Is LA safe for transplants?

[Kenny]

I'm going to UCLA for grad school but am not going to be staying on campus. I've been doing my own research on where to live during and after school, but I've been getting mixed results. Half are good, half are bad, all of them are old.

Therefore, I'd like some current opinions on living an African-American male in his 20s in Los Angeles. Thanks!

[Chuckles]

Anyplace to the north and west of UCLA all the way to the ocean is great. To the east it is great through Beverly Hills and OK in West Hollywood.

To the south of UCLA , you are fine most any place between UCLA and north of the Interstate 10 freeway. Or at least north of Pico.

Just be aware that this area is expensive.

The bad area is basically inside the area bounded by Interstates 710, 405 and 10. Look these up on a map.

[Obviousman]

I'm wondering where you're coming from with this question. Do you think that anyone from outside LA is attacked? Any large city has its good areas and bad areas. So asking if "LA is safe for transplants" is overgeneralizing.

Overall, LA is VERY safe for transplants. About half the people here are natives, the other half moved here.

You can check out safety here:
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com
http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/

[Steve B]

I move to LA in 09/11. so, yea

Bevery Hills is the best. UCLA,& WLA are great. Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, and Venice Beach are nice. Culver City may be a small step down.

As you go south and east, it gets worse. So, avoid Hawthorne.

Most places along the 101 and the hills are nice
Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino. Tarzana...

Most places west of Rt 405 are OK. I was told to avoid Reseda.
I would spend little time in the area boardered by Rt 118, Rt 405, Rt 101, Rt 5, and Rt 170 (Van Nuys and Panorama City)

Check out Glendale, Burbank, and Pasadena.

I'm not that familiar with areas south and south east of LA.

[maliboo_girl]

You are likely going to want to live as close as possible, because traffic on the Westside is awful and driving in from the valley is bad. That means your rent will not be on the low side because near UCLA is expensive. I suggest Culver City, Palms, and some areas of West LA as a good option for UCLA, about 4 to 6 miles commute. You'll want to check carefully in any of these areas to see if the neighborhood is decent. Even some of expensive areas in LA can have sketchy areas (Santa Monica, CC, Palms, West LA, etc.)

If you mean half of the buildings are old, that's what you're going to have to deal with if you don't have a big budget. But old buildings can be fine to live in.

You do not want to live in Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank or anywhere near there, the commute will kill you. A friend did a Pasadena to UCLA commute during the summer, when traffic is much lighter, and she decided to live on campus and pay $$$ for the school year because the commute was so stressful.

Be careful when looking for apartments, there are lots of scams here. Google: Los Angeles rental scams, and rental scams.

Use the UCLA housing website as there are typically rentals there you won't find anywhere else. See if there are any facebook groups for UCLA housing and grad students, fb groups are usually a good option to see what's going on from other students.

Good luck!

[Richard]

Which kind of transplant do you have in mind- heart, lung, kidney, or what?