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Los Angeles |OT| GAF's Guide to the Greatest City in the Universe
- Thread starter clearacell
- Start date
After doing some more research, I'm thinking Silver Lake as well. Still haven't written off Koreatown or Culver City yet. I'm probably going to come down once my last semester at UofT wraps up to check out my options. Thanks to everyone else suggesting areas as well- I'm primarily concerned with a really simply commute (ideally near a subway line- not sure if I'm bringing a car), so places like Pasadena are a bit too out of the way. West Hollywood's probably as far out as I'd want to go.
For the poster above who was defending USC's safety- I'm sure it's safe so long as you don't venture too far south or too far east.. I'm not really concerned with safety. I'm a guy, so sexual offenses aren't as big a deal to me..no one ever gets murdered in the area, and I hail from a city already..so I'm not exactly street-stupid. Plus, I've heard security and policing is really tight at campus and throughout the surrounding area. I just don't particularly like the way the neighbourhood looks, and as far as I'm aware, most graduate students live off campus in more exciting areas. Still, I'll check the USC neighbourhood out for myself when I come down.
Why is that? It's just a school?
H.Protagonist
[-_-]/
I wish I could have. I don't even get home from work 'til 8+ most days.
He said there'll be more shows, though.Also, anyone have any tasty cheap eats recommendations for Downtown? $10-$15 range-ish. A bacon wrapped hot dog can be had almost anywhere, of course, but if there are better options, I'd love to hear them.
timetokill
Banned
Mendocino Farms should fall within that range. My favorite sandwich place. Really interesting sandwiches, high-quality ingredients, cane sugar soda fountain.
Sure, if you want it to take an hour.
And by the way, having to take three different freeways to get anywhere is ridiculous, no matter what city you're in. LA is the only city in America where you have to get on three different routes to get to a place that's 10 miles away. It's ridiculous.
Go live anywhere else and you'll see that people who live in LA live under some extremely inconvenient (at best) and offensive (at worst) civil engineering conditions.
StopMakingSense
Member
Most of the places down in Little Tokyo are in that range.
Yeah, driving to the Westside from Echo Park/Silverlake could easily take an hour when traffic is slow.
But it would take you a long time to get there from any part of town that isn't the Westside. My point was that Echo Park/Silverlake isn't particularly isolated. The 101 is right there, and you can get to downtown by just taking Glendale Blvd until it turns into 2nd St, or by taking Sunset up to Beaudry, or any number of ways.
Though clearly if someone needs to go to the Westside a lot, that person should just live on the Westside.
But it would take you a long time to get there from any part of town that isn't the Westside. My point was that Echo Park/Silverlake isn't particularly isolated. The 101 is right there, and you can get to downtown by just taking Glendale Blvd until it turns into 2nd St, or by taking Sunset up to Beaudry, or any number of ways.
Though clearly if someone needs to go to the Westside a lot, that person should just live on the Westside.
velvet_nitemare
Member
Depends on where you want to be. My fav spot is The Hip Kitty...full bar, live band (jazz), and a dance floor....for me it hits all the spots, but it's way out in Claremont in the SGV. I haven't done the *club* scene for many years so I'm not that clear on things, but the ones I do know that are okay are Bar 107 and Seven Bar...
I know for a fact that The Granada is a great place to go but uh...it's salsa dancing and I don't know how to salsa
Thx for the recommendations. I'm just so sick of the bullshit of Hollywood clubs.
I wish I could have. I don't even get home from work 'til 8+ most days.
Also, anyone have any tasty cheap eats recommendations for Downtown? $10-$15 range-ish. A bacon wrapped hot dog can be had almost anywhere, of course, but if there are better options, I'd love to hear them.
There's this pizza bar that nintendoll and I went to:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/urbano-pizza-bar-los-angeles
Pizza was quite good, but the real kicker is that 5-7pm is their happy hour, where all the pizza and beer is half price. The tab was outrageously low for a nice quattro formaggi and some drinks. Might not be helpful if you only go out after 8, but still a solid place regardless.
I live in Los Feliz and work in Santa Monica. It takes me about 40-45 minutes at around 9 in the morning. Not the end of the world.
H.Protagonist
[-_-]/
I did try to eat there on one occasion, but it was a weird experience. The menu looked great, but every time I tried to order something they said they were out of whatever particulars that sandwich needed. After the 3rd 'sorry' I just left.
