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So I asked some questions about LA neighborhoods 6 months ago when I was looking into a job there, and everyone one this board was really helpful...so thanks for that! In the end, I wound up taking a job here in DC instead, but recently I've been interviewing for another LA job. So I'm here to ask for advice on where to look for apts again, but this time I have a lot more info that might help narrow down the search.
The Facts:
The job is near Wilshire and Fairfax.
I don't have a car, just a Vespa. This is going to limit my range somewhat, as I can't be taking it on the highway or anything like that. So I need to live somewhere either A) within a few miles of my job or B) near public transit that can get me to my job without too much hassle.
Ideally I'd like to live in a walkable urban center. Somewhere with a good density of shops, services, and restaurants, and bars and with streets that don't feel like highways. I understand I'm not going to find a neighborhood like Dupont Circle in LA, but I'd like to find the closest thing.
I want to live near transit. Ideally rail, but buses will do if they're decent.
I need a 1-bedroom, and my budget is $1,200 max. I understand that LA is a little pricier than DC, so hopefully this is too much to ask.
Nothing too quiet, nothing too suburban. I like streetlife, nightlife, and artsy, edgy places.
Can you guys help?
I have tons more questions, but I'll leave them to another thread before this gets any longer. Thank you in advance!
When I was out in LA earlier this year, I really fell in love with Venice. Between the boardwalk, the canals, and that Abbot Kinney street with the shops, that is a really fun and beautiful neighborhood. I know that living in Venice and commuting to this job would be a nightmare, but is there anywhere with a similar vibe closer to Wilshire + Fairax?
I moved from DC to LA in 2005 (not in LA currently, although I miss it!), and was very pleasantly surprised to find that there are more walkable, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods than I, at least, had anticipated. The area around Wilshire and Fairfax has a lot of stuff, but to me never felt all that exciting. Same with Park La Brea. Still, I admittedly haven't spent enough time there to have a really good opinion, and you might want to check it out because it is walkable and the commute would be perfect.
Since you want to live near rail you might also consider either Hollywood or Koreatown. Koreatown is rougher around the edges than Hollywood, but there are some beautiful historic apartment buildings at good prices, and the neighborhood itself has tons of stuff going on (it's also one of the highest density neighborhoods in the US). You could hop on a bus on Wilshire to quickly get to work, and there's the Purple Line that comes over as far as Wilshire and Western. Wilshire and Vermont is where the Purple and Red Lines split, so that's a convenient spot if you wanted to be able to quickly hop on the train to go to Los Feliz, Hollywood, downtown, etc.
Hollywood itself has some things in your price range. That's where we ended up when we moved, as it was cheaper than our first choice, Los Feliz. Turned out we loved Hollywood, and it was an easy place to live without driving. It's a high density area with both subway and bus connections; the commute to your work would be fairly easy, or you could just catch a 780 Rapid Bus (runs through Hollywood on Hollywood Blvd, then turns south on Fairfax and crosses Wilshire). West Hollywood would be even closer, and while it lacks subway it has good bus connections, and there's lots of restaurants and bars and it's very walkable. It tends to be a more expensive, but I've seen recent listings for under $1200.
Overall, though, if you don't mind a neighborhood with a little grit and a blend of the high-end and the low-end, Koreatown might be the best option when you factor in your budget, location, and wish list.
Hollywood (the central part, anyway) feels more big city in the sense of density and, to some degree, some level of dirtiness; parts of West Hollywood are kind of grimy, too, but other parts are far more upscale. Hollywood seems to have a wider range. West Hollywood is well-known for its gay and its Russian populations. West Hollywood overall seems more trendy. (Hollywood has its share of trendiness, too, but mixed in with other stuff). The Hollywood Farmer's Market on Sundays is one of my favorite places in LA; it brings together a really eclectic mix of people and has fresh produce, food stalls, live music, among other things. Hollywood also has the subway, which for us was a big deal. West Hollywood is still only accessible by bus. (the buses aren't bad, but for going places like downtown it's much easier to just hop on the Red Line and skip the transfer and/or the bad street traffic).
There are lots of places to shop and eat in that area. If you go towards 3rd and Fairfax, you'll find the Farmer's Market and The Grove (The Original Farmers Market and The Grove )
I know there are a lot of stores along Wilshire but I'm not having much luck finding links to them.
I highly recommend the Hancock Park district. It is located next to Koreatown and Wilshire Center districts. I know the area extremely well, and it is MUCH safer than Hollywood or just about any other area in that general area.
Hancock Park rents for 1 bedroom will be right at your limit, so it will be close. Hancock Park is a quiet, clean area of nice homes and some good apartment buildings with mature trees that make a very nice walk. It feels like you are in a suburb, away from a city, but, in fact, you are next to Hollywood, Farmer's Market and The Grove, Beverly Hills a short hop away, and yet, Hancock home prices and rent is often a tad less than those places without the filth and noise and creepiness of adjacent neighborhoods or Hollyweird because it doesn't have a "cool" factor like other areas with hip nightclubs around the block, but it is the hidden gem of a neighborhood. The streets--in the residential sector--are so nice, quiet, and lacking in traffic that there are several driving schools who use the streets for the students to drive. I've seen as many as 3 different companies with student drivers in less than 2 minutes.
