not so safe areas surrounding the USC campus, you mostly have college students living nearby and those are the areas I would stick to and there are, as Sorcerer68 mentioned, some gorgeous old homes in the area. After I had been going to USC for sometime and commuting though the closeby neighborhoods someone told me the area was not safe. So it is not readily apparent that a tough community surrounds the University to everyone. I never felt threatened until someone said something.

I was told the same, in the beggining I was a little bit scared as some people in the other forum (TestMagic, by the way) said that USC was located in a place with very bad surrounding areas. But then some of the students that attended the visit day said that, despite not being a joy, the place is not that bad either. Actually I like the idea of living nearby museums and other places where I can enjoy the cultural life of the city. And I think that the places near USC (please correct me if I'm wrong) are well suited for this end.

Originally Posted by fairweathergolfer

Off hand I can not think of safe, affordable housing that is half way between Westwood and USC. Maybe someone else will comment that has more exposure to housing options between the two. What I know of is either expensive or areas that I would not feel safe living. Hancock Park is nice, but unless you rent a room, the rent may be too high.

Someone suggested me Culver City. What about Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica?

fairweathergolfer and Sorcerer68, tks a lot!