where should I live in southern ca?

[Brian Dzyak]

Is Coldwater Canyon a good place to live?

I drove through there earlier this year when I was in LA & it looked a nice place & not far from North Hollywood.

 

Any of the "canyons" are nice places to live. :) But they'll be more expensive because they are "south of the boulevard," that being Ventura Blvd.

 

There are only a few ways from the Valley into the LA Basin.... from the East you have the Cahuenga Pass, then Laurel Canyon, Coldwater, Beverly Glen, the Sepulveda Pass (with Sepulveda Blvd and the 405 freeway). Those are main arteries going south.

 

Wherever you live, keep in mind where you MAY end up working most of the time. Warner Bros and Universal near the Cahuenga Pass on the Valley side. Paramount and Raleigh Studios south-ish of Hollywood on Melrose. Fox in Century City on Pico a couple miles east of the 405. Sony and Culver a little farther south off the 405. Those are the main stages, but of course, the town is filled with a lot of smaller stages as well as any practical locations you'll end up in ranging from Palmdale, Santa Clarita to the north and Long Beach to the south.

 

With all that in mind, being freeway close is a definite plus. Living in a canyon could add more minutes onto a daily commute than you really would like after a week of 16 hour days. However, having a pleasant haven to escape to away from the hubbub of the city is also important.

[Matt Pacini]

I lived many places in L.A., but the only places I liked, that were anywhere near the industry, AND were not too expensive for me, were Burbank & Glendale (right next to each other).

 

Compton is:

A. Nowhere near the entertainment biz.

B. The 'hood' where you're likely to be murdered, or at least have many violent crimes committed against you.

 

And unfortunately, there are many, many places like that in L.A., and you can't always tell by looking.

I lived in Carson for a while (by Long Beach), and I had to wear earplugs at night to sleep through the frequent sounds of gunfire. I wish I were kidding.

 

One rule of thumb: if there's a lot of graffitti, there are lots of gang members living in the area.

Don't move there.

[Brian Dzyak]

I lived many places in L.A., but the only places I liked, that were anywhere near the industry, AND were not too expensive for me, were Burbank & Glendale (right next to each other).

 

Compton is:

A. Nowhere near the entertainment biz.

B. The 'hood' where you're likely to be murdered, or at least have many violent crimes committed against you.

 

And unfortunately, there are many, many places like that in L.A., and you can't always tell by looking.

I lived in Carson for a while (by Long Beach), and I had to wear earplugs at night to sleep through the frequent sounds of gunfire. I wish I were kidding.

 

One rule of thumb: if there's a lot of graffitti, there are lots of gang members living in the area.

Don't move there.

 

Just to tack onto this line of thought, aim for the following cities/areas if possible:

 

Burbank, Glendale, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Santa Monica, Brentwood, West LA, Westwood. Also the canyon/passes as described in previous posts.

 

 

Those areas will keep you close to the action and are generally a bit nicer to live in. Anything just north or south of the above can get a little dicey, like Hollywood and LA to the south and North Hollywood and Canoga Park to the north. However, if you keep going farther out, it begins getting nicer... like Northridge and Santa Clarita to the north and Orange County to the south... but they are farther away so you lose out there.

[Michael Lehnert]

I just came back from 4 weeks in LA (plus a stint to some geeks in SF), working and living in all sorts of parts of the LA area, essentially moving from Anaheim, OC westbound 'til I ended up in Santa Monica and Topanga: kinda a super-duper overview.

 

It was my first trip to CA and LA, and it was very enlightening in many ways.

First of all, I would just like to say that I have never met so many kind-hearted and forthcoming people on any trip, business or leisure, assembled in one place. You might have other experiences living there, but this is what I experienced. The manner of being utmost professional while equally relaxed, always helpful and anything but agitatively upset nearly all the time (as you would find it in Germany) or all a bit too immersed with oneself (as in France), plus the openeness to new ideas and also getting acceptance so quickly for what one does really struck me. I have also not been confronted with the usual American stereotype of "stupid Amis not knowing where Europe is" - sometimes, I even thought that too many people from the US were to readily accepting the critical images they are being faced with of themselves by, say, European commentators...

