General Question

andrew's avatar

Should I live in the downtown LA Arts District?

Asked by andrew (16562points) April 15th, 2008

Of course, this is a subjective value question; I’m looking (ideally) for people’s experience living in downtown LA.

I currently live in the Beverly/Fairfax area with my gf, enjoy it because it’s a nice neighborhood and I can walk/ride my fixie if I want to, I’m (fairly) close to any audition I go to, and I have a nice place that I can work out of for my hyphenate career. I’m curious about buying a place downtown since I worked at the Ahmanson for a while and became familiar with the area, and it feels more like SF or Brooklyn to me.

We’ve found a fantastic place downtown, (as well as fantastic place near Beachwood), but I know living downtown is a big lifestyle change. I’m looking for more data to help me make a decision.

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6 Answers

bulbatron9's avatar

Is there a Water Polo team there?

judochop's avatar

Well, will this lifestyle change be a plus or minus to you in 3 years from now?
Does it make things closer for you?
Are you planning on having kids?
Do you ever get overnight company and if so do you have the room?
How is parking?
I say go for it. I personally love that area, infact I will be hanging there tomorrow.

sndfreQ's avatar

I’m sure you’re factoring in traffic and work…judo makes some good points…although the fixie might be tough ‘round those parts.

It’s an interesting area right now with all the gentrification/revitalization going on…plus you are close to MOCA, Disney Hall, and the new Brewery Arts Complex. Also there’some pretty cool stuff in Echo Park…I’d say try checking out these neighborhoods on the weekend, and at night. Especially Downtown-some areas are really still quite shady. Research!

quarkquarkquark's avatar

Beverly-Fairfax is a really great area, and I’m betting that you like the feeling of being able to live in a relatively quiet residential neighborhood with fully urban L.A. a short walking distance away. Maybe you like to walk to the three-dollar theater in the evenings, or to Pink’s, or Golden Apple, or even all the way up to Sunset. If you live in the Arts District, you are not going to want to walk ANYWHERE at night. It’s going to be unpleasant, fairly empty, and not very safe. Sure, it’s trendy and there’s a lot to do, but the traffic downtown is hell pretty much all the time, and you’ll find pretty quick that if you live downtown, you’re stuck downtown.

andrew's avatar

@quarkquarkquark: I couldn’t agree with you more. We ended up getting a place in the Cahuenga/Franklin area, and I love it. Especially since I can walk to the farmer’s market, and I’m JUST off the 101.

shockvalue's avatar

Latin Kings FTW!

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