moving out to cali

[stayhandsome]

hello gentle readers,

so i am moving to los angeles at the end of summer and was hoping a few of you could put me on to a some things.. for starters where to people live in la neighborhood wise? i usually try and shoot for the lower rent areas just outside the hot spots. also i will be using my bike for commuting downtown is the city bike friendly?

either way i am really excited to get out of the midwest!

[shea butter]

why are you leaving the chi?

[DrMoBueno]

last i heard lincoln heights was on its way to hipster x gentrification

course that was before the time of troubles

biking in la? don't you realize you can SEE air in la?

[poly800rock]

highland park is silverlake 10 years ago.

idk about not having a car, it ain't easy without one.

[stayhandsome]

I am leaving chicago because I never really fell in love with this city. There's big buildings to enjoy but nothing really happening inside of them besides work work work. I moved here for a job to gather the experience for a move to NYC or SF but decided I want fun in the sun instead. Also I work on the creative side of retail and second markets have no place for added budgets.

As far as biking goes I ride in city traffic daily behind buses and all that. If things are THAT bad I'll start wearing those surgical masks and painting cool things on them.. Either way I know a lot of SUFU heads are out west and it would be cool to see some peoples around for a change.

Thanks for the advice so far!

[Appleseed]

As someone who rides recreationally, I would not really ever say it is a 'bike friendly' place. It is getting better, but the mentality here is that cars rule the roads.

That said there are some fairly stress free routes into downtown from neighborhoods like Highland Park / El Sereno / Lincoln Heights / Echo Park. The bridges into downtown from Boyle Heights / East Los can still be pretty hairy, unless you are up on the sidewalk.

[stayhandsome]

good good info, my girl might get a car but I'd be commuting by bus or bike. without having to deal with winter it would be nice to find a job with a simple bicycle ride but this ain't europe.

[MindxMatters]

Sad to see another good dude leaving the midwest - I have a few family members who stay in Lincoln Heights area that I've visited a couple times and it wasn't too bad, they say it gets pretty hairy in some areas, but if you're used to hanging in downtown Detroit it's really not that bad, I mean it's no 2500 club or anything.

[stayhandsome]

is koreantown/wilshire a place worth moving to?

[poly800rock]

it was. you're really not in an amazing area though, ie. nothing to really do other than korean food.

[stayhandsome]

well we've decided on a may 1st move in.. things are kinda hairy here for me now and i have to scram. anybody needs friend? seriously tho if anybody hears of any one bedrooms coming up for rent in their buildings or around town please keep me in mind. otherwise we've been having some luck on craigslist.

thanks again

[Citizen]

Maybe I am biased but I lived in the D and came back to the CHI for the sole purpose of nightlife, culture and more actual city life then the D could offer and I feel their is tons of that going around here maybe you are just missing it? Haven;t you only been in Chicago a year?

[stayhandsome]

I've been in Chicago for five years now and have DJ'd some of the clubs/spots that are well known or popular. My main problem with Chicago is that if you are not playing what is known, kids are threatened by lack of knowledge and are close minded to the experience. I have ridden my bike across every square mile from Evanston to the Indiana border and still think that this place is boring.

I think you are mistaken however because I am not moving back to Detroit but moving cross country to Los Angeles. I do agree that Chicago has more of a city feel than Detroit and more culture in terms of museums but the parties in the D are way better and the local music scene is amazing in comparison.

[Appleseed]

KTown along Wilshire is def. one of the busier, more dense, 'urban' parts of Los Angeles. Good variation of economies and plenty of good food. And you are right on the subway, if you are still planning on commuting into downtown.

[Citizen]

I've been in Chicago for five years now and have DJ'd some of the clubs/spots that are well known or popular. My main problem with Chicago is that if you are not playing what is known, kids are threatened by lack of knowledge and are close minded to the experience. I have ridden my bike across every square mile from Evanston to the Indiana border and still think that this place is boring.

I think you are mistaken however because I am not moving back to Detroit but moving cross country to Los Angeles. I do agree that Chicago has more of a city feel than Detroit and more culture in terms of museums but the parties in the D are way better and the local music scene is amazing in comparison.

