The typical Angeleno would likely say live near your job.

I am of that opinion also, even here in Aus

Wherever you decide, Woodland Hills, NoHo, my advice would be to not sign an initially long term lease or rental agreement. You may end up living next door to the neighbors from hell and you don't want to be stuck in that situation.

The commute from NoHo to Woodland Hills will be against the traffic, so it shouldn't be too bad. Woodland Hills is a very suburban area -- lots of private homes, families, shopping malls, etc. NoHo is pretty artsy, but you need to be careful of where you wind up -- parts of it are not the safest.

Good advice, and I was just about to add something.

Wherever you decide, before moving in, signing a lease/rental agreement, etc. contact the local police department, for North Hollywood, it will be LAPD North Hollywood Division and for Woodland Hills it would be LAPD Topanga Division. Call them before you decide on an address and ask a desk officer or somebody in crime prevention/analysis what they think of the area. Ask them if they will run calls for service for you and see what kind of calls they're responding to in the area. If they're hesitant or say that they can't do that, hang up, call back, tell them you're an Australian officer moving from overseas or that your daughter is moving to the area, whatever can pull at their "professional courtesy" strings to provide you useful information about the area.

For crime stats you may be better off using this tool:

www.crimemapping.com

Woodland Hills centermost zip code is 91367.

I ran a test from January 1st through today and compared Woodland Hills to North Hollywood (in a two mile radius). Woodland Hills had 468 reported crimes and North Hollywood 713. Recognize most of the "crimes" are things like petty theft (shoplifting included).

While the number between areas is quite material, if you dig you would probably find the ratio of petty crimes to serious ones would favor Woodland Hills even more favorably.

Good for reported crimes but not quality of life neighborhood problems. Crimemapping.com won't tell you that your prospective neighbor is a nut or that the Hells Angels club house is next door.

OK, Im late to the party and I'll say that you've gotten some good advice from many of the posters above me but, if you don't mind, I'd like to throw out a few thoughts: when I first moved to LA we moved into an Oakwood Corporate apartment that was fully furnished in Toluca Hills, near Studio City and NoHo. That location sits above Warner Bros. Studios and on the backside of Univeral Studios, just down the road from the 'Hollywood Sign'.
You can rent a furnished apartment or furnish your own but, being corporate rental specialists maybe they would write a short-term lease with your corporation with the understanding that you take over the lease at a particular point if the job works out. (That might give you some breathing room for cash flow when you make the transition.) You might even get a better rate with it being a corporate lease, that would take care of any credit check and, generally, they are very nicely furnished. Toluca Hills is a nice location, near the studios which always seem to be hiring (thinking of the Wife here). I signed a 6 month lease and liked it so much that I stayed 4 years. The weekend pool parties and BBQ's were so much fun I had to go back to work on Monday just to rest up. (LOL) Good location to go to either Woodland Hills or Beverly Hills if you aren't sure which office you are going to work at. Check http://www.oakwood.com/action/oakwoo...furnished=true

As far as the Wife working, besides the studios and the shops on Ventura Blvd. consider the Australian Consulate. I used to work in the 'Duty-free' industry and called on the Australian Consulate among others and it was one of the most fun places that I made calls----they were so nice and always treated me great. Perhaps your wife would like to represent her country here in the US and maybe they can use another wonderful 'Aussie Accent'. You can check out what they are doing either through the Ozzie site or the US site.

As for a FF program, I'd offer United. I accumulated over 500,000 miles with them and only flew them once. Most of my miles (or points came from dining out through their 'i dine program ' which awards you for dining, drinking, etc. at bars and restaurants in the program (and in LA there are many, many bars, clubs and restaurants, which it sounds like you will be visiting and they award you on your tab, tax and tip). No coupons to clip: just register a debit or credit card and pay with it and the server has no idea that you are being rewarded but United and 'i dine' will automatically credit the milage to your account. www.united.com

Lastly, when you miss the ocean, come down to Newport Beach (in Orange County, where I now live). Beautiful ocean views, great Hotels and restaurants, the largest small craft harbor in the U. S., the world famous 'Wedge' for body surfers, U. S. Open of Surfing just up the road in Huntington Beach, every summer, the ferry to Catalina Island, 25 miles off shore. Just wonderful. Too many things to mention. www.visitnewportbeach.com

Good luck to you. This is the kind of opportunity that often changes peoples' lives----usually for the better. LA is a great place to do it!

Thanks Camargo, very thorough

^^ Great advice from Camargo

I forgot for a moment that people from Aus like surfing as well (I know, how did I ever forget when I have been closely monitoring the results of the Bells event?!). The US Open is quite a scene and you will find lots of wonderful things to do in Orange County.

Well it's now official. I have accepted my offer from work and the lawyers are trying to work out the E3 visas for us.

Exciting/nervous times!

Excellent! When are you coming?

Move is scheduled for very early July. Probably leave on the 5th. That could be delayed by the visa process however

But I was born and raised in West Hills, just about 2 miles Northwest of Warner Center, so its my home stomping ground...

A thought:

If you are working down on Ventura Blvd, getting from there to the Orange Line may be a bit tricky in making bus connections and/or involving lengthy walks (more than a mile). That being said, there are a number of local and express bus lines that follow Ventura east...some all the way to the Red Line subway station. You might consider living in in the corridor between the 101 freeway and Ventura Blvd, with pockets of upscale apartments in Woodland Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks, and Studio City. There are lots of shops, restaurants, markets, and mid- to upscale businesses along Ventura. Additionally, previous commenters are right that the morning commute West-bound along the 101 is *much* better than that heading East. However, for some reason the revers is *not* true.

You might try using Google Maps Street view to explore the major streets in areas you are considering.

Another question i had about LA in general:

If everyone drives, and taxi's are not that easy to find, how do people go out at night without drink driving?