The "Dangerous" Areas of LA County? (Los Angeles, Long Beach: live in, area code)

[James T]

Originally Posted by cgmaetc

While I agree that Compton/Watts is not the most desirable area, there are some very cool things to see and do down there. Watts Towers is a landmark and Leimert Park has great restaurants. Don't forget the great shopping: the BCBG, Guess, and Tahari outlets are all located in Compton.

And like the man said, troublemakers are seeking out other troublemakers. Stick to the main streets and you should be fine.

If he's White he should go nowwhere near Compton or Watts. There's nothing "cool" about getting physically assaulted.

[noniel]

Originally Posted by DBLAZEMDM

L.A only has a few areas that are bad enough that you "definately" want to stay away from. South Central I don't recommend, East L.A is pretty bad, but remember most of the homicides in L.A are gang related so unless you look,dress, or ARE a gangbanger then you should be ok. North East SFV can be pretty bad but most of the violence is gang fighting over there. To me it really dosent matter. Any real dangerous city you go to isnt going to be that bad for a visitor unless your "looking" for trouble.

You don't sound ignorant, I don't blame you for wondering considering all the L.A gang movies or stories the media feeds out about L.A. As a tourist I wouldn't worry so much, but stay the heck away from south central unless you want to visit Compton which has the worst murder rate per capita in the entire nation. a 10 mile radias and about 70 to 80 homicides a year. Find me a 10 mile radias in the U.S thats that bad.

where is south central exactly? I'm trying to look online to see what are the ares by zip codes to stay away from. I hear a lot about staying away from south central, would you happen to know the zip codes that covers that area?

[SandyCo]

South Central covers most of the area directly south of downtown L.A. It's true that there isn't much to see there, anyway. Any of the usual tourist traps should be fine (Santa Monia Pier, Universal Studios, Disneyland, etc.), especially during the day as was already mentioned.

If you find yourself driving through a bad area, just keep going - and stick to the main thoroughfares. The last thing you want to do is try to take a shortcut and end up going down a street or alley that dead ends.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by SandyCo

South Central covers most of the area directly south of downtown L.A. It's true that there isn't much to see there, anyway. Any of the usual tourist traps should be fine (Santa Monia Pier, Universal Studios, Disneyland, etc.), especially during the day as was already mentioned.

The Staples Center, Convention Center, USC, Coliseum, Sports Arena, Natural History Museum, California Science Center, California African-American Museum, and other attractions in the area aren't worth seeing?

No part of Los Angeles is immune to crime and the "usual tourist traps" have had their fair share of murders, muggings, and the like. The LAPD offers several tips for tourists at the following link...
http://www.lapdonline.org/prevent_cr...asic_view/7732

[SandyCo]

Well, The Staples Center and the Convention Center are technically still downtown. The Natural History Museum is in mid-Wilshire, isn't it? And while I can't say that nothing ever happens, I'm sure that the tourist attractions are significantly safer than being in the middle of gang territory with no police presence in sight. I feel perfectly safe at Universal City Walk, for example, even at 10:00 on a Friday or Saturday night.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by SandyCo

Well, The Staples Center and the Convention Center are technically still downtown. The Natural History Museum is in mid-Wilshire, isn't it? And while I can't say that nothing ever happens, I'm sure that the tourist attractions are significantly safer than being in the middle of gang territory with no police presence in sight. I feel perfectly safe at Universal City Walk, for example, even at 10:00 on a Friday or Saturday night.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is located at 900 Exposition Blvd. which places it in Exposition Park. Gang members are fairly mobile and have been known to hang out at tourist attractions as well as at Universal CityWalk, so unfortunately, no place in the Los Angeles area is completely safe.

[noniel]

where is exactly south central? This way I know where its located to stay clear from while looking for a place to move into this summer...

thanks!

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by noniel

where is exactly south central? This way I know where its located to stay clear from while looking for a place to move into this summer...

thanks!

Officially, "South Central" has been referred to as "South Los Angeles" since 2003 when the L.A. City Council unanimously voted to eliminate to use of the term.

For the most part, "South Los Angeles" is a 16 square mile area south of downtown Los Angeles, bordered by the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) in the north, the Harbor Freeway (I-110) in the west, the Century Freeway (I-105) in in the south, and the Long Beach Freeway (I-710) in the east. However, the local media expanded the "South Central" moniker to include Baldwin Hills, Windsor Hills, View Park, Leimert Park, Willowbrook, Watts, Ladera Heights as well as the city of Compton and North Long Beach. Generally, anywhere in Los Angeles County that had an African American population has been referred to as "South Central" at one time or another.

[noniel]

thank you Jonah K for the info on south los angeles boundries...
very helpful!

[CTownNative]

Why do people think that just because your white you are going to get killed in a African American neighborhood.Black people generally kill other black people when they do kill.But most black people are not ferosouis murderers either.Really the only way I think I white person could get killed in an African American neighborhood is of they themselves are hanging out with Thugs.Or if a stray bullet hits you.But if you got caught up in South Central in a car and you got kids I dout a group of Black people are not going to start anyting with you.Im from Cleveland which is 51% black and I never had got trouble from blacks.Thats because not all black people are bad.I mean hey not all white people are good.