JSLALALAND

BEFORE YOU LAND

Where to Stay in LA

The #1 question first-timers ask. A full guide to 15 areas: each one's Taiwanese translation, personality, price level, walkability, who it's for and what to avoid, with a quick decision chart at the end.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Key points

Full text

  1. Where to stay in LA: a complete guide to 15 areas

    One post to end the indecision: every area gets a Taiwan equivalent, a personality read, a price range, who it's for and what to watch out for, from Santa Monica to the South Bay and everywhere in between. Where you stay in LA decides your entire trip.

  2. In LA, there's no such thing as 'staying downtown is easiest'

    Taipei logic: stay near a station and you can get anywhere. LA logic: whatever area you stay in, that's the area you live in. Because no car = half-stranded, crossing areas means 40+ minutes of traffic, and every area is so different it's like 15 different cities. So the right question isn't 'where's most convenient?' but 'what kind of life do I want on this trip?' Choose your neighborhood, not just your hotel.

  3. Westside coast | Santa Monica

    Taiwan equivalent: a Tamsui × Xinyi mix. Personality: beach vacation plus a busy tourist district. Price $$$$ (LA's most expensive tier); walkability ★★★★★ (rare in LA). Good for first-timers, honeymoons, bringing your parents; walk to the beach and Third Street, with the Metro E Line direct. Watch out: pricey, very touristy, and a long way from eastside sights. Pay for the sunset. It's worth it once.

  4. Westside coast | Venice Beach

    Taiwan equivalent: Kenting Main Street, wild by day, a bit calmer at night. Personality: skateboards, graffiti, canals, free to the point of a little chaotic. Price $$$ (lots of guesthouse-style options); walkability ★★★★ (daytime). Good for young backpackers, surfers and skaters, and anyone who wants to do Abbot Kinney properly. Watch out: around the beach it gets sketchy at night, so avoid booking right across from the Boardwalk; with parents or kids, shift north to Santa Monica. Venice is a vibe, not a comfort zone.

  5. Westside coast | Marina del Rey

    Taiwan equivalent: Mingshui Road in Dazhi, yachts, quiet and very respectable. Personality: North America's largest man-made small-craft harbor, lined with resort hotels. Price $$$–$$$$; walkability ★★★. Good for people who want the coast but find Venice too chaotic, families and couples; 15 minutes from LAX, a lifesaver for red-eyes. Watch out: nightlife is close to zero, and restaurant options are limited. Where LA goes to exhale.

  6. Westside coast | Sawtelle / West LA

    Taiwan equivalent: the Japanese side streets around Zhongshan Station, with the highest ramen density in LA. Personality: Little Tokyo 2.0, Japanese markets, izakayas, shaved ice. Price $$–$$$$; walkability ★★★★ (one street, Sawtelle). Good for Asian-food lovers, UCLA visits, and anyone who wants to stay in 'everyday local LA'; it sits between the coast and the city, easy in both directions. Watch out: few hotels, mostly Airbnbs and midsize inns. The most Asian comfort food per square mile in LA.

  7. Central core | West Hollywood (WeHo)

    Taiwan equivalent: Taipei's East District in Da'an, with a rainbow filter. Personality: stylish, nightlife, design hotels. Price $$$–$$$$$; walkability ★★★★. Good for Instagram itineraries, bar and café crawls, shopping; Melrose and The Grove are both nearby. Watch out: rooms tend to be small, and parking is shocking. Come for the aesthetic, stay for the people-watching.

  8. Central core | Hollywood

    Taiwan equivalent: Ximending (the tourist version, a bit rougher). Personality: the signature sights are all here, but locals don't come. Price $$ (cheap for a reason); walkability ★★★. Good for tight budgets and anyone who just wants the Walk of Fame photo. Watch out: the streets get sketchy at night, with the highest density of tourist traps in LA; 'you have to stay in Hollywood to experience LA' is the biggest myth. The sign is far. The stars are on the ground. Adjust expectations.

  9. Central core | Beverly Hills

    Taiwan equivalent: The Palace (Taipei's famous luxury tower): you know it's impressive, but why would you stay there? Personality: safe, clean, luxury shopping. Price $$$$$; walkability ★★★ (around Rodeo Drive). Good for unlimited budgets and anyone who purely wants to try it once. Watch out: the whole area goes to sleep after 8 p.m., and restaurants are expensive enough to make you question life; the same budget in Santa Monica gets you more experience. Great to visit. Expensive to sleep.

  10. Central core | Koreatown

    Taiwan equivalent: Linsen North Road in Zhongshan: 24 hours, endless food, king of value. Personality: soft tofu stew and the jjimjilbang still going at 2 a.m. Price $$ (the best value in LA); walkability ★★★★. Good for food lovers, night owls and budget travelers; the Metro B/D Lines meet here, one of the few areas where you can manage without a car. Watch out: it's far from the beach, and the streets don't look like 'LA postcards.' K-town at 2am is more alive than most of LA at 2pm.

  11. Central core | Downtown LA (DTLA)

    Taiwan equivalent: the Taipei Main Station area, exciting by day, eerily quiet at night. Personality: museums, historic buildings, rooftop bars. Price $$–$$$ (hotels are surprisingly good value); walkability ★★★ (block by block). Good for exhibitions, games (Lakers!) and taking the Metro. Watch out: blocks vary enormously, so always check the exact intersection before booking; at night, don't wander on foot, use rideshare. DTLA rewards the curious and punishes the unprepared.

