Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > Los Angeles
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 01-06-2009, 11:49 PM
 
Location: DFW
219 posts, read 609,176 times
Reputation: 162

Advertisements

The wife and I just got back from an apartment hunting trip in LA. We took a look at a whole slew of new developments and we're trying to narrow down our options. I'll be working in the Financial District downtown and we don't know where my wife will be working. We looked at some places in the Financial District, the Southpark area around the Staples Center, Pasadena, Miracle Mile, and North Hollywood and here is my thinking:

Downtown near Union Station
Still pretty dead at night, a little dodgy during the day, extremely short commute, but more affordable. is there anything to do nearby?

Southpark
next to LA Live, easy commute, seems a little less edgy than other parts of downtown but not far removed from the rough parts

Pasadena
speaks for itself, but could be problematic if my wife is working somewhere like Century City

North Hollywood
great new buildings going up, affordable, but will commute to downtown by car be a problem?

Miracle Mile
Residential, seems very safe and quiet, convenient to many areas of LA

Koreatown around Vermont Station
Many of the same attributes as Miracle Mile but more of a developed area

Any other considerations I missed here? Anything else I should be thinking about? I'm leaning toward Miracle Mile right now...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-07-2009, 12:45 AM
 
Location: Los Angeles, CA
5,003 posts, read 5,991,337 times
Reputation: 4328
I like downtown from those choices. Then Pasadena. Downtown was pretty much unlivable (for me) 10 years ago. I noticed come changes 5 years ago and it's really taken off over the last 2 years. As long as you're renting it's not like you're locked in if you don't like it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2009, 08:25 AM
 
Location: DFW
219 posts, read 609,176 times
Reputation: 162
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Easy View Post
I like downtown from those choices. Then Pasadena. Downtown was pretty much unlivable (for me) 10 years ago. I noticed come changes 5 years ago and it's really taken off over the last 2 years. As long as you're renting it's not like you're locked in if you don't like it.
Thanks. We were looking at the new places just west of the 110 around Wilshire Blvd.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2009, 10:00 AM
 
Location: South Bay
7,226 posts, read 22,207,301 times
Reputation: 3626
if you choose noho, don't forget that the subway runs from there to downtown so you wouldn't have to worry about driving. it's about a 25-30 minute subway commute that could easily take an hour driving on the 101. the same option is available in ktown with the subway. i personally really like the miracle mile, which is for the most part a reverse commute to downtown. you can take 4th or 6th all the way to avoid wilshire. it is still a tough commute to anywhere on the westside from the miracle mile though. i know people who live 4 miles from century city in west hollywood and it takes them about 45 minutes each way to get to and from work everyday. no matter which of the locations you and your wife choose, i would definitely focus your job search for her around downtown and hollywood, maybe even burbank and glendale.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-07-2009, 03:04 PM
 
2,589 posts, read 8,642,386 times
Reputation: 2644
pasadena or miracle mile, with a slight preference for the latter since one of you will be job-hunting. in LA, you really can't be more centrally located than miracle mile. job centers on the westside (mainly beverly hills/century city/westwood) and downtown are nearly equidistant, and even a valley (ventura corridor) job site wouldn't be completely out of the question. pasadena's great, but moreso if you work there or in nearby glendale or burbank.

i think koreatown is pretty nasty and am surprised it made your list. i would also never live downtown, but i'm not moving here from someplace else; i grew up here in an era when NO ONE lived downtown, and as far as i'm concerned, that's as it should be.

Last edited by katenik; 01-07-2009 at 03:13 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2009, 07:14 PM
 
Location: Mt Washington: NELA
1,162 posts, read 3,237,768 times
Reputation: 642
I agree about the Miracle Mile- really nice and centrally located. No subway yet, but there is a station at Wilshire/Western. Larchmont is closeby and awfully nice as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-08-2009, 07:39 PM
 
6,459 posts, read 12,033,734 times
Reputation: 6396
Quote:
Originally Posted by cmw2133 View Post
Downtown near Union Station
Still pretty dead at night, a little dodgy during the day, extremely short commute, but more affordable. is there anything to do nearby?
I find this area ugly, but that's just me. I've read on here that there are things to do, but I couldn't tell you. I used to temp downtown and it's deserted after 7:00. NO ONE stays there. I keep hearing how "up and coming" it is, but I don't see it. There's a ton of homeless, so if you do move becareful. "Walking" around like in the other places you mentioned is NOT an option.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cmw2133 View Post
North Hollywood
great new buildings going up, affordable, but will commute to downtown by car be a problem?
Not really, but you could catch the Metro Redline Subway station to 7th Street & Metro (or the stop after, forget the name) and be right next to Grand Avenue. You'll be working near the super huge buildings right? There's also a Dash B bus that parks you right in front of Grand Avenue when you get out of the 7th street station.

Your wife could also learn to navigate the "canyons" when making her way to century city.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cmw2133 View Post
Miracle Mile
Residential, seems very safe and quiet, convenient to many areas of LA
I love this area. I wish I had a decent paying job where I could afford to live here. It's convenient to EVERYTHING. The metro rapid bus that rides on Wilshire Blvd will take you STRAIGHT to downtown and park you in front of the buildings you need to be at. It also goes to Century City as well (Wilshire/Santa Monica blvd). Your wife could transfer to another bus (they come right away) or walk it (about ten minutes). To me Miracle Mile all the way up to Westwood is like the Manhattan of Los Angeles.


Quote:
Originally Posted by cmw2133 View Post
Koreatown around Vermont Station
Many of the same attributes as Miracle Mile but more of a developed area
Koreatown is dirty to me. It's closer to downtown, but if you could afford it STAY in the Miracle Mile area. So much nicer IMO.

Out of all the places you mentioned MIRACLE MILE is the BEST choice. Commute will be a breeze for both of you, even by car. You do know that you'll have to pay for your parking downtown right? I heard in Century City it's free, but I'm not really sure.

Good luck to both of you! With good paying jobs and a nice place to live you two will definitely be able to enjoy it here.

Last edited by marilyn220; 01-08-2009 at 07:52 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > Los Angeles
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top