Unsafe areas of LA

[jetskigrl]

I only go to LA for USC games (season tickets holders for over 20 years). The Barkleys are good friends...FIGHT ON!

A big on this one. Please tell Matt that this die-hard fan was highly impressed with his decision to stay with SC one more year. I'm so happy to have another year watching him play for SC.

Oh...and if you collect vinylmations, did you see the new Collegiate collection? I just got my SC one in the mail from disneystore.com and it is sitting on my desk right now.

I'm from LA and I have to say that this thread makes LA sound so scary. It's not. I lived in NY for a year and felt very uncomfortable there. Same with Chicago. Griffith Park is a wonderful place to visit. We like the train ride, pony rides, carousel, the Observatory and frequent the LA Zoo there often. I have no issues with the freeways except for the traffic. Long Beach is fun. So is Santa Monica. For the cruise I'd just stay in LB, San Pedro, Palos Verdes or in any of the beach cities (Hermosa, Manhattan, Santa Monica). Walk the strand, rent bikes and ride it. It's so much fun! If I were visiting LA I'd just hang at the beach, ride bikes, eat in the many restaurants along it, visit Farmer's Market and maybe go to the Giffith Park Observatory. Breathtaking views from there! Enjoy my city and have fun! I love LA and wouldn't live anywhere else!

Another I have been here my whole life and I know I am biased but I never understand the fear of LA. Yes, traffic can get bad but I have also sat in stand still traffic in other major cities. But then again, I only drive on the freeways occasionally. I used to commute about 45 minutes a day but luckily my current job is nearby.
I agree that there is so much to do in the LA area, and most areas are just fine. I hate the see the whole area painted in a negative light.

Why in the world not? Griffith Park is beautiful, and has so much to see and do.

I agree with all of this! Unfortunately, the traffic is a serious pain, but there's lots to see & do in LA!

When and where is that? Most times in LA, you're lucky if you're going 35 MPH on the freeways! Usually, you crawl. 6 lanes of traffic, both directions (a total of 12) and completely stopped. I grew up in Southern California, and you'd think I'd be used to it, but I still can't stand going back & driving there.

The real danger driving there is the people who try to shoehorn their car in front of you when there's only 2 feet between you and the car in front of you.

Sayhello

And when it rains, LOL. People here speed up instead of slow down

We never have traffic problems on the weekends, but do try and avoid rush hour on the weekdays (in any part of LA).

 

[sayhello]

And when it rains, LOL. People here speed up instead of slow down

We never have traffic problems on the weekends, but do try and avoid rush hour on the weekdays (in any part of LA).

I agree with the rain thing!

I don't know about the weekend thing, though. I used to travel from Long Beach to Santa Monica, and the 25 mile drive invariably took an hour and a half, no matter when I went! Getting past LAX can be a nightmare!

Sayhello

 

[MND]

visit Farmer's Market and maybe go to the Giffith Park Observatory. Breathtaking views from there! Enjoy my city and have fun! I love LA and wouldn't live anywhere else!

Great advice! We spent 6 days in Anaheim visiting Disneyland last November. We took a day and rented a car and hopped visit LA. We loved Farmers Market and the Grove next store. Hollywood is so close to Farmers Market.

We spent the afternoon at Venice Beach and had a blast. Great place for people watching.

As what the others said, avoid the ghettos and you'll be fine. LA is a great!

Mike

 

[ALK$Disney]

The most dangerous place in LA by far is when you are in your car driving on the freeway. Hundreds of people die every year in auto accidents. Walking around in any high crime area in LA is far safer than driving.

I am sorry but this is just a dumb post.

 

[MillauFr]

I am sorry but this is just a dumb post.

Maybe I should elaborate. My point is that people worry about the wrong things. The vast majority of areas in LA are very safe. You should not worry about ending up the wrong neighborhood. You are far more likely to get injured/killed in a auto accident than you are to get accosted in a bad neighborhood. If you are worried about safety then you should make sure you are a safe driver. Is that more clear?

 

[PizzieDuster]

I am sorry but this is just a dumb post.

INFRACTION!

jetski...Matt has twin bro/sis attending USC who will be sophs. We knew he would want to spend more time with them there. My older son played football with him at Mater Dei. My younger one played with his younger bro and are best friends. My daughter wears her #7 autographed jersey proudly on sports day at her school!

 

[Yvette563]

We are going on the Wonder next month, and I keep reading that many people feel safer in Cabo than LA.

