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Old 03-05-2015, 12:28 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,940 times
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So I've been searching like crazy for the perfect area to live in LA, but it seems like such mixed reviews! I'm going to attend CSULA, so I guess an area pretty close. Although, I must state I live in the country right now so my college is 30 minutes and the nearest mall is an hour and a half away so I'm used to having a farther drive. I'll be 20 when I get there and single so I would want a pretty safe area, but I want there to be things to do like shopping, some nightlife, and eating. Maybe a more of a younger vibe. I love walking around so I don't want to be in an area where I have to constantly drive to do stuff.

I was thinking Santa Monica, Westwood, West Hollywood, Brentwood, Downtown LA, or maybe Culver City.

It seems like the area outside of CSULA is not very safe at all!

As far as pricing I have a pretty good budget. I've seen a lot of post on here get distracted by the budget and other things. I strictly want to know of an area like I'm describing.

Thanks for the help
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Old 03-05-2015, 01:36 PM
 
Location: Norteh Bajo Americano
1,631 posts, read 2,387,480 times
Reputation: 2116
Pasadena (old Town) or Downtown LA (south park, arts district/Little Tokyo)
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Old 03-05-2015, 04:55 PM
 
152 posts, read 211,773 times
Reputation: 120
Quote:
Originally Posted by laurenleegrace View Post
So I've been searching like crazy for the perfect area to live in LA, but it seems like such mixed reviews! I'm going to attend CSULA, so I guess an area pretty close. Although, I must state I live in the country right now so my college is 30 minutes and the nearest mall is an hour and a half away so I'm used to having a farther drive. I'll be 20 when I get there and single so I would want a pretty safe area, but I want there to be things to do like shopping, some nightlife, and eating. Maybe a more of a younger vibe. I love walking around so I don't want to be in an area where I have to constantly drive to do stuff.

I was thinking Santa Monica, Westwood, West Hollywood, Brentwood, Downtown LA, or maybe Culver City.

It seems like the area outside of CSULA is not very safe at all!

As far as pricing I have a pretty good budget. I've seen a lot of post on here get distracted by the budget and other things. I strictly want to know of an area like I'm describing.

Thanks for the help
Ah, to be 19 and see having to having to decide where to live based on a budget as "distracting" (i.e., someone else is footing the bill, so who cares what it costs?) But thanks for mentioning budget worries are not needed upfront because it is important.

Quote:
It seems like the area outside of CSULA is not very safe at all!
I'm curious, where are you getting that info from? Lots of people live in the San Gabriel Valley (Monterey Park/south of Alhambra-ish would be the area) quite happily and without issues, it seems.

Quote:
I was thinking Santa Monica, Westwood, West Hollywood, Brentwood, Downtown LA, or maybe Culver City.
All lovely choices, but you're going to have some pretty awful commute times from Santa Monica, Westwood, Brentwood and Culver City. West Hollywood will be better but still pretty rough driving. Downtown - though probably considered the least safe overall, but you could go for one of the pricier loft areas which tend to be safer - might work for you out of your choices if you don't want to spend all of your time in your car.

If you don't care about commute, then the choice among those at your age would probably be Westwood or Culver City (skews younger but not as upscale as SM or Brentwood - the latter is really for families. SM is too, but has a contingent of young singles and nightlife).

I'm assuming you considered and dismissed Silver Lake or Los Feliz? Those aren't close to CSULA but they're closer than all but DTLA, and have the atmosphere you say you're looking for, particularly Silver Lake.
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Old 03-05-2015, 04:57 PM
 
152 posts, read 211,773 times
Reputation: 120
Quote:
Originally Posted by saybanana View Post
Pasadena (old Town) or Downtown LA (south park, arts district/Little Tokyo)
Old Town Pasadena is a great suggestion.
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Old 03-05-2015, 05:10 PM
 
Location: SoCal & Mid-TN
2,325 posts, read 2,652,251 times
Reputation: 2874
South Pasadena is also good.
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Old 03-05-2015, 05:23 PM
 
152 posts, read 211,773 times
Reputation: 120
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spikett View Post
South Pasadena is also good.
Not for a 20 year old single college student who wants some nightlife/shopping/eating. SP is slow, whether you think of that as a good thing or a bad thing (many people are quite happy with it being slow). I mean, it hasn't really been that many years since South Pas banned all drive-thru restaurants except one: McDonald's. (There still aren't very many drive-thrus.)
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Old 03-06-2015, 04:59 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles, CA
555 posts, read 804,387 times
Reputation: 1174
Quote:
Originally Posted by laurenleegrace View Post
So I've been searching like crazy for the perfect area to live in LA, but it seems like such mixed reviews! I'm going to attend CSULA, so I guess an area pretty close. Although, I must state I live in the country right now so my college is 30 minutes and the nearest mall is an hour and a half away so I'm used to having a farther drive. I'll be 20 when I get there and single so I would want a pretty safe area, but I want there to be things to do like shopping, some nightlife, and eating. Maybe a more of a younger vibe. I love walking around so I don't want to be in an area where I have to constantly drive to do stuff.

I was thinking Santa Monica, Westwood, West Hollywood, Brentwood, Downtown LA, or maybe Culver City.

It seems like the area outside of CSULA is not very safe at all!

As far as pricing I have a pretty good budget. I've seen a lot of post on here get distracted by the budget and other things. I strictly want to know of an area like I'm describing.

Thanks for the help
Alhambra, the area immediately east of CSULA is extremely safe. Plenty of CSULA students, staff, etc. live in Alhambra. It has a downtown (Main St.) with nightlife, and Valley Blvd has its own scene. It's very safe, but keep in mind it's a small town's downtown. (Same goes for neighboring cities like Monterey Park, San Gabriel, etc.) Valley Blvd stays open quite late.

If you want a bigger, livelier scene, consider living near Old Town in Pasadena, which is comparatively less safe, but still quite safe all things considered -- just keep your wits about you and you will be all right. Pasadena is bigger than Alhambra (and Monterey Park, San Gabriel, etc.), and its nightlife reflects that.

Downtown (e.g. Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Arts District) is very lively in a big city downtown kind of way. Obviously, downtown LA is bigger than Pasadena, so its nightlife is going to change accordingly and it will be less safe -- again, keep your wits about you, avoid neighboring bad areas, and you should be fine. It's slightly farther away, but quite doable and an extremely short drive to CSULA -- you can take the street or freeway from school. The 76 bus also takes you straight from CSULA to that part of downtown (and you can hop on LA's Metro train system at Union Station downtown to access other lively parts of LA).

FYI, CSULA is served by LA's Metro bus system (but not the "Metro," i.e. city trains), the regional commuter train (Metrolink), and Alhambra's city bus (ACT). So even if you live elsewhere, you have transportation options. Good luck!

P.S. Commuting from Santa Monica, Westwood, West Hollywood, Brentwood, or Culver City would crush your soul, IMO. Of course, YMMV.
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