Best Areas to Live in Los Angeles

[Manfred Lopez]

I'm finally moving to L.A.!!! :matrix: ... So I was wondering if anyone can recommend some good areas / neighborhoods to live in... somewhere centrally located and hopefully in the middle of all the action for someone involved in our trade. I know that in L.A. there in no there there... but I still figure that there have to be better places than others. So if any of you have good tips / strong opinions on the subject, please don't be afraid to share.

[Tico Llaurador]

Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach. Take a map of LA, put your thumb over the Palos Verdes peninsula and draw an imaginary circle with your finger.

Can't beat that. Close enough, yet worlds away from LA's bad craziness. I know people who have lived there for over 30 years and never been to LA proper.

True story.

[Mark Thorpe]

Always heard great things about Compton, South Central and Watts so maybe take a sniff, watch out for the DEA, around those areas.....

Seriously, I have friends who live in Culver City and they love the place. I personally couldn't entertain the idea of living stateside, I'm an island bound kinda bloke.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Manfred Lopez]

Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach. Take a map of LA, put your thumb over the Palos Verdes peninsula and draw an imaginary circle with your finger.

Can't beat that.



Thanks for the suggestions. I once stayed in Manhattan beach (like 10 years ago). I remember really liking it, but I also remember that the commute up the 405 took a while... How bad is it nowadays? And how bad would it be from Palos Verdes?





Always heard great things about Compton, South Central and Watts so maybe take a sniff...

Maybe I can ask the friendly neighbors there to help me unload my gear from the truck... I'll say you sent me. :innocent:

[Lucas Wilson]

Oh man... ask a million people, get a million answers. :) The beaches are great, absolutely no doubt there.

But, except for Sony and FOX, the Studios are all either in Hollywood or Burbank. It's a hell of a hike from the South Bay beaches to Burbank.

I live in Culver City, which I love and my family loves. It is a 10-minute drive from the beach and a 15-minute drive from Hollywood. Sony is in Culver City, and FOX is in West LA, so all the Studios are an easy drive. It is also its own municipality. That means its own fire department, police department, and school system. You call Culver City PD with a problem and they are there in 5 minutes. You call LAPD, and unless someone is actually breaking into your house and you see their face, response time is awful. Culver City schools are on the whole, much better than LAUSD. And downtown Culver City is awesome... tons of cool restaurants, cafes, shops, movie theatres, etc.

But, if you can afford a really nice place close to the beach in Santa Monica or the Palisades, that doesn't suck either. :)

Lots of good places to live. A lot of it depends on your personality, too. I've always found it amazing how different the cultures of the different neighborhoods are, yet they are close together. Hollywood is muuuuuuch different than Santa Monica, which is totally different than Burbank. Yet they are all within 15 miles of each other.

My best advice - rent a place for a month or two. Spend that month or two spending time in all the different neighborhoods. Then settle down somewhere you like.

Cheers,

Lucas

[P Andersson]

when i was in LA, i lived near fairfax and santa monica blvd crossing - right in between hollywood and west hollywood - loved being central - you can walk to restaurants and cafes etc - then moved out to the valley and couldn't take the distance from the city - moved back to NY and walk or bike everywhere - i do miss the wonderful road trips you can do around LA

[Manfred Lopez]

Oh man...

Cheers,

Lucas

Thank you so much, Lucas. This is exactly the kind of post I was hoping for: Full of details and opinions based on personal experiences. I especially found the commute information very useful. Now if i could ask you one more question... What would you say is the personality/vibe of Burbank?

[Manfred Lopez]

when i was in LA, i lived near fairfax and santa monica blvd crossing - right in between hollywood and west hollywood - loved being central - you can walk to restaurants and cafes etc - then moved out to the valley and couldn't take the distance from the city - moved back to NY and walk or bike everywhere - i do miss the wonderful road trips you can do around LA

Thanks for the tip. Interesting that you are in NY. I went from living in NY to moving to Mexico, to now moving to L.A. I would love to go back to NY but I have too much gear and stuff to bring back and still too many loose ends in Mexico (including a feature film) that L.A. is just way more practical at this point.

