NWR: Moving to LA

LisaTyler1984

Hello,

I'm from NYC and am moving to LA June- ish. I've only been to LA like 4 times and I was looking for advice about where to look for an apt. I don't want to do the valley and I want to stay on the west-side, but need to narrow down some more. I am looking for a 1bdrm for my fiance and I. My biggest concerns are safety and traffic.  We are kind of sick of the hustle and bustle of NYC and I worry that Santa Monica will be too busy. We definitely want to be close to the beach though. I am trying to cut down on rent from what I am paying now in NYC- by like 1k/mo (because of wedding and the fact that we have to get cars now).  Any suggestions for an area where we can get this for about 1800/month for a 1bdrm? 

Thanks in advance!

ellefirst1980

Hi--Good Luck on the move!  Well you have a lot of requests...LA is a busy place with lots of traffic so if you want to get away from the "hussle and bussle"  I would try Topanga Canyon, Brentwood, or Hollywood Hills.  However, all these places would probably be over 1k except Topanga which is a little "out of the way" between the Westside, Malibu, and the Valley.

stmoreno

Welcome to Los Angeles! You might want to look into Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Rey and El Segundo. They're safe cites and you should be ok about your budget especially in El Segundo. Good luck with your search! 

LisaTyler1984

Thanks so much! Our first choice is Brentwood. I was just a little worried about there being too many college kids ( isnt ucla close). So do you think we could get a decent place in Brentwood for about 1800/mo? Also, how is marina del ray? Is 1800/mo doable there? I pay 2800 in nyc and really am sick of it but I dont want to have to sacrfice things like a dishwasher, nice kitchen etc. Although when i look at craigs list even the most basic seem to have that... Am i right?

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Hi! I live in West Hollywood and I really love it here. We pay $1700/month for 2 bed/1 bath. You can definitely get a nice place for $1800 in most areas of LA. WeHo might be a little too far from the beach for your taste, though. LA is hard like that. Few areas are VERY convenient to the beach, but places like Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire and downtown have their own benefits.

Do you know what you'll be doing or where you'll be working? I say that because, coming from NY, the transportation and commuting in LA is WAY different. You really need to chose somewhere close enough to your job. My FI works in Culver City and I work in Sherman Oaks - WeHo is between them, and a little east of them. It works for us. We both have 30-35 minute commutes by car.

Brentwood is fine. Westwood (which borders it) has a lot of college kids, because that's where UCLA is, but as long as you don't mind seeing 20 year olds everywhere, it's nice. It's a safe and fairly clean area. Miracle Mile might work well for you, too. Culver City has a cute downtown area.

As for the beach cities, Santa Monica is nice if you're close to the beach, just make sure you have parking! The nice thing is that Santa Monica is a separate city and has rent control and a few other perks that the city of LA doesn't (WeHo is it's own city, too, and we have rent control, permit parking, etc). If you can go further south, I really love Manhattan Beach. Again, within about 12 blocks of the beach is the nicest area.

I would highly recommend getting an account on WestSideRentals.com and looking at apartments through there, if possible. It's $60 for 3 months. FI has found 3 apartments through them, and always in a matter of days! Don't worry, though, apartment hunting here isn't as bad as NYC - things stay on the market here for weeks at a time.

Somewhere on the LAPD website there's a crime map where you can track crime in a certain neighborhood/ZIP over the course of the last week, or last month, etc. All the places I mentioned are fairly safe but, you know, it's a big city. Well, it's a weird city, so it's more like a collection of neighborhoods, but you know what I mean.

jagore08

I agree with msmery about getting a West Side Rentals account.  It definitely helped us out when finding an apartment.  For beach areas look into Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, Venice, & El Segundo.  Brentwood and Westwood are both nice areas but there are quite a bit of college kids.  And again, msmery was right about living close to where you work.  Our public transportation system is nothing like NYC and traffic is a killer.  

ETA:  Oh, and welcome to LA!!!

pajarito81

FI and I are originally from the midwest (CHicago and CLeveland) and we stay on the westside now. I work in Santa Monica so its an easy commute like 20mins, its considered LA where we live between Marina del Rey, and Ladera Heights. Its a straight shot up La Cienega to go to Hollywood if wanting to avoid the highways, but we live close to the 405 and 10 freeways which are always great to be by.
We pay 1550 for a 1Bd WITH a Loft, so its like 2 bedrooms practically.We even have cathedral cielings with skylights and a balcony. They are a community of apts. brand new, a beautiful laguna style pool area w/ waterfall and jacuzzi, brand new gym, new cafe, business center, gated security community and private parking. The works!! I love it here! We just renewed our lease! Everybody is friendly too! check it out. Bre Villa Azure Apts.
www.brevillaazure.com

LisaTyler1984

Thank you all so much- you definitely all gave great advice. I will check out westside rentals and Bre Azure. I am going down there with a job (I work in TV) but we don't know where it will be shot yet. So, I'm kind of going down there blind. Thanks again! 

megoguen

I live in Redondo Beach and love it!!! It's further south than the others recommended. But Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach have a great beach feel, not a ton of traffic that you are guaranteed up in Hollywood, Westwood, Brentwood areas. And it's not insanely hot like in the valley on the other side of the Hollywood Hills. We have a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, 2 floored townhouse, less then a mile from the beach, paying $1650. It was a total score but you just have to look around a bit and be ready to jump if you feel it's right. We found it thru Westside Rentals. Good luck!