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[joeybee12]

1. Well, here's my two cents

Santa Monica is beautiful, but you'll freeze your butt off. The marine layer can last for months--you might not see the sun for a while.

Brentwood is a little farther from the ocean, better weather.

But if safety is your concerned, I'd go with Beverly Hills, they have their own police force, and outsiders really are kept out.

One more point, BH is dull. If you want proximity to walking to shops, or even a short drive, Brentwood and Santa Monica have actual neighborhoods--you know, walk to the corner store, coffee shop, etc. BH ain't like that.

Have fun.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

2. are you going to change your handle to PeteLA?

:)

[Name removed]

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[Cat Atomic]

3. I love Pasadena and Sierra Madre.

Pasadena is clean, it's nicely arranged, it's got the Norton Simon Museum and the Huntington Museum, a big arboretum... and tons of shopping. Oh- and it's safe.

And it's got the Rose Parade.

Lots of great restaruants in old town Pasadena, too.

Sierra Madre is just outside of Pasadena, but it's really like a small town. It lays along the base of the mountains. I think they have something like 5-8 cops in that town- it's got extremely low crime (especially for LA County).

[realFedUp]

40. I also love Pasadena

and it's not as old ladyish as thought. Lots
of culture, good restaurants, close proximity to Burbank,
freeways, the new Gold Line connects it to downtown
and rest of lines.
But if you like a good deli, they are out in
the San Fernando valleys.

[Capn Sunshine]

56. Good Deli

Arts. period.

[speckledgator]

5. I hear

Compton is nice!

[Name removed]

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[VermontDem2004]

10. I've been there

It's a really nice place and as for safety. No one is going to do anything to you during the day time despite all the myths and rumors. Believe it or not I seen middle aged white men in Compton. But the best place I've been in California is Long Beach though.

[Cat Atomic]

15. Blech. I live in Long Beach and I don't like it.

I want to move back to Pasadena. :)

Were you down near 2nd street... the beach... Belmont Shores... that whole area? That part is very nice, I must admit. Downtown is very nice. The Long Beach Playhouse is good... restaurants, all that stuff. The art district on fourth street is good, too.

Ok, maybe Long Beach isn't so bad- I just can't get used to the layout. It's like every street is main street. Sort of sprawly- like Orange County.

:p

[radwriter0555]

7. Santa Monica.

All of LA is safe, save for the fools who let themselves become victims by acting stupid. It's a good city.

However, Santa Monica is a very nice yuppy little city with plenty to do, plenty of money.

Brentwood is either all college or the walking dead.

Beverly Hills is all middle eastern, walking dead and sales clerks.

You'll do fine in SM.

[T Roosevelt]

8. Having visited there a few times

the places that stand out in my mind are Santa Barbara (though that may be too far) and Newport Beach. Both were beautiful, the kind of places I think of when I picture southern California. Another cool place was Ojai...quaint little place (at the time anyway).

Any Cali people have any thoughts on these places?

[truthseeker1]

14. Not LA

All of these places are not considered even part of the LA Greater Area - maybe Ojai, but I doubt it. They are all great communities but if someone's looking to live in LA, these would be too far out of the reach of the city.

[catzies]

17. Ojai's in Ventura County. About 25 mins. from me northeast.

I'm in Camarillo, the first town you come to up the coast from Malibu. The LA county line is 15 mins. south of me.

Ventura County is "Reagan Country." x(

[VermontDem2004]

9. Long Beach!

[meow mix]

37. Lakewood!

its the best midcity i think =)
the others (artesia,bellflower,paramount,ect) tend to have a lot of yucky, downtown-style neighborhoods.

lakewood is more OC like, but well outside the orange curtain.

as far as safty goes, and having a "friendly feel".. its very much on par with any other portion of the LA basin.

[newyawker99]

62. Hi meow mix!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[truthseeker1]

11. Studio City

I like Studio City. But it's on the other side of the "hill" so it all depends on which side you want to live on, or which side you'll be doing most of your work on. You have ABC, NBC, CBS, WB, Universal and Disney on this side. Plus an awesome view of the San Fernando Valley and the mountains. But again, depends on whether you prefer a mountain view or the city view. You have quick access to the 101, 170 and 134. Ventura Blvd. is very quaint and has lots of shopping. Lots of people out on the sidewalks, cafes, coffeeshops, etc. - a little more of a suburban feel though. Coming from NYC, it may not be your thing.

