OT: Anyone here live in Los Angeles (Hollywood)?

Sorry for the offtopic posting but I'm moving to Los Angeles and I'm tryingt o figure out where to rent. Can anyone recommend any cool neighborhoods or areas? I'm hoping to stay around Hollywood and or North Hollywood.

Thanks...

And yes, I've alrady been out to all the music shops. Its a shame Analog haven is in Pomona if it was in Holly wood I'd rent out the dumpster behind them just to stay close.

Take a number, get in line.

actually its fantastic that its in Pomona...cause its ten minutes from my house!!! :D

I lived in L.A. from '95 - '99. Venice, actually. Right across from Venice High School where they shot "Grease." (I could even see the famous bleachers from my balcony!)

I had a good place (clean but utterly devoid of any character) at a great rent, but just as I was leaving, prices were starting to get out of control.

Just keep in mind, the closer to the water you are (better air, cooler neighborhoods, literally and figuratiely, the more you're going to pay.) The farther inland you go (Hollywood or worse, THE VALLEY! Aaaaaahh!) the cheaper it gets. I'm not an elitist, but DO NOT, DO NOT move to the valley. It's probably the most one of the most disgusting and depressing places on the planet.)

Since there are a lot of different places to live in L.A., you may end up moving somewhere initially, and then find your niche somewhere else.

Me? I lived in West Hollywood first. Eeek! Then moved to Venice, which is probably the least pretentious area. Adjacent Culver City isn't too bad either and slightly more affordable. Santa Monica's OK, too, but def. on the pricier said. Stay away from the airport. Too far away. Bad air quality. Really dicey neighborhoods.

Personally, I found Hollywood to be fairly gross. But that's also getting cleaned up a bit. And that's probably where most of the music is happening. As a consequence, even the worst parts of Hollywood are getting more expensive.

Make sure you have a car. "Only a nobody walks in L.A." Truer words were never squeaked.

In fact, L.A. in general is pretty despicable. What else can you say about the place that gave birth to road rage and breast implants (for men)?

However, there are good people in L.A. You'll just have to deal with the nine of out 10 others who'll kill you, use you ten ways to Sunday or just plain ignore you when bleeding on the side of the road.

The traffic is horrible. The architecture is the worst anywhere. And once The Big One hits, you can all kiss it all goodbye.

PLUSSES? There are some great beaches south of L.A. (San Onofre, anyone?). I wasn't into synths or the music scene in L.A. when I was there, but I'm sure it's better than most. And yes, the sun always shines on TV land.

Most people who leave L.A. usually do it with no regrets. And while L.A. def. wasn't for me -- though there is the possibility I may move back (crazy, huh?) -- in the glow of nostaligia, I mostly remember fondly the years I spent there.

Good luck.

"I'm not an elitist, but DO NOT, DO NOT move to the valley. It's probably the most one of the most disgusting and depressing places on the planet.)"

Dude come on, the valley is not that bad. I live in Burbank, and it's great. Studio city and the surrounding areas are really nice. Don't limit anyones options with such a personal observation. Valley bashing is very elitist and snobby. Santa Monica is full of fake liberals with fake boobs and hummers and or preius, bitching about george bush. So, there!

That being said, I have been here 5 years now and I love it. Whatever you do don't listen to people who have not lived here. I got a lot of bull{censored} about LA from people who have never lived here.

Next, figure out what you will be doing for work. If you don't know try to be central. When we first moved here we moved to what is called Beverly Hills adjacent. Which is short for "close to beverly hills". It was a great place. And it worked out great for the jobs we ended up getting. When we were ready to buy something, we moved to burbank. Mostly because we could get a decent size condo vs. the cardboard box outside of a starbucks in santa monica.

We also used these guys:

http://www.westsiderentals.com/

It costs money, but it is well worth it. I remember it was harder finding an apartment that it was finding a job! Just out of curiosity, what are you moving out here to do?

so off the top of my head, here is a list of nice places i can think of:

santa monica (expensive)

west hollywood (same)

bev. hills adjacent (nice, cheaper than above)

silverlake (hip and young, more east)

Valley:

north hollywood (kinda dumpy, but getting better, I work there)

Sherman oaks (very nice, expensive)

Burbank (nice, less expensive)

Glendale, pasadena (nice, kinda far from stuff).