The pictures looked good , though. May attempt it again. Thanks for the recommendation.I was hoping for something more specific. I know there are plenty of cheap places in LT, but which are the good ones (if you know of any particular ones)?
Nice. Thanks! Happy hour deals at a great place is exactly what I was hoping for. Will have to check it out at the right hour. I used to take the bus right by there and saw it being renovated for the restaurant, but hadn't tried it yet.
Calamari41
41 > 38
I went to USC for four years of undergrad (graduated in '08) and then lived there with buddies for a year after graduating, and I never once had any need to step foot south of the Coliseum or east of Figueroa. You really don't have to worry about safety. According to LAPD and campus statistics, UCLA is technically significantly more dangerous crime-wise than USC. So yeah you might get mugged, but the chances of that happening are similar to any other neighborhood unless you start wandering deep into South Central. In general, the community loves USC students. During the Watts riots and the Rodney King riots, everything outside of a radius of a few blocks away from USC was ravaged, but the bubble of the campus was completely untouched.
There are a ton of apartment buildings and houses to rent just north of campus in the area contained by Jefferson, Vermont, Adams, and Figueroa. And in all honesty, I wouldn't trade my time living right off of campus for anything. It will be infinitely easier to make friends, and nothing beats being in your seat in class 15 minutes after waking up. And students throw parties all the time: all you have to do is walk through the neighborhood Thursday to Saturday and you will find multitudes of opened up houses where you will be welcomed in without question. There is a shuttle that can take you to LA Live (where the Staples Center is), and buses will get you anywhere downtown that you need to go if you don't want to drive. Hollywood and Pasadena are a short ride away, and you can make it to the beach in no time as long as you're not trying to get there during rush hour.
There is only one real bar that you can walk to from the USC area, and its kind of a shit-hole (of course I am referring to The 9-0). The place is packed with ten's, though, so there is that. You can taxi it very easily to the multitude of downtown bars, so I wouldn't be too concerned about missing out on that scene if you're not as into the house party/drinking at a friend's place type of socializing.
If you don't want to be right off of campus, I would recommend taking a look at the mid-Wilshire area (around La Brea and 3rd) as well as Hollywood. For my money, that area is the most walkable in LA. Might be too expensive though, I'm not sure, since I've never tried to live there before. Culver City is incredibly dull to me, and the rest of West LA is a complete traffic nightmare. The other day at 6:00 PM it took me 40 minutes to drive through two traffic lights on Santa Monica blvd.
Please let me know if you have any questions whatsoever about living at USC, I'd love to help you out if I can!
Edit: and no matter what you decide, definitely bring the car. Also, there might be something to your idea of Silverlake (I've never even been there) because literally every friend I had in the film school moved there immediately after graduation.
Yah, I've been browsing the mid-Wilshire area as well thanks to its general proximity, and the prices look pretty reasonable. You bring up all the typical good reasons for wanting to be near campus, but I've pretty much had those kinds of experiences as an undergrad, so I'm looking for something that feels a bit different. I wouldn't mind living further North in some of the more urban areas if it meant a subway/short bus commute.
At the same time, there's a good chance I'll end up living in the Jefferson/Vermont area near campus when all is said and done, so all of this might be much ado about nothing. I'm going to the various surrounding neighbourhoods before I actually move down, so I'll decide then...Also, yah, I heard that UCLA is statistically more dangerous. Don't worry, I'm not concerned about safety. I'm completely psyched to be going to USC! The MFA in film production is like a dream degree.
Calamari41
41 > 38
You can say that again. My buddies in undergrad had tons of stories of just showing up to a random lecture only to see someone like Steven Spielberg standing at the lectern out of nowhere.
How many years is the program? One thing to remember is that you can always relocate after the first year if you realize that the area you chose to live in isn't working out for you.
timetokill
Banned
I did try to eat there on one occasion, but it was a weird experience. The menu looked great, but every time I tried to order something they said they were out of whatever particulars that sandwich needed. After the 3rd 'sorry' I just left.
That's a huge shame... never had that problem myself, but I don't doubt that it happens. I have seen a friend of mine have to order a different sandwich when they were out of something.
That said, there's also a location in Marina Del Rey, and a new one on La Brea and Santa Monica (where the Target/Best Buy/etc) are located. Not that it helps with your downtown search, but if you wanted to try the place at a different location. I've been to each one, and the two downtown locations are the hardest to actually get to. When your employees have to take a shuttle from a parking lot to work, something is a little off
Anyone here been to fukuburger (www.fukuburger.com) on Cahuenga and N Hollywood Blvd?
