1. GEOGRAPHY
Basic Takeaways from this section: LA is massive. That sounds glib, but it’s the starting point to keep in mind. The bulk of the “cool” parts of LA are in a sub-section of the greater city. Most of your activities will likely occur on the West Side (near the ocean) or the East Side (towards and [kind of] including DTLA (Downtown LA) - which is the CBD or area with the greatest concentration of skyscrapers [there are at least eight areas with skyscrapers so until you know the skyline it’s hard to use them to track where you are]). The Hills run along the top, and divide the rest of LA from the Valley which is over the back.
This is your standard map of LA.
<= LA MAP ACCORDING TO GOOGLE
For the most part "LA" as far as Australian expats are concerned is the cluster along the higher curve of the coast and running inwards. All the suburbs in the bottom part of the map (Long Beach) and in the top third (the Valley) don't really count. But so you're aware most of the grey areas are still chock full of people.
Really you should focus on this second glorious map which has been constructed using the majesty of MS Paint (and who knew that still existed).
<= LA MAP ACCORDING TO AUSSIES / HOLLYWOOD BOHEMIANS
East Side v West Side
I (used to, for 3+ years) live in Echo Park, the small blue square in the center of the right side of the map, next to Silver Lake, just up from 'Central City' [a place that is really DTLA, I’ve never heard anyone say Central City as an area] and I (used to) work in Hollywood. Both places are relatively central - between Downtown LA and the West Side - but are both situated on the East Side. The East Side includes Hollywood, Silver Lake, Loz Feliz, Echo Park, Highland Park, Korea Town, and DTLA (encompassing the Arts District) and arguably stretches east to about as far as Boyle Heights. There's a confusing distinction that East LA is a different part of LA entirely from the East Side. East LA is a ways to the east of Downtown - it's somewhere I've really only passed through a few times. Boyle Heights might be called East LA or the East Side depending on who you’re talking to.
The West Side includes Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice, and West Hollywood. Weirdly West Hollywood is not even in the map - I think either because the map is old or because West Hollywood has its own incorporated city. Via this map West Hollywood spans the western part of Hollywood and a chunk of Beverly Hills and “Beverly Crest” [a suburb I’ve never heard of either]). As I’ve done in the map, you can probably roughly drop a line down the central most "10" shield (denoting a point on the 10 Freeway) that sits in the Mid City square. If you divide the map vertically in half from there you have the East Side of LA on the right, and the West Side of LA on the left. Generally (anecdotally/technically?) the line is considered to run down a street called La Cienega Boulevard, but that's west of much of West Hollywood, so who really knows? Regional/suburban boundaries in LA are very dubious.
I now live in Mid-Wilshire, the central yellow square above. I’m genuinely not really sure whether I live on the East Side or the West Side. It is a very central part of Los Angeles, just below WeHo/West Hollywood, and between Beverly Hills to the west and Hollywood and Koreatown to the east. Colloquially Koreatown is an absolutely massive area. The tiny size of the small square in the map is laughable - in regular conversation KTown is widely considered to run all the way from Mid-Wilshire up to Silver Lake and pretty much across to Downtown.
DTLA is essentially the whole area between the circular tangle of freeways that constitutes the area around Central City on the map above. I'm attaching a DTLA map as well below. Effectively/truthfully the Arts District sprawls quite a way north, east, and south of the DTLA map below's designation.
<= DTLA MAP ACCORDING TO GOOGLE
It's also worth pointing out to you that Downtown or DTLA should NOT to be mistaken with Downtown Long Beach. It's also called Downtown, and it's a mistake I made once on a bus and which should never be made by anyone! (it's a lot, lot further away - like 25 miles/40 kilometres! Long Beach is far to the south and almost in the OC. It was obviously a total disaster [I was hungover as well, as the ultimate injury to insult]).
Above both the East Side and the West Side run The Hills which divide the rest of LA from The Valley. The Valley is Burbank, Glendale, Studio City, North Hollywood, and that whole region - North Hollywood is a long way from Hollywood and shouldn't be confused with it!!
The Hills
A further oddity is the Hollywood Hills. If someone lives in "the Hills" they might be in Los Feliz (the East Side) or they might be up Sunset Plaza in West Hollywood, or in the Hollywood canyons like Laurel Canyon or Beachwood Canyon, or even up Mulholland Drive in the top of Beverly Hills. Studio City in the Valley pretty much also constitutes the hills. Basically the hills run all along the top of both the East Side and the West Side and divide them from The Valley. They're worth driving through because you'll see insane houses and even the roads are kind of mind-boggling. There's also a decent chance you'll end up at a party up there, but just be wary that phone reception can be kinda washy, and non-existent in parts. None of that's to say don't go up there - seize it if you get the chance! It's where almost all the best parties are. But keep your phone well charged and be prepared for a little walking, particularly if it's a big party because the roads tend to get blocked by all the Ubers and Lyfts.
