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  1. #1
    Sandworm Swallows
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    Moving to LA.

    Ok, I am moving to LA, working in Santa Monica specifically. What do I need to know? I heard the taxes were high, and the traffic sucks. I need to live around Santa Monica, so I need to know good neighborhoods. Any areas I should avoid? Any insight into the area is greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Black Guy from Predator.
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    r.i.p.

  3. #3
    Hackey Thread Lurker since 2010
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    For starters, DO NOT LIVE IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. Even if it looks like a direct shot down the freeway, you have everyone crammed into that corridor that the commute is terribad. Even if rent is cheaper, avoid it since it can be near a 60 min commute each way.

    Rent is going to suck in the Santa Monica/West Hollywood region, but there are options. Best bet is to stay west of I-405 in general unless you happen to be north of I-10.
    Like Culver City & Palms is where it starts getting shady, but it's passable. Best bets are Marina Del Ray, Westchester, Mar Vista, Venice, Brentwood, Westwood, Playa Del Rey (all the web tech companies are expanding @ Playa, like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook).

    And if you're used to a municipal transit system, that barely exists here since everything is so spread out. I mean there are buses, but that's about it. The city is still building a subway from downtown to the Santa Monica area but it won't be finished until at least 2035, if not 2040.

    And get yourself a bunch of reusable grocery bags or you will get charged for paper bags you have to buy at the market.

  4. #4
    The Anti Miz
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    BRO HOW YOU GONNA LEAVE DC

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by tyven View Post
    BRO HOW YOU GONNA LEAVE DC
    I never thought I would, but the opportunity is just too great to ignore.

  6. #6
    Sandworm Swallows
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    Quote Originally Posted by synistar View Post
    For starters, DO NOT LIVE IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY. Even if it looks like a direct shot down the freeway, you have everyone crammed into that corridor that the commute is terribad. Even if rent is cheaper, avoid it since it can be near a 60 min commute each way.

    Rent is going to suck in the Santa Monica/West Hollywood region, but there are options. Best bet is to stay west of I-405 in general unless you happen to be north of I-10.
    Like Culver City & Palms is where it starts getting shady, but it's passable. Best bets are Marina Del Ray, Westchester, Mar Vista, Venice, Brentwood, Westwood, Playa Del Rey (all the web tech companies are expanding @ Playa, like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook).

    And if you're used to a municipal transit system, that barely exists here since everything is so spread out. I mean there are buses, but that's about it. The city is still building a subway from downtown to the Santa Monica area but it won't be finished until at least 2035, if not 2040.

    And get yourself a bunch of reusable grocery bags or you will get charged for paper bags you have to buy at the market.
    I could deal with that until the paper bags part. What the fuck is that? Do they not have plastic?

  7. #7
    Hackey Thread Lurker since 2010
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    LA county ordinance http://dpw.lacounty.gov/epd/aboutthebag/

    Santa Monica established it even before the county did. Hell you can't even wash your car on your driveway in Santa Monica because the runoff.

  8. #8
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    Been there done that. Traffic sucks like a bitch, especially in Pasadena/Altadena/Glendale/Burbank area, it sucks even more if you want to get to these areas by cutting through Hollywood. So just be ready for exceptionally shitty traffic, even at the crack of dawn. I always got ready 2 hours early for work, just in case (worked in Burbank, lived in Pasadena/Altadena).

    As for living, it solely depends on not only your current income, but your expected income from your new career. Like Syni said, you can definitely do Culver City, but expect some places to be shady (you are near Inglewood and Crenshaw if you live in Culver City). If not this, then Mar Vista -- slightly higher rent all over, but lower crime rate and you would be living around people our age (29~40). When I got to LA, I lived in Pasadena, but lived with a couple of other dudes for a while until I landed my real good job and moved to Altadena where the rich folk stay. If you are willing to do the bitch of a drive, East Pasadena and Temple City are wonderful places to stay with affordable rent most places. I have a friend who stays out in North Hollywood as well, I can ask him about how the rent is up there if you want.

    Avoid living near the Los Angeles Intl. Airport, avoid Inglewood. Avoid Gardena, Compton, and Hawthorne.

    Also I hope you have a car. As ironic as it sounds with the traffic being shitty, the transportation systems are complete shit almost everywhere, including Metro. You get to learn about how it's various municipal transportation systems are all shit, and that you almost always get nothing but slow buses everywhere, lol.

