try the glendale and burbank areas. they aren't as pricey, but are still nice areas, and aren't too far from from super hip areas like silverlake, echo park...
if you are looking to buy, downtown la is turning a lot of old buildings into lofts, they are starting to get really expensive, but you can still find some that are reasonable, and will be great investments in the long run...
then there's always van nuys, but it's kinda porno....