[Tico Llaurador]

Oh, well... Luki is right. If your aim is to work in Hollywood, Studio City, Glendale, or Burbank, then the South Bay is definitely not for you. You may want to look further North instead. I once lived in Sherman Oaks and liked it. Also lived in Pacific Palisades and loved it there, too. Beautiful and quiet. Beautiful.

But, of all the places I've lived in LA since the late 70s (Ocean Park, Pacific Palisades, USC area, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Sherman Oaks, Playa del Rey, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes), the beaches rank at the very top.

[Mark Thorpe]

Maybe I can ask the friendly neighbors there to help me unload my gear from the truck... I'll say you sent me. :innocent:That would work, well maybe not.

Best of luck in your house hunt.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Lucas Wilson]

Thank you so much, Lucas. This is exactly the kind of post I was hoping for: Full of details and opinions based on personal experiences. I especially found the commute information very useful. Now if i could ask you one more question... What would you say is the personality/vibe of Burbank?

Hot. (seriously)

Typically fairly conservative and very family-oriented. And depending on where in Burbank, heavily Armenian.

But no matter where in the valley - hot as hell.

If you've never lived in LA, one thing that can really shock you is the temperature variations from the different neighborhoods. On a nice summer day, it can be 75 degrees and pleasant and beautiful in Santa Monica, and 100 degrees and friggin roasting in Burbank.

If you live anywhere over the mountain passes in any of the valleys, your life will be, on average, 15 to 20 degrees hotter most of the year then on the Westside. Living without air conditioning in Burbank/Glendale is suicide. But I lived in Santa Monica for 4 years, never had A/C, and never really needed it except for maybe 1 or 2 weeks in summer.

Makes a big difference in quality of life.

If you're going to be renting, sign up for www.westsiderentals.com. That's how I found my first several places in LA. It's an incredible resource.

Lucas

[Alexis Hanawalt]

If you want to be in the middle of it all - anywhere in West Hollywood, Hollywood or Los Feliz/Silverlake. Hollywood has changed A LOT in the past 5 years and can be a pretty fun metropolitan place to be.

[Manfred Lopez]

But no matter where in the valley - hot as hell.

Lucas

Thanks again, Lucas. I had never thought about the temperature differences. That is a great tip. By the way, when you mentioned the valley I couldn't help but remember the scene from L.A. Story where Steve Martin mentions he lives in the valley and some people laugh behind his back... That was a funny movie. I think I'll have to re-watch it for some, er, research on my living arrangements.

[Shawn Booth]

TheThe -

What can you afford? Do you have reliable transportation?

If all you want is central location - H'wood, West H'wood, K-Town, maybe west LA (around Pico/LaCienaga) GOSH! I miss LA from time to time... Sorry, back to you -

What do you do exactly? Do you have work lined up already?
If you're gonna be in production (ie, PA), you'd be situated nicely living close to H'wood. Galpin is right there and usually your starting/ending point of a work day. Line204 is also there - along with many other reasons.... If you're post, you might like Culver City or hell, try the valley.... I don't know... so many variables...

[Michael Schrengohst]

So are you thinking an apartment? Is it only you?
How much does a (something like a 600 sq ft apt)
go for?

[M Most]

If you live anywhere over the mountain passes in any of the valleys, your life will be, on average, 15 to 20 degrees hotter most of the year then on the Westside.

It will also likely be quite a few hundred dollars a month cheaper.

Besides, it's dry heat :bleh:

[Andrew Kimery]

If you want try and stay centrally located I'd say live near Olympic Blvd (it's east/west) between La Brea and Beverly Glen Blvd (both north/south). I recommend Olympic 'cause it's probably the best, big east/west road to utilize. It goes from the beach to downtown and doesn't get nearly as snarled up as Wilshire, Santa Monica, Sunset, or Hollywood Blvd.

As has been previously stated Culver City is nice and their 'downtown' area has a nice pedestrian/small town type vibe to it. I used to live in Hollywood and probably never would again. The traffic is always bad and if you have a gig in Santa Monica the commute can suck, IMO. I'd also stay away from the valley for reasons already mentioned.