We can argue D vs. Chicago all day. I will admit Chicago has become too commercial and the open minded people are just not around anymore, you are marketing to suburban transplants but to say the D is better in any aspect is hard for me to believe outside of a few crazy parties and afterhours. Some random parties may be cool but overall I would rather live in a pile of my own shit then that place for another 6 years of my life.

Detroit is the birthplace of techno.......but thats about it IMO. It was long forgotten as a music making city. Outside of the few hip-hop/rap artists that are making it out of the D their isnt shit....maybe Dabrye but even Dabrye would get looked at funny in Chicago.

Plus you of all people should know the big hip clubs in Chicago will never understand anything BUT commercial bullshit. If you were only here ala 92-2002 when the real shit was going on but now it's all crap in Chicago and that is why the club scene sucks for the real heads and the existing club scene is nothing but bullshit.

None the less good luck in LA. Have fun and enjoy the sun!!!

[stayhandsome]

Detroit is also the birthplace of punk music and the most memorable city to play for such artists as Morrissey, Kraftwerk and Kiss. My friend DJ"d the Kraftwerk after party and two of them stood in the box and smiled all night because they knew they were somewhere special.

Before that there was a little thing called Hitsville. You can see the footsteps of popular Chicago music on the path that Detroit cut. The house/techno argument may never be settled but I know that the only people buying house records are vatos and old wise brothers and huge mega artists like Fedde Le Grande are making people put their hands up for Detroit the entire globe over.

and a hockey franchise that has brought home more cups in the past decade than the entirety of the blackhawks.

Nobody from Chicago is trying to hear that tho..

[Osteoferocious]

stayhandsome, i too will be making the big move come june 1! perhaps i'll see you out there.

question for other sufu'ers: how expensive are areas like echo park / silver lake / los feliz? one of my LA friends recommended them, but i figured i'd ask the internet too.

[akuma no uta]

dont do it. go to koreatown. so fucking cheap. i live for 750 a month all utilities paid.

[Citizen]

Detroit is also the birthplace of punk music and the most memorable city to play for such artists as Morrissey, Kraftwerk and Kiss. My friend DJ"d the Kraftwerk after party and two of them stood in the box and smiled all night because they knew they were somewhere special.

Before that there was a little thing called Hitsville. You can see the footsteps of popular Chicago music on the path that Detroit cut. The house/techno argument may never be settled but I know that the only people buying house records are vatos and old wise brothers and huge mega artists like Fedde Le Grande are making people put their hands up for Detroit the entire globe over.

and a hockey franchise that has brought home more cups in the past decade than the entirety of the blackhawks.

Nobody from Chicago is trying to hear that tho..

I am not trying to start a war hear but Detroit the birth place of punk........i laugh hard. NYC and Europe and each influenced one another.

I have never argued that Michigan laid the groundwork for a lot of different avenues of music but it's hardly a mecca. This is one of the most commercial examples but shit Jdilla left to LA cause he 1)got more love from heads everywhere BUT the D, 2)people in LA understood wtf he was doing and was open to it and not segregating his music and his way of thinking and hockey? fuck hockey, wow If we want to whip the sports dick and measure then we got the Bulls and you had weak ass Bill Lambeer or those amazing Lions of now or yesteryear or should we g into those Tigers?

I mean as a whole the D is your home but to say it is any better then Chicago is a view point which will always be coming from someone that calls that place home so to look at it without being judgemental is hard to do.

Anywho like I said I hope LA is all that you hope it is and I feel you on the lack of culture sometimes in Chicago but I think it has alot more to offer plus remember art of any sorts is what you make of it and then educating people on it and that can be tiresome but if you give up just cause you hope more people will take it in where you are going then I think you are giving up.

How about being the creator of a path in a heavy thick forest but still being the first vs. being one of the many to walk thrpugh knee high weeds that many have forged their own paths through?

Also nobody is trying to hear how Detroit used to actually make cars or that it used to be the US fashion capital of the world or how GM singlehandedly dismantled mass transit that used to run all around the city and from the D to Pontiac. How easily the news forgets those things or how the former mayor used government money to pay off cops or had a bunch of coked out hookers OD in the Mayors mansion. I am sure Daley has his stories too but not that hood or good.....

