Moving to LA

Hi all,

I might be moving to LA. I’m 30, single, and own a Ferrari. What neighborhood should I live in? Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Brentwood, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Santa Monica Canyon. Pacific Palisades is nice but all families. Malibu is great but a tad isolated if single and want to go out. Happiness depends a lot on where you live and where you work. Live near where you work so you don't have to go on the freeway or sit in traffic.

 

Thanks Rio. I won't have a commute.

 

There are many choices, what are your priorities?

Of course, budget makes a big difference as well.

 

I intentionally left this vague to avoid biasing the conclusion. But perhaps was too vague.

Safety, chill neighbors that I can fit in with, cost / ability to get garage space, diversity, interesting entertainment within driving distance, walkability to grocery/gym a plus. I know some people on the westside so nearby would be a plus but not a requirement. I also hope to drive my 458 as much as possible.

Budget is 1.5M but hope to do it under 1M. If over 1M would also compare other places besides LA.

 

Homes in all of those areas that are decent are $2m and up. 1 - 1.5m would get you a condo in some of those places.

 

West Hollywood is the place for you. I live there too. I'm 25 and single. Close to everything and right next to Beverly Hills. If you plan on driving your 458 then shoot me a pm. We have a good group going and drive often. All Ferrari/Lamborghini/Porsche etc. Malibu is the best to drive

 

I was going to say WeHo as well...

 

And make sure to check out Venice Beach..Its a little busy during the summer but everything is walkable or bikeable....
North of Lincoln Blvd for $1.5m can get a decent house with a good garage..Good reasonable Ferrari mechanics close by too..
Easy access to Malibu drives and C&C's in Malibu and the Marina Del Rey all minutes away too..
Lots are car people here...

 

Check out Newport if you're not set on LA. Less traffic, better roads, plenty of exotics, close to Laguna, the new pacific city development in HB, safer and just way nicer IMO.

 

If your priority is driving your Ferrari, living in the LA basin is not the place to be... unless you like crawling on freeways and surface streets for an hour or so before getting to open it up. It is not like Austin. I live just outside of LA so I drop in when I want and enjoy the mountains and beaches the rest of the time.

 

I live in Playa del Rey; it's sandwiched between Marina and the airport and as a result kind of hidden away so you don't get all the tourists and crowds that go to Marina and Venice.

Santa Monica is really crowded along with Venice and Marina. They are nice as long as you don't mind that. You can also try Manhattan but a bit pricier. South of that you have Redondo and Hermosa.

Basically I recommend you live in a beach neighborhood lol! You won't find a big house for that money but you'll find one.

As far as WeHo goes, you can pay me to live there and I wouldn't. Yes you're right in the middle of everything but traffic will be a disaster. All of LA is pretty bad but at least with the beach cities you can escape early on the 405, 10, 105 and/or Pacific Highway.

 

Don't do it

Originally from there and left and never looked back. Spent half of my time sitting in traffic.

 

Like some said
Stay away from the west side. I lived in Venice, SOLD, moved to playa del rey, Better but moved. Noise and traffic.

Now in the long beach area and love it. No traffic easy access to highways, airports and weather is great. Not to mention folks are real nice this way

I did not like beach front as it was too cold for me

 

I live in Studio City since 1985 moved here from Beverly Hills and love it. Great neighborhoods, diversity in homes, garage space and easy to get any where. Bars, pubs, restaurants, gyms and kid friendly if need be. South of Ventura just east or west of Coldwater Canyon.

 

Stay in Austin. Been in both, no question which is better. Only mistake we made was not blowing California 30 years ago.

 

Wait till after the big earthquake is over.

 

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I’m glad I asked on fchat since driving the ferrari a lot was/is a big issue for me. There seems to be a pretty strong contingent arguing against living in LA because there is too much traffic to get to decent roads, others think Malibu is great for driving and easy to access from the westside. I guess this is really the question I need to answer before proceeding

Steven — thanks for the offer and I’ll def connect if/when I make the move. Just curious what you think about safety in West Hollywood? I’ve gotten mixed reports and I saw some sketchy looking ppl when I visited (maybe just bad luck)

Tim — Same question about Long Beach — is crime an issue?

alex — are there any roads in OC that you can really open it up? I’ve visited newport, it is incredibly nice. I would have to stretch the budget a bit.

I appreciated everyone’s response — thanks again

 

I just drove all over the above places last Sat. and Sunday. (Now in So. Padre Island)

The house next to my families is listed for 890k on National blvd. small, 1950 1400 sq ft with small garage.

Talk about priced out .....

 

Even in the last 6 mons traffic has gotten worse. It is so intractable now, it is painful. Everyone is texting while prius squat in the left lane. This is a great place if Bernie Sanders is your guy. Last week took me 4 hrs to go 100 miles to the racetrack leaving at 2pm. You can't drive anywhere at anytime anymore.

 

Aside from a 4 year stint on the Wilshire corridor I've lived here for 20 years, and I love it, except that it has become more and more crowded since they've been branding Playa Vista as "Silicon Beach". Every left takes 3-4 lights and there are yahoos everywhere. It will only get worse when all those apartments on Jefferson are occupied. I wouldn't trade it for WeHo but a single guy in his 30's might think differently. More nightlife, central to everything and somewhat closer to the mountains for driving than here. The only fun around here involves some risk if you want to blast down Pershing behind LAX.

If I had to choose a spot around here in my 30's: 1.5MM for a nice nice unit at the Cove

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house,condo,townhouse_type/82872064_zpid/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/33.984994,-118.443321,33.983813,-118.445938_rect/18_zm/0_mmm/

or for a little less, a penthouse at The Regatta.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house,condo,townhouse_type/54943136_zpid/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/33.984877,-118.442624,33.983696,-118.445242_rect/18_zm/0_mmm/

....but TBT, Playa Del Rey definitely feels more like the sleepy beach nook MDR once was.

 

I'm in Signal Hill, small town (9000 people) in middle of LB. We have our own police force all x marine or special forces that will shoot you if your not from here

Lots of real nice area's in LB now, bixby knowles or down by Seal Beach there is a nice community hidden away by the marina. Very safe. Even downtown is really nice now and growing fast. Great opportunity to invest in real estate.

In LA your only a mile or 2 from a bad neighborhood


EDIT

Its real easy to hit 3 airports here also LB, john wayne and LAX. I fly often so it's very convenient

 

There are way more open roads in the OC area than any place in the West LA area. OC is more open. Has newer wider streets. No pot holes like West LA. Way better parking in malls/shopping/eating areas. You can buy a bigger more modern home in OC also. Much safer area. Way less crowded.

 

+1 traffic has gotten MUCH worse last 6 months and is absolutely unbearable now ....IMO this is in large part due to 600,000 drivers licenses that were handed out to "undocumented immigrants".....oops, I guess nobody thought that one out??

God have mercy on you if you live on the Westside...

 

West Side still has semi-walkable areas. Nobody walks in LA though. Venice=stabbed

The Century City and Brentwood-Wilshire corridor towers are not bad and closer to UCLA you get some walkability. A 458 will blend in.

Downtown is growing in young pros and lots more to do than Hollywood.

As a bev hills canyon dweller, don't bother, it misses all your criteria.