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I lived in a good area (Woodland Hills) for two years, and a so-so area (Van Nuys) for another two and didn't experience any crime at all during my four-year L.A. run! I am originally from small-town Midwest, but had lived in Miami for four years, so I was used to city life as well. You will be fine as long as you have some street smarts and know when to mind your own business, like you said.
I don't think you will have a hard time fitting in at all. I have lived all over, and recently moved back to FL, but somehow I am still feeling like L.A. is "home." Best of luck to you!
I don't understand the point of this posting. It sounds to me like you read things that you didn't want to, so you want everyone to contradict what you've read and write what you want to hear so you can justify making a move. You obviously want to move to LA in spite of what you've read. Long story, short: I grew up here and I can't wait to leave. LA does not live up to the hype. If you've read the threads you know you need a lot of money to have a decent life here. Will you have that? If you don't believe or accept the things you've read here, just come on and you'll see for yourself.
I don't want people to tell me things that I want to hear. I've read plenty of bad things about LA and wondering what are the good things. If I just go with a bunch of negative thoughts about this place then I'll probably end up quitting school and working at McDonalds for the rest of my life, which is what I don't want. I want to go to this school but reading all the crap about LA is really changing my mind. I've heard one side of the story now I want the other. I'm prepared to take the good and the bad here. Also, it's not that I don't believe what I read here, I just want to know more and what better way than to hear from those who have lived and seen. I appreciate every one's opinion and am eager to hear more.
Rach, if you have street smarts you will have no problem in LA. If you recognize areas and situations you should stay out of (like the ghetto areas), if you understand how to handle low lifers when walking in the more urbanized areas (like downtown), if you understand it isn't the greatest idea to be out bar hopping at 2 a.m., if you know how to watch around you 360 degrees when on the street (you turn your head frequently and gaze out of the corners of your eyes to watch your own back), if you realize how to visually confront strangers by simply glancing at them to let them know that you are aware they are there*, then turn away so as not to get into a staring contest, then you have sufficient street smarts to survive in Los Angeles or any urban environment.
(* So many people are so oblivious and unaware of their environment in any urban scene. Bad people prey on unawareness and lack of street smarts. If they see that they cannot approach and surprise you, or if approached if you repel them by rejecting any conversation--my favorite saying: "Not interested" or "Not interested, leave me alone"--if you show them you are not a mark then they will leave you alone and go bother somebody else.)
Most of LA you don't need any of that, but everybody should understand when putting yourself on high alert is the smart thing to do. I'm just about to take a 45 minute exercise walk in my residential neighborhood, and the only skill I need here is to look every direction before crossing streets, to avoid being run down by some careless driver. Most of LA is just like this, the only problem being run down by a car. The picture of LA as a gang ridden crime ghetto is a stereotype, and only applies to the worst areas of LA. Just stay out of them, and be careful what kind of people you hang around with. Keep your nose clean (no drugs). You'll be fine.
What's to like? The weather, the huge amount of things to do, entertainment, restaurants, shopping, the employment and business opportunities.
My advice is you should come here, attend your school, graduate, then move some place nicer to begin your career. Or maybe you'll find like me that your career advancement and opportunities tie you to Los Angeles or similar cities. Then you can do like me, have your career here, then move to a quieter, prettier place when you retire. I'm almost there.
i suggest you ocme visit LA before moving out here. check out the area by your school, check out the areas where you might live and figure out if it is something you can enjoy.
LA is a big city, with big city ammenities, big city dreams and big city problems. crime and violence are concentrated in certain areas, but dont be fooled. like any major city, stuff can happen anywhere.
its like a car accident.
you might be minding your own business, minding the rules of the road, and then bam!!! some jerk rear ends you. this happens everywhere right? well some people want to beleive that because this is LA, or because we have more traffic, or more "foreigners" or whatever, that you are more prone to accidents in LA. reality is that stuff can happen anywhere.
anyhow rach, good luck and i suggest a visit(if possible) before moving.
North Hollywood is good, Pasadena is good, Studio City is good etc. Come visit the area. Los Angeles is a big place. It is different in various areas of the city and county. Burbank is another nice place. If you are a creative person with dreams of a career in the Arts, you have to be a risk taker and bold. You can't be scared of Big Bad LA. Please Believe, if you are timid and afraid, and scared to walk out of your front door, your as good as done in this place. Yes be safe. Be smart about where you choose to live. If you want to be in LA, then be in LA. Be confident and focused.
Ignore the histrionics here. It's not representative of most residents. Usually when people hate it here, they leave. The ones who hate it here would typically be happier in the boonies and if they leave, that's where they almost always go. I was somewhere I didn't want to be last year, I left and came back here. Now I'm happy. Easy fix, no reason to suffer. There are lots of different places for lots of different people and I don't think anyone should live a place they don't like and simmer in misery.
L.A. isn't for the lazy or unmotivated, just like NYC. 7-11 workers will have a hard life here. If you bust your butt and you're on a mission, you may be handsomly rewarded. I have been repeatedly as well as my friends.
