Your favorite LA neighborhoods? (Los Angeles, Long Beach: crime, house, safe area)

[Tasksgirl]

Glendale - It has that urban gritty feel and it's vibrant and yet it's safe. It's just gorgeous with the views and the mountains and its super close to downtown and an easy commute to ANYWHERE. Relatively cheap for being as nice and safe as it is.

[Larkinhill]

Pacific Palisades
Malibu
Manhattan Beach
Hollywood Hills
Burbank
Hermosa Beach

[missionhome]

I like a lot of the neighborhoods mentioned. In particular I love the architecture in Angelino Heights. I wouldn't live there, but I love the Victorian homes and just exploring there. There are few areas of Los Angeles so well preserved and I just think it is a really charming neighborhood. Shame there aren't more Victorian homes throughout the city.

I like coastal neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica, like Miracle Mile and Westwood for that L.A. urban feel, and love Pasadena too.

[timelesschild]

I love love love Silverlake...the hillsides, houses, retail, charming original eclectic atmosphere - it's wonderful.

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Downtown: Because this is the birthplace of the city. The variety of architecture is incredible: historic beaux-arts to more recent Frank Gehry.

The old Alexandria hotel has the ghosts of Valentino and even Woodrow Wilson made a speech there in 1919. Still need better street designs to encourage pedestrians. Homelessness is a problem but downtown shouldn't be a dumping ground for the region.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

We could live many places but really like the Miracle Mile/Fairfax areas (and Hancock Park is nice to jog through). The location works, and the suburban/urban contrasts are fun. If I didn't work downtown, Venice would be near the top of our list as well.

[antialphabet]

Silverlake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, East LA, Koreatown, Mid-City area.

[majoun]

I'm personally surprised that so many people mentioned Koreatown as one of their favorite parts of town - I guess there are quite a few people who miss the ambience of Hollywood in the bad years. K-town does resemble the Hollywood of 20 years ago more than Hollywood today does, complete with hookers, drug dealers, extreme seediness, gangs, etc. and a very mixed population of poor Latino and Asian immigrants along with white hipsters and screw ups. There is some pretty interesting pre-WW2 architecture there, however safety is a definite problem, and I could easily see gentrification attempts there failing due to the overall crappy economy. I guess it's better than Van Nuys (for example) though because at least it has better architecture and public transport.

Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Venice, WeHo/Fairfax, Larchmont Village, Santa Monica, etc. are rather predictable responses although accurate for any listing of favorite areas. Culver City does finally seem to be getting its due as is Glendale. West L.A.'s Sawtelle area should also be mentioned for its Japanese restaurants, bookstores, and cafes. Westwood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and northern Santa Monica have gotten far too homogenized and sterile for my taste, although Westwood is still a very good (and extremely safe) area. The Echo Park thread indicates more people are rediscovering the hidden gems of that very historic part of L.A.

[antialphabet]

Originally Posted by majoun

I'm personally surprised that so many people mentioned Koreatown as one of their favorite parts of town - I guess there are quite a few people who miss the ambience of Hollywood in the bad years. K-town does resemble the Hollywood of 20 years ago more than Hollywood today does, complete with hookers, drug dealers, extreme seediness, gangs, etc. and a very mixed population of poor Latino and Asian immigrants along with white hipsters and screw ups. There is some pretty interesting pre-WW2 architecture there, however safety is a definite problem, and I could easily see gentrification attempts there failing due to the overall crappy economy. I guess it's better than Van Nuys (for example) though because at least it has better architecture and public transport.

Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Venice, WeHo/Fairfax, Larchmont Village, Santa Monica, etc. are rather predictable responses although accurate for any listing of favorite areas. Culver City does finally seem to be getting its due as is Glendale. West L.A.'s Sawtelle area should also be mentioned for its Japanese restaurants, bookstores, and cafes. Westwood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and northern Santa Monica have gotten far too homogenized and sterile for my taste, although Westwood is still a very good (and extremely safe) area. The Echo Park thread indicates more people are rediscovering the hidden gems of that very historic part of L.A.

Koreatown: fun to visit, wouldn't live there.

[King0fthehill]

Sawtelle:

Lots of new avant garde architecture popping up (along with McTuscan condos).

Great proximity to Westwood/UCLA, Santa Monica and even Beverly Hill.

Myriad of great Japanese sushi/shabu-shabu/curry/karaoke houses and cool little stores with Asian import toys/magazines/candy, a wealth of other amenities such as grocers etc.

Oh, and decent transit access with Metro Rapid Lines 720 (Wilshire Blvd), 704 (Santa Monica Blvd) and Big Blue Bus Rapid 7 (Pico Blvd).

Carthay Circle:

Classy Spansh Revival/castle-type homes with intricate details such as stained glass.

Quaint, reserved feel replete with lush foliage and quiet streets.

Good schools.

Proximity to Beverly Hills, the Wilshire Corridor and the Fairfax District.

Diverse mix of residents and many of whom are involved in community organizations.