Of course, Santa Monica and Brentwood are great too - as the people above have already mentioned - between the two I would pick Brentwood. One other beach community that is really nice and seems very safe and family-oriented is Hermosa Beach. It may be a bit far from the center of things though, unless you're dealing with Sony/Columbia, MGM, MTV alot - they're not too far from HB. Making the trek from HB to the valley though sucks - about an hour commute in traffic - sometimes longer.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy it here as much as I do!

[baby_bear]

12. Venice Beach

I lived there while attending grad school at UCLA. It's wonderful, but's gotten kind of spendy the last few years. It has character, is near the beach -- or on it if you can afford that -- or on a canal if you prefer. Close to Marina del Rey to the south, easy ride to the airport, and Santa Monica is just to the north. You can hop on Highway 1 and take a terrific drive north along the ocean. Anything inland, such as Pasadena, will be hot and smoggy, and horrible traffic to get from here to there.

The westside never gets too hot and you have the beach. What more could you ask for? I sure miss it (I'm in Washington state now).

s_m

[VeniceBeat]

29. Venice Beach Rules!

:hi:

Here's the perfect solution to living in SoCal: A house/studio in Venice, a retreat in Topanga Canyon and a cheap shack in Joshua Tree/29 Palms for occasional weekend rave-ups.

Right now we only rent an upper duplex in Venice with a small art studio. We're working on the rest of the dream. :) A house back East would be great, too.

Venice Beach is the best place I've lived in SoCal. I've lived in Hollywood (not in the hills), Westwood (I lived in a grannyflat near UCLA-- twas fun but crappy parking), Santa Monica (in a single in the Sea Castle before it burned down), Los Feliz/Silverlake for a year (before it became superhip). I have friends that live all over town. I'd rather live in Eagle Rock that Sherman Oaks or Studio City.

Our duplex here is a block from a dog park, two blocks from the beach and the wacky boardwalk, a block from a bank, a greengrocer, independent coffeeshops, a great bookstore, Abbot Kinney Blvd. boutiques, art galleries, a weekly farmier's market, bars and restaurants-- heck, if the hardware store and drug store and hadn't closed a few years ago we'd never have to leave! There are lots of post houses on the Westside, too.

I think of Venice as Greenwich Village by the sea. The nightlife isn't as dynamic but the mix is about the same. Venice is at least as safe as Greenwich Village and the air's better. :)

There are prettier, quieter areas of Venice than where we live-- if money's no object, there are beautiful old Craftman homes on Walk Streets and by the Venice Canals.

Get a couple of rusty old beach cruiser bikes and chill out in Venice, dude!

Harry Perry, the rollerskating Hindu Hendrix, awaits you!

[IranianDemocrat]

41. Woodland Hills!

;-)

[LibDemAlways]

13. Hey Pete

If you're considering the beach, check out the South Bay - Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo are just south of LAX. Plenty of apartments, restaurants, shopping and "small town" feel - even in the midst of the big city.

[DoctorBombay]

19. Redondo resident here

Manhattan is very nice and safe. It's the most expensive of the three. Many athletes live here, especially the LA Kings hockey players. Nice area with nightlife near the pier. A tad conservative, though.

Hermosa is wild! Definition of a beach community. Pier Ave has restraunts, bars, shops. Younger, a lot of singles. Party town.

I'm in Redondo, which is almost two cities. North Redondo is inland, just residential and a bit industrial. I'm in South Redondo, walking distance to the beach, as well as a great little area called Riviera Village, with some cool restaurants, coffee houses, bars. Small, but cool. The one drawback to S. Redondo is that you are ways away from the freeways, which is nice but inconvienient sometimes.

Good luck!

[DBoon]

16. Glendale? Culver City? Rancho Park?

Glendale has had a reputation as a stodgy white-bread anglo community, but no more. It has a nice rennovated downtown, and is likely much more affordable than Santa Monica or Brentwood.