  12. Central core | Culver City

    Taiwan equivalent: freshly redeveloped Banqiao, new, clean, everything just right. Personality: LA's geographic center, so nowhere is extremely far. Price $$$; walkability ★★★★ (around Downtown Culver). Good for itineraries that cover both east and west, families, second visits; on the Metro E Line, easy to the beach and to DTLA. Watch out: not many sights of its own; it's a 'base,' not a 'destination.' Boring in the best possible way.

  13. Eastside creative belt & the Valley | Silver Lake / Echo Park

    Taiwan equivalent: Chifeng Street + Dadaocheng, off-the-charts artsy. Personality: indie coffee, record shops, swan boats on the lake. Price $$–$$$ (mostly Airbnbs); walkability ★★★ (by stretch). Good for café workers, second visits, and anyone who wants to shoot 'non-touristy LA'; within 15 minutes of both DTLA and Hollywood. Watch out: almost no chain hotels, lots of hills, and walkability depends on the block. Where LA's coolest people pretend they're not trying.

  14. Eastside creative belt & the Valley | Burbank / Studio City

    Taiwan equivalent: Neihu, except the tech park is full of Warner and Disney studios. Personality: a studio town, safe to the point of boring, Universal Studios' backyard. Price $$–$$$; walkability ★★★ (along Magnolia and Ventura). Good for full Universal Studios days, families, and comedy tapings; one hill away from Hollywood, a 10-minute drive. Watch out: in summer the Valley runs 5–8°C (9–14°F) hotter than the beach, and you really feel it. The Valley: hotter, flatter, and secretly very livable.

  15. Eastside creative belt & the Valley | Pasadena

    Taiwan equivalent: Tianmu, elegant, leafy, a world of its own. Personality: old-money vibes, museums, strolls through the old town. Price $$–$$$; walkability ★★★★ (around Old Town). Good for slow travel, bringing older relatives, and Huntington garden lovers; about 30 minutes to Downtown LA. Watch out: it's in LA's northeast corner, so the beach is an hour each way at least; if your itinerary is on the Westside, don't stay here. Pasadena doesn't try to be LA. That's the charm.

  16. Eastside creative belt & the Valley | Glendale

    Taiwan equivalent: the New Banqiao Special District, mall life, the most worry-free place to stay. Personality: the Americana shopping center, family-friendly, super safe. Price $$–$$$; walkability ★★★★ (around Brand Blvd). Good for families with kids, shoppers, and anyone who wants a 'zero-risk zone'; Pasadena, DTLA and Universal are all within 20 minutes. Watch out: few tourist highlights, so it's a base rather than a memory. Safe, clean, and quietly one of LA's best home bases.

  17. Heading south | The three South Bay beach siblings (Manhattan / Hermosa / Redondo Beach)

    Taiwan equivalent: a Toucheng surf town on a Tianmu budget. Personality: the locals' ocean, volleyball, sunset running paths. Price $$$–$$$$; walkability ★★★★ (each town center). Good for second-plus visits and anyone who wants 'everyday California' rather than sightseeing; 15 minutes from LAX, the top pick for your first and last nights. Watch out: far from all the classic sights, so skip it for sightseeing-heavy trips. This is the California locals actually live in.

  18. Long Beach & Anaheim

    Long Beach | Taiwan equivalent: Kaohsiung. A port city with an aquarium and the Queen Mary; price $$, good for cruise itineraries and coast lovers saving on lodging; note it's 40+ minutes each way into LA. Anaheim | Taiwan equivalent: staying in Taoyuan for an early flight; its reason to exist = Disneyland; price $$–$$$, good for 2+ days of Disney in a row; if you're not doing Disney, there's zero point staying here, and LA sights are 45+ minutes away. Stay where your itinerary lives, not where the postcard was shot.

  19. SGV (San Gabriel Valley)

    Taiwan equivalent: Pingtung's food scene. Personality: outstanding Asian food, family vibes, everyday convenience off the charts. Price $$–$$$. Good for food lovers, family trips and anyone who wants to experience local life; about 25–35 minutes to DTLA, 35–45 to the beach, about 35 to Universal Studios, 40–50 to LAX. Watch out: without careful planning, sightseeing means a lot of back and forth. If you're coming to eat, you'll be very, very happy here.

  20. Quick decision chart: find your match

    First visit + ocean views → Santa Monica; young + flexible budget → Venice; coastal but quiet → Marina del Rey; Asian comfort food, everyday feel → Sawtelle; photos, shopping, nightlife → WeHo; value + food → Koreatown; games, exhibitions, Metro → DTLA; going both east and west → Culver City / Glendale; artsy second visit → Silver Lake; Universal Studios fans → Burbank; slow travel with older relatives → Pasadena; living like a local → South Bay; cruises / saving money → Long Beach; back-to-back Disney → Anaheim; no must-stay reason → skip Hollywood.

  21. Jasmine's Notes

    People keep asking me: which area is best? My answer has always been: there's no best area, only the area that best fits this particular trip. First visit, I'd stay in Santa Monica; second, maybe Silver Lake; if I wanted to slow down, I'd go to the South Bay. What you're choosing isn't a hotel; it's the life you want on this trip.

Places in this story

Read it with the slides →

An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).