What is the best place to live in Los Angeles, CA?

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The best place to live in Los Angeles, CA is to not live in Los Angeles, CA.

where you can afford the rent, where it is convenient for you and where you will feel safe

Actually there is almost no place in LA I would like to live other than possibly Pacific Palisades. Live in one of the suburbs around it such as Beverly Hills, La Canada etc. I was born in So. Cal and lived in this area all my life but not in LA.

Depends on what you can afford and what your lifestyle is. LA is a VERY large and spread out city. There is no single "best place" that will apply to everyone.

The same place we say EVERY SINGLE TIME: Close to your job. You've got it backwards. You don't decide on the "best place to live", and then just live there. You can't afford it. You need to get a job, THEN find a place you can afford as close as possible. Be prepared for severe sticker shock.
Most people who ask this question are unprepared, unrealistic, with no money, no experience, no skills, and no plan. Simply moving here without a plan is a bad idea. Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail.

You asked this question at an interesting time. The latest report by personal finance site WalletHub finds that L.A. ranks 114th when it comes to "The Best Cities to Find a Job." Last year, it was dead last. Sure, the beaches are great, the weather is great, and there are a lot of pretty people. It has had the worst traffic for decades. But I guess 114th place is an improvement.
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-jobs/2173/

If you are from outside the US, even from Canada, you will need to get a work visa to live here (unless you are independently wealthy). You either have to have a sponsor, or win the green card lottery. Both those situations are rare in the extreme. http://www.ehow.com/how_4845246_legally-immigrate-america.html

You need a plan: First item on the agenda is rent. A decent 1BR apartment in LA currently goes for $2000 on the west side, give or take. Nicer areas and areas closer to the beach are much higher. Looking for something “cheap/affordable AND safe/nice”. Sorry, it doesn’t exist.

Next, you will need a car. Los Angeles is VERY spread out, and train service is extremely limited. If you don't have a car, you will have to take a bus, which takes 3 times longer to get anywhere than a car.

All told, it generally takes about $5,000 per month to live here. If you don't have a job that pays that much or skills that can get you that kind of job, stay where you are. If you are unskilled and work for minimum wage (or for tips like bartending or waiting tables), you'll only make about $1200 per month. This is why the math just doesn’t work for people wanting to move here after high school.

Where to live: If you’re asking “Where should I live”, you’ve got it all backwards. First find a job, THEN try to find a good place nearby. If you’re one of those teens who is playing fantasy games here on YA, please post this question in a few years, after you have a college degree or serious job skills. Don't expect to move to Santa Monica and get an apartment on the beach. Or Beverly Hills. Unlike many metro areas, LA is unique in that it extends for nearly 100 miles in every direction. There are no open spaces between towns. So the price tends to stay high until you are 70-100 miles from Los Angeles. As for living in “Hollywood” or some other “fun” place, and “near the beach”, please utilize Google Maps. You will see that Hollywood is about 20 miles from the beach. In any case, grownups use something called a realtor. It’s what they do: You tell them where you want to live and how much you can afford, and then they give your realistic options.

And speaking of jobs, they are rather hard to come by now. While the overall economy has improved since I first composed this oft-posted response, the fact is that it’s TOUGH out there. Self-absorbed millennials like Talia Jane move here with a sense of entitlement, and no ideas of modern reality. She foolishly posted a diatribe to the CEO of her company and got fired for it. https://medium.com/@taliajane/an-open-letter-to-my-ceo-fb73df021e7a#.f98xw8ufs. The fact of the matter is that most millennials have to postpone launch by a few YEARS while they establish themselves. The dream of moving to the big city right out of high school or even college is mostly dead. The definitive response came as a blog post, which outlined the sacrifices one has to make before getting one’s own place. And it involves living with the parental units for awhile: http://www.businessinsider.com/stefanie-williams-response-to-yelp-employee-talia-jane-2016-2. Bottom line: If you don’t have support like Stephanie did, you’ll wind up like Talia Jane.

Finally, you will need money. Landlords want first month's rent and a security deposit up front. You'll need money for food, transportation, utilities, etc. The consensus in this forum is that you need about $10,000 to start out.

So there's your plan. And please don't tell us that you have dreams of being an actor or singer. We already have a million (literally) wannabe actors in this town. Don’t even get me started. The case of Satara Stratton is so common, it doesn’t even count as news: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/hollywood_wrap&id=8583293
Before you think about moving here, take a GOOD look at that face. It could be yours.

Do some research on these sites to see about safety vs. price:
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com
http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/

I don’t write this stuff to be mean. I write it because I see the results of young, dumb kids (sorry, no offense intended) moving out here with no chance of success. They’re barely surviving in the streets, and I’ve had to walk past dead bodies on more than one occasion. Such a waste. I care enough about you to tell you to stay where you are, this place isn’t what you think it is, and it’s more dangerous than you think.

Don’t believe me? Maybe you’ll listen to the local newsradio report. This should be required listening for anyone who wants to move here: http://download.podcast.play.it/media/d0/d0/d1/d8/d6/dV/dZ/186VZ_3.MP3?show=KNX+1070+Special+Reports&category=Arts&callsign=&market=

Addendum: Now, with all that said, the governor is signing a bill that will raise the minimum wage to $15 in a few years. However, it doesn’t take an economic genius to figure that companies will survive by hiring fewer people, and giving those people more responsibilities so that they will be doing the work of the people who weren’t hired, resulting in a “Net Zero” for the company (or even a net gain, if they are cruel enough).

2nd Street tunnel