 

 

Reading this thread upon my return is hence quite timely and interesting. I was just wondering about the actual prices. Everyone is mentioning names which I can now associate with the places I lived in or rapidly avoided myself, but as I didn't find time to peruse the classifieds, I would really be interested in hearing from you what you actually roughly pay for your places:

 

 

I know that money is a sensitive issue to talk socially about in certain cultures, but talking about budget means putting a number on things. So how much would you have to pay for a one or two-bed apartment or a house respectively in areas such as Burbank, Studio City, Woodland Hills, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, West Hollywood?

 

 

Any hint or info in that respect would be really interesting for me. After all, when I tell people what I pay as rent in a two-bed flat on the outskirts of London, so far, most people's head exploded, Cronenberg-"Scanner"-type... ;) B)

 

 

Many thanks, and best wishes to any LA residents from summerish London (rain, rain, rain...)

 

 

-Michael

 

 

 

 

P.S.: I clocked up 2000 miles over 4 weeks and thought that compared to German autobahns and the M25 here in London, LA traffic is rather smooth, fast-flowing, shockingly defensive and rarely really locked-up congested. I would love to exchange that with London or Frankfurt every moment (although I can of course see that im comparison to the cliché of "Littletown, Missouri", LA traffic must be a shock for many US citizens).

[giap vu]

I must relate this scary incident i experienced on the way to view a potential rental. I was on the 10 west bound and needed to exit Vermont ave - I always try to drive 3 to 5 seconds behind the car in front of me for safety sake - so, as I exit, the car in front of me decides to stop where she or he shouldn't have stopped because in doing so the potential for a catastrophe is highly probable - in this situation the car in front of me should have merged into flowing traffic, a simple act that I found difficult for drivers in Hawaii but I heard a virtue shared among the southern California citizenry. Needless to say, as I saw my life flash bye bye (while going the customary 80mph slowing to a safe 70 - 60ish as i exit) the car in front of me quickly slows to a stop, I slam on the brakes, swerve on to the dirt, begin to fishtale and something tells me if I don't do something spectacular soon then it's over. So, I put the pedal to the metal and miraculously right my 07 Honda civic and am humbly here to relate this incident.

 

To be honest, while this was going down my life didn't flash before my eyes but what did happen was a sense of fear and panic of not being able to fulfill my passion of becoming a filmmaker. So, paying extra attention while driving and being lucky were the first lessons I learned while venturing into La La Land; the only place I know of where one can surf, ski, or shoot a movie all within a half an hour of each other.

 

Michael, I'm paying 500 for two weeks 5 miles from Hollywood in what I can only describe as rundown but with potential. Also, I felt the same way about the kindness I experienced.

[Michael Lehnert]

Thanks, Giap, for the reply. Very much appreciated. Hope some other will chime in with prices as well, so that I can do a bit of price-mapping. Also: congratulations to your degree and of course all the best for your new life phase in LA. Envy from me in London to you :lol: .Don't get killed at the next junction, though! That's sounded terribly hairy!! :o ;)

[James Steven Beverly]

Figure a grand a month with First, last and deposit (basically 3 months rent) to move in. Look around, maybe you can find a place that's cheaper. If so you're ahead of the game. ;)

[Brian Dzyak]

Price really varies depending on a lot of factors. I currently have a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with underground parking, a swimming pool, jacuzzi, and I don't pay for water. My rent is currently $1500.00 a month in Encino. For similar around the Valley, rents are similar but can range from a little less to around $2100.00 a month. Renting a house will usually cost at least $1800.00 to $2500.00 a month, again, depending on where it is and what you're getting AND you'll be paying for water.

[Luc Allein]

You want to live in the Valley, Studio City if you can afford it. ;)

 

Yeah man, the valley is perfect. Norf Hollywood is good. I was in Van Nuys and it was a very good location. Plus, I dont know. I really like the valley, it always felt to me like I was leaving the craziness of Hollywood or downtown and coming back to the relatively calm suburbs. Kind of like Long Island to NYC.

 

God damn do I miss the valley, cant wait to move back in March. (I moved back to upstate new york in a moment of temporary insanity)

[Paul Bruening]

P.S.: I clocked up 2000 miles over 4 weeks and thought that compared to German autobahns and the M25 here in London, LA traffic is rather smooth, fast-flowing, shockingly defensive and rarely really locked-up congested.

