Los Angeles Travel Forum

Hi Friends,
I am a new admit to University of Southern California.
To start with, I have never been to this part of the world :-)
I have a few queries and appreciate your invaluable help.

(1) I heard that the area around USC is not 'good'? What does it mean?

(2) What are the areas I should concentrate on for accomodation? I don't want to spend more than USD 700 or 800 (my upper limit) on accomodation+utilities. I am ready to share an apartment with others too as far as I have a room of my own and a kitchen to cook at times (as a student, I can share bathrooms & kitchen but need a room of my own for obvious reasons).
I would like to go for an area which is safe and easy to commute from university. It can be either 1-2 miles away from university (I will use a bicycle in that case) or even farther if there is a good connectivity to the university (using public transport).

Thanks in advance for all your feedback/inputs.

there is a funky hostel in LA called Orbit - it has some good reviews... we were going to stay there last year but chose to stay in santa monice at the holiday inn seeing that it was our last stop in our 10 week holiday!

if a hostel is what you want... google it!

Well, thanks for your help but it's a year long accomdation I am looking for. Can you please suggest something on that?

Yes, and the budget (per month), as I mentioned above, is USD 700 or 800 (my upper limit) on accomodation+utilities.... Any help here?

www.craigslist.org is the best website to look for apts both private and shared. Here is a direct link to shared apartments within your budget in close proximity to USC.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/roo?query=usc&minAsk=min&maxAsk=800

USC is located near downtown, which is a ghetto part of Los Angeles. I've been to USC, visiting my friend's friend who attends there and I must say the best place to live is on campus or elsewhere in Los Angeles and commute with your OWN car. Why not live on campus?

Just so you don't feel buummed out, the school itself and the profressors are awesome, just the area sucks lol.

Add this website to your favorites, it will help make your experience and grades 100000000000000000000000000x better, it's a life saving website for us students!

www.ratemyprofessors.com

when I went to USC I lived in the Eagle Rock/Highland Park area. It was safer than USC and fairly cheap, but I had to make sure I wasn't driving to school at rush hour because I went through downtown LA. A lot of my fellow students lived out towards Santa Monica and Venice Beach to make their commute a little faster. I agree with the poster who suggested Craigslist. Also, there used to be a housing office at USC - also try shared housing bulletin boards at UCLA and Occidental College.

The USC area isn't as bad as Compton or South Central LA which is really bad. The area is just poor and retail stores/restaurants are run down. But you drive 10 minutes to the north it's just great! The Eagle Rock/Highland area suggestion is good and even Pasadena is very close and extremely nice. The problem with Pasadea is that you won't find cheap accomodations. For what you want to spend, I think the best you can do is rent a room.

Here are some links to help you do that:

http://www.pennysaverusa.com/search.aspx?N=947

http://www.recycler.com/advancedsearchresults.classified?keyword=rent&class=&sortfields=sort_key_num+descending&type=boolean&adsperpage=15

http://la.kaango.com/feListAds/categoryID/775

Luckily for you, the bus system and/or Metro will get you USC from the north fairly easily. Probably not doable by bicycle from that distance.

My brother went to USC. His first year he dormed there on campus. Then he commuted 30-60 minutes from home the following years after that. He said he spent too much time cooking and cleaning in the dorm that it was better for him to live at home and make the drive. The area is fine, there are several museums, the Staple Center, LA Convention Center, Dodger Stadium is all a few minutes away.

Congrats on getting in. I hear the waiting list for USC is pretty long.

Go west, young man. Northwest if you can.

If you go 1-2 miles north or northeast you probably have to speak Spanish or Korean to find cheap housing.

To the east is the industrial city of Vernon where there is almost no housing, and there are Hispanic gangs around it.

A mere two or three miles south or southwest and you are in the territory of the 'Rolling Sixties' or 'Eight-trey' sets of the Crips gang ( of 'Monster' Cody fame ). Four miles in that direction, or a few miles south-southeast into Inglewood and you are in Blood territory.

Eagle Rock is a decent working-class neighborhood, but you have to commute through downtown LA on the always-crowded 110 freeway. Pasadena has the same caveat, plus you will be competing with students from Cal Tech and Pasadena City College.

good and bad areas is all relative.

H.B. has good advise above. Do that first and it should land you in a decent spot.

Hi Friends,
Thank you very much for some very useful information.
I am an admit to MBA at Marshall School of Business (it's housed in Popovich Hall, near to Gate 2, I suppose). Can you guys be more specific on decent localities around my school? How do you compare on-campus boarding with the boarding in the surrounding localities?
Any inputs will be highly appreciated.

Thank you once again!

First off, congrats on being admitted to the graduate business program.
I agree, good and bad areas are all relative. Don't let rumors scare you. Of course there are better areas in Los Angeles to live in than the USC area but you're not going to have to fear for your life. Crime is crime anywhere in the world, you just have to use common sense.

I went to UCLA, your new crosstown rival, and a university you'll learn to dislike especially if you make friends with undergraduate students or die hard graduate students and alumni who love them some college sports, football in particular. I'm a die hard Bruin but you my friend need some help.

In my opinion you should inquire about living on campus or right next to campus first. They should have housing for graduate students but not sure if it will fit your budget. School loans are always fairly easy to obtain if you need the financial assistance. Think of your loans as a smart investment rather than a horrible debt. You can always go cheaper if you live further away but you have to add in more commuting expenses, whether it be gas for your car or a bus pass, not to mention the time you'll lose commuting. Traffic will be an issue pretty much anywhere you live unless you're walking to campus.

With your budget I agree with HB, go north and northwest. If you concentrate in between Hoover St. and La Brea Ave. staying north of the 10 freeway, you should find at least a studio for yourself, except for Hancock park area which are million dollar homes. "In general" the more west you go, and staying north of the 10 freeway, it gets really expensive really fast. I mention La Brea because once you cross it westward you start getting into the Miracle Mile area and prices began to rise. So in between Hoover and La Brea you'll find Koreatown, Wilshire Center, Mid-Wilshire, Mid-City. USC is practically on the northeast corner of the South LA neighborhood and up into the West Adams area. Check this link so you get familiar with the locations of different neighborhoods:

http://www.laalmanac.com/LA/lamap2.htm

Bus transportation is your best bet if you don't own a vehicle. It will be very easy to get to school from wherever you live. Here is the website:

http://www.metro.net

Lastly, when looking for a place the previous sites mentioned by our fellow VTers are good and you can add:

http://www.westsiderentals.com

although they charge a monthly fee but I think its worth it if you have trouble finding something. I've personally got an apartment in the past through them. You basically pay to view the addresses and phone numbers of the apartments listed and then deal directly with the building managers as opposed to the agency.
Well I hope this helps, let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank you very much for all the very useful information.
...and some very interesting anecdotes :-)