SunnyMeadow

I have a friend who is considering moving to the Wilshire Boulevard part of LA for work and who would like to know what its like beforehand.

I was hoping to get some first hand, local knowledge that can't be obtained from internet searches, from people here who have actually lived there or currently live there, on such things as is it upmarket, expensive or low-end or average, etc., what kind of people live there, crime levels and what to look out for if anything.

They are thinking of renting somewhere either on WB, or on one of the roads that lead off from it.

scotch03

Its a LONG street - which part? Downtown... Miracle Mile?

SunnyMeadow

According to Google maps, the job would be in the Miracle Mile bit (what's the name about and is this the downtown bit?), but we have no idea if living near the job area is a viable proposition depending on rent levels, noise/traffic, type of homes, whether there are homes to rent in that part, crime, etc., and how far away from the job site my friend would have to go to find something suitable.

Looking at Google maps, I can see businesses and homes mixed together in this part but also all along the street.

How long is this road?

SagenOnion

All of the above in all cases!!

Wilshire goes from downtown LA through Korea town, Hancock Park, La Brea, West LA, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Brentwood and into Santa Monica to the coast. Houses/apartments range from the miserable to the sublime and rent is from $15 an hour to many thousands a month. You could easily get killed on parts of it from gangs or roll with the drunken Brits at the Santa Monica end. Traffic is pretty much the only thing that is consistent and its crap along the whole route however you stand a better chance of being struck my a nice vehicle once you pass West LA. If your mate is going to work in the Miracle Mile area there are numerous side streets which are residential and he/she would do well to stay off the main roads like Wilshire, Santa Monica Blvd, Pico and Olympic and go with the smaller streets where there are plenty of apartments and houses for rent. I worked at 5900 Wilshire for a number of years and found zip code 90036 to be a very decent and reasonably priced area to live within a half hours walk of MM.

Hope this helps and is not too sarcastic

SunnyMeadow

No, thank you for your valuable input.
It is so good to get first hand knowledge of something like a neighborhood/area instead of some ideal or alleged "real" opinion from those who have some form of vested interest.

I'll pass on the info and about the zip code above.

By the way, why is Miracle Mile so named?

SagenOnion

No idea......I found nothing miraculous there.

SunnyMeadow

Would you know what the rough price of renting a detached 2-bed house is in the zip code you mentioned and would you say that they enough of them available to rent so my friend won't be stuck with only living in an apartment?

My friend can't live in apartment "communities" as;

1. Tenants rarely get together and become anything like a community
2. The risk of high noise levels from inconsiderate direct neighbors (e.g. amplified music, loud conversations and arguments are easily heard through apartment property walls, etc) are too much for them
3. Tenants have no investment in an area and some behavior can make life difficult.

SagenOnion

I moved out of LA proper after the riots in 1992 and went to the Santa Clarita Valley and from there moved to Maine, thank God. The property market in LA went completely nuts and as such many houses now can't be given away so there are a lot of rentals available and the market is quite competitive. I have a couple of friends that went from being homeowners to renters as it saved them so much money. There are plenty of websites around that deal with the rental market there.

I agree with your point about tenants rarely getting together. In my 20 years in SoCal I found the lack of community, sincerity and integrity to be the norm rather than the exception.

Noorah101

My husband has a workshop in West Hollywood, but goes to work on job sites regularly along Wilshire Blvd in the area known as Westwood. It's highly populated by Iranians in that area, several blocks are dedicated to Persian stores, businesses, and restaurants. I don't really know about living in that area, but for sure you can get some GREAT food in Westwood!

Rene

Sally Redux

We used to live in Park La Brea.

SunnyMeadow

...and???

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I'm a native Angeleno and you caption made me LOL. The street is 16 miles long! It starts at Grand Avenue [624 Grand Avenue is the One Wilshire building] and goes east until it hits the beach in Santa Monica. In the past I've had offices on Wilshire, first by McArthur Park near Alvarado and later near Vermont and then for 15 years I was near Western Avenue and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

I am now on Sunset in Hollywood which is a little nearer my home and I avoid the commute south to Wilshire Blvd. Funny thing is that one can easily see my current building from the window of my old office.

It would be very helpful if you gave a cross-street or a Zip code. Otherwise, I could not begin to tell you about it. I varies a lot from poor to quite rich indeed.

scrubbedexpat091

1. Tenants rarely get together and become anything like a community

You wont find that much anywhere in So. California. I grew up in a neighborhood, and lived in the same house for 20 years and had no idea who my neighbors were, rarely saw them, never talked to them.

Its not the norm to hang out or know your neighbors, most stay to themselves for the most part.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

The name of the District derives from its development in the late 20's as shopping street -- I do not know the exact boundries, but the part of the street between La Brea Blvd and Fairfax Blvd. The Miracle Mile has seen better days, but I find it nice and tad funky these days. The LA County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits are there right on Wilshire. Just north of LACMA and the Tar Pits is a planned development called Park La Brea which was built by Metropolitan Life in the 40's. There other newer developments nearby. There are also a lot of older [in LA terms anyways] houses and small duplexes and apartments around there especially north of Wilshire. A nice are to live in IMHO.

BTW, if you get closer to Melrose, the populace will consist of many quite hip people and Hassidic families. My sister-in-law lives in Larchmont Village which is quite nice. Aged mother-in-law and younger daughter live just south of Wilshire between Western & La Brea in a 1949 apartment in a two story building with courtyards and huge apartments [a three bedroom in this case].

You may see my preference for older buildings. [Again, in Los Angeles, that now means more than 50 years old. I will admit that my street all of the houses other than mine were built before 1925 except for my much more newer house -- built in 1939].

Speaking of hip and edgy, it is a short hop up to Hollywood which is where my office is. It has come back in a big way. If you are near Sunset & Vine to start looking at the stars in the sidewalks, you can face east and wave at me.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I consider this somewhat of a slander. If you are outgoing and friendly, you will get to know your neighbors. However, I will admit that when you move in, you will not have everybody coming in to introduce yourselves. Work on the plants out front or just take some walks or greet your neighbors and introduce yourself and see what happens. We've met friends for life this way -- even when they have later moved 2,000 miles away.