Westlake/MacArthur Park: L.A.'s Grandest Neighborhood

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by mello

Great thread, question for Three Hundred: Do you have a car in this neighborhood? I assume parking would be a real pain. Also what is your apartment like? I've been in apt buildings similar to these (in look) having lived in Crown Heights Brooklyn for two years and they were pretty grimy and extremely outdated on the inside.

They were actually kind of depressing. So seeing that WestLake is a poor immigrant area I would assume the inside of these buildings are pretty funky. I hope yours is decent, maybe you could talk about others you have been in.

1. I don't own a car myself but I'm driving around my roommate's car while he's in Chicago and let me just say that parking in Westlake is horrible. Every Monday and Tuesday, you have to move your car for street sweeping. Expect to waste 30-45 minutes looking for a parking space. Although you may get lucky and you'll see one quickly. Luckily, everything I need is right down the hill. Downtown is a 15 minute walk away and I'm near a subway. A car is not needed in Westlake.

2. I'll say this about my studio apartment: It's loud (I live at the foot of a stairwell), it could stand a good paint job, and the oven doesn't work. On the plus side, I have a large kitchen with ample counter space, loads of cabinets, a large living room (where my bed is), high celings, a working heater, a full bathroom, a small room where my roommate's bed is, and plenty of light due to 2 large (nearly floor to ceiling) windows. All of this for a total of $700 dollars per month. You couldn't get the size of space that I have here in Westlake in downtown or Koreatown and expect to pay anything less than a grand a month.

[mello]

^^^ Thanks Tre Hun I was just thinking this area is really the only part of LA possibly along with Koreatown just to the west and Pico Union to the South that is "Like parts of Brooklyn" or areas of inner Queens or Washington Heights.

While not exactly the same it does have a lot of large older 4 to 6 story apt buildings that really do look like buildings in BK. Like I said I lived in Crown Heights (Franklin and St. Marks) for 2 years and did a TON of exploring all over NYC. I haven't walked around Westlake but drove around a lot with Chris LA a few weeks ago.

It has the density and look that really does kind of give it somewhat of that "Eastern Vibe" minus the palm trees etc. And it has the same kind of immigrant feel a la Flatbush in BK with all the discount stores etc.

What do you guys think? I know KOTH has explored my old BK extensively.