What are some WALKABLE and public transportation-full (or at least kinda walkable) areas to live NEAR L.A. (safe too)? (Los Angeles: unemployment rate, cities)

[guydude]

There are actually a ton. Going from West to East (more or less), we have Downtown Santa Monica, Venice, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, Korea Town, Downtown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, West Pasadena. And those are only the nice neighborhoods (though it is debatable if Korea Town is nice). You'll be fine if you look in those neighborhoods. Transit Reaches Pasadena, Downtown, Hollywood, and Korea Town.

[OyCrumbler]

Live within LA itself with roommates in one of the neighborhoods guydude listed. Then move on from there.

[Ennea4]

guydude and oycrumbler, I know that. I know all the walkable places IN L.A. (I've lived in Los Angeles afterall!): I FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS AREN'T LISENING TO ME!

I said that I want my own room (not a roommate as guydude said), that's a non-negotiable

And I said that I want to know about walkable cities/areas OUTSIDE of L.A. (not as oycrumbler answered).

Thank you both for attempting to help, but there's a reason why I wasn't asking about that - L.A. is very expensive! - Especially for a young person with little to no work experience who majored in English in college. Especially for someone with few connections. Thus, if I even DO land a job this time, it might be minimum wage or a little over minimum wage, which, I wouldn't be able to last on ...living on the westside and having my own room. That's why incase it doesn't work out for me again, I want to know what my Plan B should be.

Plan B =
A walkable community
A sunny and warm state
One that is not that far away from Los Angeles
A place that is less expensive than L.A.
A place that would increase my chances of landing a steady job that pays well enough to have my own apartment.

So, Plan B = _______?_________ city

[Ennea4]

windnsea00 - that's an idea. Are there a lot of people in their 20s there? Is it an affluent community?
I know that I didn't like Manhattan Beach, Hermosas Beach, Redondo Beach, or Torrance nearly as much as I liked Hollywood and Beverley Hills and Malibu and Fairfax. So if San Diego is like Hermosa Beach . . . I don't know about that.....

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by Ennea4

Plan B =
A walkable community
A sunny and warm state
One that is not that far away from Los Angeles
A place that is less expensive than L.A.
A place that would increase my chances of landing a steady job that pays well enough to have my own apartment.

So, Plan B = _______?_________ city

Doesn't exist. The entire southwest United States is a desert and as such there aren't really walkable communities.

There are small towns and cities, particularly in the mountains and on the coast that might have walkable business districts. But they are walkable only because they are tiny. And your chances of a decent job are minimal, or in the case of the coast, quite expensive(Santa Barbara, Ventura, etc).

[Ennea4]

I've been to long beach before, and it felt kind of unfriendly and poorer to me. Also, there weren't that many white people (and I'm a Caucasian). I know L.A. is really diverse, but Long Beach just felt different.

Thanks everyoe for the suggestions! Keep 'em coming

[Ennea4]

Just because you and I don't know about them, doesn't mean they don't exist.

[munchitup]

It sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it too... For every place that meets one of your requirements, another requirement nullifies it.

The most walkable places in Southern California are in the city limits of LA or as previously mentioned, in Weho, SM and Pasedena - all WAY out of your price range. Santa Barbara up the coast is somewhat walkable - even more out of your price range. If you want walkable in Southern California you are going to have to pay for it.

Secondly, I doubt a kid right out of school that has little to no job experience can expect to have a place all to themselves, unless you wanna live in Hemet or something... again, the places that are cheap enough for a kid right out of school to live alone are usually rural or extreme exurban, unwalkable and undesirable (to you). I would just suck it up and get a roommate.

Maybe Oxnard would be a good choice? About an hour and a half drive to LA, there's a small airport that probably goes to Burbank or LAX. But its not very walkable, you could probably get by with a bike / walking combo, Of course, it is probably still really expensive and the city has a very high Hispanic population (not a problem for me but it sounds like it is for you).

I think it seems that people are not listening to you because what you want with all your needs and requirements just doesn't exist, and they are grasping at straws to help you.

[windnsea00]

Originally Posted by Ennea4

windnsea00 - that's an idea. Are there a lot of people in their 20s there? Is it an affluent community?
I know that I didn't like Manhattan Beach, Hermosas Beach, Redondo Beach, or Torrance nearly as much as I liked Hollywood and Beverley Hills and Malibu and Fairfax. So if San Diego is like Hermosa Beach . . . I don't know about that.....

Affluent areas on a basic budget won't mix, who wouldn't want to live in Malibu or BH haha. The beach towns north of Del Mar have a somewhat similar vibe to the areas you mentioned while Pacific Beach is a college party everyday, Mission Beach is a bit of an older crowd and Ocean Beach is more in line with Venice Beach. If you want young areas that aren't coastal then North Park/South Park/Golden Hill/Mission Hill/Hillcrest all offer such. Minimum wage and living by yourself in any decent area won't work.

[Count David]

Just throwing this out there:

Downtown Riverside.