-A

[Lucas Wilson]

It will also likely be quite a few hundred dollars a month cheaper.

Besides, it's dry heat :bleh:

Good point on the "cheaper." The the - he's right about that.

But don't listen seriously to *anyone* who gives you the "dry heat" line. :) 110 is 110, man.

And yes - the valley has several days in summer where it's around 105 - 110. My personal record is one of my friends' digital readouts in their car that said it was 121 outside on a black parking lot in the sun on a particularly warm way.

People tend to forget that if there weren't any people in LA, it would revert back to what it was before we got there - a desert. Hot as hell in the day, cold at night.

Lucas

[Zakaree Sandberg]

i live in orange county (as south as you get before san diego).. i make a terrrrrrrible commute to work everyday.. just awefull..
im gunna buy a place in huntington beach soon.. which is still oc, just closer to work than where i am now...
i just hate LA like no other.

[Matt Newcomb]

Well you should really live near your work I'll tell you that. I went from the valley commuting to Santa Monica for a year and that sucked! Now I can walk to work and I save about 2 hours out of my day from being in my car.

I think Culver City is a good compromise, it's not too expensive and near some studios. The valley is pretty cheap too, but like others have said there is a world of difference, sometime as much as 30 degrees, and it's hard to get around from up in the valley if you are going to the west side at all.

[M Most]

Well you should really live near your work I'll tell you that.

True, but if you're going to work in production, that's impossible. One day your work will be in Burbank and the next day it will be in Manhattan Beach. Unless you either a)don't work in production, or b) are lucky enough to get on a television series that's largely stage bound and stays on the air for at least 5 years, you're just not going to be able to choose where your work is. And L.A. is an awfully big place.

One should live where one wants to live and can afford to live. Those are often not the same thing, but if they are, they should be the overriding factors.

[M Most]

But don't listen seriously to *anyone* who gives you the "dry heat" line. :) 110 is 110, man.

Wimp.

Of course, as someone who lived in Marina Del Rey for over 10 years, I shouldn't be one to talk.

[David Wilson]

I'm finally moving to L.A.!!! :matrix: ... So I was wondering if anyone can recommend some good areas / neighborhoods to live in... somewhere centrally located and hopefully in the middle of all the action for someone involved in our trade. I know that in L.A. there in no there there... but I still figure that there have to be better places than others. So if any of you have good tips / strong opinions on the subject, please don't be afraid to share.

Going back to TheThe's original post - It's not so much that there is no there there - it's really that there are so many many theres there.

I lived here chanting my "I hate this place, I hate this place" mantra for seven years until I found my mantra had change to something much more like "I love this place, I love this place"

I live in Culver City now (OK, across the street) and think it is wonderful.

Takes some getting used to, but at the end of the day Los Angeles is an astonishing city - welcome.

[Jonathan L. Bowen]

I live in downtown Los Angeles, it's a very nice area now in the good neighborhoods at least, with high condo values and lots to do. The city is really growing around where I am, the Staples Center, with L.A. Live going in and lots of exciting things happening. It's a nice area, and centrally located.

The beach communities advice, sorry but that's horrible. Filmmakers shouldn't leave near the beaches, it's way too far away from where anything is happening. Beach communities are tons of fun, I love them, but they're expensive and too far away. It takes FOREVER to get to Hermosa Beach, even with no traffic. It's still like 45 minutes from downtown L.A. I hate that place, no parking, miserable streets getting there, it's just annoying. It's pretty once you're there, but if you don't live there, forget it. I won't even go there anymore. If a city cannot be bothered to build parking, I can't be bothered to spend my money in your city and on your city's businesses. It's very simple. No parking, no people. Last time I drove 25 minutes around just looking for parking when I was going to the Hermosa Beach Film Festival, which was a fun event. But forget that city.

