Is Downtown LA Safe to Visit at Night?

[WaveJumper]

I plan to visit Los Angeles around New Year and was picking a hotel when i ran across articles that recommended staying away from downtown LA because of safety concerns(especially at night-time). I read about South Central and know it is one of the most dangerous places in the US(because of gang violence, shootings, etc), but i was never aware that downtown LA was dangerous after 5p.m. I read a lot of conflicting opinions - from it's very dangerous(you're going to get killed at night to it's way over-rated). Does anyone have first-hand experience and which areas are to be avoided. I am traveling with my wife and 3-year old daughter. Is the Westside around Culver city safe?

 

[Ben Niehoff]

Downtown LA is about as dangerous as any large city. Sure, there are occasional muggings, but the actual gang violence is mostly in South Central, not Downtown. Just take some standard precautions and you'll be fine (keep together as a group, don't wander around with your iPods hanging out, don't leave any items visible in your car, etc.). Note that the city of LA has gone to great lengths to "clean up" downtown, to make it a place to be proud of again. I think it is carefully defended. There isn't much to do there, though...most of the nightlife is in Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, and West Hollywood (which are also fairly safe, and West Hollywood is fairly gay).

Westside is the posh neighborhood. I think you'll have no worries there. However, in my opinion, standard precautions apply no matter where you go.

Culver City is a bit of a mix. There are some nice parts, and some less nice parts. In general, it gets less nice as you go further south (i.e., closer to LAX).

 

[pantaz]

I don't think it's any more dangerous than any other big city's urban zone. Of course, if you're from a small town, and have little/no experience with such places, it can be intimidating. (Walking past the occasional transvestite freaks out some people. )

Generally speaking, "downtown" Los Angeles is almost exclusively a "9 to 5" business area. There are a handful of tourist spots (e.g., http://www.olvera-street.com/" .)

Culver City is fine, but there's not much to it. "The Westside" is generic for a huge portion of L.A., so I can't say much without more specifics.

I've lived most of my life here. I'm more of an outdoors person, but my sister is definitely a city gal. Between the two of us, we can answer any questions you have. Feel free to ask here, or PM me.

 

[pantaz]

FYI: A few years ago, the city council officially renamed "South Central" to "South L.A."

 

[Monique]

I'm European and I can tell you that I wouldn't recommend staying in downtown LA. I don't know where you're from and how much you know about the city layout, but downtown LA is mainly a business center. I did enjoy visiting the China town, but that is about it.

*edit* just to clarify, I had great expectations of downtown areas of cities such as Detroit or LA, but the way the cities are laid out are just completely different than what I was used to.

 

[Moonbear]

Yes, often in the US, the "downtown" of a city is the business district, or location of things like the courthouse, police station and post office, not necessarily the fun, touristy part with things to do at night.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Get a hotel on Redondo or Venice beach

 

[Math Is Hard]

Parts of downtown L.A. are very dangerous especially after sundown (you don't want to be anywhere near skid row - my last jury duty involved trial for a skid row stabbing) but if you've got a car and you're staying in a good hotel in a good area, it shouldn't be a problem. I think staying downtown would be pretty boring, though. Most people stay there when they are on business travel, visiting for a convention.

I never go into South Central area at any time of day. Even driving through the far outskirts of that area gives me the willies!

Culver City is nice, has a remodeled downtown area, great places to eat, and a new mall. (If you stay there, you might check out doing a tour of Sony studios). Santa Monica rocks, but it will cost you a little more to stay there. (if you do visit Santa Monica, check out 3rd street promenade). Marina del Rey is a very safe area, but it has no night life (if you like boats, pelicans, and sea lions, it's the place to be - I highly recommend the $11 harbor tour at Fisherman's Village) .

Sometimes you can get decent deals on the hotels on the Westside - watch out for the parking charges, though - sometimes they are as high as $30/day and they might not tell you that when you make your reservation.

 

[mgb_phys]

If you are in LA the one 'must do' is brunch at the Queen Mary in Long Beach - 30min drive south
(it's about $30 you might have to make reservations at holidays)

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I don't think there is much I could say that has not already been said.
The issue of safety is slightly over blown, of course if you happen to be someone who gets mugged or have your car broken into you're not going to consider it all that over blown.

