From the SF Bay Area to... Pasadena, Glendale, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Eagle Rock? (Del Mar: rentals, hotel)

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by Pacifico

Los Feliz and silverlake will give the shortest commutes. Likely avoid freeways. But coming from Glendale , eagle rock, Pasadena you will have to hop on the 5, 2, 110 freeways. Although you could surface streets as needed. The point is to try and minimize commute times to work.

My wife works downtown and we live in Pasadena - her commute is around 45 minutes at worst. We used to live in Central Hollywood just around the corner from the Cahuenga 101 entrance - her commute was actually much worse from Hollywood even though it is slightly closer to DTLA than Pasadena. From Los Feliz I think the best way to get downtown is probably going the back way to the 5 and taking that downtown. I suppose you could brave the East Hollywood traffic to get to the 101, but it is not going to be any less congested than the 5 would be. Echo Park by far provides the quickest commute into DTLA, and you probably would just take surface streets the entire way.

One bonus of Los Feliz, Pasadena and (maybe Silver Lake) is that you could also take transit to work on the Red Line or the Gold Line. The other neighborhoods don't offer that, though Silver Lake and Echo Park are just a few stops down the 4, 2 (local service) and 705, 702 (rapid bus) lines.

[Social Democrat]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Believe me, think twice about Echo Park.

The demographics are telltale:

Echo Park, Los Angeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would stay away from the east side of the 101, the west side of the 101 is a great area. I used to live there before moving to Highland Park and visit frequently and I've never had an issue of any sort.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Social Democrat

I would stay away from the east side of the 101, the west side of the 101 is a great area. I used to live there before moving to Highland Park and visit frequently and I've never had an issue of any sort.

The entirety of Echo Park is east of the 101.

West of the 101 would be Hollywood

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by majoun

The entirety of Echo Park is east of the 101.

West of the 101 would be Hollywood

Some of Echo Park is south / west of the 101 - the neighborhood traditionally extended to Beverly Blvd but was bisected by the 101.

But the stay away from everything east of the 101 is dumb - what about Los Feliz? Silver Lake? And those areas are better than Melrose Hill area or the Santa Monica / Vine area?

[tommy64]

Los Feliz is super nice, if you can afford it. It has a secluded feel, but is very accessable to everywhere.

Eagle Rock is walkable, if you're into window-shopping etc.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by munchitup

Some of Echo Park is south / west of the 101 - the neighborhood traditionally extended to Beverly Blvd but was bisected by the 101.

But the stay away from everything east of the 101 is dumb - what about Los Feliz? Silver Lake? And those areas are better than Melrose Hill area or the Santa Monica / Vine area?

I think of the 101 as being north/south past Vermont.

Los Feliz may be the nicest neighborhood in the city of L.A.. And not only Los Feliz but also Silver Lake and Franklin Village are much nicer than Melrose Hill, Koreatown, or the area around SM/Vine/Gower etc.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by majoun

I think of the 101 as being north/south past Vermont.

Los Feliz may be the nicest neighborhood in the city of L.A.. And not only Los Feliz but also Silver Lake and Franklin Village are much nicer than Melrose Hill, Koreatown, or the area around SM/Vine/Gower etc.

Oh yeah I agree, I was sort of mocking the other poster.

[cypresstree]

Move to the playhouse district of Pasadena. Can walk to Trader Joe's, Target, Old Town, and pretty much everything else. Other cities may have fun walking areas with boutiques and whatnot, but if you love to walk for your errands, then nothing beats walking to Trader Joe's and Target! So many fun and free things to do here, too. I recently moved from a nice, non-luxury 2 bedroom apartment from that area and only paid $1400 monthly. Don't blow $2K on rent just because you can, especially on a $70K salary.

Also, it sounds like you're an academic. Pasadena has tons of academic types and is arguably the "smartest" city in LA.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by cypresstree

Move to the playhouse district of Pasadena. Can walk to Trader Joe's, Target, Old Town, and pretty much everything else. Other cities may have fun walking areas with boutiques and whatnot, but if you love to walk for your errands, then nothing beats walking to Trader Joe's and Target! So many fun and free things to do here, too. I recently moved from a nice, non-luxury 2 bedroom apartment from that area and only paid $1400 monthly. Don't blow $2K on rent just because you can, especially on a $70K salary.

Also, it sounds like you're an academic. Pasadena has tons of academic types and is arguably the "smartest" city in LA.

You live in my building? Sounds like my place though I pay a smidge more.

I second that you can basically never use your car in the Playhouse District, and it is near the Gold Line. Plus there are two big new projects underway that will bring even more retail in the next year or two. Another bonus is it is less touristy than Old Town, but still within walking distance of all those bars, restaurants and stores.

[cypresstree]

Munchitup- I used to live there but have since bought a house in NW Pasadena. I've lived all over LA, including some very desirable parts of the Westside, but living in the playhouse district was most definitely my favorite location. I took the goldline to work downtown, walked to my gym, walked to restaurants, and yeah, basically never used my car. I took FULL advantage of every event that was going on...some of the best years of my life really.

What projects are you referring to? I know the one across from Blaze, but I think it's not opening for awhile?