It would be close to Burbank studios, but a real hike to ones on the west side.

I'd suggest thinking about Culver City, as well as the neighborhoob around Pico and Westwood called Rancho Park.

[cosmicdot]

18. Bel-Air

if money is still not an object ... I'm available for adoption and rescue from the bubble-boring-bland life of Irvine
:)

[Snow]

20. I really don't think safety is such a big deal....

and you said price wasn't (which was my first thought when looking at your list - them are expensive places!). Anyway, I and one or two other DU-er's live in Altadena, which is up the mountainside from Pasadena, and really like it. I moved here about a year and a half ago from Omaha, after 10 years there. Altadena's a mixed, although to some degree segregated, community, 1800 feet up on the side of the San Gabriels. In general the San Gabriel communities are very pleasant - people have already mentioned Pasadena and the surrounding communities (Altadena, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, San Gabriel, Arcadia, San Marino, Alhambra, South Pasadena, Eagle Rock). One they haven't mentioned is La Canada-Flintridge, just to the west of us across Arroyo Seco. Pricey, on the segregated side classwise, but very pretty, and safe, as the saying goes. Glendale is likewise very pleasant and offers a lot of variety, like Pasadena.

I suppose what matters is the sort of environment you prefer - mountains or the beach kind of question. Brentwood is near UCLA, big museums, Westwood Village. Santa Monica is funky beach town gone upscale. Beverly Hills really is kinda dull, like someone already said. The communities south of Santa Monica, maybe south of LAX are very nice, although commuting would be a bit of a pain. The agony of commutting here, like safety, is overblown. You can get hung up traffic, but it's not a given, and the Metro Gold Line light rail just hit Pasadena (& Sierra Madre), so in 20 minutes you can be at Union Station, & from there the World is yours! Anyway, the San Gabriel Valley communities offer a lot of variety, pretty scenery, easy access to a very large national forest, snow and everything, but they are significantly hotter in the summer than, say, Santa Monica, and here in Altadena we're about a 40 minute drive from the beach, if that's what you prefer.

I'd come out, tell the realtor what type of place you like, without specifying locations, and let them show you a wide variety. I'd avoid mentioning safety as well; that's often read as a code for "we don't want to live near anyone that doesn't look like us." which I'm sure isn't your intent, but a realtor could easily take it that way. Relax, it's a really nice city and has an enormous amount of variety to offer.

[Name removed]

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[cosmicdot]

23. Irvine ... the whole town is owned by Irvine Company ...

each neighborhood has a little shopping center within walking distance ... so, it seems ...

http://www.shoptheirvinecompany.com/centers.asp
click on map of all centers in bottom left square

http://www.irvineco.com/

what's the comparable NYC neighborhood ya'll hoping to emulate?

[boilerbabe]

54. Irvine's nice...

But he's looking at probably at least a two hour commute, stuck in traffic to get to the Santa Monica area! What do you think of Silver Lake or Laurel Canyon?

[Snow]

31. If she can't drive, I'd suggest avoiding the San Fernando valley and the

"Inland Empire" - you can look online
http://socaltip.tipnetworks.org/
http://www.scag.ca.gov/transit/
http://www.goventura.org/transit.htm
http://www.metrolinktrains.com/?play_at=map
http://mtaweb6.mta.net/
to see which areas are well served by public transportation. Good walking communities are common, but not ubiquitous. For example, the western part of Pasadena is a good walking community. The eastern part, not so much - more separation of residential from shopping, and more need of cars. A lot of the San Gabriel Valley towns have their own transit lines, often cheaper than the LA-MTA. Glendale has The Bee, Pasadena has the ARTS, and so on. I find that I can readily bike from where I live in Altadena (do a Mapquest, look for the intersection of Palm St & Fair Oaks, zip 91001) to where I work (intersection of Green & Los Robles in Pasadena), a distance of about 5 miles, much more safely than I could in Omaha. Drivers are much more tolerant of bicyclers, the roads are in better shape, and there's more bikers. A lot of them are Latino guys going to work, and that's cool - we wave, yell an "Hola!". The older beach comminuties, south of LAX area also have older shopping districts that you can live within walking distance of. Errkk! Sorry about the grammar. Take a look at some voting maps, perhaps, as well. One thing we're proud of is our diversity, which means you can end up in some communities that are very conservative in terms of social concerns, religion, and politics. San Diego has tendencies that direction - it's where the recall got started - and Orange County, Ventura County, Simi Valley to the northwest of the San Fernando Valley, and parts of the new high desert towns. And of course, the really pricey neighborhoods, and Brentwood is a prime example, are going to be inhabitated by people with lots and lots of money, who will have more conservative outlooks on the world frequently.

