[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by lovespandp

Let's call it low-income, not low-class. You also have middle-income people there, as well, but it's basically African-Americans living in the area. Dangerous? Sure, there's crime there. But Mrs. Obviousman works nearby, and goes into the area regularly. Other than being annoyed by panhandlers, nothing has ever happened there.

So, to summarize: It's mostly African-American, has some crime, but you can live there if you choose. It's much worse further south.

If you're looking for a place in LA for $700 or less, that's the best you're going to do. It might be scary for you, especially if you're a young white girl new to the city. They're really going to take advantage.


If you want to live here and enjoy the weather, then you have to pay for it. You put up with the smog and the traffic, enjoy the weather and pay your rent or mortgage. My advice is to start checking out craigslist, rent.com, and apartments.com if you are looking to rent. You’ll quickly see that the minimum rent for a non-war zone is about $1,000-$1,200 per month for a studio or 1BR. Really nice areas (like the West LA area) easily run $3,000 or more. Want to live near the beach? Expect to pay a premium.

"LA" is such a big place, there are so many neighborhoods/cities where you can live. Of course, even within a city or neighborhood, there are safer sections and less-safe sections.
In Los Angeles, some nice sections are West LA, Brentwood, Westwood, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Los Feliz, Silverlake, and Eagle Rock. Palms and Mar Vista are pretty good, too. In the Valley(part of LA), you have Encino, Tarzana, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Granada Hills, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, West Hills, and Chatsworth. Glendale and Burbank are good places, and are incorporated cities of their own.

To the east: South Pasadena, parts of Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, Glendora, San Dimas, Laverne, Azusa, Rancho Cucamonga.

Along the beach: Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Palos Verdes, Rancho PV.

In Orange County aka "The OC": Seal Beach , Huntington Beach , Newport Beach , Corona Del Mar , Laguna Beach , Dana Point , Capistrano Beach , San Clemente , Brea, Yorba Linda, Orange, Tustin, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest

To the west: Agoura, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Moorpark.

haha! You described south central. Her school will actually be in my neck of the woods.

OP there are certain places you should avoid. I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it, there are some bad areas in Los Angeles, but you are nowhere near South Central if that's what you're scared of. The immediate area is a Korean community where you will find a lot of people in their BMW's and Mercedes while living in small apts.

As long as you stick to larger streets like 3rd, Wilshire, Alvarado, Normandie, Western, then transportation by bus wouldn't be a problem. The Metro rail like Maximo said is very limited. But it does run right on Wilshire. When I didn't have a car, I prefered the bus though. Especially the Rapid (red bus).

If you have a specific area or adress you looking at go to Google maps and see the street for yourself.