If I could live anywhere right now, and it would take no work for me to make it happen, I would live in The Burbank Collection in downtown Burbank. I don't want to sound like I'm promoting them (I'm an investor downtown in Los Angeles, Elleven, Luma, and Evo buildings on this block, so uhh please move here?! Haha), but what I love about that building is its right in the middle of the action. You see it, and you think it should be an office building maybe or retail, but nope, it's luxury condos with 80 restaurants right next to it, three movie theaters, Tae-Kwon-Do studios (matters to me), a nice area, no bums, no people begging for change, great production facilities nearby, my storage facility is in Burbank (24 hour access), it's just a great area. That's where I'd live. The problem is that place is expensive, I don't want to say it's overpriced because I think that's a nonsense term, if people will pay it, it's not overpriced. But my place is about $500,000 for 960 sq. feet, and they have 695 sq. foot units starting in the low $400s? Forget that. I should be able to get an equal size unit for cheaper, it's Burbank, not nearly as desirable an area as where I'm living. But they didn't make many units, that's the problem, and it does have a lot of advantages for entertainment professionals who work in Burbank.

Also, Burbank Armenian? You must be confused. GLENDALE is Armenian, and it's next to Burbank. Burbank is much whiter than where I live, at least, and I see a good mix of people of all cultures and backgrounds. But no poor people, which is great, I frankly get sick of that downtown. I hate driving through crappy areas being exposed to bad construction, losers on the streets, just junky areas everywhere. It's really obnoxious. But in downtown L.A., that's how it goes, these few blocks are luxurious and expensive and nice, the next few are ghetto and trashy. It's also not very white, I will say that, I mean honestly I feel sometimes like I don't see any white people where I live. It's disconcerting to me, because that's not diversity. That's just full on invasion. I like diversity, where you walk into a bar and you see all types of people, that's how it SHOULD be. Not like 100% Asian, or 100% hispanic, or 100% white, etc. But for some reason that's how it goes here, it's like the most diverse city around, except that these diverse groups don't intermingle, they just stick to their own areas or something. I haven't quite figured it out yet. I hear that L.A. is about 49% white, I keep thinking, WHERE?! I see maybe 15% white people.

[Tom Lowe]

i live in orange county (as south as you get before san diego).. i make a terrrrrrrible commute to work everyday.. just awefull..
im gunna buy a place in huntington beach soon.. which is still oc, just closer to work than where i am now...
i just hate LA like no other.

me too. i have lived in Dana Point and commuted to Burbank/Hollywood/LA.... it's pure torture. I also tend to hate "LA" and only go there for work or some special event that you can only do in LA.

Long Beach is kind a nice middle ground between LA and OC. Seal Beach is also nice. north of LA, Malibu is awesome, if you can afford it.

[Greg Huson]

Oh man... ask a million people, get a million answers. :)

I live in Culver City, which I love and my family loves. It is a 10-minute drive from the beach and a 15-minute drive from Hollywood. Sony is in Culver City, and FOX is in West LA, so all the Studios are an easy drive. It is also its own municipality. That means its own fire department, police department, and school system. You call Culver City PD with a problem and they are there in 5 minutes. You call LAPD, and unless someone is actually breaking into your house and you see their face, response time is awful. Culver City schools are on the whole, much better than LAUSD. And downtown Culver City is awesome... tons of cool restaurants, cafes, shops, movie theatres, etc.


Lucas


I can't believe you live in Culver City and have never been to our shop. Good lord, you could put a demo system right here, and bring people by any time you want (ish.) Practically walking distance. And we used to be across the street from Sony! I hope you've become a regular at the new FO!

On topic, I'm a paleface from the northwest, so I can't stand the heat- consequently I vote for the beaches. If you're breaking in, then Burbank/Studio City/Hollywood Hills/Silverlake/ something like that. Culver City is really great now, too - they must just be giving Liquor licenses away because every square footage of retail space in this formerly sleepy little town is now a killer restaurant.