Ooohh, I just remembered one interesting town down San Bernadino direction - Claremont - it's a college town, very liberal, lotta cultural things going, nice walking town center. Riverside is a lot likt that too. Both of these places are really beginning to get into the desert, though - although they're still close to the Angeles National Forest, Mt. Baldy and all that. Man, there's really a ton of choices out here!

[villager]

45. another shout out to Studio City... and the Red Line!

...which has great "walkability," and handy shopping, if you're near the Ventura/Laurel Canyon area.

Also, when not striking, the subways are actually very handy, and the Valley line ends in Universal City/N. Hollywood -- just east of Studio City.

The West side of L.A., though certainly full of virtues, living-wise, has no convenient mass transit between it and downtown, so depending on when your fiancee plans to start driving, you may want to factor in a rail line station to your search.

The Downtown/Pasadena area is now served by the recently opened "Gold Line" train, btw...

Good luck! Throw an LA DU Fandango when you get here!

[Howardx]

22. i just moved to redondo beach

from seattle, its pretty nice

[DoctorBombay]

28. Hey, neighbor!

South Redondo here! :hi:

[rbnyc]

24. NYC will miss you!

I hope we can get together before you go.

:)

[Name removed]

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[nothingshocksmeanymore]

26. Like I said..Santa Monica

between Montana and Wilshire and between Ocean and approximately 10 th.

If you need some apt prices, I am up there all the time and can easily get you info.

Rents hang between about 1600 - 2000 depending on apt size. YOu can walk even at night. The promenade has shopping, movies, and restaurants as well as the mall at the end. There are several grocery stores one can WALK to, the ocean is right there and it is quite safe comparatively.

If there is anything I can do for you, let me know.

I'll be gone for the rest of the day but if you leave me a note, I will gladly answer tomorrow.

[Name removed]

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[nothingshocksmeanymore]

30. There's others but when one considers ALL the tradeoffs

I will say this..the ONE MAJOR bummer of the specific Santa Monica area I referenced is that the 10, and PCH are your two lifelines to other areas.

BTW, there might be an apt in my friend's bldg, it is in the vicinity of Idaho and 3rd...three blocks from the ocean, Montana is closest cross st. ..grocery store is at Montana and 8th and the bridge to cross to the ocean is 4 blocks away..pets are allowed but there is a fee.

The aprt has covered parking, a nice pool, and a beautiful well kept courtyard as well as roof access to drink a beer and watch the sunset. :D

[Snow]

32. If you've not been here, you may not realize that we refer

to highways by numbers and names, usually preceded by "the". I don't understand this yet (even though I lived in Van Nuys from 1948 - 1959), but I've got it figured out, anyway. By "the 10", nothingshocksmeanymore means Interstate 10, and by "PCH", the Pacific Coast Highway, a lovely road. Even worse is the Ventura Freeway, which is the 110 from Ventura on the coast to about Universal City, where the 110 splits off, becoming the Hollywood Freeway and the Ventura continues on to Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena, but with a new number - 134. Sorry, "the" 134.

[catzies]

33. I've been here over 20 years and still have trouble with it!

I have no problem with the "101 south to the 134 east to the 210 to the 10" type of directions, but start with the "Golden State Freeway to the Glendale Freeway to the Foothill Freeway" and I get all :crazy:

P.S. it's the 101 not the 110 from Ventura to the Valley.

The 110 connects Pasadena to downtown and that's about all I know about it.

