Culver City (Oxnard, Irvine, Burbank: real estate, how much, living in)

[Inter441]

Good walking areas and shops that is diverse and you can get from Asian food to Greek food etc what a blessing to live here

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Inter441

Good walking areas and shops that is diverse and you can get from Asian food to Greek food etc what a blessing to live here

I definitely miss living on Culver Blvd.

As for John23's comment about much of CC being in a "time warp" - that's one of the things I like about it, it reminds me of the westside I grew up in. If it was ever totally "modernized" (which hasn't even happened in the downtown area) then it would be as depressingly sterile as Brentwood or northern SM.

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by majoun

I definitely miss living on Culver Blvd.

As for John23's comment about much of CC being in a "time warp" - that's one of the things I like about it, it reminds me of the westside I grew up in. If it was ever totally "modernized" (which hasn't even happened in the downtown area) then it would be as depressingly sterile as Brentwood or northern SM.

I have my problems with Brentwood and north SM, but how exactly is it sterile? When I think of sterile the suburbs in Orange County or Ventura better fit the description with their chain stores, chain restaurants with almost no diversity. In LA, the Sherman Oaks Galleria is a fairly good example of sterile. At least Brentwood and SM have diverse, unique restaurants and stores.

[Inter441]

Culver City make you feel comfortable to be here

[disgruntled la native]

^Sometimes. It can be a bit isolating and scary at night.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

^Sometimes. It can be a bit isolating and scary at night.

Other than Ballona Creek's bed (or the Ballona bike trail west of the 405, which is only partially in CC) or West Park, no more so than anywhere else on the westside and less than many places on the westside. (MV Gardens, though bordering CC, is actually in the L.A. neighborhood of Del Rey)

CC east of the 405, and MOST of CC west of the 405, is not scary at all. Dark and isolated streets in CC are no more or less scary (with a small number of exceptions, all west of the 405) than dark and isolated streets in the Palisades.

CC still has dive bars and reasonably priced non-chain ethnic restaurants, which are long gone in Brentwood and uncommon in SM (very rare in north SM, although south SM still has some). It's also very comfortable with its diversity, which is practically a dirty word in Brentwood and SM (no matter how liberal they vote, and they do vote liberal)

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by majoun

Other than Ballona Creek's bed (or the Ballona bike trail west of the 405, which is only partially in CC) or West Park, no more so than anywhere else on the westside and less than many places on the westside. (MV Gardens, though bordering CC, is actually in the L.A. neighborhood of Del Rey)

CC east of the 405, and MOST of CC west of the 405, is not scary at all. Dark and isolated streets in CC are no more or less scary (with a small number of exceptions, all west of the 405) than dark and isolated streets in the Palisades.

CC still has dive bars and reasonably priced non-chain ethnic restaurants, which are long gone in Brentwood and uncommon in SM (very rare in north SM, although south SM still has some). It's also very comfortable with its diversity, which is practically a dirty word in Brentwood and SM (no matter how liberal they vote, and they do vote liberal)

So what's sterile about north SM and Brentwood?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

So what's sterile about north SM and Brentwood?

Dive bars - GONE
Cheap non-chain ethnic restaurants - GONE
Independent book stores (endangered everywhere, and tbf nonexistent in CC ; if Dutton's had accepted CC's offer to relocate to the Helms Complex with special low rents it might still exist) - GONE
Non-chain coffee places - GONE
Newsstands (tbf CC doesn't have any, the closest is in WLA)- GONE
Art galleries - nothing of any significance
Cheap movie theatres (endangered everywhere, but the Culver Plaza is still there) - GONE
May I go on?
Name one Mexican restaurant in SM or Brentwood as good as Mi Ranchito. (Even Lares and El Indio, both on Pico in southeast SM, are only up to La Ballona or El Abajeno levels, not Mi Ranchito levels.) Name one Chinese restaurant in Brentwood or North SM as good as Golden China.
Name one Indian restaurant in Brentwood as good as Mayura (North SM does have one of the best in the L.A. area, though).
Name one Jewish deli in Brentwood or SM or anywhere west of the 405 as good as Roll 'N' Rye (which is ironic as I wouldn't consider Roll 'n' Rye amongst the best delis in L.A.)
How many businesses in Brentwood have been there since the '70s, of any kind?
Etc. etc.

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by majoun

Dive bars - GONE
Cheap non-chain ethnic restaurants - GONE
Independent book stores (endangered everywhere, and tbf nonexistent in CC ; if Dutton's had accepted CC's offer to relocate to the Helms Complex with special low rents it might still exist) - GONE
Non-chain coffee places - GONE
Newsstands (tbf CC doesn't have any, the closest is in WLA)- GONE
Art galleries - nothing of any significance
Cheap movie theatres (endangered everywhere, but the Culver Plaza is still there) - GONE
May I go on?
Name one Mexican restaurant in SM or Brentwood as good as Mi Ranchito. (Even Lares and El Indio, both on Pico in southeast SM, are only up to La Ballona or El Abajeno levels, not Mi Ranchito levels.) Name one Chinese restaurant in Brentwood or North SM as good as Golden China.
Name one Indian restaurant in Brentwood as good as Mayura (North SM does have one of the best in the L.A. area, though).
Name one Jewish deli in Brentwood or SM or anywhere west of the 405 as good as Roll 'N' Rye (which is ironic as I wouldn't consider Roll 'n' Rye amongst the best delis in L.A.)
How many businesses in Brentwood have been there since the '70s, of any kind?
Etc. etc.