    Quote Originally Posted by ringthree View Post
    I could deal with that until the paper bags part. What the fuck is that? Do they not have plastic?
    No they just have good laws which at least get them some sort of return on the massive consumption of plastic bags

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    Quote Originally Posted by ringthree View Post
    I could deal with that until the paper bags part. What the fuck is that? Do they not have plastic?
    It's going state wide slowly, no plastic bags at grocery stores but can still get them at stores like Macy's here in the bay area in California. So buy reusable ones other buy paper bags for 10 cents each.

  10. #10
    The Fucking Voice of Actually
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    Also a citywide smoking ban.
    Basically, when FOX throws a liberal controlled world boogeyman, they are more than likely starting with Santa Monica as a template to work from.

    But yeah, look at a map, take the 405 freeway, and nix the possibility of using it. Unless your hours are such that you'll only be using it far far out of rush hours.
    To put it into perspective, during the day, it is way faster to travel between LA and Orange county using surface streets than using the 405.

    Better news though, this year the second phase of the Expo Line is supposed to open. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_L...geles_Metro%29
    It's a light rail line that will go direct from downtown LA to Santa Monica, and at it has connections to the blue, red, and purple lines. There is also a not great but not terrible transfer from the gold line using the red/purple.
    I wouldn't recommend living too far south along the blue though, the grading means it has shit travel times in a number of sections, killing it's commutability.
    Outside of those lines though, it's all bus. Coverage is good north of the 10, ok between the 10 and the 105, and meeeeeeeh south of the 105.

    Oh christ, yeah, pmuch.

    Welcome.

    EDIT: To explain. You know how people small talk about the weather? Well LA doesn't have weather, so we use the traffic instead.

  11. #11
    Hackey Thread Lurker since 2010
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    If you decide to look at the San Fernando Valley, think of it like a doughnut. Good areas are on the edges, shady ghetto (but not crenshaw ghetto) in the middle. Avoid Reseda, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Arleta. Passable areas are Valley Village, some parts of North Hills, parts of Northridge, Sylmar to a lesser extent. Now if you want a bitch commute but safe neighborhood, Simi Valley & Thousand Oaks (p much everything in Ventura county) is solid as is the Santa Clarita Valley/Valencia/Canyon Country areas. And if you want super cheap rent but OH GOD WHY AM I DRIVING THIS FAR EVERYDAY 2 hours+ each way commute, Palmdale and Lancaster. Yes, people live all the way out there to work in LA.

  12. #12
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    Santa Clarita/Valencia got dem fine ass Asian women doe. :kappa:

  13. #13
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    that's all kinds of stupid. paper is even worse for the environment than plastic.

  14. #14
    The Anti Miz
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    Quote Originally Posted by BaneTheBrawler View Post
    that's all kinds of stupid. paper is even worse for the environment than plastic.
    I'M SURE STUFF MADE OUT OF TREES ARE REAL BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

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    Quote Originally Posted by BaneTheBrawler View Post
    that's all kinds of stupid. paper is even worse for the environment than plastic.
    But long term, paper is more sustainable than oil based disposable plastic. And paper causes less of a problem if it's discarded as litter, vs. plastic bags.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tyven View Post
    I'M SURE STUFF MADE OUT OF TREES ARE REAL BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
    do you know how paper is made? it's an extremely wasteful process, and involves a lot of harsh chemicals.

    i also question the sustainability of using/fouling that much water on something that is used once and then discarded.

    The ultimate result (re-use your own bags) is the only good thing in that policy.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by ringthree View Post
    Any insight into the area is greatly appreciated.
    For a non-BG perspective, you can also keep an eye on this https://www.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/ for a few weeks.

  18. #18
    FOR FUCKS' SAKE !!!
    FOR FUCKS' SAKE !!!
    FUCK FUCK FUCK

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    I just came across this image, not sure if it pertains...but it has L.A. in its title lol

    http://i.imgur.com/kQF1QVp.png

  19. #19
    Hackey Thread Lurker since 2010
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    For the section it diagrams, it's fucking true. Sepulveda Blvd. in the valley (east of the 405) is drug and hooker central. Rent is dirt cheap along that corridor and along Van Nuys Blvd.

  20. #20
    Sandworm Swallows
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    Ok, 100% living west of the 405. Also, WTF is with using "the" to describe a highway.

    I am moving for a new much better job, and they suggested living close to the company for the first year. I will have my car (I could never live without a car) and I live in an area with pretty bad traffic (not LA bad, but I have driven in LA traffic before). My major concern is finding an apartment where my car won't get stolen and I wont get stabbed. If I have to pay a little more for it, that is fine. Marina Del Ray looked decent, and there were some other places on the west side of 405 that didn't look too bad.

    Oh, what is the chance I will find an apartment with W/D in unit? Seems like it just doesn't exist in LA.

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