It is a VERY easy and quick Vespa ride to Wilshire and Fairfax, and you can use the more Vespa friendly side streets such as 3rd or 6th streets to get to Fairfax instead of the more "highway" feel, as you describe it, of Wilshire Blvd. Again, Hollywood and all the other places I mentioned are also easy to get to by Vespa.
Transit is actually GOOD in that area of Los Angeles. There is freqent bus service on Wilshire blvd, and 3rd street to Fairfax. Wilshire busses can be packed, but West 3rd St, bus line 16 and 316 actually start to EMPTY west of Western Ave. just entering Hancock Park. Always plenty of seats heading Westbound, but many SRO (standing room only) eastbound during the rush. Oh, it is about a 10 minute bus ride to Fairfax, and you have the option of walking to Wilshire or transferiring to a bus for a 4 block ride.
At the very eastern edge of Hancock Park, in Wilshire Center/Koreatown at the intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Western Ave. is the current eastern terminus of the Metro Purple line subway. This line heads east and stops at a transfer station to allow connections to the Red Line for service into the heart of Hollywood (Although 2 busses from HP to Hollywood would be faster because you don't have to head in the opposite direction and wait for the connecting train).
Both Purple and Red line continue east to serve downtown Los Angeles that may be a prospect for future employment, as well as an area that can be fun to visit on a day off such as visiting the LA Central Library or access to symphony and Opera, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and eclectic food. Also, the subway and Blue line LRT is just a few blocks from LA Live and Staples Center should you want to do anything there. The subway also connects to the Metro Blue Line with service to Long Beach as well as connection to the Green Line with access to LAX (I've taken it many times) or the South Bay.
Subway continues to Union Station for connections with Metrolink commuter trains (serving the many northern/coastal, northeastern, eastern, southeastern, and southeaster/coastal--including Orange County--suburbs. Also, the Gold Line is at Union Station providing service to Pasadena (everybody in LA loves Pasadena--great restaurants, etc.) and Gold Line Eastside service with a stop at Little Tokyo.
So, in other words, you would have pretty good public transit. Please go to www mta dot net for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportaion Authority (everyone just calls it the MTA) and start poking around. Look for the "Virtual Tour of the Subway." It is just like riding it because you virtually take the subway and make your way to the street and get a street view, as well.
Another possibility is the Fairfax District or Miracle Mile district (Wilshire/Faifax is in the Miracle Mile), and they are right next to Wilshire/Fairfax. BTW, the Los Angeles County Musuem of Art (LACMA) is at that location
You should be open to the possibility of rooming with someone--either you get a roommate or you become someone else's because with your rent limit, it will be very hard to find a place in a decent neighborhood on your own. Believe me A LOT of people in LA roommate with someone because it is often the only way people can afford to live in a decent building in a reasonably safe neighborhood, and I mean they do it in suburbs and Orange County, as well, because it is expensive rent EVERYWHERE.
Oh, the nearest village to Hancock Park is Larchmont Village, (about a 3 minute Vespa ride away) a very small, but excellent area for original restaurants (there are a couple of chains) and support businesses and banks branches all with difficult parking, but EASY by Vespa or even walking. There are no movie theaters there to ruin the the little village, so it remains small scale and for grown-ups, but that is its appeal.
I can tell you one apartment building my aunt lived in--a nice one--1 bedrooms were going for about 1,200 a month, but that was a year ago. Also, LA is a rent control city, so once you are in, you may want to stay for awhile.
I do hope this was of help.
Last edited by HarryKerry; 11-13-2009 at 05:56 AM..
Thank you everyone for the thoughtful feedback. However, given what I've heard in another thread I started, I'm leaning towards staying here in DC for now. Figured I'd mention it before anyone else takes the time to post.
So I asked some questions about LA neighborhoods 6 months ago when I was looking into a job there, and everyone one this board was really helpful...so thanks for that! In the end, I wound up taking a job here in DC instead, but recently I've been interviewing for another LA job. So I'm here to ask for advice on where to look for apts again, but this time I have a lot more info that might help narrow down the search.
The Facts:
The job is near Wilshire and Fairfax.
I don't have a car, just a Vespa. This is going to limit my range somewhat, as I can't be taking it on the highway or anything like that. So I need to live somewhere either A) within a few miles of my job or B) near public transit that can get me to my job without too much hassle.
Ideally I'd like to live in a walkable urban center. Somewhere with a good density of shops, services, and restaurants, and bars and with streets that don't feel like highways. I understand I'm not going to find a neighborhood like Dupont Circle in LA, but I'd like to find the closest thing.
I want to live near transit. Ideally rail, but buses will do if they're decent.
I need a 1-bedroom, and my budget is $1,200 max. I understand that LA is a little pricier than DC, so hopefully this is too much to ask.
Nothing too quiet, nothing too suburban. I like streetlife, nightlife, and artsy, edgy places.
Can you guys help?
I have tons more questions, but I'll leave them to another thread before this gets any longer. Thank you in advance!
--------------------
If $1200 is your limit, then West Hollywood is probably not going to happen. That would be your Dupont Circle equivalent.
But in the zips around Wilshire and Fairfax, you can find 1 br apts for that although they are not a dime a dozen.
I will be sassy here: Is your reason for moving to LA totally based on what you can get for $1200? Or are you interested in LA for other reasons?
Here is the LA Metro map
The Los Angeles Metro Rail system (http://www.westworld.com/~elson/larail/metromap.html - broken link)
LA is amazing. There is everything and no Vespa impeding snow.
:-)
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