I've been here most of my almost 40 years and I've never been a victim of crime except 2 broken car antennas. A drunk fell against the first one outside my work in 1991 and late last year something happened to the one on my MBZ, I don't know what. That's it. I've lived all over this city, walk alone at night at 2am, take public transportation at all hours even though I have 2 cars...you get the idea. If you've lived in NYC, you're street smart and know what to do and what not to do.
As a NYC resident, you'll get frustrated with things not being centralized but see this as a hundred urban villages all clustered together and you may figure it out. Art, music, theatre, entertainment...it's all there, you just have to look for it. Also, resist the urge to traverse the entire L.A. Metro area on a semi-daily basis. It serves no useful purpose. Most of us pick a neighborhood we love and live in it. Some of us choose to live in one neighborhood and work somewhere far and live much of life in the car. This isn't me. Live where you work (or go to school in your case).
It's not NYC, it's it's polar opposite. I love both places. Good luck no matter what happens. I did the "move away" thing a few times, lived all over in sensational places and came to the conclusion that L.A. rocks and I'm never leaving again.
resist the urge to traverse the entire L.A. Metro area on a semi-daily basis. It serves no useful purpose. Most of us pick a neighborhood we love and live in it. Some of us choose to live in one neighborhood and work somewhere far and live much of life in the car. This isn't me. Live where you work (or go to school in your case).
I've read this type of advice many times - that you should stick to your neighborhood and you'll be happy in L.A. But what's the point of living in a huge city when it's so difficult to get from place to place and you stick to your neighborhood most of the time?
One of the benefits to living in a large city should be the ability to have lots of different experiences on a regular basis, not just once or twice a year. In most of the L.A. metro area, if you want to attend an event more than a few miles from where you live, you better have lots of time and lots of patience.
Is it honestly THAT bad? YES it's that bad. But if you are going to LA for school for a wile and then move that may work. But to live in Los Angeles, NO WAy.
LA Gangs are invading Catalina, And they have to take a boat to get their. So just think what Los Angeles is ilke?
this is exactly the type of fear mongering crap you should IGNORE! "gangs are invading Catalina"!!!hahaha. give me a break! It's so amazing how small minded people will read one little article and act like the sky is falling.
LA is not even one of them most dangerous cities in America and is a lot safer than most cities that people think it would not be. BOSTON, MA has a HIGHER CRIME RATE than Los Angeles, just look at the stats on this site but I bet 9 out of 10 people would think Boston has a lower crime rate. LA is not as bad as it's made out to be. Many idiots leave LA and Southern CA and move to AZ and NV for "less crime" even though both states are more dangerous than CA and both LV and Phoenix are more dangerous and have a higher crime rate than LA. Same thing with cities like Dallas and Houston, BOTH have HIGHER CRIME RATES than Los Angeles. If you have lived in DC and Miami, both of which have higher crime rates than LA, then you'll be fine here and don't have anymore to worry about than those cities, maybe even less. Californians' are somewhat spoiled and full of it but don't realize it.
I've read this type of advice many times - that you should stick to your neighborhood and you'll be happy in L.A. But what's the point of living in a huge city when it's so difficult to get from place to place and you stick to your neighborhood most of the time?
One of the benefits to living in a large city should be the ability to have lots of different experiences on a regular basis, not just once or twice a year. In most of the L.A. metro area, if you want to attend an event more than a few miles from where you live, you better have lots of time and lots of patience.
Mostly I advise people to live where they work and make sure that neighborhood fits there needs. Do you really love to commute? Commuting across the metro area is mostly useless. If you lived in Brooklyn would you have the need to go to Atlantic City every few days? I think not. I go to events all week and weekend and it usually takes me a few minutes to get to each. I have no need to go to (some random places) Downey, Pico Rivera, Woodland Hills, Malibu...you get the idea...on a semi-daily basis. Would I need to go to an event during rush hour? Not if it's far-flung. Occasionally I do but I take off early. Mostly I keep in my area. Do I go to a place like Long Beach or Malibu during rush hour? Of course not. I know traffic times, routes and patterns and can get pretty much anywhere I want.
I go wherever I want and there's enough entertainment in a 5 mile radius to keep me busy for the next 10 years. I picked a good neighborhood for my needs. Because we're such a huge city, I'm continually discovering places and things to do and I've been here almost 40 years.
In summary, I DO have lots of different experiences on a regular basis: concerts, theatre, art, intimate settings with live music, cafe culture, world class dining and shopping, obscure and classic cinema, the best flea markets I've ever found, beaches...things you've never even heard of...I could go on and on. My favorite restaurant is Sir Winston's on the Queen Mary. It's the closest thing you can have to dining on the Titanic. I go to Hollywood parties every couple months thanks to my partner who is in the entertainment industry. Night before last I saw my second favorite film which was best picture 1950 on the big screen. The only living major star (Celeste Holm)entered, came up the aisle and flopped down next to me. Another in a long line of dreams of mine that have come true here. Only in L.A.
I just moved back to SoCal after living 11 years on the east coast. A little bit of advice, try living and Thousand Oaks and commuting to your school. It is VERY safe, a few minutes to the beach, and a great place to live.
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Depends on where you live
