what is the safest yet most affordable pace to live in LA?

Question

I would like just a small affordable place but i want to be safe. Also, i would like to be as close to everything as i can be. Please Help! Im from GA and im moving to LA in a few months and im kinda lost with this.

Answer 1

I would suggest looking in the San Fernando Valley or outskirts like Santa Clarita or Valencia. Make sure when looking in the valley you stick to Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Encino, Valley Village or Woodland Hills. You will be close to Hollywood and Los Angeles but its cheaper and safe in those areas. I moved here two years ago and things have been fine. Stay away from deeper areas of the valley like Reseda, Winnetka, North Hills, Panorama City and such, they get kinda scary the further in you go. Good luck!

Answer 2

Skip La Crescenta and La Canada - they are indeed safe but definitely not cheap. You might be able to find somewhere in Montrose or Tujunga though.

I'd suggest going with Burbank, Glendale, or Pasadena. That gives you a good combination of relatively close, somewhat cheaper, and fairly safe. Of course, there's bad areas in all of those, so make sure you pay attention.

And of course there's always the Valley. It's definitely cheaper than most other areas, but again, there's bad areas of the Valley too. Driving around a bit might give you an idea of what you're looking at.

In Los Angeles, a lot of the Mid-Wilshire and Miracle Mile areas are fairly nice too, and there may be smaller cheaper places there.

The simple fact is that "cheap" is going to be tough in almost all of Los Angeles, except the really worst areas. So... take a look around when you get here. Or, if you're looking at a specific area or address before you can come check it out, post it up here. People from LA can tell you whether it's decent or not.

Answer 3

The big question is where you think you will work. You want to try to avoid a long commute when ever possible. My guess is that you are looking to rent an apartment. If so I'd consider the Palms, Mar vista, Culver city areas. Rents will be higher than in GA but jobs are plentiful and salaries are often higher. Expect to pay about 1/2 of your income on rent which can be a bit of a shock. Lots of UCLA, USC and Loyola students live in these areas. You may also consider downtown or the loft / arts district but this is a much gritter urban option. If you are looking for a more suburban type of lifestyle look at south Pasadena / Pasadena ( avoid the west end of Pasadena or altadena you will be sacrificing safety for lower rents).

Answer 4

Try Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Montrose, La Crescenta, some parts of Eagle Rock..or try the Inland Empire: Rancho Cucamonga, Claremont, Upland. All safe areas with some affordable housing.

Answer 5

I'll look close to LA/Orange County border cities. I currently live in the City of Cerritos which is really safe and quite with really good school district (if you have any kids). Cerritos is not too far from downtown LA and 3 nearby freeways that can take you anywhere you want. Also, home price is not too high for what it provides. Other choices are; Artesia, Brea, Torrance (any beach cities), Glendale, La Canada, La Crescentia. etc.

Answer 6

Girl...stay in GA!!! it is SO expensive out here....and there is no affordable housing.....going to the beach everyday is nice....but everyday living costs money. Make you sure you are getting a decent cost of living raise....cause I am telling you...it will be a shock compared to GA....even apts are expensive. When we moved out here, and by the way, Oak Park is nice and safe but for a 2br,2ba apt costs us 1700.00 a month....and this was a no frills apt too. There are some other apt complexes up the way into Thousand Oaks....off of westlake blvd that would be newer and safe too...maybe the prices alittle less....but not by much...cant think of the name of them.

The thousand oaks area is nice and safe as far as LA burbs go and it is about 15 minutes to the beach from here and about 40 minutes up to Santa Barbara...downtown is about 35 miles away and santa monica is about 30 minutes. But going into LA from here during rush hours is horrendous....LA area is huge and tons and tons of people.

I recommend you try to make trip out here first to see the areas that would suit you....you may have second thoughts. Good luck to you...dont you know someone here already to help you make this transition?

Answer 7

LA County Jail.

Seriously, a recent article in the LA Times stated Irvine is the safest community in the southland. The general Agoura area is good, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley.

Burbank has a pretty low murder rate, and when someone is killed, it's usually a crime of passion rather than robbery homicide kind of thing.

Cheap it ain't, though.

Answer 8

Safe Is San Marino, South Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Chapman Woods, La Canada. (MEANING AFFLUENT)

If you want cheap, well then southern Glendale, Boyle Heights, Hancock Park, and downtwon Los Angeles offer the cheapest you can go but they are not safe.

Sorry what you get is what you pay for.

Answer 9

Bethesda, MD has some constructive appartments you may want to get for a robust value (about 10 minutes utilizing). except that, DC is noticeably expensive and the inexpensive places are fairly black populated and by no skill very secure. Rockville, MD is about 20 minutes away and that has even more suitable inexpensive places to stay and that is amazingly secure.

Answer 10

Nicole, Santa Clarita is far from affordable. Houses run from 500,000-850,000.
As for your question, I can't really think of a safe AND affordable area