Heya, I lived in LA for 7 years about...4 years ago now. I will concur with the car unless you plan on living in the neighborhood that you work and never need to leave it. Local transport is okay depending on the area, but getting between say downtown and Venice or wherever sucks. If you're used to SF prices, then there's a lot of nice areas to live that locals are mad at for being too expensive. I love Santa Monica and Brentwood is nice if a bit granola. I'm sure there's some pockets of okay prices for both, but in general they are up there. Culver City is less nice, but where a lot of young working folk live. Apartments for days there. Mid town has some cool stuff. Miracle Mile and anything near La Brea have ready access to food and night life. Hancock Park has a cool 60's Hollywood vibe and you can get several thousand square feet for under 4 grand which is rare below the hills. Koreatown and Venice are equal parts vibrant bohemian\citylife and sketch.
If you need cheaper than SF prices, then you can do the stuff north of the mountains: North Hollywood/Studio City/Burbank/Van Nuys/Northridge all depending on where you're working. They are all gonna be cheaper than living south, but that is because it's 40 min commute minimum to anywhere south from there because there's only like 3 ways to get across that hill.
There's probably an analog for most districts of SF in LA so if you have a favorite area there, that might be a good starting point. I don't know a lot of the subtle stuff, but the whole Mission=Venice, Castro=West Hollywood trope seems vaguely true.
Also, I will say that being near either the 10, the 5 or the 405 is a great way to get across town. The 101 and 110 are a trap and are to be avoided, especially during baseball season.
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