[cally]

34. LOL

You're right! When I lived in So. Cal, I never understood the traffic reports. I knew the freeways I used, but I had no idea what the other ones are. It's pretty crazy.

Sorry, Pete. I don't remember the neighborhoods well enough to help. I lived in Long Beach in a neighborhood that is completely opposite what you are looking for. One recommendation is to stay in the coastal communities. The smog is horrible inland. You'll be looking in the winter when the smog is not as bad. Come summer, it is treacherous.

[Snow]

35. Although here in Altadena, we're above the smog.....

A very peculiar thing is a major observatory sitting right next to the city, atop Mt. Wilson
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/tcbest.html
They explain that the smog, the fog, the haze all lies below where they are with their telescopes, so the city lights are by-and-large blocked, and it all works fine. Furthermore, that spot is about a 40 minute drive from where I'm sitting.

Here's some more mountains & hiking propaganda:

http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/listArea.php?AreaID=817
http://home.earthlink.net/~zeroy/
http://www.localhikes.com/
http://tchester.org/sgm/hikes.html

Hope I'm not boring you, but you have to understand, I'm having fun discovering all this stuff.

[mitchtv]

36. sorry Pete I just moved south

from wine country My experience in La is limited to el Sereno , Lincoln Heights,Pico Rivera. Hillside Viliage. The places I know that were nice are eagle Rock, So. Pasadena, . Coming from Jackson Heights however, they are all an improvement. (JH wasn't the same , however, when I lived there)

[Name removed]

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[VOX]

39. Pete: Have you added Westwood to your options list?

As you head inland from Santa Monica, it's between Brentwood and Century City/Beverly Hills, which you probably already know.

Directly around the UCLA campus, it's a little noisy (as are all student populated areas; and this is not a knock), but as you get about a 1/2-mile away from campus, in a southerly direction, there are *numerous* apartments, both old and new.

I've lived in this neck of the woods for several years (my wife and I finally bought a house in Westwood this summer), and have found it safe, friendly, with a ton of great shopping and many good restaurants; and, of course, you're about two minutes (literally) from Beverly Hills, Century City and Brentwood.

Best of luck with your upcoming move! :toast:

On edit: Forgot to mention -- don't let anyone knock the lack of culture in West L.A. -- in the immediate area of Westwood alone, there's the Armand Hammer Museum (which will soon be adding the Billy wilder Theater for classic films); Royce Hall and other venues at UCLA which feature world-class performers in intimate settings; the Geffen Playhouse and Odyssey Theatre for outstanding original stage productions; and a ton of first-run movie theaters. Tough to get bored here!

[LynneSin]

42. you are so NOT leaving New York

Or are you planning on now being PeteLA instead of PeteNYC.

We'll miss you here on the better coast - the East Coast!!

[Name removed]

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[LynneSin]

48. Yeah it's that classic argument Pataki vs. Arnold

I can feel your pain.

I'll stick with my small state with a nice democratic governor

:D

[oustemnow]

43. I've been enamorate of the Melrose area lately

just north of the CBS studios, east of Fairfax. Lots of great Spanish-style buildings, roomy apts. And shopping? Yeah, I guess you could get some of that done on Melrose Ave. (Actually, there are a lot of eateries there too.) I'm looking to move there, from the Palms area, as soon as I find a place w/in my budget (it's a little bit pricey, for me anyway).

[Jack The Tab]

46. One word for you...BURBANK

I lived in Burbank for 4 years and loved it. Reasonable rents and very safe. People that live in Hollywood or Santa Monica will talk shit about the valley, but give me the valley, specifically Burbank or Glendale, any day of the week

[Lydia Leftcoast]

47. Ironically, the LA area has better public transit

than Minneapolis-St. Paul. Who knew?

I visited there in November 2001, using a convention as an excuse, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get around without a car.

Santa Monica would be excellent for a non-driver, since it has express bus connections to downtown LA, as well as its own bus system and a real downtown, much of which has been turned into a pedestrian mall.

I didn't make it to Pasadena, but I've heard good things about it as well.

If I had to live in Southern California, those would be my choices.

By the way, I rode public transit as late as 11PM when I was there, and I never had any frightening experiences. Most people--even in L.A. :-) -- are harmless.