Good luck, and keep an open mind.

Dude, the valley = TERRIBLE air quality

there is absolutely no way around that ... sorry ... I'm anything but an elitist ... but the valley is a giant toilet bowl for all of LA's bad air as it gets pushed/sucked east ...

Even the native peoples used to call it "the brown valley" before it was settled by whiteys because of its unfavorable geographical orientation and its propensity to trap dust and particulates ... it's hotter than L.A. proper (way hotter, and that's not a good thing) ... congested (well, show me a place in L.A. that isn't) ...

And I just love wasting my time in traffic jams on the 101 and 405 ..

I'm glad you like it ... Granted, Burbank and Studio City aren't quite as bad as the rest of the valley ... but I'll leave it at that ...

Good luck.

One more thing, though, Filterthing ... Have you ever been to Eagle Rock in Topanga Canyon? If not, YOU HAVE TO GO! It's an amazing hike and possibly one of the most beautiful places on the entire planet. It's a giant upward sloping rock hundreds of feet tall, and you go up there, and there's a beautiful surrounding valley and you can see the ocean ... it's simply breathtaking ...

I can give you directions if you like ... Every time I return to L.A. -- which will be in just a few moths -- I go there ... despite being about 25 minutes from L.A., it's one of the most remote locations I've ever been (the semi-long hike and somewhat guarded nature of the place keeps the tourists and wimps away.)

Every time i'm there I expect to see the Jolly Green Giant lumbering through the hills ...

That's the dichotomy of the L.A. area ... so much beauty and so much ugliness ...

ok, ok, we get that you don't like the valley. Why don't you let the guy see for himself.

yes, I have been to both, they are very nice. Thank you for the postive note in our small flame war...

Typical tranzo (transplant) attitude. Only following, never trying things out for yourself or even leading. Tsk tsk.

I walk in Los Angeles all the time. You guys come here "just for the good weather" right? So why not walk?

This city is changing. It used to be fairly dense, walkable and had a better transit system than NYC (The Red Cars, yes that's true history, not something you think was made up from a Hollywood studio like all you transplants think). Thanks to the influx of people like you who come here with no talents, education or skills thinking you'll "Make it," there's a housing shortage. But more houses/apartments/condos are being built as we speak in Downtown, Hollywood, etc. and they're becoming much more walkable.

As a Los Angeles native, I think whatever makes Los Angeles not appealing to you people is because you only TAKE and never GIVE BACK, as if you're somehow {censored}ing entitled to it because you had a bad family life in your old hick town where you grew up and the only thing close to a "minority" you ever seen in your life was some Jewish kid who lived a couple miles away. But for someone like me who actually gets involved with the community, knows REAL PEOPLE (and not the fake, superficial people you see in the mirror, heh heh) and works at improving it, the city definitely gives a lot back to me. Unlike you lving cliches, L.A. for me is not "out there" but "home."

The smog in the Valley's nothing compared to the Inland Empire. You know, Pomona, Ranco Cucamonga, San Bernardino. Huh? Never heard of it? Oh that's right, your kind people never venture east of La Cienega.

Originally posted by electrobaby actually its fantastic that its in Pomona...cause its ten minutes from my house!!! :D

Where is Analog Haven?

AH is in Pomona, in the downtown area, just a bit south of the 60. I think they have directions on their site.

elsongs and filterthing, your comments are spot on, I'm an LA native and know exactly where you guys are coming from. For such a dirty/smoggy/congested/despicable place, there sure are a hell of a lot of people wanting to live here. There must be a reason, eh?

Yeah, there are things I don't like about So. Cal. in general, the traffic being number one on my list, but I don't think there's anywhere else I'd rather live.

Yep, definately don't move to The Valley. I agree grew up there unfortunately. We used to have smog days from school believe it or not.

