[Ghoulish Delight]

The bad news is, you're looking at at least $700K, maybe pushing $1 million to purchase something of similar size to what you're in now, unless you're willing to do a commute of a couple hours.

The good news is, if you can reach that level, there are lots of options to choose from.

For the entertainment biz, Burbank's your town. The east valley IS Hollywood, and what isn't in the valley is easily accessible via Laurel Canyon or the 101. For that matter, the center of the fashion industry is also an easy ride over the hill from the Burbank vicinity. Anything further west in the valley, while still convenient, will likely be way too boring and suburbish for your tastes.

If Burbank isn't quite metropolitan enough, there's West Hollywood/West L.A. It would take careful consideration of neighborhood as things can get sketchy, but there are some great places (don't know much about the housing market there, though). If you're willing to put up with a cross-city commute, Santa Monica's a great town.

Of course, I'll put in the self-serving plug for Orange County (the City of Orange is a great town, and very affordable relatively speaking). It's got the obvious ties to the entertainment industry, definitely fashion-minded, less traffic, and a mere hour from all the goodies that L.A. has to offer. Also, and I'm not sure if this is your bag or not, there's this nifty little amusement park. I hear they have nightly fireworks shows...