I will be driving through and around "ghetto" areas of LA... Any warnings (Long Beach: how much, home)

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

Coming from NYC, you really don't have much to worry about - LA as a whole is actually safer than NYC. In fact, I believe we were recently rated the safest big city in the country. Relax and enjoy your stay.

In NE LA/Lincoln Heights, you can drive up Broadway and get a nice view of Chinatown, and the bridges over the river.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by ProjectMersh

OP: I suggest you take a pass by the Watts Towers. Very cool and interesting piece of folk art. As others have stated, stick to the daytime and you'll be fine.

the watts Towers Arts Center - watts Towers, the official site about the Simon (Sam) Rodia'c towers in watts, Los Angeles, California.

Good choice. I went there on a school field trip over thirty years ago and still remember how cool it was.

[LuvSouthOC]

I plan to take a trip to NYC with a special focus on Brooklyn (Bedford-Stuyvesant), Queens (Jamaica), and the Bronx. I will go to other areas too a tiny bit like that Manhattan place. Is there anything I should know about where to go, where to eat and where to hang out in the areas I'm interested in?

[wushuliu]

Originally Posted by Popfizz

We are coming from NYC and understand that some ( or most) of these areas are very poverty stricken and are avoided by many.

I just want to know if anyone has any tips or advice for us, We will be driving and just kinda wanna see how these "hoods" are. We wont be wearing any blue or red incase we decide to walk around.

We are obviously also visiting the nice areas of the LA area but we have that covered already.

Areas we will plan on visiting as well are:

The Valley - Panorama city, Arleta, Van Nuys , Pacoima, N. Hollywood, & Reseda
South Central
East LA
NE LA - alhambra city, City Terrace, lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, El Sereno
Leimert Park

Also plan on riding down Crenshaw Blvd. from 40th to about 100th st.


We dont want to get shot for just riding by...any areas we should absolutely avoid ??

We are not white and wont stand out. Just wanna peep the architecture, housing stock, locals, commercial areas, and overall feel of these areas

Oh dear God. Seriously? Coming from NYC?

Fun fact: the decline in crime in NYC over the last 25 years has nothing to do with NYC and is in fact nationwide.

"we are not white and won't stand out". Um something tells me by that statement that you prooobably will anyway.

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by Popfizz

We are coming from NYC and understand that some ( or most) of these areas are very poverty stricken and are avoided by many.

I just want to know if anyone has any tips or advice for us, We will be driving and just kinda wanna see how these "hoods" are. We wont be wearing any blue or red incase we decide to walk around.

We are obviously also visiting the nice areas of the LA area but we have that covered already.

Areas we will plan on visiting as well are:

The Valley - Panorama city, Arleta, Van Nuys , Pacoima, N. Hollywood, & Reseda
South Central
East LA
NE LA - alhambra city, City Terrace, lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, El Sereno
Leimert Park

Also plan on riding down Crenshaw Blvd. from 40th to about 100th st.


We dont want to get shot for just riding by...any areas we should absolutely avoid ??

We are not white and wont stand out. Just wanna peep the architecture, housing stock, locals, commercial areas, and overall feel of these areas

I must ask Why The Hell you want to do this?

You may also want to check out East Lancaster, East Palmdale, all of Victorville, most of San Bernardino, Rialto, Hemet and Perris -- far, outlying exurbs where L.A. dumped a lot of its "undesirables" back between 2003 and 2006 so it could start the gentrification process in the city.

[Stoney.]

I've actually done the ghetto cruise tour myself back in the early 2000's just out of curiosity. Drove through South Central LA (or South LA as it's now called). Went through the infamous intersection of Florence and Normandy where the guy was pulled from his truck and beaten on live TV during the 1992 riots. Drove down 6th street east of downtown through Skid Row back when it was really bad (worse than now) There's not much to see or fear driving down the main thoroughfares of the "ghetto" areas- just block after block of strip malls, gas stations, dry cleaners, check cashing places, small homes and apartments- pretty much what many parts of LA look like.

