Some info while considering law schools in Los Angeles Forum

[sandiecohen47]

This thread is ridiculous. What I love about LA is you can drive 4 minutes and enter a completely different neighborhood with a different vibe. I love that it's a diverse city with an insane history. If it's not for you, don't live there.

[chango]

This thread is ridiculous. What I love about LA is you can drive 4 minutes and enter a completely different neighborhood with a different vibe. I love that it's a diverse city with an insane history. If it's not for you, don't live there.

+1000

[therealfp]

This thread is ridiculous. What I love about LA is you can drive 4 minutes and enter a completely different neighborhood with a different vibe. I love that it's a diverse city with an insane history. If it's not for you, don't live there.

I'm a huge fan of LA, have lived in some of the gnarlier neighborhoods surrounding USC, and although I've witnessed plenty of crazy shit (beatings, shootings, etc) its not difficult to steer clear of all that stuff...there are plenty of perfectly safe/awesome places to live within easy commuting distance of anywhere.

If you're afraid, don't move here, if you hate it, move out.

[ChEsteve]

LA is the best city in the US

[chango]

LA is the best city in the US

Los Angeles is okay, but the BEST???

--ImageRemoved--

[ChEsteve]

LA is the best city in the US

Los Angeles is okay, but the BEST???

we are the best

[Big Dog]

Any idea about commuting to Irvine and the areas around Irvine? I am visiting the LA area now staying near Long Beach and I love the little neighborhood I am staying in. It looks to be about 1/2 hour from UCI but no idea what traffic conditions would be like commuting to Irvine.

It's approx 25-30 miles from LB to UCI, depending on exactly where in LB, which normally translates into a <30 minute drive. But NOT during rush hour. And, you would be going with traffic, which is extremely slow southbound in the morning (from LB) and northbound at night (returning from Irvine). Figure an hour of stop-and-go driving unless you carpool or purchase a ~Prius with a carpool sticker -- good luck finding one for sale.

[lt0826]

Any idea about commuting to Irvine and the areas around Irvine? I am visiting the LA area now staying near Long Beach and I love the little neighborhood I am staying in. It looks to be about 1/2 hour from UCI but no idea what traffic conditions would be like commuting to Irvine.

It's approx 25-30 miles from LB to UCI, depending on exactly where in LB, which normally translates into a <30 minute drive. But NOT during rush hour. And, you would be going with traffic, which is extremely slow southbound in the morning (from LB) and northbound at night (returning from Irvine). Figure an hour of stop-and-go driving unless you carpool or purchase a ~Prius with a carpool sticker -- good luck finding one for sale.

Thank you. I'm willing to do 1/2 hour for a commute, but an hour might get aggravating over time. That's too bad because I love Belmont Shores.

[Fark-o-vision]

yeah, I realize that a lot of my comments may be taken as negative, but I don't really mean them that way. L.A. is an incredible city and I've yet to find a neighborhood that is particularly dangerous during the day. That so many cultures are represented is a real boon (especially for the food). I wouldn't want to scare anyone away from Los Angeles. I myself hope to live there soon. I would just say that it's a bit more erratic than a lot of cities that I've been in. You can't gauge a neighborhood very easily unless you visit and spend a significant amount of time where you might live. In a lot of cities, areas near Universities are sort of protected, and they're usually the smart choice for living arrangements. That isn't true in Los Angeles.

That's all. Los Angeles ftw.

[pleasetryagain]

Crime in Los Angeles County dropped again in 2009 despite rising unemployment and the bad economy, continuing a slide that has pushed homicides to levels not seen since the 1960s.

Killings dropped about 17% in Los Angeles and by nearly a quarter in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Together, the agencies investigated about 500 killings through Sunday -- a sharp drop in bloodshed compared with the more than 1,500 in 1992, the year of the Los Angeles riots.

...The totals are a fraction of the killings that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the county had roughly a million fewer residents, but its urban core was in the grip of a crack cocaine epidemic and gang violence. Another prime marker of violence, the number of gunshots fired, was also down.

I think the nationwide ammo shortage accounts for most of this decrease..

[Havaianas]

this whole thread cracks me up

[chango]

LA is the best city in the US

Los Angeles is okay, but the BEST???

we are the best

You assert that Los Angeles is the best city in the nation, and as evidence you submit your favorite SPORTS TEAM? I think you may have wandered into the wrong forum.

