I'm moving the first week of January. I figured I might as well spend Christmas with family before I get the hell out of NYC.
Hey Guys,
I'll chime in because I've lived in LA most of my life.
Here are a few considerations:
- Where will you be working ... or will your jobs be all over LA?
- Will you be traveling out of state/country a lot?
- Will you be working with any studios?
- Will you be meeting clients at your place (or close by)?
- What's your lifestyle?
- What's your budget?
These questions are all important for different reasons. For instance
if many of your gigs will require a flight -- then living close to the
airport can save you a lot of stress. For instance, the famous DSLR
guy Vincent LaForet has his studio in El Segundo partly because it's
so close to the airport. Also, Culver City and Venice have really nice
places close to the airport. Remember that other parts of LA are as
much as 45 minutes from the airport WITHOUT traffic, so you could
be taking on a lot of extra time to your travels if flying often.
The last place I lived was at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Not
a cheap place -- $4000 for a top floor loft. But it was very prestigious.
In the absolute heart of Hollywood, blocks from NBC, Technicolor, the
Arclight, etc. Anyone from the industry who came over was impressed
so you have to consider if wooing clients might sometimes get you
more gigs. We had a rooftop pool with a direct view of the Hollywood
sign ... Keifer Sutherland and Charliz Theron on my floor, etc. (Superficial
thinking, but hey it's Hollywood remember?)
Also, keep in mind you don't have to pay $4000 per month to live in
the heart of Hollywood -- I think there are some places in that vicinity
that can be very nice for $2000 per month, you just have to look a
little harder. Another perk of that area is that it's super close to Red
Studios Hollywood. Not a huge advantage, but cool.
If you're gonna be traveling all over SoCal for your gigs, it might make
sense to live someplace more central -- like Downtown. It's gotten a
LOT better over the recent years ... tons of great bars, clubs, restaurants,
and pretty easy to get to just about any other part of LA. Plus, it's def
cheaper than living in the heart of Hollywood.
For the happiest possible lifestyle -- Santa Monica and north Venice may
be the best. The air is cleaner, the pace is much more relaxed, you're
close to the beach, amazing food, many things to do, the list goes on.
And unless you're right on the water, the rent can be very reasonable.
Several years ago I had a nice little one bedroom with an office/den
that was $1700 per month -- and it was 10 blocks to the beach. The
only drawback to Santa Monica is that it's farther from the rest of LA
and not as many industry people are over there. But if you're working
a lot from home (i.e. post production, etc) then it might give you the
most positive overall experience.
Silverlake is also very cool -- as some of noted. Not quite as relaxed
as Santa Monica (no beach) ... but it's very artistic/eclectic and more
central.
Many studios and rental houses are in Burbank -- so that might also
be a consideration. It's not as fun or glamorous as other parts of LA,
but still very close to many things and if you're spending a lot of time
renting gear ... living over there could save you a lot of driving time.
Anyway, I could go on forever ... guys, feel free to PM me if you have
any specific questions or want to meet up at all. I'm not the most
experienced shooter, but I know LA pretty well.
Anthony
