What are some safe places with good schools and low renting prices close to Hollywood.?

My family and I are moving to southern California later this year. My main goal is to be a successful actor, and I am ready to go out on auditions and try to get an agent. My family is going through some financial troubles and we need to find a town/city that has low renting prices, good schools, and is safe. It needs to be close enough to Hollywood for me to go out and do the acting thing also. I looked at Sherman Oaks and Studio City, but the crime rate is too high. Thanks guys!|||The best public schools (distinguished schools per CA designation) are in Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks. But they're in western LA County %26amp; Ventura County, which are up to 45 miles away from the studios and not cheap.





Hope you drive a hybrid!|||We see this every day in this forum: Everyone wants to move here (especially "actors"), and is looking for 鈥渃heap/affordable and safe". However, such a place just doesn鈥檛 exist; the two terms are mutually exclusive. It's all about supply and demand: If it's in SoCal, then it's not going to be cheap to begin with. If it's a safe area, then it's more expensive. If you need good schools, add a couple hundred bucks a month on top of it.





Actually, Sherman Oaks and Studio City are nice sections. If the crime rate there is too high for you, then I would recommend you don't come here at all, because nothing will be "safe" enough for you. This is a large city, and there is crime. However, it's not to hard to avoid being a victim, if you just exercise a little caution.





If you want to live here and enjoy the weather, then you have to pay for it. You put up with the smog and the traffic, enjoy the weather and pay your rent or mortgage. My advice is to start checking out craigslist, rent.com, and apartments.com if you are looking to rent. You鈥檒l quickly see that the minimum rent for a non-war zone is about $1,000-$1,200 per month for a studio or 1BR. Really nice areas (like the West LA area) easily run $3,000 or more. Want to live near the beach? Expect to pay a premium.





"LA" is such a big place, there are so many neighborhoods/cities where you can live. Of course, even within a city or neighborhood, there are safer sections and less-safe sections.





In Los Angeles, some nice sections are West LA, Brentwood, Westwood, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Los Feliz, Silverlake, Eagle Rock, Encino, Tarzana, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Granada Hills, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, West Hills, Chatsworth.





To the east: South Pasadena, parts of Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia, Monrovia.





Along the beach: Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Palos Verdes, Rancho PV.





In Orange County aka "The OC": Seal Beach , Huntington Beach , Newport Beach , Corona Del Mar , Laguna Beach , Dana Point , Capistrano Beach , San Clemente , Brea, Yorba Linda, Orange, Tustin, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest





To the west: Agoura, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Moorpark.





This is not an all-inclusive list, but it's a start.|||LA is a big city, and prices are high. What you are asking for is not to be found, as lower prices are found farther out. But I will give it my best in briefer form than Obviousman. However, you should pay attention to his well-researched answer.





Rents: Sherman Oaks and Studio City are not so bad actually. Also try Burbank, Glendale, Atwater Village, Silverlake, Echo Park, Alhambra and the San Gabriel Valley (but be selective).





Schools: Glendale, Burbank, Arcadia, South Pasadena, Alhambra and others in the San Gabriel Valley





Safety: similar to the schools list





In general, I would steer you to the areas on my schools list. It might be a little more of a drive for you, but your family would be better settled, and you should be able to find decent rent (but still considering that LA is EXPENSIVE).





But if you are having financial troubles, I really question a move to this place at such a time and to the acting world, where a minuscule number of people make it. 99% of them have day jobs and are grateful to have them. Can you line something up before coming?|||Yikes, Sherman Oaks and Studio City ARE good sections. I assume your question is a well crafted joke...RIGHT ????|||that is rihte|||Sherman Oaks and Studio City are about the best you're going to be able to do. The crime rate there is not very high. It may seem high to you if you're coming from some rural area. But any part of LA is going to have some crime.|||Try Burbank, it sounds like a good option for you. Very safe and, apparently, the schools are good (it's not a part of LAUSD, it's in its own school district). Like all of LA, rents will be pricey, but probably more "affordable" than other areas.|||I'm going to have to agree with Obviousman and some of the other answerers.. this is a question/comment that many LA natives have heard countless times.. Sorry to say. For some people (very few) it works out the way they imagined, but for the majority, it probably doesn't. I understand though, wanting to follow your dream and whatnot.. My advice is, if you've never been to LA, come for a visit and then decide if it's really what you want to do/where you want to be. I don't believe you're joking about Sherman Oaks, Studio City, correct? And that's unfortunate, because I'd rather you were joking. As mentioned, these aren't such bad places.. In fact, compared to many parts of LA, like Van Nuys, Pacoima, etc., it's pretty darn fantastic in Sherman Oaks and Studio City. The crime rate in much of LA is higher than the national average. And whYY oh why would you want to be near Hollywood? Yuck, seriously. Most of Hollywood is a hell hole. And, contrary to popular belief, many auditions aren't held in "Hollywood." They're held all over LA county, which is ginormous. A lot of actors live in Burbank, for example, which is about 20-30 mins away from Hollywood depending on traffic. Some auditions are held in Los Angeles (which is not Hollywood), while others are held in random cities like.. Pasadena or whatever. There IS not place like what you're saying in LA. I'm sorry, but it's true. For LA natives, it's hard to find that, much less for someone who's new here. Rent is unbelievably high if crime rates are low for a good 97% of the county. Schools suck. It's not safe. Etc. I really, really don't want to seem like a downer, because I like living in LA. Perhaps if I didn't grow up here, I wouldn't like it, though.. I think I'm just used to it. I just miss it whenever I go anywhere else, lol.. but that's probably common of other hometowns as well. Anywho, I wish you good luck with whatever you choose to do, and would tell you to seriously consider coming out for a visit before deciding to move here, if you already haven't visited, of course. :o)