Los Angeles is huge! Now that I am starting to get more serious about looking into the different neighborhoods, I am starting to realize just how big and spread-out the LA metro area is. It would be awesome to live by the water, but then I am really far away from everything. Old-Town Pasadena seems really cool, and right up my alley in terms of temperament, but again, long commutes to everything. Miracle Mile, Los Feliz and Hollywood might be the most centrally located, but it is complete urban jungle. I'm heading down there the first week of March to check everything out, but these are the neighborhoods that I have narrowed it down to. They are in order of my current rankings of preference. based strictly on word of mouth and my internetting skills. This is, of course, possible and even likely to change multiple times in the next hour.
1. Miracle Mile - Mile long stretch on Wilshire Blvd., between Fairfax and La Brea. Lots of museums, restaurants, and stuff going on. Also close to Hancock Park, which is supposed to be good for hanging out outside. Might be similar to Dolores Park in San Francisco. Also, its only 3-4 miles from Freddie Roach's Wild Card boxing gym, possibly the best training center on the west coast.
2. Old-Town Pasadena - Sounds awesome. Lots of restaurants, independent book shops, cafes and the like. Reading about this neighborhood sounds like it would be perfect for me, but it is SO far away from everything.
3. Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach/Redondo Beach - I've lived at the beach before and loved the vibe. All three of these beach towns seem really cool. Not too far from mid-city and downtown geographically, but they are not close to any freeways. The commute might be rough.
4. Los Feliz - Los Feliz and Silver Lake seem very similar to San Francisco. Bohemian, liberal, lots of coffee shops, artists, poets, etc. Centrally located.
* I don't care at all about celebrity spotting. I prefer bars to clubs, casual to formal. I like being outside and being able to walk to my favorite places. If any kind soul out there has suggestions for me, I humbly implore you to ...
5 comments:
Well i hope someone takes pity on you, that picture should help out in that department.
I would offer my eternal wisdom on the matter, but with the exception of Hollywood, i have heard of none of those places. Oh, maybe Pasadena. That might've been mentoned in a film or two...
I will pick one at random to get my vote... Miracle Mile. The gym and the park swing it, and the alliteration of course.
the beach cities aren't really that far from the freeway. they can vary from 5-15 mintues to the freeway.
if you need to test out bars and fun things to do in any of the cities, let me know... i'm game!
Old Town Pas is cute (kinda suburbia), but the weather in Pasadena is super hot and can get muggy...WAY too inland...plus the 210 is the worst freeway ever.
How come you're not considering Long Beach? The downtown area is kinda up and coming, cool bars, close to the water...I have some friends who live there that can give their opinion. They love it!
For you, I would recommend Miracle Mile and Los Feliz over Hancock Park. However, you will be a little land-locked in both areas. Beach cities, Old Town Pasadena, and Long Beach have really difficult commutes. It may be good some days, but really bad on others. I love Old Pas and LB, but we've avoided it bc we like a quality of life that doesn't include long stretches on the freeway. Good luck. Let me know if me and Wayne can help (we can help you with id'ing "safe" neighborhoods)
Sunny
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