Also, if you're adventurous, consider downtown LA. There IS actually a there, there. In addition to the long-lofty warehouse district south of downtown, in the last 10 years many of the 50-100 year old formerly abandoned buidings have been loft-ified. (a while back, downtown LA moved a couple blocks and simply left the old buildings behind- 'old' is something very unusual in LA.) They're working very hard to get youngsters to move in, and with new lack of credit for mortgages, prices are falling fast. It's close to everything- there's even a small studio right smack in the middle of downtown. Subway to Hollywood/universal/ probably even Warner Bros and Par if you don't mind walking a little. Light rail to Culver City from downtown is under construction. It can be a pretty rough downtown- but you're tough, right?

[Manfred Lopez]

Thank you all so much for your responses. It's all extremely helpful. I especially loved the details about everyday traffic routs to avoid/use. This info is priceless... Now, to answer some of your questions:


MY ACTIVITIES:

1. I will mostly be involved in two activities: one (the main one), focusing on developing and producing feature films, with the first movie to be shot in Mexico, which is already mostly funded (low budget)...

2. and two, trying to land gigs DP'ing and/or renting out some of my gear that I'll be bringing up (I decided to just bring camera and sound this time around as that will mostly fit in my SUV). The idea is not to eat too much into my production fund while I get the first film rolling.

3. I also plan on taking a lot of meetings with all kinds of segments from our industry: casting, crew, producers, companies, etc...


MY PRIORITIES FOR A PLACE TO LIVE:

1. Parking and easy access is my number one consideration for choosing a place. I have a feeling I'll be loading and unloading camera gear a lot and I don't want it to be a two-man operation each time just because the car is not right next to my door.

2. Centrally located... I am trying to avoid a 'Commute from Hell' created after trying to save a few bucks on rent or because I was trying to live in a 'funner' place. I am coming to LA to work. I already had enough of beaches having been in Mexico for the last 3 years.





TheThe -

What can you afford? Do you have reliable transportation?




Yes on transportation. And I don't know yet on how much I want to spend on rent. I guess it all depends on what the location is. Having lived in NY I guess I won't have sticker-shock like many others might have. But at the same time every extra penny spend on rent is a penny less for my film.




What do you do exactly? Do you have work lined up already?



Like mentioned above, I guess I would classify myself as a 'halfway-there-to-opening-day' Producer moonlighting as a DP / Director / Gear-Renter... I already produced one feature film, but that project is not likely to see the day of light any time soon as the movie is currently all tangled up in bureaucratic Hell as the biggest investor was a state government in Mexico and they recently switched administrations... :ranting2:

On the question of having work already lined up in LA... the quick answer is not right now... but I'll leave that for another thread once I'm settled in. :)

[Tom Lowe]

Find a Cougar in the Hollywood Hills to take you in. :)

[Mark Thorpe]

Find a Cougar in the Hollywood Hills to take you in. :)Now thats a plan, shhhh, don't tell the missus :biggrin:

[Sarah C.]

Ha! Great thread. I've been commuting to LA daily from Ventura and am looking to move closer sometime. I've been asking the same questions and been getting about the same answers.

TheThe.. be careful about shooting in Mexico. I'm trying to get a feature off the ground too and involving south of the border scenes.. but I will not shoot south (especially cuz it involves gunfighting).

If you make it to LA.. we should do coffee!

~Sarah

[donatello b]

find a place that is within a few miles of Hollywood & Vine - the closer to 101 the better to get over the hill into the valley ... something off Franklin drive would be nice .... i lived up Beachwood for a year and it was close to most studio's ..
however, i preferred living in Venice/Santa Monica area ( within 1 mile of beach) ..
freeways are jammed during rush hours and there are back streets you can take to get to hollywood but if you have to go over the hill into the valley then it is 405 from Venice/Santa monica and it is ugly during rush hrs ...

[Adam Clark]

i lived on effie street in silverlake for 2ish years and it was amazing. it was on the hill facing west - i had a great view of griffeth park. i could see the ocean on clear days. silverlake has a great energy. great diners nearby - fred62 and eat well. great thai down the road at rambutan thai, probably the best green curry on earth.

[dino g]

Ahhh...Venice...nothing quite like it.

artists, beach, production, post, agencies, poor people, rich people, black, white, asian, latino....a true melting pot.

