Anyone looking for a place to live in LA has to accept that the city is more expensive than many others. While it is far from the most expensive city in California, LA is extremely desirable. As such, buying or renting a home is tough for many people.
In LA, as is the case in most parts of the world, some of the cheapest neighborhoods have the highest crime rates. However, this is not uniformly true. There are many affordable places to live in LA that are relatively safe.
Regardless of the crime rate where you live, you should have insurance coverage for your possessions. Therefore look to get a renters insurance policy in LA to start the process. Renters insurance will cover all of your possessions while you’re renting a home.
Here are safe and affordable places to live in LA.
Lakeview Terrace
Lakeview Terrace is not top of mind when most people think of Los Angeles. However, when discussing the cheaper parts of the city, that is not necessarily a bad thing. The most well-known names are often those with the worst crime rates. Lakeview Terrace is certainly not among the most dangerous neighborhoods in LA.
On the contrary, while crime rates may be slightly higher than the national average, they are lower than the state average. Lakeview Terrace is also significantly cheaper than many other neighborhoods with similar crime rates. You’ll still struggle to find an affordable property to buy, but that is true almost everywhere at the moment.
Arleta
Arleta is an interesting entry. It is significantly safer than many other parts of LA. It is also relatively cheap. However, these benefits are somewhat offset by high unemployment rates. If you’re looking for a location close to the best jobs, Arleta is not for you.
On the other hand, if you are working from home or self-employed, Arleta’s unemployment rates will not be too significant a factor. You may be earning more than the average Arleta resident, which makes the neighborhood even more affordable.
West Hills
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Werst Hills. West Hills is a great place to live with low crime rates, but most people would not consider it affordable. The median house price is over $600,000 after all. But when you take income into perspective, the outlook changes.
The median income in West Hill is $109,000, which is far more than in most parts of the city, state, or country as a whole. If you have a high-paying job or find a job at one of the big companies in the area, your income may make it possible for you to afford rent, if not a home of your own.
Sunland
But getting back to the areas which average earners would consider affordable, Sunland is a good example of an LA neighborhood with a low crime rate. The crime rates are particularly low in the context of LA. In the same vein, the neighborhood is affordable.
Once again, affordable is relative. You will have to cough up a mortgage of almost $400,000 for a home in Sunland, but this is due to the high cost of LA houses in general, as well as the rapid increase in prices we have seen recently. Compared to a year ago, houses in Sunland today are wildly overvalued. But today, these homes are cheaper than the national average.
To live an affordable life in LA, you do not have to move into an area with high crime rates. Yes, high-crime places like Crenshaw and the Fashion District are where you’ll find the most affordable houses, but they are on the extreme end of the spectrum. The above parts of LA are affordable to live in and are fairly safe.
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