applehi

My son will be a grad student at USC in the fall. I know the area around the school is not the greatest. Any suggestions of neighborhoods or areas that would be safe and not a long commute to the school? He had a lead on a place in Beverly HIlls but that fell through. He's on a budget but since LA tends to be expensive I figure he'd need to spend $1000/month or so. He was talking to someone and mentioned Santa Monica but I think that's pretty far and also very expensive. Am I right?

Jean

I would think the school could provide some assistance, at a minimum pointing you toward neighborhoods within your son's budget.

I wouldn't entirely dismiss the area around the school. It has improved tremendously over the past few years, and someone who exercised caution and good sense should be OK. Female undergrads aged 18-22 live there!

I would look into downtown L.A., Culver City, mid-Wilshire and the Crenshaw area before looking farther away. FYI, Beverly Hills is very nice but not what I would call a short commute to USC.

Jean

I'd also look into finding a roommate.

rjw_lgb_ca

I would say Jean has described the situation perfectly. Mid-Wilshire isn't bad, and parts of Hollywood are quite nice. Santa Monica is a long commute, especially on a crowded bus (and the cross-LA buses are always crowded). SM is also very expensive.

You may want to check this out:

http://www.housing4students.com/colleges/usc/index.html

tracys2cents

Check the listings at craigslist.org

When you talk of a "commute", you mean that he'll have a car....not relying on bus and metro, right?

applehi

Jean, rjw and tracy, thanks for the info and tips on the neighborhoods. He is looking at the USC housing site and the Craigslist. You've given me areas that he can keep in mind. Would the Staples area then be okay or not okay?

He'll look into getting a car when he finds out where he's living. If close to some form of public transport maybe he won't need one. I think he will need one.

rjw_lgb_ca

The downtown area around Staples? It's not bad, but that area gets deserted after dark except when there's an event going on at Staples (or at the nearby Convention Center). I would be a bit more comfortable in a more residential area. Jean's list is a really good one.

Culver City is fairly far west of USC, but your cross-town street of choice is Olympic Blvd, which will get you near the campus really quick.

USC's grad programs are superb, so your son made a great choice, by the way.

applehi

Thanks for the Staples info. I'll print out the thread and show it to him and he can take a look at some of the suggested areas.

Jean

Just a little not-so-inside info on the area around Staples Center... My sister-in-law is an architect with a San Francisco firm that has a contract with the Anschutz group to develop the area immediately adjacent to Staples Center. Among other buildings, there will be a performing arts center (Nokia Theater) that when completed will host the Grammy Awards. (I think she said completion would be 2007.) Still in the planning stages, and obviously during construction the area will be a bit messy, but eventually this is a very up-and-coming area.

tracys2cents

Well if he doesn't mind living it what sounds like it's gonna be a construction zone...Staples Center area is very close to the LA Public Library, and only an 8 minute bus ride on the commuter express bus in the mornings and early evenings.

I think that once he settles in, the last thing he is gonna want to do is DRIVE a car to USC every day!

applehi

Interesting and thanks for headsup. Staples area will have construction mess for the next two years. That's about how long he'll be at USC.

I agree that driving can be a hassle, but would the Culver City, MidWilshire and Crenshaw be doable on public transport? I presume that from downtown LA he can use public transportation?

socialworker

HI--I did not notice any mention in your post of the USC Housing Office. Did you access them? They seemed pretty helpful when my son did a summer program there some years ago...

Patty

I would think Culver City is a bit too far west. I wouldn't choose downtown LA either. It's empty at night and doesn't seem any better to me than the area around USC. At least around campus, he'll be with lots of other students.

If determined to stay off campus, stick with the residential neighborhoods around the mid-Wilshire area. Public transportation isn't the greatest, so I'd want my own car if living away from campus.

Has he visited the area? Is it possible for him to fly out here and look around the various neighborhoods and try out the commute?

enjoylife

He can get an apartment for less than that. Have him check the area bordered by La Cienega and LaBrea to the East and West, and Santa Monica and Third Street to the North and South. He can also check with Park LaBrea. They have wonderful large apartments. The area is safe, but I don't know what the current prices are. Also, they may give discounts for USC students.

applehi

Wow, thanks for the great info.

Patty, he is checking with USC housing. His plan was to fly up a week or so ahead of school beginning and look around then if he hasn't found something by then.

Is the Mid-Wilshire area just called Mid-Wilshire?

socialworker, he is checking with USC housing.

And thanks enjoylife for the street names. I'm going to consult my AAA map!

tracys2cents

Downtown L.A. is supposedly undergoing a great urban renewal with fantastic housing...but I'm sorry I don't know much more about it. I know that there is a huge housing crunch in L.a. and it takes a while for landlords to do credit checks/ verify that he is a student etc so I think that only going to L.A. a week before school starts would really be pushing it.

applehi

Good to know. I'll pass the word on to him. He's trying to do the preliminaries on the phone or via email etc.

socialworker

HI--thanks for updating us and good luck to him!!

applehi

Just another quick question. How bad is the homeless problem in downtown area? Mid-Wilshire etc? I know LA is urban and I see homeless people where we live, but just wondered which areas they frequent.

enjoylife

There are plenty downtown and near USC.
MidWilshire has some and Santa Monica/Venice has plenty.