[Manfred Lopez]

TheThe.. be careful about shooting in Mexico. I'm trying to get a feature off the ground too and involving south of the border scenes.. but I will not shoot south (especially cuz it involves gunfighting).

If you make it to LA.. we should do coffee!

~Sarah


Hi Sarah

You are right about having to be careful in Mexico. But it all depends on how you approach it. I've had very good luck by involving local and state governments. Mexico can be a harsh place if you don't take the people there into account. But once you 'provide' a proper place for them in your plans I've discovered that the doors magically open up, as most people down there are secretly thrilled to help out a movie production. And lastly, I would always always always avoid the border states... just way too much fear, uncertainty and violence.

Oh, and I would love to do coffee once I get to LA (should be there in about three weeks). I'd be very interested to learn about your project (and to find out what made you run from Mexico :) ).

[Florian Stadler]

I used to live in Venice and moved to Echo Park a little over a year ago. The only thing I miss is the beach itself. Other than that: Better access to bars, restaurants, parks, cultural institutions, downtown, the Studios, the Freeways etc. Plus people are much more neighborhood minded.

[reality]

Ahhh...Venice...nothing quite like it.

artists, beach, production, post, agencies, poor people, rich people, black, white, asian, latino....a true melting pot.

and crazy people too :)

[Sarah C.]

LOL.. I might qualify a crazy myself.. the miles of driving and hours of work I do for the love of production???

TheThe.. you know where to find me! I would love to hear your thoughts of shooting in Mexico and trade notes on indie features. I suppose we could even invite other "Reds" to join in if anyone else is interested.

~S

[Shawn Booth]

I lived on Franklin, Runyon Canyon - great area, clean, usually quiet, a little more expensive than most places in H'wood.

You should check out westsiderentals.com

Donatello's right though, a few miles away from Hollywood and Vine sets you up close to a lot of things (and the Valley's too hot anyway).

[Manfred Lopez]

TheThe.. you know where to find me! I would love to hear your thoughts of shooting in Mexico and trade notes on indie features. I suppose we could even invite other "Reds" to join in if anyone else is interested.

~S

That sounds like a good idea. I'll make a proper invitation to everyone once I'm in LA. In the mean time I have to figure out this moving thing out. Everyone's posts have been a real help so far. It's always interesting to hear a range of opinions.



I lived on Franklin, Runyon Canyon - great area, clean, usually quiet, a little more expensive than most places in H'wood.

You should check out westsiderentals.com

Donatello's right though, a few miles away from Hollywood and Vine sets you up close to a lot of things (and the Valley's too hot anyway).

Thanks for the tips. Well, with both you and Lucas mentioning West Side Rentals, I think that sounds the way to go (plus the ol' craigslist of course). Thanks again for all the help.

[Andrew Kimery]

find a place that is within a few miles of Hollywood & Vine - the closer to 101 the better to get over the hill into the valley ... something off Franklin drive would be nice .... i lived up Beachwood for a year and it was close to most studio's ..
however, i preferred living in Venice/Santa Monica area ( within 1 mile of beach) ..
freeways are jammed during rush hours and there are back streets you can take to get to hollywood but if you have to go over the hill into the valley then it is 405 from Venice/Santa monica and it is ugly during rush hrs ...
Argh, I used to live near Beachwood & Franklin and hated it. There is always traffic because of the location (next to the 101, natural bottle neck because you are at the base of the hills, etc.,) parking is horrible, and whenever you drive anywhere you always have to slug thru Hollywood traffic.


-A

[Jacob_Ross]

JonathanLB .... whoa.... I detect a subtle trace of the "R" word

I hear Silver Lake/Echo Park is cool...

I've stayed in Hermosa, it rules but its far from stuff (industry stuff I reckon) but I think that the rad-ness makes up for the far-ness

how bout dat inland empire bruh?