One further thing to note on the subject of the Hills is that Beverly Hills is massive too, and has both “The Flats” - where Rodeo Drive and The Beverly Hills Hotel are, and also "The Hills" that go way, way back and up. The most expensive real estate is generally in the “platinum triangle” - Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, and Bel Air (though the Palisades and Malibu have some preposterous prices >$30M, which sure seems like a lot but is actually a fraction of what some people pay in the platinum triangle).
Wilshire & the East/West Boulevards
A road worth noting is Wilshire Boulevard. Together with Sunset Boulevard (see the Places section), Santa Monica Boulevard, Venice Boulevard, Pico Boulevard, and Olympic Boulevard, these are your main arterial streets running east to west in LA. Wilshire for example goes from DTLA through the hearts of KTown, Mid-Wilshire, Beverly Hills, all the way to Santa Monica. I now live just off Wilshire.
LA has vast tracts of scar tissue in the form of freeways that carve across its face. The 101, the 10, and the 405 are the ones you’re most likely to encounter. They’re usually about 8 lanes across but they’ll get up to 14 lanes in places. When traffic is light outside of peak hours, it’s genuinely astonishing how far and how quickly you can get across town using them.
The thing that originally confused me about driving in LA was when I would be on one of the big East-West arteries like Santa Monica Boulevard, then after jumping on the 101, scooting over to the 110, and lunging across to the 10 - much of it heading in the total opposite direction of Santa Monica Boulevard - I’d inexplicably find myself back near Santa Monica Boulevard 35 minutes later after exiting the freeway. If you can keep a mental map of the shape of just one or two of these roads and the layout of the freeways it will help your navigation a lot.
On the subject of freeways, you need to get used to driving on them, and the key is to be fairly pushy and aggressive. Shy drivers will go slow. LA folk are lovely people face-to-face and titanically rude behind the wheel. There’s also a weird thing here called the “California Basic Speeding Rule” which essentially says that you should drive at the same speed as traffic. That’s usually up to about 70 mile an hour, which is a bit north of 110 KPH.
Getting Around
Anyway that's all a little confusing now, but will hopefully help a lot when you're getting your bearings and if you're making any plans. LAX is on the West Side and is the yellow square beside the ocean at the bottom of my annotated map. The city is ginormous. You will really, really struggle if you plan to have lunch in Venice and an afternoon beer in Los Feliz after dropping by Melrose for a look.
Several of my best friends live out on the West Side in Venice. So I tend to bop between the two quite a bit, particularly on weekends. But usually in any 24 hour period you'll probably pick a side and try and stick to it. Half the joy of the city though is in the adventures you'll have wandering between such distinct places.
I'd highly recommend you hire a car. Los Angeles - more than any other city I've ever lived in - is a car city (see below). Public transport is awful for the most part, and is very slow. There are few places that are walking distance from each other, and the suburbs are so sprawling, that even if you focus on one area you would usually still be needing to catch Ubers. It's totally worth either having data on your phone or getting a cheap sim card with data when you arrive because Ubers and Lyfts are essential for nightlife - unless one of you is sober.
Uber & Lyft - A changed perspective
I used to think having a car was essential for living in or visiting LA. But I actually now - after almost three years without a car - think you can get by just fine without one. Ubers and Lyfts here are quite cheap. Particularly if you get the shared ones (Uber Pool, Lyft Line). For me to get a shared Uber to Korea Town from my house - about a 20 minute drive - is usually about $7-12. Plus as a weird bonus to using sharecars - I’ve had a lot of dates emerge from them. It’s a great way to meet people, especially when you’re travelling.
My only caution with sharecars is that if it’s late at night or you’re headed somewhere sketchy, don’t get an Uber Pool, or if you do, make sure you pay a few extra dollars and set it to the exact location and destination so you don’t have to walk (Lyft Lines are door-to-door by default). I really can’t stress to you enough how dangerous LA can be late at night. I’ve had a few sketchy experiences from being a cheapskate and ordering an Uber Pool that’s dropped me a five minute walk from my destination. Your life’s worth more than a $3 saving.
When you factor in the difficulty/stress of parking/parking tickets (they are inevitable here) I really think now that it’s best not to bother with a car unless you really love driving, want a convertible mustang (obvs you should have a convertible mustang), have a parking space at your Airbnb, and are planning on doing a lot of driving up to Malibu and Santa Barbara. Even if that’s the case though, if you’re here for a week, I would only really aim to have a car for half of it.