Not that long ago there was an issue in Culver with a hotel allowing several sex offenders to live there. That was about a year ago now and should have been taken care of. They were also likely staying in a run down "crack motel" so as long as you stay in nicer places you should be fine. Just something to keep in mind though. If you are not used to prices around here you might think that $50-$60 a night is mid range. It's not. That would be a cheap motel. For a relatively nice hotel (where you won't see hookers and druggies) you are looking at probably $80-$90 minimum.

As far as staying away from the bad areas it is pretty easy to tell which ones are the bad areas. If you see lots of people that look like gangsters, homeless, and druggies you are probably in a bad area. Note that people do dress in the "gangster fashion" that are not gangsters. If the clothes they are wearing are nice and relatively new then you probably don't have much to worry about. Depending you may also want to look out for skinheads. They tend to live in middle class areas more than poor areas. If you are not much familiar with skinheads aside from shaved heads they tend to wear black military style boots (usually red or white laces), dickies pants usually cut off, flight jackets, white "wife beater" tank tops, and red bracers (suspenders). Of course they don't always dress this way but if they have big tattoos of swastikas, the nazi eagle, or SS bolts then you can be fairly certain of what they are.

As already mentioned don't leave things lying in plain sight in the vehicle when you leave it. That includes during the day; no purses, ipods, or even cheap disc man cd players. Also make sure that if your vehicle has a GPS navigation system it can be removed and hidden someplace. Its one of the oddest things I have noticed at my work that people will leave expensive GPS nav systems in their car over night mounted right up there on the dash all lit up like a beacon for thieves. And definitely always make sure you know where you are going and have adequate directions for getting there. If you get lost and wind up in a bad neighbourhood it could take quite a while to find your way out.

 

[Saladsamurai]

Just bring the 'heater' and you'll be ok Know what I'm saying?

 

[WaveJumper]

Thanks everyone, your advice is appreciated. I made a reservation at Radisson Westside on Centinela Avenue. Read a few good reviews and decided i would give it a go. We have our own share of crime here in Bulgaria(EU) but reading some newspaper/magazine articles, it seems our crimes are of different sorts. I've never felt afraid of being robbed or mugged day and night here, but as i said there is crime everywhere, including here in Varna. It's clear some countries/cities are worse than others - I couldn't fill my car up at a petrol station in London at 10pm, because the salesman had locked all doors and insisted we communicate through a whole in his bulletproof windows(at that time i was Hmmm, WTF??). I've been to Sri Lanka when the civil war wasn't over(military jets were lined up for take-off before our A330) and I am generally extremely tolerant towards adrenalin rush, this time though i am traveling with the kid and can't afford a wrong move. I've read there were nearly 2 billion people in prisons in the US at any time, it's amazing crime couldn't be contained to a very low level considering the harsh measures taken. As elsewhere, i presume it has to do with lack/insufficient education of minorities and decline of morals and values and the sales of guns/ammunitions.

 

[BobG]

I've read there were nearly 2 billion people in prisons in the US at any time, it's amazing crime couldn't be contained to a very low level considering the harsh measures taken. As elsewhere, i presume it has to do with lack/insufficient education of minorities and decline of morals and values and the sales of guns/ammunitions.

The population of the US is 300 million, so the 2 billion people in prisons is probably incorrect. Actually, it's around 2 million or so (which is still incredibly high considering China only has about 1.5 million in their prisons).

Your presumptions about why the prison population is nearly 7 times the free population are probably equally wrong unless you have some statistics that show some kind of correlation between crime rates and gun sales, show how the education of minorities is different than the education of whites, and define your morals and values and explain how the US fails to meet your personal standards.

If you're traveling with the kid and can't afford to make a wrong move, it might be worth humbling yourself a little and to avoid offending the natives by calling them all uneducated, depraved criminals.

