Best LA Stomping Grounds

[Eric S.]

Need some advice fellow Red Users:

I'm currently doing some volunteer work out in west LA, but I'll be relocating over the summer to pursue my production career. What parts of town would you all recommend for best commute / value ratio? Considering how spread out work can be in our industry, are there areas where you find your work mostly clumping (e.g. Van Nuys, Burbank, etc.) ?

Right now I'm looking mostly at the 101 / 170 interchange. Good idea or are there better options?

Thanks for the tips and Happy New Year.

[Lucas Wilson]

Need some advice fellow Red Users:

I'm currently doing some volunteer work out in west LA, but I'll be relocating over the summer to pursue my production career. What parts of town would you all recommend for best commute / value ratio? Considering how spread out work can be in our industry, are there areas where you find your work mostly clumping (e.g. Van Nuys, Burbank, etc.) ?

Right now I'm looking mostly at the 101 / 170 interchange. Good idea or are there better options?

Thanks for the tips and Happy New Year.

Eric

I'll jump in first...

The studios are certainly concentrated in Hollywood and Burbank. That being said... live where you feel most comfortable.

Being in your car a lot is just part of life in LA. The sooner you accept that, the happier you will be. :)

I've lived in LA for 11 years now, have always lived somewhere on the Westside, and love it. I live in Culver City now, which is *awesome* and I never want to leave. Culver City is its own incorporated town, so has its own school district, police department, fire department, town hall, etc. It feels very much like a small town that happens to be surrounded by a big city. And from Culver, it's about the same distance for me to get to Santa Monica or Hollywood.

I also have a family (wife, two young kids) and Culver is very safe, tons of parks and pools and fun stuff for kids to do, and is extremely family-friendly. Don't know if that's a concern for you or not.

Other will chime in with their favorites, but my overall opinion is - find the neighborhood you really want to live in that feels right to you, and put up with the traffic.

Lucas

[Damien Collier]

I agree with the last post. It comes down to what you can afford and what you can tolerate. No matter where you live, you will (90% of the time) have a job/gig commuting somewhere across town, even if you live across the street from a studio. It's the irony of living in Los Angeles. Feel lucky when you barely have a commute, because it won't last! Be happy where you go home to every night and where you wake up. Other than that, stay away from Santa Clarita and stay away from Long Beach!

[Juan M.R. Luna]

Agree 100%. My advices... Just live where you like...you are going to be in a car 2 hours a day anyway... so.. (Second advice) buy a motorbike :)

I live in hollywood next to the kodak theater... (but not int he crowded street) and i get to universal and warner in 9 minutes...so i love it :)

[Lucas Wilson]

One other thing - DO get to know the different neighborhoods. Silver Lake is a 100% different vibe and lifestyle than Santa Monica, which is wildly different from Burbank, etc.

The different neighborhoods in LA are *not* homogeneous. There is a very real difference between life in Echo Park and Redondo Beach.

The way my wife and I got to know LA was actually through food. We religiously read Jonathan Gold's column in LA Weekly (I still do) and at least 2 or 3 times a month, we'd go to the dives he would find for the perfect Pho in Westminster or the ultimate Mexico City-style street food vendor in Lincoln Heights, or the blow-the-top-of-your-head-off Somtam everyday Saturday at the street fair outside the Buddhist Monastery in Sun Valley.

It taught us the city, and also gave us many memorable meals when LA was still a very strange place to us.

It still is strange, but I really do love this city. :)

Lucas

[Eric S.]

I'll jump in first...

The studios are certainly concentrated in Hollywood and Burbank. That being said... live where you feel most comfortable.

Being in your car a lot is just part of life in LA. The sooner you accept that, the happier you will be. :)

Thanks for the insight. I have some friends in Culver City. It does have a nice vibe. Wish I spent more time there. I spend a lot of time in Santa Monica now and know what you mean about the small town feel in a big city. I would enjoy living there, but can't afford it just yet.