I think LA overall is a pretty boring town musically, but oh well. But I'd reccomend checking out neighborhoods like Silverlake, Echo Park, and Los Feliz. There are more interesting people over there.

hey, the guy asked for some help, not a diatribe on smog and the valley. My point is, where does the guy need to live. He is moving here and should look into all of his options. I live 3 1/2 miles from where I work, you never hear me bitch about traffic. Hell, one summer I rode my bike to work. We should be asking him:

budget?

Location to work?

those kind of questions helped me when I moved here.

I am a "transplant", moved here to work in the movie industry. 6 months in, I got the job I came here for. I have met some wonderful people here and love the city. By no means is it perfect (traffic, earthquakes!?!), but you make it what it is. I am not up on the music scene, but LA has some of the most famous clubs in the world. Rock and Jazz. Great food, and great weather/beaches. Tons of cool music/book stores, I could go on and on.

Anyway, to get back to the original post, let's recomend him some nice places to look.

Originally posted by elsongs The smog in the Valley's nothing compared to the Inland Empire. You know, Pomona, Ranco Cucamonga, San Bernardino. Huh? Never heard of it? Oh that's right, your kind people never venture east of La Cienega.

Like it or not, he's right on here.

from a 35 year southern california native....

unless your on the ocean or very close to it smog is smog....southern california is crowded with a lot of traffic and so you have smog...just like NYC, and Chicago, and Seattle, and Houston and every other big city.

Your fooling yourself if you think smog is worse in the Inland Empire than in say Fullerton or Rosemead or Anaheim.

For me I agree with the above that the music seen sucks and pretty much has always been second rate to the Bay Area or Seattle or NY but it depends on what type of music your into.

Also for living what sucks for one person doesnt suck for another...I would definetly rather live in Pasadena than most places in LA....iff I was 23 it might be different.

I could never live in or even near Hollywood.

+1....its not the perfect place....but there are a hell of a lot other places I would never want to live.

I'll tell you one reason people people move to L.A. is because they have an idealized vision of what L.A. -- and Southern California are in general -- from movies. Sure they may show a traffic jam in a movie, but experience one for an hour or more in REAL TIME every day and then see how you feel.

Or the ONE or TWO days out of the year when all the brown, horrid air blows away out to sea and you can see the beautiful hills and the clear skies and you think, "Wow, this is what it looked like befor 8 million people descended on this area!"

Or the overwhelming number of vapid assholes who live there ... Or rich snobs ... Beverly Hills has to be the most detestable place on the planet.

The lack of any meaningful architecture outside of a few buildings scattered about the city ...

Defend L.A. all you want ... but don't pretend like I don't know what I'm speaking of.

L.A. has three things going for it: sun, food and ... hmmm ... I'll get back to you on that last one ...

"I wonder why in L.A.

To live and die in L.A.

I wonder why we waste our lives here

When we could run away to paradise

But I am held in some invisible vice

And I can't get away

To live and die in L.A."

BTW ... I don't live in "Mortville." That's a mythical town in John Waters' "Desperate Living." So save your hick comments.

And you're making comments about race in L.A.? That's got to be one of THE MOST segregated cities in the world. Whites over here, blacks there, Latinos here. Give me a break about presenting L.A. as some picture of racial harmony. You must not be up on semi-current events.

Im not sticking up for LA myself...I dont live near it and never will because of most of what you say...but honestly most of what you say is pretty much true of most big cities....at least Califonia has the weather going for it....Ive never lived in new york but have been there plenty of times....and Ill tell you the subways, the filth and smell is essentally like existing in a human toilet....far more disgusting than anything Ive seen in LA....the vibe of NYC is absolutely no better and in fact worse....LA has snobby rich assholes but NYC has flat out rude, pissed off assholes.....the weather pretty sucks.....you speak of traffic....NYCs traffic is such a joke you cant even drive at all....I dont claim LA to be great....but I find it so funny when people call NYC the greatest city in the world....its ONLY the people that live there that say something so retarded.

generally speaking, try to live North West of where you will be working.

(you want to be going south on the 405 in the mornings, east on either the 10 or the 105....)

Yeah, but New York has REAL culture, REAL architecture and everything else a REAL city has (good and, yes, bad) ... but the air isn't nearly as bad in New York, and the people, while they do have attitude, at least have something to back it up with ...