We will have a car in LA and was thinking of heading to Griffin Park and then maybe Hollywood, but would like to know what are areas that I should avoid?


Thinking of staying near LAX or San Pedro the night before the cruise, any areas around LAX to avoid?

I have lived in LA ALL my life.. Grew up in (and got out of) Boyle Heights which out here is known as the Mexican Ghetto... Driving around ANYWHERE in LA during the day is safe.. At night you don't want to venture into areas such as Compton, South Central, even the Hawthorn/Inglewood area are not nice places at night...
But do go to Griffith Park, Hollywood, Beach cities.. LA has sooo much to offer.. Get out there and have fun.. And ANYONE who says Cabo is safer than LA is out of their minds.. My husband has family who live out in Cabo and other parts of Mexico so we have FIRST hand knowledge of how UNSAFE even the touristy parts of those places can be..
LA is a big city and just like any other city has some good spots and bad spots.. Its not the big scarry place some people make it out to be.. LOL...
Hope you have a BLAST on your cruise and out here in BEAUTIFUL LA...

 

[woody73]

It is true that the freeways are dangerous. I would say the average MPH is 80. Crazy, but it's true. Just remember to use your blinker when you need to change lanes or get off the freeway.

Gang hand signs work too.

Woody

 

[girl_barrie]

I would never go to Griff.park. Ever. And agree with others, don't stay near the airport. I only go to LA for USC games (season tickets holders for over 20 years). The Barkleys are good friends...FIGHT ON!

With that said...I'd stay in Westwood lol or anywhere near the beaches.

Now, don't be a "behind the Orange curtain" snob!!! Griffith Park is awesome, safe and so much fun for kids! There is Travel Town where the kids can play around retired trains, the L.A. Zoo, Shane's Inspiration - a completely 'differently abled' accessible playground, the carousel & train rides and plenty of picnic areas!
Have fun!!

 

[taaren]

Gang hand signs work too.

Agree with PPs that freeway driving is the scariest part of LA, though I never lived there, only in San Diego and in the Bay Area for a decade.

I'm okay with driving everywhere else in California, but LA drivers/freeway driving scares me. DH even scares me when we're there since he turns into an LA driver, crossing 5 lanes in 5 seconds on a whim with no blinker.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I live in Carson, which is about 15 minutes south from the LAX airport, and about 10 minutes north of San Pedro (three freeways intersect near my neighborhood, so we have easy access to different areas). I also worked about 5 minutes (or less) from LAX in El Segundo for about 10 years (now work a few miles farther away in Redondo Beach), so know these areas very well.

If you want to stay near the LAX airport, about 2 minutes south are some nice hotels in El Segundo. (I say 2 minutes because I timed them ) There is a Courtyard by Marriott and a Doubletree, which is great, as well as a couple of others whose names escape me at the moment. There is a really nice Ralphs Grocery store nearby in case you want to get some food or drinks before boarding the ship, and nice restaurants in the area. There is also a really nice Embassy Suites across Imperial Hwy, near the airport, as well as several nice hotels (Marriott, Hilton, etc.) just down the street from the airport.

In San Pedro there are a couple of places you could stay, but since you have a car, El Segundo, Torrance, San Pedro, or even Long Beach are easily accessible.

I don't know why people said that Griffith Park is scary. I was just there 3 weeks ago with my sister-in-law, young nephews, and daughter, and we had a nice picnic there, and hiked along one of the easy trails there. We were near the carousel that Walt Disney used to take his daughters to when he first thought about creating Disneyland (or imagineering Disneyland in his mind ) Nearby is the train museum, also the LA Zoo, and the Gene Autry Museum.

On the LA side of Griffith Park you have the Observatory - a great place to visit. In one day, you can drive up on Mulholland Drive, visit Hollywood, go down Sunset Blvd, see Santa Monica Pier, and cut over to Farmers Market/The Grove for a nice outing a a meal to eat. I've given this tour to several people over the years as they've come to visit LA (friends and family).

Like someone said earlier, LA is a big (well, huge) city, and like any big city there are some good and bad parts. My opinion is that there are many really good parts, and it's a great place to visit and explore.

Last week, my friend and I had lunch in Pasadena (my daughter goes to a culinary school there), then drove in the hills of Pasadena, saw the Rose Bowl from above, drove down the coast to Redondo Beach, then drove around the Palos Verdes Peninsula to the San Pedro area (saw La from the north side and the south side). It was a great drive, with plenty to see.

