moving...

[katharsis]

Ok - I got something really off topic.

My company is relocating from Hawaii to CA.
Burbank to be exact.
I have been there to check out the new office and the surrounding areas.
Burbank, North Hollywood, Studio City...

Pretty much all of our office staff is willing to leave the islands and start over. Problem is we have all been to downtown Los Angeles, but don't know much about the valley. We will be back up there early March to look for apartments. Now I have been looking around on some of the websites for rentals, some seem decent, others not so much. Of course it's hard to tell from pictures online and I am a person who has to physically walk into a place to see whether I like it or not.

Big questions now is what areas are good/safe... and which ones to avoid?

Our new office will be on West Burbank Blvd, and I would really like to be somewhat close to it as I head traffic can get worse than in Hawaii and I am not willing to spend an hour each way on commute.

Few people already said to avoid Van Nuys or areas below Ventura Fwy. to look for apartments.

This is just a shot in the dark, but I would really appreciate if someone with knowledge about this area could help out a bit.


Another question I got -
I got a bunch of shelving units and big painting that have been mounted to my walls. Now I took a few off, and there is big holes. Really big holes. I am talking almost able to put my pinky in there holes.
Any good recommendation how to fix those up? I am sure the old toothpaste trick from dorm days won't be working too well this time around.