Silver Lake vs. Downtown LA (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: sublease, for rent, how much)

[LittleRedCookbook]

Originally Posted by majoun

lalife.com might as well be the Onion. It's not to be taken seriously. For example, it lists Laurel Canyon as more dangerous than Van Nuys.

Good to know!! Thank you!! Other sites kept telling me to go check it for safety so I did then when I saw the ratings I was like uuummmm...

[LittleRedCookbook]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

Hi little red, I live in downtown and walk across downtown every day to the civic center area for work. There are only two residential buildings at that part of broadway(several more nearby).

First off munchitups advice is mostly correct. Ignore Anon as he is a recent troll.

I walked by the area where you'll be living this morning. During the day and early to mid evening you have no issues at all. There's people all over and lots of business nearby. There's an El Pollo Loco, Carl's Jr, McDonalds, and Subway less than a block away. You're also very close to the Grand Central Market. Theres also a bunch of smaller places mostly catering to Spanish speakers. All that stuff closes later at night. At night that stretch of Broadway does get desolate and there are homeless that sleep on Spring and on Broadway in those areas. There's a bar called Redwood on 2nd just west of Broadway, and then the Edison, Pitfire Pizza, etc just east of Spring on 2nd. Also, LAPD HQ is two blocks away across from Pitfire and LAPD internal affairs is right across the street from your place at 3rd and Broadway.

My best advice is to be parked and in your place by 9pm, until you are comfortable with the area. More activity on weekends and during artwalk. Quieter and less populated on Sunday-Tuesday night. If you have someone with you, I don't ever think you'll have a problem. If you go back to your place by going Spring-2nd-broadway, it might be a longer walk, but you'll be in view of LAPD HQ and LA times cameras most of the way. Won't help with a crazy, but any normal opportunist criminal is gonna be at least partially aware of where they are.

And oh yeah...you're also about 2 1/2 blocks from the redline subway at Hill/1st

Thanks John. This is very helpful (as are everyone else's posts) This gives me a lot to think about...

[majoun]

Originally Posted by LittleRedCookbook

Good to know!! Thank you!! Other sites kept telling me to go check it for safety so I did then when I saw the ratings I was like uuummmm...

The LA Times' Neighborhoods Project is more reliable for safety, but there are some caveats even with that. E.g. Areas such as West Hollywood, the Fairfax District, and Venice come off as more dangerous than they are because the crime rates are based on residential population not the number of people in those neighborhoods at any given time.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by majoun

The LA Times' Neighborhoods Project is more reliable for safety, but there are some caveats even with that. E.g. Areas such as West Hollywood, the Fairfax District, and Venice come off as more dangerous as they are because the crime rates are based on residential population not the number of people in those neighborhoods at any given time.

Good point.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by munchitup

Good point.

The LAT adjusts the figures for Downtown and Century City to account for the number of people in the areas at a given time during the day, but not those for other neighborhoods. About - Mapping L.A. - Los Angeles Times

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota

I always find it annoying when listing agents try to make it seem like a property is in a better adjacent neighborhood. It seems like realtors think that a lot of properties in Mid-Wilshire and Hollywood are in Hancock Park, and now I guess they're claiming that East Hollywood is a part of Silver Lake.

I would say as far as safety is concerned, obviously neither that part of Downtown nor East Hollywood are great neighborhoods late at night, which is why you are not getting strong recommendations from people to pick one over the other. It's also why apartments are more affordable than in other locations. Along Vermont there will likely be some foot traffic at most hours, but on Lockwood itself it may be pretty dead/eerie walking late a night. For the best of two not great options, I would recommend which ever is closer to where you need to be for school/work/friends, as I don't feel like there is a huge difference in late night safety.

The boundaries between East Hollywood and Silver Lake are amorphous, and have changed over the years. East Hollywood at one time included much of what's now considered Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

[andrecle]

Originally Posted by majoun

The boundaries between East Hollywood and Silver Lake are amorphous, and have changed over the years. East Hollywood at one time included much of what's now considered Silver Lake and Los Feliz.

I think neighborhood boundaries in general don't mean a lot in LA. It varies street-by-street. Especially when you're talking about neighborhoods such as Silverlake, Hollywood, Downtown, etc.

[DistrictDirt]

You will be totally fine in either area. Personally, I'd go for downtown. Its the far more walkable area with more amenities, and is currently on a warp-speed path to gentrification.

[saybanana]

I would feel more uneasy living in that part of SL than DTLA. I used to visit a friend not far on Hoover and walking to my car late at night always watching my back, because parking was hard to find and had to park 1-2 blocks away. I used to live a few blocks west of LACC many years ago, and that whole area hasnt improved much. I find DTLA quite safer. I think it is because there are lots of people walking around even late into the night or people waiting for buses. Also there are lots of cars driving around late at night and buses and taxis. I often walk near that area along Hill or 2nd street many evenings 6-8pm. I see people walking their dogs or running all the time or riding their bike. It is quieter in that stretch of Broadway even during the day.

[jm1982]

I'd also choose DTLA over Silverlake. There seem to be many advantages to DTLA - lot's more public transit closer, even more dining/bar/nightlife options, it seems to be safer as police seem to patrol more in DTLA.

DTLA seems to be improving faster than silverlake. DTLA is the 'flagship' area of the city government. A lot has been bet on downtown in time and resources,etc by CityHall ,etc... also by development companies.

There are 88 projects going on in Downtown LA now .. and maybe more now because that article is a couple months old.
The Development Scene: The Latest Info on 88 Downtown Projects - Los Angeles Downtown News - For Everything Downtown L.A.!: News

I'd bet that these developments will improve the area significantly , in terms of safety ,etc.

I feel like Silverlake is played out; overrated, overpriced. Might of been the place to live when it was 'cheap' but that's not the case anymore.