ADVICE Needed! North Hollywood or DTLA ??? (Burbank, Santa Monica: neighborhood, theater, rooftop)

[JZoom416]

So, I am relocating from NY to LA in a month. I am a travel nurse, age 32, gay male -- I have it narrowed down to a place in NoHo Arts District (Living at Noho) and DTLA (The Medallion) .. both look gorgeous, have great amenities, similar set up and rooftop pools. My question is this:

* Which area is less congested, better for traffic and getting to and from WEST HOLLYWOOD ?

* Which area is better for nightlife, restaurants and bars ?

* Which area is OVERALL more recommended for someone who likes to party on occasion, but not live in the party ? (like WeHo)

I have my own car, nice coupe -- so I don't mind a bit of a drive. I will be working all over, including Downtown, Sherman Oaks, NoHo and WeHo.

Any and all advice would be much appreciated!! I need to make a decision within a week !

Thank you !

* Joey

[hjt123]

Downtown by far.

[JZoom416]

Why do you say this ? I was under the impression that DT is awful for parking and traffic .. something I do not want to deal with !

[hjt123]

Downtown traffic isn't that bad and parking isn't an issue if your building has it. Downtown is very walkable and you don't need to drive to go out and do basic errands there.

[CALIFORNIA_KITTY]

Coming from NY TRUST ME - do not live in NOHO unless you like very suburban.. DTLA is very up and coming up but not too much so. It has a bit of a NYC vibe which you can walk to many bars, restaurants clubs, sports events, movies etc. You will also be travelling AGAINST rush hour from DTLA to WEHO in the AM and PM. Traffic from the valley to WEHO is HELL as this is the rush hour congestion direction. You have the 101, Laurel Canyon Pass or 405 all of which are the worst traffic jams in LA for commuting. Trust me, don't do it unless you like 1 1/2 hour commutes.

[CALIFORNIA_KITTY]

And no it does not have very bad traffic downtown - the worst traffic is the 405 and in Hollywood especially Santa Monica, Melrose and Beverly in rush hour.

[David in the City]

NoHo is easily less congested than Downtown. I frequent both nabes since I have good friends in each town. If you're concerned about traffic and parking, then Downtown is definitely not for you. Both areas are growing rapidly in their own ways with new developments, hot new bars and cafes etc.

Both nabes have plenty of nightlife, restaurants and bars. Downtown can be hit or miss when it comes to homeless people. It can get quite annoying really not only with the smell of urine, but if you go down the wrong block, you'll run into a long stream of tents lining a street. Downtown is getting better, but it definitely has a lot more work to do.

Sherman Oaks sounds a bit more central based on the 4 areas you said you would be working. Not sure if that's an option for you.

NoHo is close to Sherman Oaks (about 5-10 minute drive). Downtown is technically farther than NoHo is to WeHo. 9 miles vs 8 miles. I've driven from WeHo to downtown many times and it's very stressful since it's mostly surface streets.

[Gurbie]

Originally Posted by Joeyzoom

Why do you say this ? I was under the impression that DT is awful for parking and traffic .. something I do not want to deal with !

You're coming from NYC- but you're freaking about parking and traffic in LA?

There are strategies you can adopt to minimize the problem, but you can't escape it. And those potential strategies don't really fit your priorities in terms of how and where you are going to work and play.

If you move to LA, awful parking and traffic are part of the landscape.

[LovinLosAngeles]

Definitely choose downtown. It feels like a small NYC with all the nightlife/restaurants/theaters etc... Have you thought about going "car-lite"? You can use the subway to get to a lot of places and save money. You won't have to deal with traffic either :-)

[Jean Jeunet]

NoHo and Downtown are quite different. The best way to experience each is to take a day and hang out in each neighborhood walking around. I live in NoHo in the highrise NoH14 (very close to "Living at NoHo").

NoHo is more laid back, much fewer homeless, has more parking, less traffic....the list goes on. I love it here. Tons of amenities in walking distance: coffee hangouts (Republic of Pie), tons of cafes (EAT), billiards, bars (Bow & Truss), Live Theatres (largest concentration outside of NY, Laemmle Theater, the list goes on. NoHo is a popular neighborhood because it's centrally located surrounded by Burbank (studios), Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Universal Studios and is close to the freeways to quickly go Downtown. There's also the subway station really close if you want to get downtown quickly.