 

[WaveJumper]

The population of the US is 300 million, so the 2 billion people in prisons is probably incorrect. Actually, it's around 2 million or so (which is still incredibly high considering China only has about 1.5 million in their prisons).

It's a typo(obvoiusly not billions LOL). Data was taken from here:

"It is perhaps not surprising then, that the United States, with its current population approaching 304 million people, also "leads the world in producing prisoners": 2.3 million of them and climbing."

This survey puts the US as number one in prisoners per capita in the world:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_pri_per_cap-crime-prisoners-per-capita

Your presumptions about why the prison population is nearly 7 times the free population are probably equally wrong unless you have some statistics that show some kind of correlation between crime rates and gun sales, show how the education of minorities is different than the education of whites, and define your morals and values and explain how the US fails to meet your personal standards.

It was a typo. Obviously.

If you're traveling with the kid and can't afford to make a wrong move, it might be worth humbling yourself a little and to avoid offending the natives by calling them all uneducated, depraved criminals.

Sure but I did not offend anyone, unless you consider admitting that not everyone gets proper education "offence"(evidently a failure of the system, not of the population). I also said "as elsewhere" meaning that things aren't that much different between countries.

Anyway, this thread served its purpose. Talk on crime should be directed to another thread.

 

[mgb_phys]

the prison population is nearly 7 times the free population

That's probably how many the prison dept is claiming for from the treasury.

avoid offending the natives by calling them all uneducated, depraved criminals.

This is LA, that's almost complimentary compared to what the rest of the country call them.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Parts of downtown L.A. are very dangerous especially after sundown (you don't want to be anywhere near skid row - my last jury duty involved trial for a skid row stabbing) but if you've got a car and you're staying in a good hotel in a good area, it shouldn't be a problem. I think staying downtown would be pretty boring, though. Most people stay there when they are on business travel, visiting for a convention.

I never go into South Central area at any time of day. Even driving through the far outskirts of that area gives me the willies!

There are only two reasons that I would go to SC LA. The first was work. We had some hospitals in that area that we serviced [mobile CTs]. The only other thing that could get me there was the need for killer tripe tacos.

Having grown up around LA gang bangers, beyond the comments already made, the best advice that I can give is to never look a gang member in the eye. If you see a gang coming your way, look away. Eye-to-eye contact is as good as a challenge.

I lived in LA for most of 30 years. The only really bad stuff happened to me when I was in school. As an adult it is pretty easy to avoid any problems if one uses a little sense. On the flip side, I once met a fellow engineer who had traveled the globe for many years. He told me that LA was the most dangerous place he had ever been. Considering that we were in Jersey at the time, that's saying something!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Given that Britain banned personal firearms long ago, why do they have bullet-proof glass at gas stations?

 

[Monique]

Because it is also resistant to impact with baseball bats or other weapons. These gas station attendants are often sitting by themselves in the middle of the night. Besides that, criminal people probably have access to illegal weapons.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Besides that, criminal people probably have access to illegal weapons.

Ah. So you are saying that when firearms are illegal, only the criminals have them.

 

[mgb_phys]

Given that Britain banned personal firearms long ago, why do they have bullet-proof glass at gas stations?

Longbow robberies - it worked at Crecy and Agincourt so they aren't taking any chances

 

[Monique]

Ah. So you are saying that when firearms are illegal, only the criminals have them.

People who reside in the wrong circuits own illegal guns, otherwise you wouldn't even be able to obtain one (you wouldn't even want one).

I think it is obvious that even though something is illegal, that you are still going to be confronted with people who violate the law. Especially in crime-associated incidents.

But as I said, I've seen surveillance videos where people try to break into a gas station by throwing everyday objects into the glass: baseball bats or brick stones.

 

[WaveJumper]

Just wish to update this thread that downtown LA isn't at all as scary as a lot of credible sites suggest. I am currently in LA and i even went to Compton. I parked my car and walked and walked... and nobody shot me. I didn't even hear gunshot fired. I even bought a set of ignition wires for my car, and ate at a McDonalds.

For the record, Compton and Lynwood are far better than at least 90% of New York. NY is such a big big disappointment(dirty, run-down, lawless, miserable and rotten), and this is coming from a guy who lives in Eastern Europe.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A few days makes you an expert?

