felixsc300

iTrader: (5)

First off, in no way am I accusing anything about demographics or attacking certain residence areas! I actually want to be a Trojan in a few years and attend Marshall School of Business as a grad.

I'm gonna be attending an event at the LA Sports Arena on New Year's Eve and will be spending the night at a friend's house, who resides a few blocks away from the arena. Right now I'm in Las Vegas visiting my dad and stepmom's, so my plan is to basically leave Vegas on the 31st and meet up with my friends in SoCal, attend TAO, then drive back up to NorCal on the 1st.

My only concern is that my friend lives in an apartment complex and there is no guest parking; thus, I will have to park on the street. I've never been to USC and its surrounding areas before, but I've heard from many that South Central LA is 'ghetto' and 'unsafe' and 'shady/sketch' at night. Well, would it be wise to park my IS on the streets for just one night near the USC area? Of course its fair game, but if there's a high/definite chance my IS will be targeted for vandalism, then I'd rather skip TAO and find another event up in NorCal.

I hope I don't come off as a snob writing this, its just that I'm currently in the 'honeymoon' phase with a car I've only had for 5 days. Hopefully you guys could shed some light on this. Thanks!

EDIT: His place is on the 3000 block right next to Chipotle on South Figueroa, if that helps lol.

JDKane527

iTrader: (10)

I go to sc and live on 28th, the frat row. The area around campus isn't as bad as people make it out to be since there's a lot of security 24/7. My car has been fine there for the past 3 years. Street parking in my area is pretty good, and is a few block walk to the grounds. I'm not exactly sure of where you'll be parking, but parking near campus is safer since there's security. See you at tao too.

JDKane527

iTrader: (10)

That area is alright but closer to the more ghetto side than where I'm at.

KA8

iTrader: (1)

USC area is totally ghetto. It used to be a nice neighborhood until the 70's. If your car is nicely modded I'd consider skipping the event. On big streets the areas looks decent but as soon as you go into residential areas you'll see ghetto all around.

aliu603

iTrader: (18)

i go to USC as well with jdkane...and like he said, the area really isn't as bad as people make it out to be. the area around chipotle is actually pretty good. you should be fine parking there if it's only for a few days...

xxjtp1xx

iTrader: (4)

I'll be attending TAO too! .. I personally would not park my car in the streets, but hopefully one night should be fine. Make sure to read the parking signs!

My car was fine when I went to EDC, but I parked in the lot with others... and left by 3am.

ekc

iTrader: (6)

The immediate area around USC is relatively safe, but I can't say the same if you move further south to the sports arena/coliseum area.

The particular area you described should be ok. It's right by Shrine and near University village. But if you want to be extra safe, you can look into parking inside one of USC's parking structures. The daily permit is $8/day if I'm not mistaken.

vinh

iTrader: (8)

you'll be fine, I used to go to TAO every year and would park on fraternity row and I've never been jumped/stabbed/harassed/car damaged.

I'd be more concerned with finding a good parking spot, as it gets more crowded and crowded every year