Please help, moving to LA, Westlake safe? I'm petite pretty female, nervous

[Jay100]

You're going to get robbed lady. I wouldn't want my mom out there by herself. It's not the worst neighborhood ever but it's far from mayberry.

[5thsuntimes]

Have you ever heard of the Mara Salvatrucha well a few if these charming fellows hang out behind that huge building on the corner of Coronado and Wilshire and fight for turf with 3 or four other gangs around the west lake district including but not limited to another equally charming group of young fellows who go by the name of the 18th St gang. One night I was busting a u-turn on Coronado were I half way drove into the parking lot of this huge apartment building on the corner and a small group of baldheaded youngsters came out to greet me with guns on their waistlines. (very L.A charming lol)
Gangs have a strong presence in all of L.A but downtown is a bit more neutral simply because it is one of their biggest drug market and they avoid 'banging' in this area not to bring heat around their money, so you might see alot of gangbangers selling drugs wound but most likley they won't mess with people, very capitalistic this young chaps they are!

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by briannak

Please explain why you wouldn't even consider the Coronado place, thank you guys! I don't have any guy to take with me, but maybe I should just steer clear of downtown all together....

5thsuntimes outlines the problems with the Coronado place well.

If you don't mind a roommate, westsiderentals.com has a pretty good setup to have roommates. You might like Los Feliz, Glendale, or Pasadena a lot more or maybe something in Palms or Mar Vista. With a roomate, those areas can be affordable.

[briannak]

well that was pretty darn entertaining. the silly way you told me about it allowed me to enjoy learning while covering up any fear i might have felt. thank you

[alli_potts]

I wouldn't move to either of those places. Have you considered Pasadena, Glendale or even Burbank. Maybe you will have to deal with traffic, but you will be much safer.

[nickdahammer]

I have a friend at Spring and 7th and he loves it. Been there almost 5 years now. I think the reason why the area has changed for the better is largely because Tom Gilmore and others have 'created' a neighborhood populated with homeowners and families. Those people don't put up with alot of nonsense. They certainly don't broker a threatening criminal element down there.

Business have sprung up on Spring (haha) and are popular. You don't move from the 'burbs expecting NO amenities. That 's why so many downtowners from Spring and elsewhere use the Ralphs, the DVD Bank (4th and Main), eat at Blossom and lots of other restaurants in the area, etc. That said, 5th and Spring is a little rough, but certainly doable. I see lots of families down there, patronizing the local businesses and have yet to see anyone harass them.

I live in Mt Washington (a good 5 miles away) and even I use the Ralphs now because all the full-service supermarkets have left my neighborhood.

[2Easy]

Originally Posted by jbunniii

Amazing, and good to hear. What happened, did security/cops force the homeless encampment boundary a couple of blocks east? It was still pretty dodgy as far west as Broadway in 2002 when I lived there, although there were visible signs of gentrification on both Spring and Main north of 5th Street. Not that the homeless population caused all that much trouble for residents in the area (I never had any problems at all) but I would think that a "nervous" single female might find it pretty intimidating. Skid Row is a pretty astonishing sight for anyone who hasn't seen it before.

You might be amazed to see what the area is like now, especially Spring Street. The homeless problem is still severe, but not like when you lived there which I would describe as apocalyptic and otherworldly. The Spring Street block between 6th and 7th is probably the nicest block in all of downtown.

[jbunniii]

Originally Posted by 2Easy

You might be amazed to see what the area is like now, especially Spring Street. The homeless problem is still severe, but not like when you lived there which I would describe as apocalyptic and otherworldly. The Spring Street block between 6th and 7th is probably the nicest block in all of downtown.

Sounds like I am overdue for a visit to downtown LA to witness this transformation in person. It's great to hear that the neighborhood is improving. There is such huge potential there, with a great collection of buildings/architecture, that it always seemed inevitable that it would eventually be put to much better use than SRO hotels and such. As recently as 2002, that future looked pretty far off and mostly hypothetical, despite glimmers of civilization that were popping up here and there.

I don't remember there being much of anything at all on Spring between 6th and 7th when I lived there, just a few loft buildings that seemed almost desperate to find occupants. The only outposts of new retail/dining in the vicinity were a couple of shops in Tom Gilmore's buildings at 4th and Main. Pete's Cafe had opened just as I was moving away. I'm glad to hear that things have changed so quickly.

[King0fthehill]

Westlake is not for the faint/ill-hearted. I wouldn't recommend it to many Angelenos, let alone somebody from the burbs. Serious QOL issues there; gangs, graffiti, violence, buskers/drug addicts/vagrants, safety issues, blah blah, etc. It does have some nice architecture and is conveniently located, though. As somebody who was nearly robbed there, I'd pass on it if I were you. Ktown has pretty much the same things as Westlake (and some things WL doesn't), except it's much more safe.