[David Mullen ASC]

I've been hear since 1982 and have lived in:

As a UCLA student:
briefly Panorama City (north of Van Nuys)
Westwood Village

After graduation:
West LA (near the Nuart Theater)

Then went to film school at CalArts in Valencia, so:
Newhall

After graduation:
Winnetka in the Valley south of Northridge

After the Northridge Earthquake wrecked my apartment complex and my wife changed jobs:
West LA (near the Nuart Theater again)

Then:
MidWilshire/Fairfax near LACMA

Now:
MarVista near Venice High School (near Culver City, Venice, Marina Del Rey)

Trouble with the film industry is that production can take place anywhere. I shot a TV series in Santa Clarita, and two features this summer there -- now I'm shooting a TV series based out of Occidental Studios south of Silver Lake, near Koreatown, etc. So my commuting patterns change all the time (not to mention, I often shoot out of town.)

There are many things I like about being in Mar Vista near Culver City:

The temperature is more moderate and pleasant year-round
I'm several blocks from Lincoln Blvd. which is a fast trip to LAX for me
I'm close to the 405 and 10 freeways but not too close
Venice Blvd. is a nice diagonal street that runs NE from where I live, connecting me to northbound streets to Hollywood
I'm not too far from the beach but I'm not too close
My neighborhood is not as upscale nor as expensive as the surrounding neighborhoods

And commuting north to Santa Clarita for productions hasn't been too bad since most of the time, I'm driving the opposite direction of rush hour traffic up the 405.

Downside:
It's not super-convenient for getting to Hollywood and even worse for Burbank/Glendale.

So I'm partial to the Westside in general -- Culver City is a particularly nice area to live in, shop in, see movies in. And there are a few stages around that area (Fox, Sony, Culver Stages).

But I think the Glendale/Burbank area isn't a bad idea either, though warmer in general in the summer than the Westside.

Silver Lake / Los Feliz area is also a good idea.

I would tend to avoid the SF Valley though, except the places along the freeways like Studio City, Sherman Oaks, etc. Although at least when I lived in Winnetka, it was a quick trip to Panavision Woodland Hills.

[Manfred Lopez]

I've been hear since 1982 and have lived in:

[...]




Thank you very much for your suggestions, David. Your posts are always obligatory reading and a joy to read. And now thanks to you we have an official ASC opinion on where to live in LA... :) I can't imagine how this board could get any better. Well, maybe if Mr. Jannard himself also contributed his opinion on the topic of living arrangements... but then again he would probably just suggest to buy half of Nevada (the other half) and just fly in to LA for breakfast each day.

[Tico Llaurador]

That sounds like a good idea. I'll make a proper invitation to everyone once I'm in LA. In the mean time I have to figure out this moving thing out.

Makes two of us, TheThe. I'll be moving back to SoCal within the next ten weeks myself. And to think I used to live out there just five years ago!

It's like that Eagles song- "You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave!"

Good luck with the move and hope to meet you out there sometime.

[Greg Huson]

Freakishly this thread got me thinking about the various places I've lived- almost always some version of the west side, due to the temperature thing- BUT it reminded me of the FIRST place I lived in LA, probably like 25% of the people in this industry, and I highly recommend it: The Oakwood.

http://www.oakwood.com/

It's a month-to-month overpriced apartment, but still cheaper, and bigger, than a hotel room. The best known of these is on Barham behind Universal just up the hill from Warner Bros. It's on the road between old hollywood and 'working' hollywood (burbank) so it's well located for lots of work; and you only have to stay a month or two until you decide where you want to live. It's well known for housing a bizarre combination of kid-actors who are in for either work or pilot season, crossed with wanna-be rock stars who are either recording in hollywood or attending classes at MIT or the like. Very interesting pool scene, needless to say. That's where I'd start- that gives you a little breathing room to decide where you'll move first.

[Andrew Walker]

If your going to be going to Warner Bros., Universal, Disney, DreamWorks and some of the TV studios. Then I think Burbank is the best place for that. But like many places it has its good areas and bad areas. I use to live near the corner of Grismer and San Fernando and that place was ghetto. Some times I would wake up to gun shots pretty close to my condo. As Luki said it does have a high population of Armenians, which seem to really not like anyone that's one of them.

