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 ...
