OT: Moving to LA (need apt help)

[cdubbz]

Mainly need to find an apartment or studio type to rent while living in LA from may-september. I have an internship offer and I would need to find a place. Been looking on craigslist a lot, but does anyone have any websites or any suggestions on a location to live? My job will be in downtown LA so near staples center and i'm willing to drive up to 35minutes so any city within that range that anyone can suggest?

[iamworthy]

Depends on what you can spend for rent.

[Tommy Trojan]

I work walking distance from staples center, welcome to LA. I would say how much are you looking to pay for rent?

[semi-sentient]

Try an apartment locator... that's what they're there for. You tell them exactly what you're looking for and how much you're willing to spend and they'll get you a list of apartments to check out.

[TruSkool]

check out pasadena...its a nice town with an old school feel, nice restaurants, and cool shops and you can get to LA in about 20-25 minutes, albeit rent might be a a little on the higher scale

[laduane1]

3000.00 a month

[doozyj]

Check westsiderentals.com $60 for 2 months subscription I believe.

[DEEP3CL]

Try hotpads.com, great site for any type of property. And oh yeah...you really don't want to drive 35 miles to get to work cdubbz, trust me man cause if it involves the 405 fwy forget about it.

[cdubbz]

It's only me moving by myself so I would look to get a studio or a small apartment for as cheap as possible (under $1,000) I know that's ridiculously cheap for LA area too. But I''m thinking UCLA or USC area might have cheap apts for rent simply because it's a college area?

Also, looking at a map let me know what you guys think about these cities (tell me if it's too far, too expensive, etc etc)
- Pasadena
- Glendale
- Long Beach area...bellflower, paramount.
- Lakewood.

Helps been great guys. I haven't had the chance to look for apartments this weekend yet that's why I resorted to the message board for now. Will be checking out online apt finders tonight or monday morning.

[H00PDREAMS]

Glendale is not too bad... Pasadena is tolerable. But if you work on the westside and live in dale or dena youre going to have the longest 5 months of your life LOL! Avoid driving the 405 by all means. USC even though its a college area its not the best of neighborhoods. People attend there for the name and prestige not for its location. UCLA is a lot better area but can be pretty expensive if you know someone you can catch a cool deal. Hollywood is cheaper but you gotta be thicked skin and prepared to deal with weird neighbors and bad parking. West LA is great if you work in that area. But I would never recommend living in West LA/Hollywood unless you work there too. Because the traffic is horrendous around 7-10AM and 5-7PM. Try if possible to live where you work. And don't be afraid to check areas like Silverlake, Downtown LA, Hollywood, Eagle Rock, and North Hollywood. In those areas you can find really good deals in some really nice areas. If you can visit the targeted neighborhood at night and at again at day to get a good feel of the neighborhood. Remember parking too make sure the area has sufficient parking. Good luck.

I am looking to move back to the area soon after I get job first (uggh!) however because of my wife's preference we are looking at places outside of Los Angeles. We are looking to move to the Santa Barbara area or Orange County area.

[TonyMontana]

www.ForRent.com/LosAngeles
www.Rent.com/LosAngeles
www.ApartmentSearch.com

[H00PDREAMS]

Bellflower, Bell, Montabello and Little Tokyo or the areas below Glendale like Chinatown are can be nice too and not too much traffic. Maybe cheaper and lots of culture in the area. Very close to downtown. Parking can be terrible though. Certainly 1000 dollars will get you further in this area.

Lots of places in Glendale have back homes or homes that share the same lot. Most of these people are looking for students who can rent.

[cdubbz]

Thanks H00pdreams and Tony. Yeah, I've always heard USC isn't in the greatest areas so will probably scratch that off.

I've had the chance to do some quick searching using yahoo and whatever apartment sites come about. Was looking at "EGL properties" and their places for rent and then I yelped them and figured they're pretty much dirt cheap rents with horrible management.

Been looking on rent.com and they have some cool little apartments in LA, but they don't show many pictures/floor plans etc etc. Well once again, thanks for the help fellas!

[laduane1]

Under 1000.00, wow better find a room mate or stay out of CA...lol

[cdubbz]

Under 1000.00, wow better find a room mate or stay out of CA...lol

I'm already from Cali and sure it's difficult, but i've seen plenty of studios/small apartments for under $1000. I'm also looking for rooms for rent (although I wouldn't prefer it) but I don't need a great apartment. Just the essentials.

