[Drunken Monkey]

Alright, I am planning to move to LA sometime in the near future. I am wondering if any one who lives/lived there would recommend a decent enough neighborhood between Pasadena and Irvine to look for an apartment in. By decent I mean someplace where one would have less than usual chance of getting shot, or have their car pissed/sprayed on by gang bangers. Basically any place where civilized folks live.

I would really appreciate any suggestions.
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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud

[Jason_Manley]

there are a few places....it is about fourty five mins drive between the two cities you mentioned. the closer you are to the water the better your life will be. the exception being hollywood IMHO...though pasadena is nice if not smog ridden.

if you are workin down toard irvine...laguna beach and newport beach are the hot spots. tustin is malls and such...old town tustin is ok and less expensive....more crime in santa ana than irvine...irvine is nasty...all corporate offices and such.

between pasadena and irvine is venice...venice is great...venice beach is a total oasis of life in that big grid of LA. I would live there in a heartbeat...if austin wasnt so fun. venice beach and laguna beach are by far the best places to live IMHO. you can walk places...good food...good entertainment....venice is more hustle bustle...laguna quiets down in the winter and feels like a community...unlike the other cities where you could moon someone in target and not have to worry about seeing any of he people who saw you ever again. heeheh....its a huge city LA...sheesh.

long beach has some great spots that cost less to live near...there is a good community of artists and a nice figure drawing group happening there on the weekends....however i wouldnt leave my car parked outside if there was a stereo in it if ya know what I mean. if you live in long beach you can say you live in the LBC...while not as historically fun as the CPT I think you will find it a better place than Inglewoooood....or south central. Dr Dre knows best....if he mentions those towns then you would probably do best elsewhere. hehehe....dont want any bizznits capped in your izzass. lol...LA is fun...

the further you go inside the grid the worse it gets....it gets more polluted and more grumpy....and there is no escape. beware.

santa monica is sweet too.

eat at taco loco in laguna...dont want to miss their nachos and guac if you are in the area...I would kill for their blackened chicken tacos or their blackened potato tacos....

eat at the india cook house in irvine. best chicken tikka masala on the planet.

eat at the harbor house in huntington beach...a great rocckabilly alternative type diner

eat at mels diner in hollywood for a glimpse of the famous while they are out and about...the sunset strip is fun....i saw nikky hilton show her boobies to a room full of people across the street from there. yikes. she then nearly vomited on herself.

the library coffee shop in long beach is fun....its a very open minded and artsy place...sometimes they have good piano players or jazz bands....its open twenty four hours.

the promenade in santamonica is fun...go at night

venice beach is a godsend during the weekend days. bring a shaker and hit the huge drum circle. get some slimy pizza and a rootbeer and ogle people of all walks of life....including complete nutballz.

the irvine spectrum is the meat market...great movie theatre there.

the gypsie den in costa mesa is a cool spot to hang out and drink coffee and draw. you will probablyfind puddnhead there as well as the video game making crowd and a host of musicians.

taco mesa in costa mesa is fantastic fast mexican

second spin in costa mesa is a decent music store

the LACmA...cant msis that

the getty at night...bring a date or significant other...its beautiful

the list goes on....hope that helps.


jason











good luck man....


j
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Jason Manley
www.conceptart.org

[Drunken Monkey]

Jason that is awesome. Thanks so much for taking the time on such detail. Really appreciate it.

I will be checking out Tustin and Venice... seems like everything is ~ an hour away might as well get used to it.

I better go listen to some Dr.Dre now..

Thanks!
_________________
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud

[Giant Hamster]

whut whut whut! I'z gonna be bustin' down yo doe, nigga! whach yo azz, teh hamst3r iz in town! FUCK COPS! *pops a cap in Jason Manley's ass* BIAAA!!!! WESTSOOOOID!!!!!!

[fukifino]

What do you have against Irvine?

And actually Harbor House is in Seal Beach, technically (I think) with another down in Dana Point.

The Rectum (I mean Spectrum) is ok if you're 14 (or looking to pick up on 14 year olds ). The theater is great, and it's great to go if you're in the mood to people watch. Fortunately, there's about a theater every 10 feet in south OC and quite a few of them are stadium now and much less crowded. (Parking at the Rectum sucks)

Personally, I'd reccommend anywhere south of and including Irvine (with a few places in Tustin being decent.) I'm also probably a lot more paranoid about my living conditions than Mr. Manley is. But for general quality of living and such, Irvine and south seem to be much higher (with correspondingly higher rents of course).

Of course, as Mr. Manely mentioned, the cities definately lack a lot more personality for the most part. The beach cities less so, but if you don't want to move farther south than Irvine, I'd reccommend it.

Of course, I told you all this in chat alread, but in case anyone else wants a dissenting opinion.

[Drunken Monkey]

Thanks again fukifino! I'll take the lack of personality for lack of heavy artillery any day. Gotta watch out for those giant hamsters
_________________
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud

[spooge demon]

I liked Malibu quite a bit, but I had no commute.

Go up Malibu canyon to Piuma road and up on top of the mountain. Amazing place. You can see the valley and LA in one shot. There might be rentals up there.

Yes things get bleak as you go inland, but there are exceptions. Claremont is a little college town about halfway to San Bernadino. I spent two years there and really enjoyed it. Beautiful mature Eucalyptus, little historic bungalows, the architecture of the colleges, etc. Also there are civilized/intelligent people about as it is a college town. You at the base of a large canyon that leads right into the mountains and Mt. Baldy.
Rent is cheap, as you are far from the ocean.

My own very odd feelings are stay away from the west side!!!!!!!! Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey, all of it. It is incrediby dense and expensive, and the people there run me nuts. It is also freezing, but I like it hot.

[Drunken Monkey]

spooge thanks! i will look into claremont. i was looking at rent in irvine and nearby, all really expensive. 1k for a studio sheesh... i am gonna have to explore it all next weekend. have a lot of info to work with.

thank you all again!
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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud