Moving to LA and I have some questions
 

I am moving to LA (work will be in Glendale) in a couple weeks. I was wondering what a good location for an apartment might be. I'd like to have options for cycling and also secure parking.

Any ideas?

As long as there is room in the apt for you to bend over and grab your ankles in preparation for repeated anal assaults by the state of California you'll be fine.

PS: Good luck with the traffic. I Hear it is other-worldy in LA...my 2nd partner moved there about 6 years ago(and quickly moved to Texas after that)

LOL!

I love Philly. When I lived in NYC I almost moved there a few times.

Don't?

oh man, you guys are tough tonight!

First of all, welcome, James. It will be good to have you here. Man, Glendale is in the heart of things. I'll have to make it up to Bob's Big Boy in Burbank on a Fri night to hang with you and some of the Mulholland gruppe. As well as some runs. Sherwood has a coffee thing in La Canada once a month which will be right in your back yard.

I can't give you many specific tips about the area. But, depending on your needs, I'd look for a rental in the foothills. A back house, garage top apt, granny flat; something a bit away from the high density neighborhoods. Craigslist is your friend.

Just looked at Google Maps. Eagle Rock is an old community and offers some cool locations. It's a funky place. Some of it looks like Topanga Canyon. Mount Washington even more so.

thanks Milt!

Basically I need a place where I can live pretty reasonably (still have the house in Indiana) that has a safe parking place, good access to bike riding, etc.

You think those areas are good for that?

It depends on what you mean by affordable. Glendale has a lot of apartments, so vacancies are more apt to appear. Atwater Village is just south of Glendale (north of 5 Fwy). It's an old neighborhood that's slowly revitalizing, but still affordable. Both areas are close to Griffith Park, the 2nd largest suburban park area in CA (about 4200 acres). Great for cycling. You'll find many doing the same especially during the weekends. The Rose Bowl area is nearby and great for cycling too - famous for the weekly pack rides around the 3 mile facility. Unfortunately, the housing prices in the RB area are pretty high.

However, many cyclists ride without venturing into or living near the park. There's lots of city streets that are more or less bike friendly. Mt. Washington, as Milt says, is an interesting area, but it's hilly if you like that type of riding terrain. Give me a holler when you reach ellay. We'll get Milt to join us.

Sherwood

I used to work in Glendale - don't sign anything until you get a feel for the neighborhoods around there. They're not "bad" per se, but there is a HUGE Armenian population in Glendale, and if you're not one of them, you'll feel extremely out-of-place.

Most of the stuff right off of Brand Boulevard is okay, also the stuff slightly north of there near the elementary school. But definitely get a feel for it first.

Glendale isn't cheap either. You might get some serious sticker shock.

thanks Sherwood.

I am trying to find a place, not in a hurry, I have temporary housing so I have time to look around. I have two 911s, one I am bringing with me, one I will bring later, so parking is important. I think I just need to get there and figure it out being there.

looking forward to meeting up

Jeff is just a tad bitter ;)

If you're working in Glendale, then try to live close. I second suggestions for La Canada, Montrose, La Crescenta, or Pasadena. Do you have school age kids? That complicates things greatly. With no kids, Pasadena is a great place imho. The schools suck though.

thank you for that advice. actually the area by the park, the area near and around Malibu are those I like the best.

Tyson gave me some points too. I will look into all of them before doing anything.

Keep the advice coming guys, I need it.

Nothin' whatsoever against the Armenian folks - all the ones I've ever met have ended up being extremely nice people, but it's like moving into any ethnic neighborhood you're not part of. You'll just feel weird and out-of-place. Shop around. Look for the parts of town with the "average joes". There are a number scattered about. But there honestly are a TON of very definitely "Armenian-only" neighborhoods in Glendale.

It's a nice town overall, if a little "yuppified" (Brand Blvd. area in particular).

thanks for your post.

No kids, wife won't be coming for a bit, she is going to stay out here. I am going to be on the road all over the country during the weeks anyway.

I will investigate your ideas, thank you!

Indiana will miss you, but come back for the Indy 500 (The Brick yard), Kruse Auto auction, James Dean museum, Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum, Studebaker museum, Hudson museum, and Home to Hoosier race tires, Cole, Marmon, Stutz, American, Apperson, Haynes, Crosley and McFarland car manufacturers.

thank you Sir.

I'd second a vote for the Pasadena area. I lived there for a year. We'd ride our bikes over to the Rose Bowl. People do laps around the parking area. There are some pretty big packs of roadies that ride together. I'd also ride my bike up on fireroads in the hills behind JPL. In general, there's stuff to do in Pasadena. It's fairly safe. But remember, unless you're in a house with a locked and alarmed garage, there's no such thing as "safe" parking.

It beats the shyt out of living in Philly, at least according to everyone I've ever met who moved here from there. Traffic is no worse than any other American city.

If you want advice, stick with the people who actually live here and know their ass from their elbow. This guy knows nothing. There are so many different good places to live here that it's hard to know where to start. It's also a very individual thing, for example some people love Silverlake and others hate it because they're *westside-type* people. Completely different worlds within the same city. Different people/culture/topography/etc... I'd vote for Los Feliz for working in Glendale, meets all requirements and still in L.A. Glendale is not a bad place at all, just not my cup of tea.

Most of the people who respond to these threads are close to 100% clueless, IMO. :cool:

I've lived in two different apartments in Los Feliz, both with garages. Look south of Los Feliz Blvd. and east of Vermont. Quite a few very good ethnic restaurants, used to have a great book store (Chattertons) and an arthouse movie theater. Close to Griffith Park with good hiking and your choice of hilly or flat bike riding.

It may have changed since we lived there, but we loved the neighborhood.