westlake (the area in between k-town and downtown - NOT westlake village) (Los Angeles: transplants, real estate)

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by katenik

again, why bother asking? if you don't know first-hand, it's all "hearsay." i think it's rather rude to ask for help, and then dictate from whom you would like that help to come. if you don't want to believe what well-intentioned people who know better than to live in a ****hole have to say about westlake, then don't! call LAPD, instead.

no, it's not hearsay when you talk with someone who's actually lived and spent significant time in the area. it is hearsay, though, when a person is speaking strictly from personal biases or outward appearances rather than personal experience. i don't consider this as "dictating" whom i want to hear from, since someone's personal experience is a lot more valuable to me than another person's biases. and it seemed that you were speaking strictly on pre-conceived notions rather than actual recent experience with the neighborhood.

but hey, what do i know? i shouldn't even bother asking, right? let me just move there and get shot up, and then i'll learn!

look, i'm taking in everyone's opinions equally, good and bad, including yours. but i didn't appreciate what i felt was attitude from your end to start. i'm just trying to get answers here, no more no less. ok? and i don't want to start an off-topic back-and-forth argument, so please...you've made your point, i've duly noted it, and that's that. thanks a lot.

[UB50]

I drive through that area fairly often. I think it is like a lot of the rest of LA -- it varies block by block. I have also noticed the new housing going in in a lot of places.

I used to work near Vermont and Wilshire in the early '80s and one street would be perfectly fine while the next one over was scary even at noon. The advice that you should drive by several times before signing a lease was good advice!

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by UB50

I drive through that area fairly often. I think it is like a lot of the rest of LA -- it varies block by block. I have also noticed the new housing going in in a lot of places.

I used to work near Vermont and Wilshire in the early '80s and one street would be perfectly fine while the next one over was scary even at noon. The advice that you should drive by several times before signing a lease was good advice!

yeah i definitely need to investigate some more on my own before making a decision. i'm not set on moving to westlake by any means (it's just one of many options), but i figured since the location is ideal for me, i ought to look into it. i was actually hoping someone here could identify specific blocks or streets that are more desirable or should be avoided at all costs, since i can only learn so much from scouting...but what i've heard so far, good and bad, has been helpful, too.

[CESpeed]

You'll make your life at lot easier if you stayed west of Vermont. Or north of 3rd. Those areas are generally safer than those east of V, especially near the Park.

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by pbergen

nick, thanks a lot for the info. what you've said kind of echoes some of the "good" i've been hearing about the neighborhood. of course i want to hear as much about the "bad" as well, esp. from people like yourself who have spent a little time there.

not to veer off-topic, but another neighborhood i was looking into happens to be close to you - highland park. honestly, the only times i've been there were during the daytime to get tacos, but like westlake, i've heard conflicting stories - some people are saying it's becoming much nicer, yet at the same time it still has a bad rep and i still hear about gang shootings (esp. black vs. latino) in the area, which is super scary. as a resident of the adjacent neighborhood, what are your thoughts on hp, and how does it compare with a place like westlake (or maybe northern k-town, as br in sm has noted) in terms of rental prices and crime? thanks.

Sure. Funny you asked, because I bumped into a young couple from Knoxville, TN last night who are staying near MacArthur Park at the Comfort Inn.

Backup: A lady co-worker and I walked from our downtown office to the Red Line last night to take the Hollywood train to Vine. After dinner and a movie, we walked back to the station around 11pm and bumped into this couple waiting at the platform. They really didn't have a clue as to where anything was, which always amazes me because I pore over maps and attractions like crazy before I travel anywhere. They told us they were staying 'downtown' but I had my doubts when they said Westlake and Alvarado. THey had been wandering around Sunset and Hollywood Blvds. Said they took the 720 to Santa Monica area- were having a great time.

We said goodbye to them at 7th/Fig, then walked back to the office to get our cars and drive home. On a whim, I drove down 7th to check on them and, sure enough, they were lost. THey should have gotten off at Alvarado, it turned out. Picked them up around 7th/Hope, showed them where Staples was (they have tickets to a Laker game), the Ralphs (open 'til 2am), Convention Center, Central Library, etc. They were blown-away by downtown, absolutely loved it. They were gonna take the train to City Walk and hit the Gold Line to Pasadena. I also drove them to their hotel, telling that, contrary to what their travel website said, the Comfort Inn was NOT downtown, but in Westlake and that they should take care walking around at night.

Westlake was remarkably quiet- then again it was midnight by the time I left. The park was quiet. 7th Street is pretty ugly down that way, but there were no shady characters that we could see. I was actually surprised we DIDN'T see some stuff go down, to be honest.

