Finding "Cool L.A." (Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach: school, live, beach)

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Originally Posted by Destruktor

Wow. Thanks again. I agree after reviewing things that Burbank may be a little too conventional for what I am looking for. The suggestions of Echo Park/Silverlake/Los Feliz et al. are fantastic and I appreciate the information from all of you. It will really allow me to focus my hunt and maximize my time in LA.

As an aside, many of the fellows at LAC/USC live in Pasadena. I spent 36 hours at the Westin there during my interviews. My impression is that it is hotter, maybe more air quality issues and less vibrant/interesting/edgy than the other areas. Any comments?

Thanks again. You all rock.

Yes, your impression of Pasadena is right on. Hotter in the summer, colder in the winter than Los Feliz/Silverlake/Echo Park. And yes, the air quality is WORSE in Pasadena than those areas. Finally, yes Pasadena is lively but far more conventional in nature than Los Feliz/Silverlake/Echo Park, etc.

[uptown_urbanist]

yes, Pasadena is more conventional. I think it's an interesting place, but not edgy. (then again, I don't think of Los Feliz as edgy, either)

I'm going to disagree with skyway31. I don't think Hermosa or Manhattan Beach are at all what you're after.

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

yes, Pasadena is more conventional. I think it's an interesting place, but not edgy. (then again, I don't think of Los Feliz as edgy, either)

I'm going to disagree with skyway31. I don't think Hermosa or Manhattan Beach are at all what you're after.

I agree...Hermosa and Manhattan do NOT appear to be what you are after. VERY conventional beach towns...very nice but very conventional.

Slight disagreement with uptown_urbanist (whom I usually agree with), Los Feliz does have an edge as compared to Pasadena, etc. Not as hipster as Echo Park but still has an edge, IMO.

[thefunkyone]

Originally Posted by skyway31

Don't commit to a place until you've checked out Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. Gotta a feeling those places will blow the others away.

I'm not from LA (yet) so I can't speak too much about this but. I LOVED my vacation in Hermosa Beach I would kill to live there. Fairly quiet residential area but a very happening downtown. Pier ave is great at night.

[uptown_urbanist]

OK, Island_onThe_Land, I'll agree to some extent. Los Feliz does have an edge when compared to Pasadena (or Burbank), but at the same time I wouldn't say it's an edgy kind of place. It's sort of yuppie hipster, and pretty gentrified. Although thankfully only gentrified in the sense that it's a more expensive place to live, not gentrified in the sense that the Pottery Barns and Barnes and Nobles have moved in and the interesting local places have moved out.

Of Echo Park, Los Feliz, and Silverlake, Los Feliz would be my personal top choice, in part because of easy access to the Red Line, the buses, and being that much closer to the restaurants in East Hollywood (in addition, of course, to the many, many good restaurants and shops -- including a bookstore -- in the heart of Los Feliz itself).

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

yes, Pasadena is more conventional. I think it's an interesting place, but not edgy. (then again, I don't think of Los Feliz as edgy, either)

I'm going to disagree with skyway31. I don't think Hermosa or Manhattan Beach are at all what you're after.

I must have missed where he OP said they wanted "edgy". I did re-read and see that the OP does not want much of a commute. So maybe the 30-45 min commute from Hermosa would be too much. I still stand by my statement that the OP should check out those communities before committing. They may not be what he's looking for, but I think they could be close enough to warrant a look. I'm primarily just saying not to get lockd into a place having never even checked Hermosa out.

[uptown_urbanist]

I think edgy was thrown in there only in a later post, but the original was "Looking for somewhere that would appeal to a single, young professional with strong interest in funk/rock/reggae/jazz/hip hop, dive bars, second hand bookstores, decent coffee, the arts, and cultural diversity and any easy access to outdoor pursuits" and think Hermosa or Manhattan Beach are both about the complete opposite of most of that.

Not to say he shouldn't check them out just in case he decides upon seeing them and their beach proximity to go with a totally different feel then what he says he's after (they are nice, and proximity to the beach is pretty alluring), but I'd put them way down on the list of places to look if he has limited time in town.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I think edgy was thrown in there only in a later post, but the original was "Looking for somewhere that would appeal to a single, young professional with strong interest in funk/rock/reggae/jazz/hip hop, dive bars, second hand bookstores, decent coffee, the arts, and cultural diversity and any easy access to outdoor pursuits" and think Hermosa or Manhattan Beach are both about the complete opposite of most of that.

Not to say he shouldn't check them out just in case he decides upon seeing them and their beach proximity to go with a totally different feel then what he says he's after (they are nice, and proximity to the beach is pretty alluring), but I'd put them way down on the list of places to look if he has limited time in town.

'Single, young proffessional' describes that area to a T. Places like Cafe Boogaloo (jazz, reggae, funk) and the Lighthouse (similar to Boogaloo) are part of the very compact Hermosa pier area and Saint Rocke is a great live music venue on PCH in HB. There's several coffee places both chain and indie and very little in the way of chain businesses. There are several highly regarded and infamous dive bars in Hermosa. The outdoor pursuits part is obvious.. The only part that didn't quite match-and hanging out on Hermosa Pier I'm not sure it misses by a ton-is the cultural diveristy. Certainly, Hermosa is not as homogenous as an Irvine. But it's not as diverse as a Long Beach either.

But as has been said, the OP has to see for themselves!

[uptown_urbanist]

I agree he'll have to see for himself. And I agree that area has tons of young professional people. But while I've only visited, never lived there, my impression is that Hermosa is more along the lines of stereotypical frat boy central? (which doesn't seem to be what the OP is after, if I'm reading him right)

[Destruktor]

The ongoing commentary is great. I generally ruled out the beach communities because the commute seemed difficult. Might be something I'd consider after being a little more familiar with LA. Because I will be on call and working so much, I hope to minimize travel time. I'm not used to car-based commuting so the less mandatory 'stop-start-stop-start time' in my manual transmission the better.

I think when I used 'edgy', I intended to mean I was not looking for a very, conventional, well-settled, 'yuppie' community and that I was fine living somewhere more transitional or with an urban feel that some people or families might find less attractive. I don't want to have to walk the streets in body armor but would like to see some diversity (economic, political, cultural, musical) more in keeping with places I've previously lived.

Both 'uptown_urbanist' and 'Island_OnThe_Land' continue to demonstrate a good feel for what I am looking for. I think my strategy at this point will be to focus on the Loz Feliz/Silverlake/Echo Park areas with a bit of downtown as well. Then, for contrast (if time allows) I'll take a quick roll past a beach community. Google maps indicates commutes greater than an hour (in traffic) for communities such as Santa Monica and Manhatttan/Hermosa Beaches. Likely much more daily travel than I could tolerate initially. I also think I'll give Pasedena a miss for now unless new evidence turns up.

Great to be in a city with so many options. And always interested in more suggestions.