"LA" is so many cities, each area unique. Be careful with generalizations as gospel. So Cal overall is a great place to drive, even if the roads are not always good ... far more interesting than Texas. Different kinds of terrain, and in an hour or less each way I can do snow, beach, canyons, desert basin, west LA, downtown LA, tall green trees, etc. Some amazing driving roads here, unlike no other place. Then you can go up to Big Sur, and the rest of CA. The people who say traffic is bad, are driving during the day. I work from home and don't deal with traffic except the occasional airport run, or a doctors visit, etc. You would be in the same boat it seems. 12-3 you can get around, after 8pm you can go anywhere. You will figure it out for your area. Personally I find the entire West side of LA unbearable. The people are not as open as compared to the east side, and the traffic is bad all day everyday until late. West Hollywood? I would never live there. North East LA is the place to be. We live in Atwater Village, an on the rise neighborhood with highway access in every direction, where you can find a great place with a garage, for the money you want to spend. There is a walking street close and other areas close, and cool people. Los Feliz and Echo Park and Mt. Washington, Eagle Rock, Silverlake etc. all nearby. Glendale and Pasadena for the suburban needs is nearby. From here "LA" is across town and an easy vacation stop, but we are not in LA proper. It's the best of both worlds.
Agree with your comments. West side is unbearable. Atwater is a cool area. Los Feliz, Silverlake great!
I grew up in the Valley, no way in hell I would ever go back there or anywhere except close to the beach. The air by the beach is a million times better, not to mention the breeze and lower temperatures. OP, try all the neighborhoods first but if you're a younger guy, the west side is where you want to be, unless you want to be more secluded.
I'm going to through a vote in for Sherman Oaks. Close enough to the Westside but at 1/3 to 1/2 less of the price. If you get something in the hills, it can be almost a rural feeling but you can be down to Ventura Boulevard and lots of restaurants in about a mile or over to the Westside in 3 -4 miles. If you don't have to work about a 9:00 am commute, I find it fairly easy to get to just about anywhere in LA from here. Easy to get to either the 101 or 405 freeways. I have about 1/2 acre with canyon views. We see deer around the neighborhood and hawks circling above. For the most part, crime is very low as they don't seem to want to bother as much with the hills and its too far for the crack heads to walk. Several Ferrari owners, maybe close to a dozen, within a mile radius of me. Several Lambo's, Bentley's and other high end vehicles here as well. Lot's of celebrities in the area too but most are very low key unlike other ares of the City.
And best bang-for-buck on the real estate front to. I'm an LA native and have been here quite a while, shoot me a PM if you want to have an in-depth chat.
I grew up in Encino and "Paroled" myself out of the valley 20 years ago..... Aside from not having the brown stagnant blanket of smog overhead I especially like watching my dash thermometer drop from 105 to 75 while descending from Skirball to Sunset in the summer! 818 = NEXT!!!!!
Really depends on where you are at. It can be 100 along Ventura and 85 at my house in the hills. I'm close to the top and get a lot of the marine layer spill over to keep the temps down. I don't think I have ever seen 100 at my house. Maybe 95 on occasion which is good pool weather.
TxBread, What business are you in?, this should enter into your considerations. Are you a thirtysomething, I would suggest looking at the Playa Vista developments.
Thanks everyone, for all the great ideas and offers of assistance. Mel -- appreciate the suggestion, though I mostly work from home, so I'm looking at location as more a question of living environment.
Irvine in orange county. crime rate is so low 5 patrol cars show up if a dog messes someones front lawn.
Great writeup. Yes, but Irvine is rather bland. Family haven. You may enjoy a loft in DTLA. ---- All my family is in LA, specifically Bel-Air. The latest I heard is that during rush hour it takes 2 hours to get from Sunset / Beverly Glen to Ventura Blvd. That's less than 6 miles. That's ridiculous. While LA is endlessly intriguing, the traffic kills my thinking to live there. Unless it were Venice Beach / Santa Monica area and I was working right there. I'm in my late 20's, live in Newport Beach and love it. It's a great place to be when you have money, with roads to drive and so on.. PCH from Newport to Laguna is a dream. You can find good properties for $1.5m without going inland.. let me know if you want an introduction to the neighborhoods.
or, laguna beach, across from beach. search 520 cliff dr, laguna beach ca 92651 most beautiful stretch of California coast.
LOL, classic. So there's your answer. In order to avoid traffic never leave your house between 6am and 8pm and you'll be just fine I would second the recommendation for OC. Not as much to do at night as LA, and it has traffic too. But it's just a lot more easier to live and get around and stay somewhat sane. -F
It can be bad, not that bad, but really close Ventura-Sunset in the AM and the reverse in the PM. It takes me 5-10 minutes to make the turn off my street onto Benedict Canyon in the mornings. Not to mention folks from the 818 can't stay in their lanes and I nearly get clipped everyday in either direction. This little canyons do trap moisture, it can rain randomly literally defining a 'micro climate'. @trojanfan we lost another deer on BevGlen on Thursday morning.
A few years back, a friend of mine's wife hit one on Mulholland. Coyotes would wait for a car to come and then chase the deer out in front of the car. When the deer got hit, the Coyotes would then drag it off the road. I didn't realize that they were that smart to set that up.
They are clever. Didn't you watch the Roadrunner cartoons growing up? Lots of talent painting rocks to look like tunnels too.
I feel like coyote hunting. some live by the big boulder just south of mulholland on bevglen. They are really big and will walk up to your car. The family of deer were hanging out munching in broad daylight at woodcliff. That is where that mountain lion used to hang out. The 'yotes tried opening my bbq grille and knocking over my smoker.
Stay away from Laguna Beach. You can't even get a crap shack here for less than $3M, and the traffic is AWFUL ALL THE TIME. But if none of that bothers you then it's a great place to live. Perfect weather ALL THE TIME.
If you work from home, you might want to look into Manhattan beach or Hermosa Beach. Clean air, best climate, close to freeways and airport. Very chill laid back community, not too pretentious. Also lot of younger very attractive women
I didn't actually live in Southern California. Had a food product in stores like Whole Foods. Visited every store in California once per month for two years. Know most of the neighborhoods fairly well. Its tougher to figure out a good spot. All have their pluses and minuses. My top three would be Huntington Beach, I'm a boater. Manhattan and Hermosa. Inland and away from water I like Sherman Oaks.