[villager]

49. amending my transit info

True, there are some express buses from downtown to Santa Monica, including a Metro Rapid down Wilshire.

But no rail lines in a Westering direction...

[oustemnow]

50. sadly, not at the moment

the mechanics for the main bus system are on strike.

Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus system is pretty great, though (and currently operating); clean buses, pretty good punctuality record, and cheap (I think they recently raised the fare to 75 cents). They tend to stop running fairly early, though.

[eauclaireliberal]

52. My a** it is!

I once had to take a bus from Venice to Orange & Hollwood Blvds. Three f*cking hours! Count 'em: THREE! it would probably have been 45 minutes by car...even in L.A. traffic.

And if what the two dumbasses on "Garage Logic" are saying is true, then you are supposed to get a light-rail system soon, which should (technically) cover a good deal of Hennepin and Ramsey counties. At least that's what Joe Doucheret is yapping about. He and the Norm Peterson sounding guy "Rookie" complain endlessly about it. IOW, they don't want blacks in Edina.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

53. Alas, the soon-to-open light rail line in Minneapolis

runs from the Mall of America to downtown, which IMHO is not the most cost-effective place to put it, but great for the airport and the Mall of America. Judging from how long it took Portland to build its light rail lines, it will be at least 20 years before they cover Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

They could have put the light rail line on a major commuting route. I don't know what they were thinking. I don't know what anyone who runs the MTC is thinking. Their cluelessness could be due to the fact that they're run by a Metropolitan Council that is not elected but appointed by the governor and therefore has no continuity.

And what's a nice Eau Claire liberal doing listening to Joe Soucheray, anyway? EWWW.

BTW, if they don't want blacks in Edina, they're too late.

[eauclaireliberal]

51. There aren't any

I read somewhere that nearly 100 people move to the L.A. area daily. I once had a 3-month stay in Venice (little place on Brooks), long ago an far away...

My Ma likes Rancho Palos Verdes-mainly because she lived there until she lost her position with the PVPUSD. Now she lives in Gardenia, near Catalina drive. What a wonderful place-especially when you consider that it is right outside of Compton. It appears that she hates Wisconsin winters a lot more than I thought.

Its all she could afford I guess-she moved in with an unemployed software engineer.

But the Palos Verdes peninsula IS beautiful, though.

[Capn Sunshine]

55. Marina Del Rey or Manhattan Beach

Its a very creative vibe. If you like water and the ocean that is.
I also like Brentwood below the 405 off Sunset and above the PCH.Very genteel. Go to Wilbur and Orvilles on a Saturday night( Manhattan Beach)
Also , if you are a producer, visit Toluca Lake. If you really want country but close to city, Laurel Canyon, Mandeville Canyon Topanga Canyon.

Out where I live (Ventura County) the air is clean and crime is the lowest in the entire country statistically. But many consider it very far out there. Of course , I have an office in Santa Barbara so I dont really "do" LA anymore.

There are so many neighborhoods in LA you could take a year just to find them.

PM me if you need more details.

[Lindsey]

57. I moved here from Tx. about 13 years ago and have lived

all over. My favorite places have been Santa Monica (obviously right by the ocean and Studio City (in the San Fernando Valley). I live in Culver City now, and while it's a really nice neighborhood, you have to travel to get anywhere - there's absolutely nothing in terms of neighborhood activities. I also love Long Beach. Good luck and welcome! :-)

[Capn Sunshine]

60. BUT

The Jazz Bakery is right in your town.
:)

[Name removed]

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[ScreamingMeemie]

59. My brother lives in Silver Lake. Very safe. Very nice homes on

the hill. They have a very nice view of downtown, and on a "clear" day they can see the ocean in the distance. He's a location director so it's pretty close to everywhere. And there's a great little Italian restaurant named Paisano's down the way. The house next door sold for $700,000 recently. Some are higher some are lower. I don't know if that helps. Good luck in your hunt. ;) Let us know where you end up!!

[rucky]

61. Do A POLL n/t

[GalleryGod]

63. West Hollywood is great, yet, Pricey!

:grouphug: good luck,peter!