Please do take this as a discussion and not an arguement and i really do hope you find happiness in LA cause I lost my happiness when i moved to the D and found it again when I moved back to the CHI

[Appleseed]

question for other sufu'ers: how expensive are areas like echo park / silver lake / los feliz? one of my LA friends recommended them, but i figured i'd ask the internet too.

In terms of hipster gentrification trickle down, it goes 1) Los Feliz 2) Silver Lake 3) Echo Park.

There are quite expensive parts of LF and SL. EP is typically cheaper, but in terms of the whole city, there are much cheaper neighborhoods to live in. A nicer rental in each could go $2500, $2000, $1500. Those figures would be on the high side (especially if looking at 1bdrm), but in terms of comparing the different places, think of that as a sliding scale.

[AstroWolf]

I hope some useful info comes out of this thread, i plan on making this move at the end of the year from XXX.

[kiya]

well we've decided on a may 1st move in..

That's just in time for the big Superfuture party on the same date.

[stayhandsome]

well it is looking more like april 12th or 13th for our move in. we found a place in ktown at 832 s. oxford which we're really excited about. it is a really good price for the building and we'll definitely come to the superfuture party.. where is it?

[kiya]

Ktown?

I've been living in San Francisco since i was 2 years old and i've never heard of a "Ktown" in this city.

The party is at Self Edge.

[Osteoferocious]

In terms of hipster gentrification trickle down, it goes 1) Los Feliz 2) Silver Lake 3) Echo Park.

There are quite expensive parts of LF and SL. EP is typically cheaper, but in terms of the whole city, there are much cheaper neighborhoods to live in. A nicer rental in each could go $2500, $2000, $1500. Those figures would be on the high side (especially if looking at 1bdrm), but in terms of comparing the different places, think of that as a sliding scale.

Appleseed, thanks for the info! I'm looking primarily at 2BR (my friend and I are both graduating in May, then heading westward) and some 3BR.

Can you tell me anything about Atwater? Or do you have any other reccomendations for neighborhoods to check out?

[Appleseed]

I think Atwater is pretty chill. There are some decent local food places. You are right on the back side of Los Feliz, Silver Lake. Plenty of big box shops next door in Glendale. Rents / home prices didn't rise quite as high as other places, as there is still some stigma there.

Where is work going to be? If you aren't used to the traffic, or don't want to commit to driving an hour+ to the westside, there might be better options.

I've always been happy in downtown. If I hadn't been up until recently, commuting 4 days a week to Santa Monica, I might have tried a bit harder to find something cool in Highland Park / South Pasadena / Eagle Rock / El Sereno. Northeast LA is relatively clean and quiet, though you hear people complain about the gangs. Plenty of green space, and people are pretty proud of their neighborhoods out there.

[benji47]

My ex lived in KTown, and it was not a bad area at all actually, especially the part that all the restaurants run til late lol.

I live in West Hollywood, and overall I'm happy with this area. I've always been living on the west side so I don't know that much about other areas except downtown. West LA around Sawtelle is a good spot as well, easy access to different major parts of LA, and the housing price seems to be pretty good right now.

[stayhandsome]

what beaches are best on the clean and low key side of things?

also are there any enjoyable bicycle routes, park rides, botanic garden type things to enjoy for free? what are some cool fun things to do while living in la?

thanks in advance!

[thizisit]

Bump.

I'm moving to LA end of summer '11 with a couple friends straight out of undergrad. I'll be working in Century City and my friends will be downtown. I've heard that West Hollywood / La Brea is a good spot for our commutes. Truth? Any other advice, LA specific or general moving out on your own advice, would be very welcome.

Looking to spend ~1k / month on housing. Will also be buying a car.

Thanks all.

[ALVIN]

Anywhere West of La Brea and North of Wilshire is the better part of town.

Bump.

I'm moving to LA end of summer '11 with a couple friends straight out of undergrad. I'll be working in Century City and my friends will be downtown. I've heard that West Hollywood / La Brea is a good spot for our commutes. Truth? Any other advice, LA specific or general moving out on your own advice, would be very welcome.

Looking to spend ~1k / month on housing. Will also be buying a car.

Thanks all.