[ChEsteve]

LA is the best city in the US

Los Angeles is okay, but the BEST???

we are the best

You assert that Los Angeles is the best city in the nation, and as evidence you submit your favorite SPORTS TEAM? I think you may have wandered into the wrong forum.

That is one of many reasons my friend... enjoy the game tomorrow i'll see you on the 13th at SW

[chango]

That is one of many reasons my friend... enjoy the game tomorrow i'll see you on the 13th at SW

Just leave the boxing gloves at home.

[ChEsteve]

That is one of many reasons my friend... enjoy the game tomorrow i'll see you on the 13th at SW

Just leave the boxing gloves at home.

hahaha no problem

[Duralex]

This thread is hilarious. Westwood is in the City of Los Angeles, unquestionably. It is not an independent city, nor is it part of the unincorporated areas under the purview of the County. (Dead giveaway: we have the LAPD, not the LA Sheriff. Pepperdine has the Sheriff, of Lost-Hills-substation-drunk-Mel-Gibson fame. See also the parody of the Malibu sheriff in The Big Lebowski. ) There are apartment buildings in Bel Air, although many may have gone condo by now and so rental will be up to the owners, and (lots!!) in Beverly Hills. Of course Westwood is expensive: it's the slightly more affordable cousin of the top-flight communities of Santa Monica, Brentwood, Bel Air and Beverly Hills that surround it. That's why Culver City, due S/SE of Westwood, is often suggested for LLS and SW students. (I don't know what USC students do--USC kids often have money, and may for the large part have wider options. Maybe that's an UG thing, though.)

Do people really need a primer on what a "nice" and a "rough" neighborhood means? Only two of the neighborhoods commonly suggested to LLS/SW/USC students (USC/Adams & Culver) are south of the 10. Broadly speaking, north of the 10 and west of the Downtown area, you are NOT in the ghetto. Culver is just south of the 10, but far enough west that it doesn't matter (effectively blocked off in the direction of South-Central by the Baldwin Hills and the Ballona Creek canal) and has become an middle/upper-middle class neighborhood since the mid-90s when renewal got underway.

[GATORTIM]

Do people really need a primer on what a "nice" and a "rough" neighborhood means?

Probably about as much as people need a primer on when and when not to bump a thread that has been dead for 2 months.

[Duralex]

RIIIGGGGGSSS!

The thread was linked from an active thread on LS livin' in LA, nor is 2 months much of a necro around here. The thread has ~1.5k views--it seemed worth adding my thoughts for anyone who happens upon it down the road via search or link, considering I've lived here for the better part of three decades.

Thanks for caring, though; I'm touched. >sniff<

[SwollenMonkey]

Crime in Los Angeles County dropped again in 2009 despite rising unemployment and the bad economy, continuing a slide that has pushed homicides to levels not seen since the 1960s.

Killings dropped about 17% in Los Angeles and by nearly a quarter in areas patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Together, the agencies investigated about 500 killings through Sunday -- a sharp drop in bloodshed compared with the more than 1,500 in 1992, the year of the Los Angeles riots.

...The totals are a fraction of the killings that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the county had roughly a million fewer residents, but its urban core was in the grip of a crack cocaine epidemic and gang violence. Another prime marker of violence, the number of gunshots fired, was also down.

I think the nationwide ammo shortage accounts for most of this decrease..

Could the possibility exists that the crime rate is dropping because the definition of a homicide has been altered, or maybe, people are not reporting crimes?

[chango]

Could the possibility exists that the crime rate is dropping because the definition of a homicide has been altered, or maybe, people are not reporting crimes?

Or perhaps....

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/05 ... rime-drop/

[giraffe28]

I initially clicked on this thread to see if I could get any productive advice out of it- so let's see if we can make that happen. Anyone have any actual suggestions as to where to live around USC that is both safe but does not warrant a long commute?

[chango]

I initially clicked on this thread to see if I could get any productive advice out of it- so let's see if we can make that happen. Anyone have any actual suggestions as to where to live around USC that is both safe but does not warrant a long commute?

I did grad work at USC and have lived in the Greater LA area for 20+ years....

Downtown would be my choice. Little Tokyo/Arts District a close second.

You wouldn't even need a car: you could take the DASH which runs every 5 or 10 minutes and only costs 25 cents.

Koreatown is another great nearby choice, and again, public transportation accessible (Red line to downtown, transfer to DASH).

Although you can find relatively affordable, relatively safe housing near USC, I think you'd get more bang for your buck living elsewhere. Besides, having a little distance from the campus has some psychological advantages.