"Central, cheap and not too congested"
Magnolia Blvd is indeed a great place to search for housing around if you're new to town. It's really central to all that Los Angeles has to offer, and plenty more affordable than the eastside (Hollywood and Silverlake) or the westside (Santa Monica and Venice). Whatever you're looking for you'll likely find it on Magnolia, not to mention loads of part-time jobs and acting studios (sorry but those are the first two things that come to mind when I think about my drives down this street).