Anywhere along the coast will be expensive. From Santa Monica all the way down to San Diego. Also, if you're going to be working in SM, you might want to save yourself the time and headache of driving on the freeways by living closer to work. You do not want to drive the 405 on a daily basis. If you are south of SM, you also have to contend with LAX traffic. Just go onto Craigslist and check out rents for surrounding areas. Also check out City-Data and Reddit. You should find people that live in areas you are considering living in.
Yes, all of this is spot on.
Very accurate based on my experience living in West L.A. for almost 10 yrs.
If I was taking a job there, living close to work would be a huge priority for me, as the 405 is basically a parking lot 24 hrs a day.
If you are making Dr. money then Cost of living will be high, but totally manageable.
If you and your family can maintain a Mustachian lifestyle for the couple of yrs that you live there it will be all good.
you could rent a smallish place in Santa Monica or Venice Beach, less than 10 minutes from the beach.
My experience was fun because I met a lot of interesting people with interesting goals/dreams in L.A.
Lots of people trying to "make it." Whatever that means to them.
L.A. is expensive for a reason, it is an exciting (can be overwhelming) and unique (and dangerous) place to live for a while.
It's like any other big city...it's whatever you make it out to be. (based on your interests, hobbies, lifestyle choices.) There is nothing that is not available.
There's lots of good info about demographics on citydata.
If I may be blunt, all the whites live south in orange County, Laguna, and northern San Diego. (that is just my observation)
If you wanna go north of L.A. then Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village is also a nice affluent suburban pocket.