I spend about two hours a day now commuting, which isn't too bad. I'm just trying to not go too far over that. I've actually almost started liking a bit of traffic. It gives you time to reflect and wake up / wind down from work. Throw in some good music, an occasional audio book, and you're set.


I agree with the last post. It comes down to what you can afford and what you can tolerate. No matter where you live, you will (90% of the time) have a job/gig commuting somewhere across town, even if you live across the street from a studio. It's the irony of living in Los Angeles. Feel lucky when you barely have a commute, because it won't last! Be happy where you go home to every night and where you wake up. Other than that, stay away from Santa Clarita and stay away from Long Beach!

It's a cold irony to face, but until we get our flying cars, I suppose the commute is unavoidable in LA. Interesting that you mentioned Santa Clarita. I worked at a shelter up that way for some Station Fire victims. I don't think I'd want to live that far out, but it does seem to be growing fast. Especially considering that Disney will be building a big complex out there. Disney Expanding Studios (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010527.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&query=disney+santa+clarita)

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Edit: That's a good idea to explore LA through food. I'll have to try that! I'm still looking for a good pizza.

[Lucas Wilson]

... I would enjoy living there, but can't afford it just yet.

Eric - contact me off-list at lucas.wilson (at) gmail (dot) com. I have friends in real-estate that may be able to help. Lots of good deals out there that are not in Westside Rentals or traditional sources.


I spend about two hours a day now commuting, which isn't too bad. I'll have to try that!

Two Hours?!?! Dude... that's harsh even by LA standards. We can do better. : )


I'm still looking for a good pizza.

North End House of Pizza in Burbank. I lived in Boston for 8 years and spent a long time in LA looking for a decent slice. These guys are actually old-school Italianos from the North End in Boston who make pizza here and do it right. It's the only place in town I can walk in, ask for a slice and be happy with what I get.

Abbot's pizza in Venice is good too - but is very "LA." The bagel-dough crusts are a gimmick, but a really yummy one. I prefer the kind of slice that you have to fold in half to wick the oil off of... *that's* a slice.

Lucas

[Zakaree Sandberg]

I absolutely 100% unequivocally HATE LA... Therefore im stuck in a care about 1.5-3 hours (per way) to get to work and back.. so a good 4 hours a day basically.. but i get to live in OC by the beach... and I wouldnt change that

[Eric S.]

I absolutely 100% unequivocally HATE LA... Therefore im stuck in a care about 1.5-3 hours (per way) to get to work and back.. so a good 4 hours a day basically.. but i get to live in OC by the beach... and I wouldnt change that

Haven't been down to the OC yet, though I'll probably get a chance in a few months. How do you pass your commute? Do you listen to any audio books? I probably only read three or four Stephen King works before I moved out to LA. I've run through just as many in audio books since I've been out here!

[Eric Ulbrich]

Burbank, near Toluca Lake is a great part of town too. I'm really only 10 min from Hollywood and dont have to get on the freeway to get there. Most of the studios are close. Im a stones throw away from Warner, Disney and less than 15-25 min away from Paramount, Ben Kitay and Sunset Gower The only thing that kind of sucks is when you have a call time early morning in either Santa Monica or Culver city. Getting to the south westside can sometimes be quite a chore. My main reason however for moving to the area was going to rental houses. most grip lighting houses are less than 20 min away and im never fighting traffic to get there. Anyways, hope it helps!

[smithy]

It all depends what type of work you will be doing? Be it front or back of camera will help you make choices where to live. FYI..the studios usually start their mileage calculation from the studio base, aka production offices to location. But if there is no studio base, the the 30mile mileage calculations start at the corner of La Cienega and Beverly Blvds. (AKA Beverly Center). I personally live in Weho, and since Beverly Center is only a few blocks I find that getting to location daily hasn't been a chore. Considering most of my work days are leaving my home around 5-6am in the morning and coming back near 8p-9p on a typical shoot day. Another thing to consider, Weho has rent control where as L.A. doesn't.

