Farmdale Ave, North Hollywood

North Hollywood is kinda the bastard child of the accessible part of the valley. It's surrounded by a bunch of lovely residential area but noho is really grubby. There have been some major developments in the last few years in order to make the neighborhood a bit more hip. And, a lot of younger people have come into the area but the fact that it's not all that cheap, it's in the valley, and there is nothing pretty around makes it a hard draw.
The Noho "arts district" is comprised of a few theatres and a few restaurants. There have been a number of giant luxury apartments that have gone up around Lankershim and Cahuenga to accomodate all of these "artsy" people. But, I'm not sure who's living there. Because none of the artists can afford it and all of the suits who work in the nearby studios probably wouldn't be caught dead living in North Hollywood.
If you were an assistant at Warner Bros and really wanted to live in a luxury apartment that was next to work, then this is the place to be. But, I think most people that actually are assistants are young enough to want to live in a place where there is actually something to do. There is nothing to do in North Hollywood. . . unless you count an overpriced dinner at Ca' Del Sole. . . and I don't.
There is a sad comedy club on Lankershim, a mediocre pizza place and a Togo's. And, that's, seriously, about it.
And, there are a lot of run down houses and really sketchy parts of North Hollywood to boot. I just really don't see the appeal. If you want to buy a house, buy one in Burbank which is much nicer and has a ton more to do. If you want to pay cheap rent for a bigger place in a semi-ghetto area, live in Echo Park. This place is a pass.