Mid-City

Mid-city is an economically disadvantaged area of Los Angeles the sits just to north of the Santa Monica 10, looking somewhat like a beached whale from an aerial view. This is sort of an average urban neighborhood—it is neither truly horrible, but definitely not the kind of place most people would choose to live if given other options.

Let’s begin with crime. In terms of burglaries and petty theft—like breaking into vehicles, that kind of thing—the neighborhood is about average for Los Angeles. (Actually, in terms of property crime, you often find they are highest in some of the areas most Angelinos think of as affluent—probably because there is more to steal, I don’t really know.) In the last six months, for example, there have been hundreds of such reports from this area.

In terms of violent crime, however, the neighborhood is pretty bad, approaching the very worst neighborhoods in LA (though not quite reaching it), though no where near as dangerous as Hollywood. Since 2007, there have been 22 murders in the area.

The vast majority of the slayings here had to do with gang-related violence—either the victims were themselves gang members (or former gang members) or they were with gang members and simply got caught in the cross-fire.

Education is unfortunately just as poor. For example, the three high schools in the area—Hamilton, Dorsey and LA Senior High—all have some of the worst API ratings in LA. Hamilton has a Humanities Magnet extension that does a pretty good job, but even the extension has terrible math scores and overall the school is failing to meet “No Child Left Behind” standards. Dorsey is even worse with supposed Math Magnet getting barely one in twenty of their students to pass the proficiency test.

Put simply, I would not feel safe living here or raising a family here

Mid-City is a desolate place where dreams go to die. There is nothing noteworthy about this entire cross-section of land. The homes and apartment buildings are all run down. The coolest thing to look at is the 10 freeway. There aren't really any parks, there's no beach, no mountains. . . there's not even a mall. And, it's pretty dangerous in this part of town. So, if you are looking for wire fences, danger and a Taco Bell, mid-city is your spot. If not, just drive through it to avoid the freeway on your way to Venice Beach.

There are a couple of outpost restaurants here that are worth mentioning should you find yourself stuck in this hellhole part of town. Oki dog is really famous for hotdogs and it really is better than Pinks. There's one in West Hollywood too, so unless you live on the westside, don't bother traveling for this. Same with Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. There's one here -- but, also one in Hollywood.
Versailles is the only place maybe worth a travel. It's Cuban food and there isn't a lot of that in Los Angeles. It used to be really good and definitely worth the drive to this lonely part of town. But, it's gone downhill a little, so it's really just up to the individual's preference.