Let me know if you have any questions. Always happy to help.

Oh, and I wouldn't recommend crossing so many lanes without using your blinker -- that is really reckless, and something I would never do, and actually only seen that happen twice - once in LA and once in Phoenix. If you drive responsibly you won't have any problem driving our freeways. Two weeks after getting her license, my daughter was driving to Pasadena on the freeway 5 days a week to go to school (30 miles from home). I just told her to stay in the middle lanes.

 

[tinkagain]

I agree that El Segundo hotels are fine as are the ones in Manhattan Beach. Rule of thumb is to stay west of the 405 (San Diego) Freeway and south of LAX or stay on Century Blvd by LAX. Places to see include Hollywood and the Hollywood sign, Kodak Theater, Chinese Theater (the stars hand prints and foot prints), Disney Soda Fountain which is across the street; driving through Beverly Hills; Santa Monica Pier; The Long Beach water front; if you go south Laguna Beach is fun. Have fun.

 

[Kias]

I love LA! It is safe, but as with any other cities, it has it's spots. Don't worry too much. You'll KNOW if you're in the wrong area. Odds are, that if you're in the wrong area a nice cop will pull you over and ask you what you're doing there. That's when you know you're definitely in the wrong area.

This has happened to me in both LA and Detroit. Both while driving around looking for a business I was suppose to go to. They both escorted me out of the area and gave me better instructions to where I was suppose to be. This was definitely under "Profiling" but I didn't mind one bit.

 

[mkmommy]

I love LA! It is safe, but as with any other cities, it has it's spots. Don't worry too much. You'll KNOW if you're in the wrong area. Odds are, that if you're in the wrong area a nice cop will pull you over and ask you what you're doing there. That's when you know you're definitely in the wrong area.

This has happened to me in both LA and Detroit. Both while driving around looking for a business I was suppose to go to. They both escorted me out of the area and gave me better instructions to where I was suppose to be. This was definitely under "Profiling" but I didn't mind one bit.

Funny you mention Detroit, that is where my concern comes from. We ended up in the wrong area, and prefer not to repeat that on this trip.

I think I have decided on staying in Manhattan Beach, our flight has been changed so we only have a couple of hours now, if it nice we will hit the beach and find somewhere for dinner.

 

[GCORTEZA]

visitors dont like la. so much??? try driving east coast ny/nj/dc etc or florida ... la has enough freeways with carpool lanes in most... east coast = toll rodes every 5-20mins?? exact change or toll pass?? who has stacks of $1 bills laying around in their car and why dont they take credit cards.??.. what about intl tourists in those areas, theyre outta luck if they didnt change currency.....!!! L.A. u have options 2hrs anywhere snow or beach or both in same day!!! casinos /outlets / and siteseeing inbetween . .just give yourself enough ample time and avoid traffic commute hours 7-9, 4-7p.. ull be alright!!!!!

 

[luv2sleep]

visitors dont like la. so much??? try driving east coast ny/nj/dc etc or florida ... la has enough freeways with carpool lanes in most... east coast = toll rodes every 5-20mins?? exact change or toll pass?? who has stacks of $1 bills laying around in their car and why dont they take credit cards.??.. what about intl tourists in those areas, theyre outta luck if they didnt change currency.....!!! L.A. u have options 2hrs anywhere snow or beach or both in same day!!! casinos /outlets / and siteseeing inbetween . .just give yourself enough ample time and avoid traffic commute hours 7-9, 4-7p.. ull be alright!!!!!

Totally agree!!! Those toll roads are crazy! I had to actually turn around and go back home once because I didn't have cash. Another time I had to write a check! Lol! It really catches you off guard if you aren't used to them.

 

[LKFan]

I think I have decided on staying in Manhattan Beach, our flight has been changed so we only have a couple of hours now, if it nice we will hit the beach and find somewhere for dinner.

We like Tin Roof Bistro (http://www.tinroofbistro.com/) as well Susie Cakes (next door to the bistro) in Manhattan Beach.

If you want a lunch with a view, consider Nelsons at Terranea. http://www.terranea.com/palos-verdes-restaurant.php It is on the tip of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and has panoramic ocean views as well as walking trails. Warning, they don't take reservations so there is often a long (45 min - 1 hr) wait. I would arrive early, put your name in and then take some time to walk the trails along the coast. Keep your eyes open for whales as it is the beginning of grey whale season. http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/blogs/comments/one_heck_of_a_gray_whale_migration