Moving to LA need help... like yesterday

[Marcus]

Ok so I finally managed to get my appointment to the LAPD but the problem is they need me to start the academy on April 3rd.... yeah that’s like 9 days away. Problem is I live 4 hours away and really I don’t know jack and or shit about the good areas of LA to live and I don’t have any clue what part I should start in. The academy is located in Westchester which is right off the 405 near the airport. The following cities are located near Westchester and I could really use help picking the good ones from the bad.

Here they are in no particular order:
Santa Monica ( yeah kinda a no brainier )
Marina Del Ray ( same as above )
Culver City
El Segundo
Lawndale
Torrance
Manhattan Beach
Redondo Beach
Hermosa
Westchester ( I talked with my Background guy and he said Westchester isn’t bad and has a pretty low crime rate which I was thinking low compared to what?)
View Park
Windsor Hills

Ok so thats the list and if I could get some help slimming that down that would be great!

Second part of the problem, I dont have a friggin place to live and so I am asking you Qt3 if you either A. know anyone that has a place or B. Know anyone that wants a roommate.

Getting a roommate would be like my last choice but since I have so little time I figure I am prolly going to need to do that. The other part of the problem is that I have a place here now that I am prolly going to have to pay rent on this month because I highly doubt I will be out before the first of the month. Roommate option is most likely going to be the choice I have to go with unless I manage to find something killer.

Help me QT3 you are my only hope!

[Gary Whitta]

Santa Monica would be my first choice if I were to move back to LA. Venice would be second choice. Marina Del Rey is also nice. All have easy access to the 405.

El Segundo is really close to the airport but it is also a shithole, which places near airports generally tend to be.

[Rywill]

Sta Monica and MDR are both really nice, although you may not be able to afford them on a cop's salary unless you live with a roomie (maybe more than one). Manhattan, Redondo and Hermosa are all pretty nice, I'd live in any of those places without a second thought.

And congratulations!!

(PS can't wait to cross-examine you)

[steve]

(PS can't wait to cross-examine you)
Get a room, sheesh.

[Dirt]

If you're going to be LAPD, don't live in LA. You might get my friend as an instructor. Listen and learn, don't let them be easy on you, it could literally be the difference between life and death: yours.

[Old Man Gravy]

Live in Compton and be a vigilante during your off hours.

Except for weekends in the fall, when you will no doubt be heading back to SLO to catch the Cal Poly Mustang games since the tandem of Matt Brennan, Ramses Barden, and James Noble is gonna totally PWN I-AA next season.

[Gordon Cameron]

I lived in Culver City for years and still am only about 5 minutes away from it (I live in "Mar Vista" now, which is a bit east of Santa Monica). I always found Culver City to be a pleasant area and rents seem to be reasonable, or at least they were 5-10 years ago. It's also pretty close to both the 405 and the 10 freeways.

[Marcus]

Yeah I may be in luck. My dad found me a place near the place I need to be for a decent price. 1275 a month for a 2 bedroom place. Actually the place he found me is in Venice Beach which is only 7 miles from te Academy.

[Moore]

that isnt a bad price at all if it isnt a shithole.

[Tyrion Lannister]

Culver City, Marina Del Ray, most of Venice and Redondo Beach are OK. The other places can be fairly grim. Don't know about Hermosa or Manhattan Beach. That commute up the 405 past the airport is always a bitch though.

Santa Monica is godawful expensive.

Most of the married cops seem to live up in Santa Clarita (23 miles and an hour commute on average) - which used to be more affordable on their salary. Being a cop in L.A. is unlikely to make you rich.

[Lunch of Kong]

$1275. Wow. So at least 50% of a new cop's take-home pay (http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_compresult.asp?jobcode=LG12000003&jobtitle=Police+Patrol+Officer&jobtitlecomp=&narrowcode=LG01&narrowcodecomp=&narrowdesc=%2C&zipcode=&metrocode=98&statecode=CA&geo=Los+Angeles%2C+CA&geocomp=&pagenumber=5&iscompare=&comparetype=&openlink=&state=California&metro=Los+Angeles&city=&searchpage=&isgeometro=1&isforcompanalyst=1&r=salswz_swzttsint_psr&p=050205_psr_495&paycheckcalc=0&fterangecode=) goes straight to rent and water/electricity? Wow.

I know no one goes into law enforcement for the money, but still, cops need to be paid more.

[Supertanker]

Most of the married cops seem to live up in Santa Clarita (23 miles and an hour commute on average) - which used to be more affordable on their salary. Being a cop in L.A. is unlikely to make you rich.

Santa Clarita's not affordable anymore. Median home price has risen to $620,000. (http://www.srar.com/pressreleases/2-17-06.php)

People don't join LAPD to get rich, they join to get training and then leave for better paying police jobs. (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_angeles_metro/la-me-copsuit22mar22,1,2096384.story?coll=la-commun-los_angeles_metro)

[Marcus]

$1275. Wow. So at least 50% of a new cop's take-home pay (http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_compresult.asp?jobcode=LG12000003&jobtitle=Police+Patrol+Officer&jobtitlecomp=&narrowcode=LG01&narrowcodecomp=&narrowdesc=%2C&zipcode=&metrocode=98&statecode=CA&geo=Los+Angeles%2C+CA&geocomp=&pagenumber=5&iscompare=&comparetype=&openlink=&state=California&metro=Los+Angeles&city=&searchpage=&isgeometro=1&isforcompanalyst=1&r=salswz_swzttsint_psr&p=050205_psr_495&paycheckcalc=0&fterangecode=) goes straight to rent and water/electricity? Wow.

I know no one goes into law enforcement for the money, but still, cops need to be paid more.

Well whats a brother gonna do? /shrug

Its a good thing you showed that to me though because I thought my take home would be a little higher then that. Its not a huge deal as I can still afford it but it sucks seeing it broken down like that.

[Lunch of Kong]

Well, I can't help with none of that, but if something goes wonky in your computer and you're wondering who might have some spare parts lying around that he or she wouldn't mind parting with, drop me a line. Save yourself a few bob.

[Jojo]

I know I'm late to the party and you already found somewhere, but just in case - check out Playa Del Rey too. Depending where in PDR you live you will probably have to put up with airplane noise from LAX, however in exchange you get slightly cheaper rent and a nice little beach town flavour, that feels a bit less urban than the rest of LA. And of course, a gigantic beach that's far less busy than Venice, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach etc.

From your original list, I would say that Santa Monica is awesome, but rents are generally too crazy for normal people. Marina Del Rey is getting too busy and noisy these days, with Playa Vista next door. I just moved away from MDR because my formerly quiet townhouse now has constant traffic noise, screaming neighbours, and the expansion to the 90 means even more traffic and construction work.

There are some great bits of Culver City, but also some terrible bits, definitely don't rent sight-unseen. Its in the middle of some nice renovations thanks to the cash from Sony Pictures.

West LA, which covers a huge area, can have some good bargains to be found too.

[Midnight Son]

Ok, time to watch "Training Day" boyee! ;)

[Tyrion Lannister]

Santa Clarita's not affordable anymore. Median home price has risen to $620,000. (http://www.srar.com/pressreleases/2-17-06.php)


Yup - and thus the "used to be" in my post. I've been seriously thinking about selling my house and moving back to Texas where I could buy two homes outright with the paper "profit" I have on the house I bought here.

If only I didn't like living in the L.A. area so much.