Went there the other day and had a Tomago (egg) Burger
which had a fried egg, furikake, crispy onions, teriyaki sauce, and wasabi mayo.
Really really good. And they're open until 4am >
Went there the other day and had a Tomago (egg) Burger
which had a fried egg, furikake, crispy onions, teriyaki sauce, and wasabi mayo.
Really really good. And they're open until 4am >
StopMakingSense
Member
Really depends on what you like? Ramen, sushi, or curry?
CountAntonius
Member
found.
CountAntonius
Member
Yeah I can't even imagine what her family is going through.
CountAntonius
Member
I don't think they know yet.
Anyone here been to fukuburger (www.fukuburger.com) on Cahuenga and N Hollywood Blvd?
Went there the other day and had a Tomago (egg) Burger
which had a fried egg, furikake, crispy onions, teriyaki sauce, and wasabi mayo.
Really really good. And they're open until 4am >
Yes I went there last week! Bloody good burger for the price, better value over Umami Burger!
If only they would open one in Downtown then I'd be there weekly!
clearacell
Member
My aunt: "I was in West Covina today and I about fainted... Mobil gas station selling gas for $5.47 a gallon..."
Seriously. Worst nightmare.
Have you guys been to The Last Bookstore downtown? It's really an amazing used/new store with a built-in coffee shop. Huge, great selection, lots of comfy chairs in which to sit and read, right near the Metro station.
I just got back from the Bay Area where there are oodles of great bookstores, but none as immense as this one. It's like the Amoeba of independent bookstores.
I just got back from the Bay Area where there are oodles of great bookstores, but none as immense as this one. It's like the Amoeba of independent bookstores.
Yes I love that place! I love perusing the cookbook section and finding cheap old classics! What's great is that they keep getting old books and every once in a while you see something that wasn't there before.
donkey show
Member
Man I'd kill for that price right now. It like $8.00 here in the UK. That said, this is where Costco gas rocks.My aunt: "I was in West Covina today and I about fainted... Mobil gas station selling gas for $5.47 a gallon..."
plasticpassion
Member
Headed to the Smog Cutter. Anyone wanna join?
Fidelis Hodie
Infidelis Cras
I wish I could have. I don't even get home from work 'til 8+ most days.
Nope, sorry that was the first and only. You've missed out forever. :-O
Thanks for coming out man! Just remember that dude at the federal . . sneezing on everyone. yuck.
How long are you planning to be there?
plasticpassion
Member
Not sure... At least a drink or two. Checking it out based on recommendations on here. We were in Hollywood for dinner so It's close by. We're almost there. If you're near come by.
clearacell
Member
plasticpassion
Member
Impromptu. Looking for parking now!
plasticpassion
Member
Interesting place... Very grunge
plasticpassion
Member
ETA?
Edit: clear you coming too?
Edit: clear you coming too?
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
Lol. That's pretty much the first thing out of my mouth when I walked for the first time.
clearacell
Member
Naw, if I knew about this earllier though i woulda been down...if you're going any other time let us know! i live in SGV so I need a little time to get ready and to get there.
plasticpassion
Member
Puddles and I rocked the joint
Edit: also, Wendy's on sunset is so good right now
Edit: also, Wendy's on sunset is so good right now
Nintendoll
Member
Even better, happy hour is 3-7 Mon-Fri. $4 beers on tap, and they now carry awesome Eagle Rock brewery beer! If you come after 6, you can park across the street all night for $5 with validation, and since Library Bar is right around the corner, you can make a proper night of it.
Hell yes! Smog Cutter is the jam!
Much better than me at this ;b
While I know how to get from place to place, I never really "got" the geography of the area around Silverlake, Los Feliz, and the beginnings of Hollywood. It always seemed really weird. If I took a street I wasn't familiar with, I'd sometimes get completely turned around for some reason.
So today I took some time to look over a map, and my mind is kinda blown. There is like a seismic shift right at Hoover. It really looks like the meeting of two tectonic plates.
So today I took some time to look over a map, and my mind is kinda blown. There is like a seismic shift right at Hoover. It really looks like the meeting of two tectonic plates.
clearacell
Member
I can't remember...is there where it changes to Western? I remember getting lost around there before.