Here is a crime map you can use lapdonline.org/crime_maps_and_compstat Burbank is super safe and Disney/ NBC/ Warner Studios are right there. maps.google.com has a real estate option, which should give you an idea about prices.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.