Go talk to some cops in South Central, or parts of Compton for that matter, if you want a proper impression.

 

[WaveJumper]

A few days makes you an expert?

Go talk to some cops in South Central, or parts of Compton for that matter, if you want a proper impression.

I admit that my impressions may be incomplete and appearances might be deceiving but Compton seemed much more orderly and neat than most of New York. And the streets were full of people from all races that in no way looked concerned for their safety. Perhaps, this changes at night?

 

[pantaz]

I admit that my impressions may be incomplete and appearances might be deceiving but Compton seemed much more orderly and neat than most of New York. And the streets were full of people from all races that in no way looked concerned for their safety. Perhaps, this changes at night?

Well, one can't make a blanket statement about Compton anymore than you can about any other city. Some areas are worse than others. A decade or so ago, the crime rate in Compton (and surrounding areas) was headline material. They have made major improvements, but memories are long.

 

[lisab]

Just wish to update this thread that downtown LA isn't at all as scary as a lot of credible sites suggest. I am currently in LA and i even went to Compton. I parked my car and walked and walked... and nobody shot me. I didn't even hear gunshot fired. I even bought a set of ignition wires for my car, and ate at a McDonalds.

For the record, Compton and Lynwood are far better than at least 90% of New York. NY is such a big big disappointment(dirty, run-down, lawless, miserable and rotten), and this is coming from a guy who lives in Eastern Europe.

Great to hear that, WaveJumper...I hope you have a great time there! I hear the weather is fantastic now, into the 70s during the day. Beautiful .

 

[cristo]

Ah. So you are saying that when firearms are illegal, only the criminals have them.

That's true by definition. I don't really see what the grin is for.

 

[WaveJumper]

Great to hear that, WaveJumper...I hope you have a great time there! I hear the weather is fantastic now, into the 70s during the day. Beautiful .

LA is amazing, even better than i expected. I love BelAir, Beverly Hills & Hollywood, downtown and what not. The sprawl of LA is a big big plus for someone who has lived most of his life in cramped Europe.
Weather is great, 21-22 deg C, wearing short sleeves, everything is perfect. LA is really amazing to live in, i am starting to consider eventually buying a house sometime.

Here are a few pictures i took in LA and around it:

http://community.webshots.com/user/Agobot

 

[Moonbear]

For the record, Compton and Lynwood are far better than at least 90% of New York. NY is such a big big disappointment(dirty, run-down, lawless, miserable and rotten), and this is coming from a guy who lives in Eastern Europe.

Out of curiousity, have you actually SEEN 90% of New York? Granted, the holiday season is a terrible time to visit, because the only people you run into are all the clueless tourists walking one way and looking another, but lawless? Miserable? Yes, streets of NY do tend to be dirty, especially in midtown, I'll give you that, and it looks worse when there's slushy snow on the ground. But then there are really beautiful places in the city too. If you were just hitting all the really touristy places during the peak of tourist season, well, you just haven't really experienced NY.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Just wish to update this thread that downtown LA isn't at all as scary as a lot of credible sites suggest. I am currently in LA and i even went to Compton. I parked my car and walked and walked... and nobody shot me. I didn't even hear gunshot fired. I even bought a set of ignition wires for my car, and ate at a McDonalds.

For the record, Compton and Lynwood are far better than at least 90% of New York. NY is such a big big disappointment(dirty, run-down, lawless, miserable and rotten), and this is coming from a guy who lives in Eastern Europe.

You may not have been in some of the worse areas. I worked at a warehouse in Compton for a while and the industrial areas was definitely relatively nice and clean. Other areas are not very nice at all.

I can not compare to NYC since I have not been there but as I noted in my earlier post the dangers of LA are somewhat over blown. The idea that you will hear gun shots all the time and there will be hoods waiting to steal your wallet around every corner is obviously pretty ridiculous.

