I've heard USC students say that it's okay to live north of USC, but never south of there. They were cool with downtown, the nicer parts, anyway, Koreatown, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Hollywood. None of these are entirely safe neighborhoods, but they're aren't shooting galleries either.
The commute from SM to USC would be tough because the most obvious route, the 10 fwy is usually a parking lot during rush hour in both directions.
You could take surface streets, basically National which becomes Jefferson and Jefferson all the way to USC. Traffic moves along fairly well on this route, though everywhere in LA has difficult rush hour traffic.
If you really like it you can have the rights
It could make a million for you overnight
It varies with direction. Generally speaking, going from LA to the San Fernando Valley in the morning is much easier than going from the Valley to LA. In the PM it's the opposite. The 405 and 101, the major conduits betw. SFV and LA can jam up anytime, in either direction. Freeways that feed into downtown are jammed morning and evening rush hours. On warm weekends, the surface streets in Venice Beach get jammed from mid morning on. Any road near LAX can get jammed on Friday afternoon, and Sepulveda on Thanksgiving Eve is hopeless.
If you really like it you can have the rights
It could make a million for you overnight
I like to use the tanning rule. If your dermatologist doesn't want you out in the sun, those are the hours to try driving. Ten a.m. until about three p.m.. If you don't need sunscreen, stay home.
Oh and I know of one DDer who shall remain nameless who did USC film school while commuting from Santa Monica. It's definitely within the realm of possibility, if one plans properly, to make the trip using the 10.
Hello....everyone. I was shocked when I got back on here and found that you had more replies to my post, as I figured it had closed by now. I hope you all had a great holiday. Things have not changed; I still plan to make my move next summer. For those of you who missed this part, I do have a job already (done entirely on the computer, internet, etc) and will keep this job, as I realize that going out there with no job at all is more risky than keeping the steady one I already have. Believe me after leaving a career job with no plans whatsoever but getting in my car and driving to NYC in 2000 to find a home for my family and coming back very tearful, I have changed my strategy dramatically. I will be prepared financially at least when I move.
Thanks so much JohnDoe for your encouragement.
Oh by the way, I never had plans to move to Compton; I was just comparing its crime to my town's!
I'm not moving to LA (anytime soon, anyway), but I'm considering coming out there for about a week. No particular reason, I have just always wanted to visit. I'm considering coming out either later this year or early '07 (I may be moving in the interim). Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap hotel that's nice?
Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap hotel that's nice?
It depends on what part of town you're going to be doing your business in. L.A. is unbelievably huge, it can take 1 1/2 hours to go from one end to the other (if the traffic's good.) Also, you don't want to stay in a CHEAP hotel in L.A. That's really asking for trouble. I always stay at the Farmer's Daughter on Fairfax in the Mid Wilshire district, right across from the Farmer's Market. The "cheapest" hotel I'd recommend is the Travelodge on Pico. It has free parking (a BIG plus) and a free continental breakfast. It's not a great neighborhood though, but I always felt safe.
If you've got time, get hard copies (not online) of the latest few editions of the L. A. Weekly and Los Angeles Downtown News. The classifieds list hotels with weekly rates, some in seedy areas, and some not.
If you're prepared to pay a bit extra to get off Pico, which is a bit dilapidated, the Wilshire Crest Inn is located nearby on the edge of Bev Hills in a very peaceful residential neighbourhood. You get a breakfast but the cafes on 3rd street are an amble away, as is La Cieniga and Melrose. It's on Crescent Hights--Tarantino's old/(current?) street--for a direct, if somewhat long, stroll up to the strip.
I think it's between $60-90/night for a single. You will be hard pressed to find cheaper for this class of hotel.
If you want to spend a night somewhere else, the Standard Downtown has some relatively inexpensive rooms (for what you get).
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