411 on Highland Park on an upcoming post...

[BRinSM]

I was taking the red line to work one day up near universal city and i ran into some australian girls who were in LA visiting and on their way back to their hotel from the theme park. i had asked them where they were staying and they had mentioned that they were staying in macarthur park. i felt pretty bad for them, especially when they asked me how to get to bevery hills. they were not up for a bus ride, in fact they were ready to get out of LA all together. they even asked me, "where are all the Americans?" What makes this even funnier is that they had a flight to catch the next day from LAX to Miami! They were a bit dissapointed to say the least when i told them that spanish was as prevelant there as it is here in LA. i guess they didn't find the America that they were looking for.

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

I was taking the red line to work one day up near universal city and i ran into some australian girls who were in LA visiting and on their way back to their hotel from the theme park. i had asked them where they were staying and they had mentioned that they were staying in macarthur park. i felt pretty bad for them, especially when they asked me how to get to bevery hills. they were not up for a bus ride, in fact they were ready to get out of LA all together. they even asked me, "where are all the Americans?" What makes this even funnier is that they had a flight to catch the next day from LAX to Miami! They were a bit dissapointed to say the least when i told them that spanish was as prevelant there as it is here in LA. i guess they didn't find the America that they were looking for.

I see these people all the time and always try to help them. So many of them are really taken aback by the City. The Knoxville couple said that just flying into town left them slack-jawed: so many miles and miles of lights and activity. L.A. must be really daunting. Regardless, there they were, wandering around with nary a clue.

I cannot imagine visiting a big city without doing some basic research beforehand. They were flaggergasted when they saw the Library, the LA Live complex, Disney Hall - they really had no idea those things existed and couldn't wait to see them.

By the way, they were impressed with the 24 hour Subway sandwich shop on 8th, and the 24/7 IHOP downtown- guess Subway closes pretty early in Tennessee!

[BreaOC]

Originally Posted by pbergen

any thoughts on this neighborhood?

I ended up driving through the westlake area one day because I love the history surrounding Wilshire and wanted to check it out in it's entirety. MacArthur Park (formerly Westlake Park) is PACKED full of history, and for many years was a beautiful park with upscale shopping and housing surrounding it. My grandmother used to sit in the park and have lunch there in the 40's. The park is still surrounded by beautiful architecture (some of it kept up and some of it in need of desperate repair) and the artwork around the park is fascinating to look at. Now, Mac Arther park has cleaned up drastically over the last decade, but is still not a place that I feel safe getting out of my car. It would be such a beautiful area if it would become gentrified, and who knows what the future holds for it. But even with all the culture the area holds, there is no way I would live there. The park is home to homeless, cholo controlled illegal immigrants selling good everywhere, and the drug use in the area is still too high to make one feel comfortable (a perfectly laid back person can become a violent lunatic under the influence of drugs). It really is disappointing.
Westlake, Los Angeles, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by BreaOC

I ended up driving through the westlake area one day because I love the history surrounding Wilshire and wanted to check it out in it's entirety. MacArthur Park (formerly Westlake Park) is PACKED full of history, and for many years was a beautiful park with upscale shopping and housing surrounding it. My grandmother used to sit in the park and have lunch there in the 40's. The park is still surrounded by beautiful architecture (some of it kept up and some of it in need of desperate repair) and the artwork around the park is fascinating to look at. Now, Mac Arther park has cleaned up drastically over the last decade, but is still not a place that I feel safe getting out of my car. It would be such a beautiful area if it would become gentrified, and who knows what the future holds for it. But even with all the culture the area holds, there is no way I would live there. The park is home to homeless, cholo controlled illegal immigrants selling good everywhere, and the drug use in the area is still too high to make one feel comfortable (a perfectly laid back person can become a violent lunatic under the influence of drugs). It really is disappointing.
Westlake, Los Angeles, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is a shame. Evidence of the rich past can be found at the old Westlake Theatre. The vendors who have commandeered the old place let me walk back into the old theatre- still largely intact, much like the Warner at 7th/Hill (now a jewelry mart). I don't feel as much like prey as I used to when I had to walk through it to get to work, but it ain't pretty. If Langers weren't there I probably would visit even less than I do now.

[CESpeed]

The real shame is how developers have systematically destroyed the history of almost all of Wilshire, not just MacArthur. The original Bullock's Wilshire is now a law school, the Brown Derby is now a shopping center, The Coconut Grove and the Ambassador hotel are about to become a high school, Perino's is becoming an apartment building. MayCo is now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Orbach's is now the Peterson Auto Museum. Thanks to the historical society, they can never destroy the Bullock's, MayCo or Orbach's buildings, but what they were is sorely missed.