Questions about Culver City/Palms/Mar Vista for new USC grad student (Marina: apartments)

[tybear83]

Hello All,

I am going to USC in the Fall for Public Policy and have narrowed my apartment/neighborhood search to the Culver City/Palms/Mar Vista area. I am looking for a 1 bedroom apartment with my fiancee and don't want to pay more than 1200. We are more interested in living in a relatively nice area than having easy access to nightlife and bars and like the area because the commute to USC is not that bad and we will be close to the beaches.

I had a few questions about the area and I was hoping people could give me some advice.

All of the apartments I am finding online are in Palms and Mar Vista, not Culver City itself. Are these places fairly similar? Is it a big dropoff between Culver City and Palms?

Also, are there areas/streets/locations that I should be avoiding in these places because they are dangerous? In general I would prefer not to live on a big street like Venice because of the noise, but is it also a little safer away from the main intersections?

Does anyone have any experience with commuting from this area to USC via public transportation? Is it possible. I keep reading about the light rail going up in 2010, that will be awesome for my second year.

Would it be worth it to add on the extra 20 minutes and live in Marina Del Ray or Venice or am I getting the most bang for my buck staying closer to the 10 freeway?

Thanks for you advice!

[BRinSM]

all the above are fine neighborhoods with plenty of students from both usc and ucla. if i were you, i would pick palms or culver city simply because they are closer to your campus. also, mar vista is really lacking in the night life department, but marina del rey, venice, and santa monica aren't too far away. lastly, $1,200 isn't going to get you much as far 1br apartments go, probably maybe 700sf (probably less) with parking for 1 car and shared washer/dryer. Venice and MDR aren't going to be options at your price point. actually, you might be able to find something in venice, but definitely in the sketchier area. i personally prefer not to have drug dealers walking down my street, but that is just me.