 

[WaveJumper]

Out of curiousity, have you actually SEEN 90% of New York? Granted, the holiday season is a terrible time to visit, because the only people you run into are all the clueless tourists walking one way and looking another, but lawless? Miserable? Yes, streets of NY do tend to be dirty, especially in midtown, I'll give you that, and it looks worse when there's slushy snow on the ground. But then there are really beautiful places in the city too. If you were just hitting all the really touristy places during the peak of tourist season, well, you just haven't really experienced NY.

That depends on what you mean by 90%. If you meen litterally yard by yard, then no. I was in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten island, Harlem, Mid- lower and upper Manhattan. I slept in Jersey, and was terriefied. They don't have metered taxis in Jersey, just flat-rates which happened to be not that flat. A taxi operator quoted me $60 plus tolls to Manhattan and the cab driver when he took me to Manahattan said - "Nah, she doesn't know, it's $95 plus tolls". Then i took another, this time, metered cab from Rockfeller center(the only nice area in NY), and i told the driver to do a few rounds of the city. After driving for a few minutes i asked if he's going to charge by the meter. He replied "No, i charge different for tourist tour"? I said " i'll give you $20 on top of the bill, he goes on "Nah, that's not good for me". That was when i was totally dismayed. Having been to Moscow(they don't have real taxis, every car is a taxi- you negotiate the price), in Kiev, in Cairo, in Tanjer and Istanbul, I can safely say i had never seen such audacity. The cab driver went on to tell me "I am not an entertainment cab, you know I'm sayin'?" He took a few rounds at it was 15:35 and his 16:00 shift was nearing, so he said i'll pull over by the brooklyn bridge and drop you off, cause my shift ended". WOW! Way to go NY! We then went to the Empire STate building and there were probably 20 people lined outside to get tickets. We lined up and after20-30 min. we got in. Bam!, the line continues inside. And it continues, and continues and continues... Nobody from the administration bothers to warn the people that the line almost a mile long and streches on 2 floors. Litterally there were a thousand people before us. It took a bit more than 2 1/2 hours to get to the top.
Shops and stroes - same situation - rude salesmen that don't even bother to pretend they were interested. It was explicit that they want you out of there. Very very unprofessional treatment for people who have come from the other side of the Earth to spend their money. Another cab driver flatly told me i was wasting his time for demanding that he left me in front of the ferry terminal, not a 1/4 mile from it. It was frigid outside with strong winds and i had a 3 year old with me. The Hilton New Ark in Elizabeth was terrible by any Hilton standards. The double decker tourist bus i had tickets for(Grayline), had an open upper deck and it was cold even on the first floor(how much maths knowledge does it take to figure that an opening 1x1 metres will keep the first floor cold??). JFK was horrible, no seats in the American Airlines terminal, so everybody was standing up, waiting for their delayed flight on their feet. Very unprofessional. Check in, only self -service - highly uninterested personnel, one fat lady lied to me the lined she opened to relieve the other 150 feet line was for a special flight. Turned out it was for our flight. In general, you constantly get the impression that everybody is out to cheat and do cheap tricks. So sad that it comes from someone who has been to more than30 countries, some of which really shady.

Oh, and when i said NY was dirty, that was an understatement(i was fairly diplomatic). There more horrible instances to our drama, but i won't clutter the thread any more.

Most definitely my very last visit to NY.

 

[Moonbear]

Um, wow, sorry you got ripped off, but your impression is totally inaccurate. Taxis in NJ are very definitely metered. The exception, like most US cities, is there are flat rates from airports. You should have reported that driver!

As for the Empire State Building, I've actually never visited it. It's a touristy place. But, if you just check online, you'll see it's better to buy tickets ahead of time. You can skip a few of those lines if you buy the tickets in advance.

As for the airlines, it doesn't matter what city you're in. If there are major weather delays, the same thing happens. I'm surprised you've never experienced that before.

I've never had such problems with cab drivers. They're always happy to drop people off wherever. If you want to sit in the traffic to go a few extra blocks, they're more than happy to keep the meter running. Never heard of someone refusing that. But, then, I don't often take cabs anymore either, unless the weather is awful. The subways are the best way to travel.

Rockefeller Center is the only NICE place? Ugh! That's the worst of the worst tourist trap areas.