L.A. is just a giant mess of a megalopolis with a patently offensive culture, no downtown you'd actually want to go to ... in short ... all of the bad of a big city and none of the good (except the food, like I said earlier).

It's as utterly fake and meaningless as the movies it produces and almost always try and make it look like they're taking place somewhere else ...

People who happen to live there and can leave L.A. do so constantly ...

I'll never forget the feeling when I drove my car out of L.A. for the last time, feeling released, utterly relieved ...

There's so much else I could write, but I think everyone gets the point by now.

But none of that was the point ...

My original post was not bashing L.A. but to advise against moving to the Valley ...

everything I said about L.A. is 5x worse there ...

And if so and so wants to check out the Valley, so be it.

But I doubt I'll be the last one to offer that advice.

I think your exagerrating quite a bit and most people who who read the threads would probably feel the same...the Valley isnt as bad as you make it out to be and I would rather live there than in most places of LA because most places in LA are like most places in NYC....a toilet.

Aside from tangible things like crime, pollution, traffic, etc. (which are bad in LA), it's just like any other place: it is what you make of it. I don't get what people mean when they say "this neighborhood is cool" or "this neighborhood is boring", etc. What they're really saying is "I'm cool" or "I'm boring". Except for extremes like the middle of Siberia or something, I find it's equally as easy/hard to find interesting, vibrant people and places anywhere you go.

diametro, you seem a little bit too bitter about LA. Why did you move?

Actually, I'm not bitter about L.A. at all ... Mostly, I only have fond memories of the place ... seeing Linda Blair at a Halloween screening of the Excorist at Grauman's ... heckling Susan Sarandon when she got her star on the Walk of Fame ... "Do the time warp, Janet!"

My first time at Lawry's ... yumm .. creamed spinach and the David Lynch/Dune-like roasters they serve the prime rib in ... great friends I still keep in touch with and see when visiting L.A. ...

the beaches north and south ... the boardwalk in venice ... my time working at Roger Corman Pictures in Venice (and meeting the legend -- man, he's tall ) ... working out across the steet at Gold's Gym ... seeing "2001" at the Cinarama Dome ... Musso + Frank's Grill (the oldest restaurant in L.A.) ...

Going to the Hollyhock House -- a Frank Lloyd Wright -- in Pasadena (some beautiful homes there and smoggy as hell) ... being a writer and editor for The Hollywood Reporter and Muscle and Fitness Magazine ...

the love of my life I left behind there and maybe will return permanently for despite my overall dislike of the area ...

the reason I left was to produce/direct a movie I shot elsewhere ... at the time I very much needed to do that and decided I absolutely would not do it L.A. I mean, who wants to see ANOTHER movie set in L.A.? And if I ever see that giant donought building in another film/tv show/or commercial I'm just going to vomit.

Although I had plans to return ... I never did.

Like I said, I don't really have a problem with L.A.. It's THE VALLEY I wouldn't reccommend to anyone but an enemy ... I can't think of one good thing there ... what Six Flags? does that count? Yeah, that Hollyhock House is in the valley ... I'm racking my brain, but can't come up with anything else. Sorry.

Oh, yeah. Analogue Haven. But, sadly, I wasn't into synths yet.

If it works for you, fine. Great. Before this war of 10,000 words started, I was merely advising someone against moving there ... obviously my suggestion is only that ... and if the person in question found my advice so compelling that he immediately checked off the valley, oh well ... I'm sure he'd experience it soon enough ...

Like a lot of people, L.A. isn't for me ... I need more open space ... roads I can actually drive faster than 10 m.p.h. ... people who are interested in something more than getting ahead and 'the industry.' Too many hustlers, poseurs in their lease cars, and having the drive through Beverly Hills. EcCCH!

Not to mention, I'm scared {censored}less of earthquakes, which amazingly I never experienced once while there except when I was having sex and didn't know it had happened until later ...

Oh yeah, there's plenty of sex that in L.A., but that's pretty scary, too, if you really think about it ...

BTW, IS THIS OVER?

I can go forever.