 

I experienced the same on my two trips to LA. The drivers were far more orderly than the locals in Murmphrica (where we call the I-240 loop, "Indianapolis 240"). The worst for me, so far, is Washington DC. It's an old system from when cars were fewer and slower. Now, the interchanges are random in design and the ramps are far too abrupt in too many instances. I've felt real terror on those roads.

 

I love LA's freeway system. If it wasn't for the jumper on a bridge over the 405, my LA road experience would have been just about perfect.

 

 

 

 

Also, I hear about a place called Watts in LA. "Watts's" that place like?

[Jim Carlile]

To start out, definitely Glendale these days, cheaper than Burbank, same lack of crime, lots more renter's protections, more units, more accessibility, incomparably better public transportation if you need it, more amenities (I'm sorry, Burbank sucks-- way overrated, just don't get the appeal these days.)

 

Then, when you get familiar-- and only then-- you can branch out. The Valley and the basin are big areas and you don't want to get lost there in some neighborhoods. Also, so many of these mentioned places like Topanga and Coldwater Canyon, or even Studio City, are $$$$. Most of these places are actually L.A. city too and kind of the wild west compared to Glendale.

 

Trust me-- Glendale to start. The best combination of things by far. No comparison. Oh, and there's lots of good cheap food, too-- Armenian markets and bakeries and cafes galore. Bargains.

[John Sprung]

I agree about the canyons. All are expensive. Laurel and Coldwater have massive traffic jams every day, 90 minutes or more to get in or out. Topanga doesn't because it's so very far West of everything.

 

 

 

-- J.S.

[Chris Keth]

I like my place in Glendale. I'm right in the middle of it so I can walk or bike to everything. Regular supermarket, a big whole foods, mall, bookstore, bestbuy, costco, lots of restaurants, all within walk or bike distance. I pay $950 for a 1 bedroom. Street parking but it's not a problem in our neighborhood. A bonus is that we're across the street from a middle school so there are more frequent police patrols and I feel the area is extremely safe.

[Leo Anthony Vale]

Also, I hear about a place called Watts in LA. "Watts's" that place like?

 

It's electric!

[Jim Keller]

It's electric!

 

::twap!::

 

Actuallly, I was ancillarily involved in a production down in Watts about a decade ago. I was pleasantly surprised by what a nice neighborhood it had actually become in the decades since the riots. I'm told it still has a gang problem, but I found the homes to be well-maintained, the neighbors friendly, and the streets clean. Haven't been down there recently, though...

[John Sprung]

Watts is the oldest black neighborhood in LA, and has a high rate of home ownership. It's also the site of this landmark:

 

http://www.wattstowers.us/

 

The problem with it if you work in the biz is that it's quite far South and East of Hollywood and the Valley, so you'd have to drive through the crowded part of downtown LA a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

-- J.S.

[Brad Grimmett]

I'll chime in and recommend West Hollywood. It's a super nice neighborhood, quiet, but it's close to lots of bars and restaurants. It's also just about equal distance from the 101, 405, and 10, so it's very central. It's a quick drive to Burbank or any of the studios in Hollywood, and not too far to the beaches and south bay. I've lived here for six years and really like it. I currently live in a 1 bedroom 2 bath split level apartment and pay $1407 with underground parking and free water, gas, and trash.

 

When I first got to town, I drove around and checked out neighborhoods and looked for "for rent" signs. It was a really good way to find an area that I liked. Everyone is different. Check out all the places people have mentioned and live in the place that suits you best.

[Leo Anthony Vale]

Watts is the oldest black neighborhood in LA, and has a high rate of home ownership. The problem with it if you work in the biz is that it's quite far South and East of Hollywood and the Valley, so you'd have to drive through the crowded part of downtown LA a lot.

 

I left LA in 1980, so things have changed alot.

 

There is a community in the Santa Clarita Valley named Val Verde. In the 30s it was sort of a resort or summer homes for people in Watts. The streets are named for the presidents up to Roosevelt.

Mostly two room cottages. Lots of Calarts students lived there when I was around. So cheap back then.

 

Now there are film studios and Cinetech lab in nearby Valencia. Melody Ranch is near there too.

 

The Wiki entry seems to be written by someone selling property there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Verde,_California

 

Some friends living there were evicted because their 'landlord", Newhall Land and Farming wanted to tear the house down and use the land for something else.

On their final day, they had a big party and tore the house down. We drove off wondering what the people in the next house were thinking about that.