Though, I have NO idea why you decided to stay in Elizabeth. That is one of the worst parts of NJ, with the smelly refineries nearby. I would never advise someone to stay there...ever.

 

[WaveJumper]

Um, wow, sorry you got ripped off, but your impression is totally inaccurate. Taxis in NJ are very definitely metered. The exception, like most US cities, is there are flat rates from airports. You should have reported that driver!

Call Green taxi in NJ at 973-643-4100 and ask for a car with a meter(the driver told me there were no meter cabs in NJ). I also took a black taxi from Queens Center Mall in Queens that had no meter whatsoever. The front desk at the hotel told me there were no metered taxis in NJ. While it is possible that everyone was lying, i am not. Here is the hotel tel. in case you want to see for yourself what they have to say about metered taxis in NJ - 1-908-351-3900. Somebody has asked a similar question in this thread:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-jersey/791201-taxis-meters-new-jersey.html

As for the Empire State Building, I've actually never visited it. It's a touristy place. But, if you just check online, you'll see it's better to buy tickets ahead of time. You can skip a few of those lines if you buy the tickets in advance.

I did and they asked for a specific time when i would visit. ESB is not on my list of top priorities and it was not possible to set a particlular timing that i would observe. ESB is just a building, and relatively short one at that(by moderns standard, though still the tallest in NY) and definitely old. 2 1/2 hours or advanced fixed timing tickets are out of the question. It's the same with the EIffel tower, i have no idea why people would wait hours to climb on top of it(i have, though it was many years ago, and there were no lines).

As for the airlines, it doesn't matter what city you're in. If there are major weather delays, the same thing happens. I'm surprised you've never experienced that before.

I was speaking about there being nowhere to sit in the departure hall. I don't mind delays, but would appreciate having somewhere to sit, while waiting.

Rockefeller Center is the only NICE place? Ugh! That's the worst of the worst tourist trap areas.

What would be a good NY area?

Though, I have NO idea why you decided to stay in Elizabeth. That is one of the worst parts of NJ, with the smelly refineries nearby. I would never advise someone to stay there...ever.

Hotels in Manhattan are four times as expensive between Christmas and New Year's eve than the other days of the year so i decided to cut some corners and stay at a Hilton in Jersey. $400-500 per night for a 3-4 star hotel is outrageous for a place like NY, imo.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

LA is amazing, even better than i expected. I love BelAir, Beverly Hills & Hollywood, downtown and what not

Bel-Air and Beverly Hills?! You asked about downtown LA, which is a completely different place. Of course Bel-Air and Beverly Hills are nice.

Hollywood is a trashy place...I'm not sure what part of it you were in, nor what part of the day. At night you'll see plenty of transvestite hookers. West Hollywood is nicer, but that is a different neighborhood.

The sprawl of LA is a big big plus for someone who has lived most of his life in cramped Europe.

I hate the sprawl of LA...it's impossible to get anywhere. And there is really no open space anywhere...if you want to get away from the "cramped" European-style city, then try some place in the Midwest, like St. Louis, Indianapolis, etc. Tons of open space.

Weather is great, 21-22 deg C, wearing short sleeves, everything is perfect. LA is really amazing to live in, i am starting to consider eventually buying a house sometime.

I wouldn't base your decision to move here on a few days' vacation. The weather is nice in December, sure, but in the summer it gets quite hot (think over 40 C). And many apartments in the LA area do not have air conditioning (for some crazy reason). If you want to buy a house, I hope you're loaded...they are quite expensive. Unless you want to live in Compton.

Also consider that you are probably in a much better mood while on vacation than you would be normally...not stressed out, not in a hurry. That sprawl you so praised earlier is going to become a major frustration, once you find you have to commute an hour in heavy traffic to and from work every day. If you can find a job, that is...LA has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country right now...something like 12%.

If you are most impressed about the open spaces in America, then I definitely suggest you check out some cities in the Midwest. They have a lot more open space than LA, at a much lower price (by a factor of 4 at least). If you want warmer weather, then check out the South and Southwest.