Considering cheap property in Los Angeles.

[King0fthehill]

Boyle Heights is cheap...for a reason. The area is still marred by unsavory cholo-type characters and their gangs and graffiti, distasteful home "modernizations," homes lacking grass, high police activity, etc. Typical barrio stuff. That said, if you can duke it out, and put up with the QOL of life there, it might just pay off, as the area has only been on the upswing on the heels of the new Gold Line extension and home renovations. Oh, and do speak Spanish! Though it's not a requirement, it is most certainly to your benefit to at least have some proficiency in the language. I say this because he area has one of the, if not largest, Hispanic populations in the LA Metro area.

A few pics of the area: prettyugly.: Boyle Heights

[vic the trader]

Unfortunately for my prospects in Los Angeles, I've never been a big fan of Hispanic culture specifically....but I do find the griminess of Boyle Heights pretty appealing. If only there were more white people, or even a good black or asian population to even things out. That being said I could still probably live there. It can't be worse than Spanish Harlem or the Back of the Yards in Chicago where crackheads walk around in the alley like stray dogs.

According to older people in my neighboorhood, in Chicago at least, up until the 80's Mexicans weren't really treated much differently than Italians or Polish and any other non-English speaking ethnic groups....like there were no neighboorhood/friendship barriers like there was between black people and everyone else in the city. Apparently throughout the 80's though Mexicans in Chicago gained the "cholo" and "minority" notoriety, coupled probably with the mass migration techniques used by Mexican families into the other working class neighboorhoods around the city.

As a side note I think Koreatown is an incredibly appealing place to live in Los Angeles right now.