Now if you want to go deep into the hood try here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Im...41d6968c9d1492

Filming location for parts of "Training Day", this area is more dangerous, although not as much so in years past. Anyway, wherever you decide to go, make sure you have Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" blasting on the car stereo.

[Raja2014]

I took a ghetto tour of LA with a cousin from Chicago who was curious to see what the hype was about (sidenote: seems ghetto tours are a popular out of towner activity in LA).

We drove up Crenshaw starting from the 405 around Torrance, eventually making our way to the 101. The "worst" parts were around inglewood, and around Crenshaw high school. Even then, it looked more or less like the Valley, except with more ghetto people hanging around. The houses were mostly normal looking, nothing nearly as crappy as you'd see in Chicago. My cousin was pretty disappointed.

On a separate occasion, I ate at Roscoe's on Manchester in South LA (south of USC). That area was pretty ghetto and ugly, though still not as bad as Chicago ghetto

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by Popfizz

We are coming from NYC and understand that some ( or most) of these areas are very poverty stricken and are avoided by many.

I just want to know if anyone has any tips or advice for us, We will be driving and just kinda wanna see how these "hoods" are. We wont be wearing any blue or red incase we decide to walk around.

We are obviously also visiting the nice areas of the LA area but we have that covered already.

Areas we will plan on visiting as well are:

The Valley - Panorama city, Arleta, Van Nuys , Pacoima, N. Hollywood, & Reseda
South Central
East LA
NE LA - alhambra city, City Terrace, lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, El Sereno
Leimert Park

Also plan on riding down Crenshaw Blvd. from 40th to about 100th st.


We dont want to get shot for just riding by...any areas we should absolutely avoid ??

We are not white and wont stand out. Just wanna peep the architecture, housing stock, locals, commercial areas, and overall feel of these areas

By the way, "100th St" is actually called "Century Blvd" in LA.

Crenshaw is actually something of a showpiece for that part of LA.

If you want, here are the TOTALLY GHETTO/HOOD zip codes (LA proper and LA addresses):

90001--South Central/Florence
90002--Watts/Southeast
90003--South Central
90011--part of the ORIGINAL South Central (the most heavily populated zipcode in the entire city; over 100,000 people in an area less than 3 sq mi.)
90021--fashion district
90022--E LA
90023--E LA
90031--Montecito Heights (somewhat of a mix)
90032--El Sereno (but has Cal State LA, so.....)
90033--E LA
90037--South Central
90044--South Central/Athens
90047--South Central/Westmont
90059--Southeast/Watts
90061--Southeast/Willowbrook
90062--South Central
90063--Boyle Heights (but starting to gentrify)


90047 and 90062 are up the scale a bit, as are parts of 90044, but still a fair amount of problems with shootings.

I did not include 90008 and 90043, which are Crenshaw and Lemiert/Hyde Park (though they are majority black) because of the mix of neighborhoods and incomes. Also did not include 90016 and 90018 for the same reason. They are near the other zips, however.

Note there are many other areas of the city that some would consider "ghetto" that are not included here. You just wanted the "worst of the worst".

Which makes me wonder, OP, why would you ask for these and yet want to be "safe"? Your statements remind me of people that want to "Disneylandize" the wilderness areas. Next thing you know someone will want a sign off the 110 between the 10 and the 91 saying "The Hood, next 8 exits", complete with representatives of the pertinent neighborhoods standing at the offramp/street intersections handing out guidebooks and the proper uniforms to wear.

[quixotic59]

Originally Posted by luvsouthoc

i plan to take a trip to nyc with a special focus on brooklyn (bedford-stuyvesant), queens (jamaica), and the bronx. I will go to other areas too a tiny bit like that manhattan place. Is there anything i should know about where to go, where to eat and where to hang out in the areas i'm interested in?

lmfao!

[LizzyNola]

Oh boy! Here we go again!
You are coming from New York and you are worried about the "ghetto" areas of Los Angeles???? LOL! LOL!
Our so called ghetto areas look like Bel-Air compared to some of the neighborhoods in NYC! LOL! LOL!