Moving to LA....
 

Hi everyone,

I am a musician from the midwest looking to relocate to LA in the near future to pursue music full time. I've been to LA quite a few times, but still don't know the city that well...

I'm just starting to research possible neighborhoods and areas to live, but it's a little tough being so far away and not knowing much about the city. If you have any suggestions about possible suburbs/neighborhoods to check out, I would greatly appreciate it!

Just a little about me... I am a female in my early 20s and will be moving by myself. I need a neighborhood that is safe... just because I know that there are so many seedy areas in LA....

I've heard around UCLA is good for people my age? Any other good areas that are safe, affordable, and fun?

Thank you so much!!

Around UCLA is probably not affordable for a musician, it's a tough business. Best advice for L.A. is always to live as close to where you work as possible, but a musician is probably going to be working all over the place.

There are metro-friendly neighborhoods not far from the subway, but it doesn't run all night and might not feel safe for a female alone if you're working at night anyway. And the subway doesn't go to music-heavy areas like WEst Hollywood, Silverlake etc.

L.A. is really a place that you have to get a feel for, I would suggest looking for a roommate situation with a plan of moving out on your own once you make some friends and get to know the neighborhoods. Give yourself maybe six months to look around. DailyBRuin.com usually has some roomie-wanted ads especially in the summer time when students go away, or at the end of the first semester when students drop out. The Bruin is the UCLA paper however, and lots of those living situations are 4 people in two bedrooms etc. But if you know it's just temporary, it is definitely a safe neighborhood if it's anything within a couple of blocks from campus. LAWeekly.com has all the local club listings, music events etc.

Hi and first of all, good luck!

What do you mean by "affordable"? 1 bedroom apts in the Westwood/WLA area START at around $1,200/month, not including utilities. Maybe a little cheaper for studio/bachelor units.

Apts. in Palms start around $900/month.

The Daily Bruin is, as suggested by clark, a good place to start. A lot of people looking for a place subscribe (for a small fee) to westside rentals -- there are signs all over the area on homes and apts using this service. Website is:
http://www.westsiderentals.com/renta...twood-rentals/

Westwood is a great area, so is Brentwood (many, many apts on Barrington Ave), areas west of the 405 freeway are generally pretty good and safe. Santa Monica. Beverly Hills. Rancho Park and south of Santa Monica Blvd. (lots of solid apts north and south of Santa Monica Blvd. east of the 405).

Moving towards the less expensive, the Palms area and Culver City are nice places to live. Mar Vista has its good spots and less than good spots. Same for Venice. West Hollywood is decent.

Upcoming areas are Silverlake and even Echo Park and Atwater are starting to become somewhat gentrified. The Los Feliz area (along the boulevard) near the Greek Theatre is decent. Glendale is ok.

On the other side of the hill (i.e. the Valley), Sherman Oaks and the whole area south of Ventura Blvd. is decent, as are the areas just north of Ventura Blvd. Studio City is decent.

I love the whole Pasadena and San Gabriel area but I think Maitaitom might give you better insight into specific areas that are better than others in that neck of the woods. If I didn't like being near the beach and relatively clean air so much, I'd move to Pasadena in a heartbeat! They also have great public transportation in the Pasadena area.

The beach communities are also pretty nice -- Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach.

Where wouldn't I live at your age? Maybe that's the better question. I wouldn't live in any of the areas my husband used to live in when he was going to college, and those areas include Hollywood (too many seedy, druggy, roach infested areas for my tastes), Boyle Heights and east LA (he got mugged there), the area around USC (ok if you're living with a group of people, but not on your own), and south LA.

What sort of music career are you pursuing?

hilosangeles.org for a few days

investigate different areas boots on the ground...

Santa Monica rooms work best for me can be pretty cheap

if you shop around... Manhattan Beach #2 best area

rentals not do bad way back from the beach in El Segundo area

Avoid dodgy downtown....

I'm a Pasadenean of more than 40 years and give Pasadena a big thumbs up. Happy Travels!

I wouldn't say avoid downtown L.A. altogether. There are some nice (and safe) recently redeveloped areas, especially near L.A. Live and the Music Center. But I would deter you if the type of career you're pursuing will have you coming and going in the very late night or very early morning hours.

There's a big difference between being a studio musician with somewhat 'normal' hours and playing at live clubs until 2 am.

Just remember (courtesy Futurama):

Fry: ". . . there was this gang of ten year-olds with guns."

Leela: "Exactly. You're in L.A."

Fry: "But everyone is driving around in cars shooting at each other."

Bender: "That's L.A. for you."

Fry: "But the air is green and there's no sign of civilization whatsoever...and the people are all phonies. No one reads. Everything has cilantro on it..."

I live in Culver City. There is an area of condos/apartments/townhomes in Culver City called Fox Hills. It is relatively affordable, safe, close to the freeway, and in the western part of LA, which means that you will have the cooling ocean breeze during most of the summer. There is a park in the neighborhood where you can walk or run, and a mall right down the street. It's not "hip" but it's safe and convenient.

cferrb, you forgot to mention the mini-renaissance of Culver City's downtown. IMO, it borders on being 'hip' while retaining a wonderful small-town atmosphere.

#1 Question is do you plan on having a car?

Other suburbs might include Hermosa Beach, Long Beach (near Belmont Shore or parts near Cal State Univ LB), Eagle Rock & Silver Lake. The west side of Los Angeles and Santa Monica are expensive, but you might find a roommate/sublet situation in Santa Monica since people don't want to give up their rent-controlled units. Westwood Village dominated by the UCLA student market, apt prices are crazy.

As far as where NOT to live, you might also read ths "LA Times data­base of Los Angeles County crime re­ports" :
http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/crime

Most of the areas mentioned previously are OK.

Cass...perhaps look at the region to the northwest of L.A and the valley, consisting of Ventura/Oxnard, Santa Barbara. My gang are all musicians (seven in the family)and do gigs ranging from San Luis Obispo to Santa Monica, and they all live in the aforementioned area. Son is a somewhat well-known guitarist/telecaster (did retrospective Grateful Dead commemorative album, lives in Ojai). Grandson-in-law lives in Ventura and recently finished a long tour cross-country with his new band.."Hotels and Highways".. Daughter-in-law plays bass and guitar, has her own band. One son-in-law is a keyboard pro and plays with the Dylan-Jack of Hearts band, now based in Santa Monica. If you're serious and good at it, I imagine you could hook on to some decent gigs in that area. Santa Barbara is pricey, but there are many small town options along the way. Ventura/Oxnard rentals are a bit below SB. But understand that a car is essential outside of L.A.

Good luck, Cass, and by the way, some of L.A.'s so-called seedy areas will "pleasantly" surprise you...nothing like the East and Midwest less-desirable places. I guess palm trees and little front lawns, and single family houses hide a lot of seediness.

stu tower

The biggest question remains: Where do you expect most of you gigs to be?
Once you have answered that as best you can, come back ang you'll get good suggestions on places that are an easy drive (car?) or easy walk, bus, or Metro to your gigs (and cheap). Again: price range?

Hmm, cass, something is amiss. On your post about your trip to Boston you say that you are in college and are not yet 21 and yet on this one you say in your early 20s.....What is up?

No comment from the OP in a week. Must have been something we said...

Jean: Happens too often...OP poses question...we loyalists contribute answers and ideas...and poof, the OP fades, never to be heard from again.

Oh no it was nothing you guys said... just the craziness of life, so sorry to disappear! But I really appreciate all the help from everyone. You loyalists are awesome and I really appreciate your helpful advice. Thank you!! :)