[Adam Clark]

i lived in silverlake(effie street) for a few years and it was lovely. i work mostly in post vfx from my home office so work related travel really was not a big part my life. the worst of it was that sometimes it could take an hourish to get to the beach even though i could see the ocean from my porch on the rare clear day.foodwise, i was just north and up a hill from 'eat well' at sunset junction which does great brunch. also nearby was 'rambutan thai' - some of the best thai in the galaxy. vermont ave is close, 'fred62' is the bomb for breakfast with a boddington's ale at 1:30am. quick to points n/s on the 101 and 5, 10 is relatively close to points w.

sigh.... i miss silverlake.

[Tim Duran]

Consider the No Hollywood/Studio City area: easy up and over Laurel Canyon to West LA or cross to Barham Blvd to Studios, Burbank, Van Nuys, etc

[rod bradley]

Lots of good advice here -- but no one has mentioned downtown. Which has an interesting transitional vibe now -- gentrification meets traditional grit -- a great central library with a Getty gallery and weekly often free programming of literary luminaries (and one of the best DVD collections outside Netflix) and the trying hard Museum of Contemporary Art as well as the Music Center and Disney Hall -- and of course the LA studios on Bunker Hill, scene of a Red day & week -- as well as the home to some of LA's underappreciated but world class artists. And the grand central market -- and Clifton's (about to close, I fear) -- and lots of little known LA landmarks. A kind of compact, easy to bike or even walk around, urban concentration.

I have no idea what your budget is or what you're looking for, but there are a lot of loft conversions lying empty -- and still some pretty good deals for interesting work/live space or work only space that you can get away with living in.

Incidentally, downtown has the best public transportation grid in LA -- with the 25 cent dash buses and metro subway intersections and various express buses to outlying areas (if you're a public transport person).

A downside, depending on time of day, it is a nasty hub of congestion with relatively few alternatives for getting around.

At any rate, worth taking a look at or visiting at least -- I know people who've lived on the Westside for years who've actually never been downtown.

Another favorite area, small town with still a somewhat yuppie bohemian feel, is the legendary Venice. (Gotten expensive though.)

[Justin Harrison]

I recommend Studio City or Southbay if youre up for a drive to work. The traffic and time spent in the car is made up for in beach days...

[Igor Ridanovic]

North Hollywood will be cheaper than Burbank, cheaper than Hollywood, Silver Lake, etc.

The west side is expensive. Unless you'll be working there it hardly makes sense to look for a place there and commute (but you'd be close to the ocean).

When I had flexibility to move as I please I would actually move closer to my office. At one point I lived across the street from Fotokem. Now, that's a short commute.

[Richard Goodwin]

I agree with people posting. If you just want to save money Hollywood, North H. or Studio City are good starts if you just want cheap.

Have you thought of subletting for 6 months? By that time you might get into a work groove that will help you decide where to live.

My one piece of advice would be to live somewhat close to one of the major freeways such as 5 or 101 etc... that lead to the studios. (one of the arteries that leads to big places :)) Because no matter where you go you will most likely have to get on a freeway. And if you spend 20 minutes every morning just getting to a freeway that is a big waste of time.

Downtown and north of there might be good. Don't forget there are studios downtown and lot of Location shoots go there. I'm in South Pasadena which seems remote. But is actually close Burbank and Downtown and not too bad to H. Wood. Its an alternative you might want to check out because the town is very nice and safe and not too expensive (and a lot of shows shoot there because it can look "old" and East Coasty).

Another area is Just west of the 101 on Franklin. Its a good starting out area and nestled between H Wood and Burbank. I would not want to live there forever. But, there are lots of decently priced apartments there and its well located for work and fun.

Overall its a good time to start renting as the market is down.

As others said you are going to be doing a lot of driving no matter what.

[Bret Weeks]

If you end up working in Burbank, the North East Side (Altadena / West Pasadena / South Pasadena) can make for a fast commute- I was in there for a decade with only a 20 minute commute up the 210 to La Tuna Canyon laughing every day- never complained unless it was on fire.

Universal, Disney & Warner were just down the street-Sucked if you were going to Paramount though.

Stay away from the 405 & the 10. As FAR as possible.

Good luck!