Dive bar: The Gaslite on Wilshire. No you wont find dive bars on San Vicente or Montana but are there any bars on those streets, besides Father's Office which is a half hearted attempt at a bar
Independent bookstore: Well, Duttons used to be the heart of Brentwood. And it was loved and is missed. I'd struggle to find many independent bookstores in most parts of LA
Non-chain coffee places: There are independent cafe and coffee type places on Montana, also Caffe Luxxe is in both North SM and BW and has only a couple locations
Newstands - One at the whole foods in brentwood on san vicente and gorham
Art galleries - PLENTY in south SM
Cheap movie theaters - No cheap movie theaters, but the Aero on Montana plays a lot of old and indie stuff. It's not your typical 3D stadium seating AMC we have everywher else
Mexican food - subjective. Some would say El Cholo on wilshire and 11th is pretty good, which I guess is the border of north sm, and not El torito/marix chain processed
Jewish deli - again I'm extneding the boundary of north SM to wilshire since otherwise we'd only have montana. Izzy's and fromins. They aren't Langers or Canters, but they're not Jerry's either.
Businesses in Brentwood since the 70s... well I know of at least one, Early World Restaurant on San Vicente and Montana. But both north SM and brentwood have changed drastically since the 70s. They've been gentrified.

So I don't completely disagree with what you're saying, but there's much more culture and excitement in Brentwood and north SM than many places in LA. I think it's somewhere in the middle, not Venice or Silverlake, but not Westwood or Encino.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

Dive bar: The Gaslite on Wilshire. No you wont find dive bars on San Vicente or Montana but are there any bars on those streets, besides Father's Office which is a half hearted attempt at a bar

I believe there are bars on San Vicente which are boring and sterile.

Independent bookstore: Well, Duttons used to be the heart of Brentwood. And it was loved and is missed. I'd struggle to find many independent bookstores in most parts of LA

Just limiting this to the Westside:

South SM: Angel City (used book and record store), and Equator's reopening in South SM. (Formerly of Venice)
Venice: Small World
West LA: Several used bookstores on Santa Monica Blvd.
Mar Vista: Sam Johnson's (used book store)
West Hollywood/Fairfax: Book Soup, Samuel French, Mystery Cove (used book store), a couple of bookstores on 3rd St.

Non-chain coffee places: There are independent cafe and coffee type places on Montana, also Caffe Luxxe is in both North SM and BW and has only a couple locations

All chains (although South SM has some indies - I wouldn't consider 18th St. Cafe to be north SM as it's on Broadway)

Newstands - One at the whole foods in brentwood on san vicente and gorham

Didn't know about that one.

Art galleries - PLENTY in south SM

I said north SM or Brentwood. I only extended the comparison to all of SM re: Mexican food.

Cheap movie theaters - No cheap movie theaters, but the Aero on Montana plays a lot of old and indie stuff. It's not your typical 3D stadium seating AMC we have everywher else

True

Mexican food - subjective. Some would say El Cholo on wilshire and 11th is pretty good, which I guess is the border of north sm, and not El torito/marix chain processed

Definitely North SM.

Jewish deli - again I'm extneding the boundary of north SM to wilshire since otherwise we'd only have montana.

Wilshire's definitely North SM. Santa Monica Blvd. is more like the border although I mostly have used the 10 as a border.

Izzy's and fromins. They aren't Langers or Canters, but they're not Jerry's either.

Fromin's - ok. Izzy's - pretty awful. Just like Zucky's was awful, although a de regieur place to eat for westsiders late at night back in the day, and certainly one famous Jew, longtime SM resident Bob Dylan, loved it - then again Dylan's not actually from the east coast, he actually grew up in Minnesota despite his association with New York. And it was close and convenient for him. I saw him there a couple times. Jerry's is atrocious.

Note that I didn't mention British pubs (which SM is definitely better for than anywhere else in L.A. for obvious reasons - "Torremolinos On The Pacific" or "Brighton with better weather") or Indian restaurants (the one across the street from the King's Head is the best in L.A. - and this is linked to the huge UK expat population in SM). Palms USED to have great Indian/Pakistani restaurants but changing patterns of immigration have resulted in a decline in their quality - most are South Indian nowadays which I don't like. I guess most Indian immigrants these days are from South India?

Businesses in Brentwood since the 70s... well I know of at least one, Early World Restaurant on San Vicente and Montana. But both north SM and brentwood have changed drastically since the 70s. They've been gentrified.

And "gentrified" far beyond the level of a Venice or a Silver Lake or even a Los Feliz, which still has almost all of the above things I mentioned (Jewish delis are the only thing it lacks of what I mentioned, but there's no tradition of Jewish delis in Los Feliz. There IS a long tradition of old style Italian restaurants in Los Feliz, though, and Palermo, Sarno's, and Milano are still there.)

So I don't completely disagree with what you're saying, but there's much more culture and excitement in Brentwood and north SM than many places in LA. I think it's somewhere in the middle, not Venice or Silverlake, but not Westwood or Encino.

I hope that Westwood is able to reinvent itself along Los Feliz or Larchmont lines as has often been talked about. It would be nice if it could leave behind the curious limbo of the last decade although very few want a return to "destination" status.