But a couple years I got out of that place and moved closer to the studios into a nice little house and its like moving from South Central to Pasadena. Most of my neighbors work in the industry and its super quiet on my block. Takes me 5 minutes to get to any of the major studios around me and I can go home for lunch. I use to live near Huntington Beach and do that commute and that sucked. Sometimes I'm going out to Fox for weeks at a time and the drive is horrible. Takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 1hr & 15min.

So if your moving here for the work I would say live close to where you want to work.

[Matt Newcomb]

Now:
MarVista near Venice High School (near Culver City, Venice, Marina Del Rey)


Sounds like we're practically neighbors. I'm right off Palms near Centinella.

[Arnaud Paris]

I know this is going to sound weird to get advice from a Parisian guy, but I must have lived in more than 8 different locations in LA over the last 6 years and my final word would be to go and live in the Topanga Canyon... if you can find a place...

It's a beautiful place and I know it's a 25mn to 60mn ride to the Burbank, Hollywood or any place related to work. But you're going to have long drives anywhere you chose to live! You can't say that living in Culver you'll never get to work in Pasadena or the opposite; and with the crazy 405 you'll be in not matter what. So if you'll get the drive anyway you might as well get back to a less crazy home at the end of the day and enjoy a bit of peaceful nature environment.

I think I spent the best time of my LA life living over there and as I said before the most difficult won't be the drive but finding a place over there!! But there is always some sublets to find if you look deep enough in the local ads.

Good luck

[Lucas Wilson]

I know this is going to sound weird to get advice from a Parisian guy, but I must have lived in more than 8 different locations in LA over the last 6 years and my final word would be to go and live in the Topanga Canyon... if you can find a place...

Arno's other favorite place to live in California is Humboldt County... ;)

[Manfred Lopez]

Makes two of us, TheThe. I'll be moving back to SoCal within the next ten weeks myself. And to think I used to live out there just five years ago!

It's like that Eagles song- "You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave!"

Good luck with the move and hope to meet you out there sometime.


Thanks for wishing me luck (I'll definitelly need it to sift through all the suggested neighborhoods mentioned in this thread :) ). By the way, don't forget to let us know on this board when you are in town. I can already foresee many interesting meetings coming out of this.



Arno's other favorite place to live in California is Humboldt County... ;)


Is this some kind of California inside joke? What's up there?

[Arnaud Paris]

I think Lucas is referring to this movie:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810022250/info
Which I have not seen.
And he's probably saying that because Topanga has a bit of a reputation for a being place where a lot of hippies are living, smoking drugs and loving mother nature. Maybe this also has to do with 99% of Topanga's population going to Burning Man in September.
Can't comment on that cause I was living there too long to be objective and I have too many friends up there! But I'm sure Lucas has ended up in Topanga many times on late weekend nights singing songs with the guitar by the firepit... Oh and I'm sure Lucas is a burner as well!! ;-)

[Manfred Lopez]

Okay, let me see: ...On the margins of society ..."The Lost Coast" ... marijuana farmers co-existing peacefully within the rural community... Burning Man... Naked mud dancing... Lots of burning things up...

Okay I think got it. I swear that I learn something new every day. I did know about burning man, but it really never had entered into my reality. I guess the east coast is very different from the west coast. :) I wonder if anyone has ever taken a Red into this part of the world. How would you protect it from the mud while dancing?

[Tico Llaurador]

But I'm sure Lucas has ended up in Topanga many times on late weekend nights singing songs with the guitar by the firepit... Oh and I'm sure Lucas is a burner as well!! ;-)

Luki, as your legal advisor, I suggest you don't comment on any of these statements!

:innocent:

[Arnaud Paris]

You should have seen the Assimilate gang at the IBC party... they know what partying means!

[Lucas Wilson]

I guess the east coast is very different from the west coast. :)

Ummm..... yes. :)

Lucas

[David Birdy]

I lived in the Marina and really liked it!

It's close to LAX, the beach, Culver City, Venice, Santa Monica & COSTCO!

Check out West Side Rentals.com for rentals...... & bring lots of money!

Dave