Suggestions on GOOD areas of LA? Moving soon! (Los Angeles, Pasadena: apartments, to rent)

[hannahkay97]

My roommate and I are looking to move to Los Angeles. I've lived in Chicago the last 6 years. I love living in a city like Chicago, but last year while I was finishing school, made the decision to move to a new city in the near future.... and well, that time is here! Top of my list are New York City and Los Angeles. I am a teacher and have already begun looking at school systems in the area and depending on when I get interviews set up, I will come out and visit. At that time I would begin looking at apartments.

Now I live in a neighborhood within walking distance to shopping, gyms, beach, bars, restaurants, etc.... and would want to live in a an area in LA with the same kind of feel...

I have a few close friends out there and quite frankly am sick of the harsh weather of Chicago... I am young and feel like making a move like this is more realistic now than it would be down the road. Two of my good friends are planning on moving out there with me so we would be looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom, somewhere in the LA area.... Having there be 3 of us makes it easier financially also.

Any advice is helpful. I am excited to learn more about the area as I am researching it and deciding if this is in fact the next move, and the right move. Thanks again!

[VillageLife]

L.A is pretty big,you need to come and take a look for yourself to see if you want to live near the beach,near the shops,lots of or not a lot of action. What is good for someone,may not be good for you.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by hannahkay97

I have a few close friends out there and quite frankly am sick of the harsh weather of Chicago...

What do your friends who live here recommend? Where do they live? A bit more info would be useful.

[Lovetheoutdoors]

It's been a few years since I lived in LA (I'm moving back myself) but the town is so spread out that there really isn't a neighborhood where so much is within walking distance. However, for you all, I would check out Marina del Rey, Venice, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. As you can imagine, they are all quite pricey but the experience is fantastic (I lived in Venice for over 10 years and I loved it).

[jzt83]

Check out this thread of people listing their hood and the pros and cos:
//www.city-data.com/forum/los-a...orhood-do.html
This is what I wrote:
I used to live in Old Pasadena near Memorial Park.

Pros:
- Conveniently located next to the Gold metro line.
- Beautiful early 20th century architecture
- Bustling nightlife lasting to the wee hours of the night/morning
- very walkable to nearly all the basic necessities
- One of the most beautiful libraries I've seen
- Civic center area is breathtaking with the spanish inspired architecture
- Lots of bicycle lanes and not too hilly
- Great variety of eateries from chains to independent
- nice mid-century architecture
- beautiful San Gabriel mountains in the backdrop presents a dramatic view
- Crime is fairly low as long as you stay out of NW Pasadena
- Pasadena Flea market is awesome and one could find anything there.

Cons
- I don't call it smogadena for nothing, but it's apparently not as bad as it used to be. But I do remember feeling my lungs burning after jogging a few times.

- A loud deafening helicopter hovered the area for hours some days.

- Temperatures are more extreme than areas closer to the coast. It's usually 5-10 degrees warmer and cooler than the coast and periodically with greater extremes in temp differences.

- On the pricey side for the San Gabriel Valley, but not too bad compared to West LA. Studios in nice areas can be found for under 1000.

- Old town is a tad yuppified and resembles an outdoor mall than real neighborhood.

- NW pasadena is pretty dangerous

- Parking sucks. It's illegal to park in the city between the hours of 2am and 6am without a parking permit. Despite of having a provisional permit, I kept getting tickets and had to constantly contest the tickests I received. For the 6 months I lived there, I did not receive a permanent permit and they kept delaying the processing of my information and kept giving me a temp permit that I had to constantly renew every week or two. Guests who park their cars in the city overnight must call the dept of transit in advanced and provide them auto information. When the parking police enters the licenes # (or could be the vin) into their portable database, they won't give you a ticket if and only if the info is in the database.

[the city]

san gabriel valley and san fernando valley are good. the los angeles bay can be pricey. south central is bad, but you can find some OKAY neighborhoods. south central has the best housing prices.

hollywood, downtown, marina del rey, echo park, los feliz, silver lake, mid-wilshire, studio city, and chinatown.

[cmw2133]

OP, search and you will find A LOT of good information on this topic.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

I forgot how nice parts of Pasadena is. Wife and I went there yesterday for the Amgen cycling event at the Rose Bowl. Had a great time. The neighborhood right near the Rose Bowl is one of the nicest in all of LA.

[hannahkay97]

All of this is really helpful.... thanks to all who have replied. I guess I should be a little more specific as to what I will be doing out there, as they may contribute to your advice on areas in the LA region.

I am looking at schools to teach in... hoping to find a job at an elem. school. (cert. k-9)

I have browsed through several schools in santa monica, huntington beach, beverly hills, and a few private schools in downtown la... Most of you have mentioned how pricey these areas are... Would I be okay living here on a teacher's salary? Currently we are paying 1200 for a two bedroom in Chicago, which actually is a great deal.... I would want to look for something comparable with that price range to rent.... probably 1000-1800... Is that ridiculous to aim for?

Also if you can reccommend any schools in any of these areas, that too would be helpful. I am a special education teacher right now, but very open and hopeful to teach in a primary or intermediate classroom.

[nori_garsi]

I used to be a teacher in LAUSD. I would not recommend it. It may be very hard to find a teaching job in LA for the upcoming school year. LAUSD is sending out layoff notices (warning that they may be laid off) to 5500 teachers so there may be a large number of teachers looking for jobs soon. Since you are a special ed. teacher you will most likely have better luck finding a job in that field than in primary or intermediate. Private schools may be a good way to go. If you find a job that looks appealing I would take it sooner rather than later.

When I taught and lived alone I lived in a nice apt. in the Palms (on the westside of LA) area and I paid 1100 a month and it was a nice size 1B/1BA. 1000-1800 isn't ridiculous for a 1B/1BA but it depends on where you want to live...you may be able to find a 2B/2BA at that price as well. We currently rent a 2B/2BA but our rent is about 2800 and we live in West LA. If you work in Santa Monica you can live in one of the surrounding areas that are not too far away. When I was going to grad school at UCLA we rented a 2B/2BA somewhat close to campus for 1800 and it was only about a ten-minute drive to Santa Monica. Good Luck.