Moving to LA - opinions on neighbourhoods (Los Angeles, Long Beach: wood floors, fit in)

[Parker501]

I'm moving from Toronto to the LA area this summer. I'm moving with my partner (we are gay). I was hoping to get some opinions on neighbourhoods/areas to live in.
My job is paying around 100K; he is in the process of finding a position. We are looking to rent a 2 bedroom apartment - would like to spend no more than $1600/month.
Ideally we would love to live in an area that is walkable and has some type of downtown core (from what I hear this is tough to find in LA?). We will both have cars but are used to walking down the street to get whatever.... food, bars, parks. We have a dog so a dog-friendly area would be great. Obviously looking for someplace that is 'safe', preferably close to the beach, etc - like everyone else is looking for. Lots of outdoor space would be a plus (parks, beaches, hillsides)
Anyways, there are 3 areas that I could be based out of for work; I'm willing to commute a bit but would like to keep it as short as possible.
Pasadena, Signal Hill and Whittier are the 3 areas. What opinions do you have on these places???? Or areas that are nearby these places.
Thanks

[CESpeed]

You'll be happy in West Hollywood. It's the mecca for gay people in Los Angeles. The apartments will fit in your budget. You'll be very close to Beverly Hills, Century City and Hollywood. If you're into the beach it would be about 15 - 20 min down the road. Try http://losangeles.craiglist.org

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Parker501

Anyways, there are 3 areas that I could be based out of for work; I'm willing to commute a bit but would like to keep it as short as possible.
Pasadena, Signal Hill and Whittier are the 3 areas. What opinions do you have on these places???? Or areas that are nearby these places.
Thanks

Do you have a choice, OR, at some point someone will tell you which place you will be working at? They are three very different areas and if you don't know which place now, then essentially the forum would have to provide three different sets of responses.

[jessemh431]

If you get to choose a location, go with the Pasadena one and live in either West Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silverlake, or Pasadena itself.

Move in to West Ho now! (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/apa/599703366.html - broken link)

2bed 1bath in Silverlake (broken link)

Great 2-Bedroom Bungalow (broken link)

2+2 - 1st floor, Wood floors, Private Patio (broken link)

BTW, if you could settle for a 1 bed, you could get a very nice place.

[Parker501]

The 3 locations are places where a position is open in the company. I pretty much get to choose.
I'm coming to take a look around in the next month so will get a better idea of what suites me.
Thanks for the responses.

[BRinSM]

Long Beach has a pretty large gay community and Signal Hill is a suburb of Long Beach. Long Beach is a cool area too, with many walkable neighborhoods.

[bhcompy]

Signal Hill, Belmont Shore, Naples are all areas in/around Long Beach that will suit you and your lifestyle needs.

[jessemh431]

I just noticed that you spelled it neighbourhoods.

[Sorcerer68]

Cross Whittier off your list. Eeew. Signal Hill is a Long Beach suburb and I don't think it's what you're looking for in terms of walkability. Belmont Shores/Belmont Heights would do you fine in terms of walkability and proximity to the ocean. Pasadena is awesome...but not close to the ocean. When I lived in Old Pas, I'd make it to the ocean in 40 minutes on a Saturday. In terms of walkability, it's the best spot in the L.A. area. When I did business there, I took my car out of the garage once a week. Also look into Silverlake and Los Feliz Village. Both are very hip spots. Personally WeHo is last on my list. It's just not my scene. For someone living with a long-term partner (and we have 2 big dogs as well), Los Feliz suits us well (as did Pasadena). Weho is better for single guys who go out a lot.

All the areas discussed above (except Whittier) are quite gay friendly and doggie friendly.

[Parker501]

Ha - neighbourhood is the British/Canadian/I think every other commonwealth country way of spelling it.
I've been doing some research and it sounds like the silverlake/los feliz areas are exactly what I'm looking for. We don't live in the gay village here in Toronto, or hang out there much as a matter of fact so not sure that west hollywood is exactly what we want. Only issue with silverlake and los feliz is the rent is much higher than in other areas of the city but I guess you pay for the location.
I've also been really looking at the commute times and so forth so I think I would be leaning towards the Pasadena location. My office is actually in east Pasadena. Looks like a quick walk from Sierra Madre Villa metro stop. Thinking about doing the transit thing. Personally, not a big fan of commuting... I take the subway in Toronto and don't even own a car right now.
What do you think the commute would be like from Los Feliz/Silverlake area to east Pasadena (specifically the Sierra Madre Villa stop... both with respect to driving and metro. Are the subways safe?...I know dumb question. Also would it be a pain in the butt to do this on subway vs. driving? It looks like there is no easy connection to the subway from the neighbourhood except for a bus? What are metro rapid lines vs. rail lines? Is it like a street car/cable car?
Thanks for the advice so far!