[H00PDREAMS]

Under 1000.00, wow better find a room mate or stay out of CA...lol

Not to blow this guys comment off but I am total LA city kid. I grew up in the hood and lived all over from OC to Inglewood to Compton to Hollywood to Glendale. I have had gangsters as neighbors, addicts, deejays, di caprio, neve campbell, vince vaughn etc. as neighbors. I've never paid over 1100 on rent. You just have to look to find really nice places. Here are my ideas of nice.

1. Studio Apt or 1 bedroom
2. safe (i.e. cool neighbors, no leaks in ceiling, no gunshots at night, no reports of theft or burglary.)
3. decent parking free within a block.
4. near where you work.

Yelp!Is a great resource. If you can visit the area you plan on renting in, stop in and pick up the local grocery store publications (free) or pickup the Recyclerhttp://www.recycler.com/ ($) these publications have places for rent. They usually make it here first if the Rentor doesn't want to spend a lot of money advertising.

Don't waste your time with places with vague descriptions or no pictures. Once I went to a place that was listed like that and the apt had dirt floors. No Joke!
If the apartment you're looking at is 1000 and below if the tenants are older then the better. That means they have been there awhile, so it good to say its safe, but will also mean you probably have to keep a low profile.
No offense but if you pull up to the apartment and there is an army of teens standing out front or running around the complex. I would pass.
You can sometimes bargain away your reserved parking for lower rent. I recommend having a smaller car or motorcycle before you decide to do that.

When you look at cheaper places mention that you have a good job. Rentors love that. LOL!

Keep us updated on your search bro!

[cdubbz]

So i've been browsing through some websites for places for rent and found some spots that look nice and cheap online, but who knows in person. What's the area like between the LA public library, LA convention center and the area to the left of the 110 freeway?

[H00PDREAMS]

I used to work in that area. I worked at a law firm inside the Library Tower 73rd floor. Also I girl I dated who was Vietnamese lived there and we used to hang a lot in that area.

First of all there is high school there in the vicinity I don't know the name of the school but if its still there and I think they have open campus at lunch. Lots of foot traffic during the day around noon. I imagine its very noisy in the day time. Lots of Asian and Hispanic families in the area north of the library.

Only 1 or 2 grocery stores are the area of the library not very close. So if you need food it will be a bit of a haul. No AFFORDABLE restaurants open after 7PM in the area. However there are food coaches parked around. During events further south you can find restaurants and eateries but usually packed on game day.

Many have kids or teens. So its pretty lively. Lots of apartments. Some recently built condos are to north west of the Library I imagine they are nice but expensive. There are condos/apartments downtown (see: fight club) near the library but imagine there are starting at 2K at least for a rental. Just below the 10 cheaper area some rentals but high traffic bad parking is what you get there. Little north of 101 and west echo park area is cool (Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Starr lives there). Echo is close to the Library traffic Fri and Sat nights are out of control after 8PM.

If you need more info let me know. I am sure others hear have the lowdown.

[cdubbz]

haha H00pDreams, you're a great help. In searching it's easy to go for the cheap places downtown, but the one thing I wouldn't know is how the area is like. Definitely don't want to be in a scary neighborhood, but I can definitely handle busy, foot traffic, and noisy streets, but wouldn't like areas where once it's dark you don't want to be outside. Parking is another issue, it would be nice to have a parking garage, but if not that's okay. I can handle circling blocks looking for parking or walking a few blocks just to get a spot.

I won't know for another month or so what the deal is, but i am definitely doing research now so I get a feel for location, prices and all that.

[Leor_77]

Yeah, $1000/month is gonna be pretty tough. It might be too far of a commute, but maybe you can look in the San Fernando Valley. I used to go to kids houses to do tutoring, and I went to certain area's like North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Reseda, etc. When driving in some of these area's, there are some shady and not so appealing spots, however, you can find some pockets of very pleasant and quiet neighborhoods and homes/apt complexes...If this area is too far of a commute for you, I would still recommend checking out some areas that wouldn't seem that desirable, as they might have very pleasant and livable "pockets" within them.