Places to Live in LA

[okayplayer]

I am currently trying to decide where to live, and am strongly leaning towards LA. I am trying to decide b/n LA, Vegas or staying in the Bay area. I would like to be able to play more live (my play consists of almost all online play, as the Bay Area doesn't really spread any games for my limit. 10/20NL). I would also like to buy a place. I have friends in LA and the Bay, but don't know anyone in Vegas. Vegas would be the cheapest, and I could buy a nice house and some toys (pool, hot tub, boat/jet ski), but I wouldn't know anyone. LA has better weather than the Bay, and I'm sure a better social scene. I would like to live near the ocean/beach too. Ok, all that rambling aside... do you have any recommendations on where I should live in LA? I have mostly been looking at Santa Monica (or Marina Del Rey or around there), as this is near the beach and a nice area, and I have a few friends there. I was talking to my current roommate and he mentioned that there are some cool places to live in Eastern LA, and I should look there too. Any thoughts?

I would stay west of Sepulveda Blvd. West LA, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Venice, Playa Del Rey, etc. LA's traffic makes it difficult for anyone east of Sepulveda to ever go to the beach. Also, it's always 10 degrees cooler on the west side.
South Bay is another great option. Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach.
Good luck!

[Amid Cent]

Completely agree with jt. If money isn't an issue, I would go with any of the cities he listed. However, you're looking at about 1 million bucks for a house, 600+ for a condo. Also, you should know that most of the casinos are NOT near the beach. They are mostly located a few miles south of Downtown Los Angeles (Commerce, Hollywood Park, The Bike, etc.)

[okayplayer]

Yeah, I mapped out where the casinos were, so I know where they are in proximity to the beach. I would rather walk to the beach a few days a week and drive to the casino a couple times a week, rather than vice-versa.

True. Actually Hollywood Park is located near LAX on Century Blvd, very close to Marina Del Rey and Playa del Rey. Also, the Hustler Casino is in Gardena, which is very close to the South Bay cities I mentioned. Commerce is still the biggest though.

[ThaHero]

Jt gave you good advice. Only other place I would mention if you wanted to be closer to the casinos was Downtown L.A., since all the necessary freeways are right there. There are some nice lofts/townhouses etc. Just a secondary option.

If you love poker, want affordable housing(which the beach is way over priced) I would recommend Temecula in Riverside County. There are 3 casinos all within 20 minutes, and a 24 hour poker hall that has huge bad beat jackpots. If your a good player, take the money you will save not living in L.A. and use it to make huge money playing all the retired old people who sit at these poker rooms all day long

Oh ya, and the beach is only 45 minutes away from Temecula

[Recliner]

The first thing I think you should try to figure out is where the best games for you are. I believe the general consensus is that LA has better higher limit games than Vegas? After that you should think about the cost of housing and taxes. California is going to have much higher taxes than Vegas (I think Nevada might have no property tax?). You'd likely be able to save a ton on buying a house and taxes if you lived in Vegas. I'd imagine this would be a very large ammount of money that if invested would allow you the opportunity to retire at a much younger age than if you lived in LA.

[Bikeboy]

My cousin lives in Redondo Beach and pays $1600 a month for a very average two bedroom apartment and he says he's lucky to have rent that cheap. I personally think that area is kind of dumpy except for the beach front area. Whoever said Temecula is righ on.