Tip on Apartment Hunting in Los Angeles?

[Guest jstlooknthx]

Since you guys collectively seem to have info on just about everything I thought I'd try my luck here. I'ved live in LA for about 16 yrs. The past 10 have been in quiet west hollywood neighborhood. It's been an incredible rent in a place I call my home. Long boring detailed story short, I have to move. No choices. I have to move. All I got to say is DAAAAAMN have rents skyrocketed since the last time I looked! I've been driving around Weho. $1500 for most hole in the wall singles. Koreatown and Echo Park are more reasonable, but...well it's Koreatown or Echo Park. Do I really have to give up a neighborhood where I can walk around at night? I can walk to work now.

 

So who knows about finding the deals? Craig's List? Westside Rentals? I would love to find a clean, quiet, no frills single for $800-1000. Do you think that's a pipe dream? I have till December. I want to find another place I can stay for a long while. Any info is greatly appreciated.

[seaboy4hire]

Forget LA. Come up to Seattle! Sure it rains a bit but our views are some of the best in the country I think. Plus you can find exactly what you are looking for in the $800-1000 range all in safe neighborhoods and walking distance to just about anything you need. In my building for a one bed room with d/w, w/d and parking it is about $1000. In some buildings it is a bit less depending on the area of town.

 

Hugs,

Greg

seaboy4hire@yahoo.com

http://seaboy4hire.tripod.com http://www.daddysreviews.com/newest.php?who=greg_seattle

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6707/lebec084a9ad147f620acd5ps8.jpg

Chicago Oct 26, 2007.

[Epigonos]

I'm afraid you might just be out of luck. Even in the depths of Orange County it would be difficult to find something in the price range you have stated. You might find something in a marginal neighborhoon in Culver City or possibly over the hills in North Hollywood. Have you tried Silver Lake? I personally do NOT care for Hollywood but it will certainly be cheaper than West Hollywood or Santa Monica. If you really want to stay on the Westside I think your best bet will be Culver City

[jackhammer91406]

I would agree. On the Westside, Culver City is probably the most economical.

 

In the valley, even North Hollywood in places is getting pricey.

There are some values to be found west of the 405 fwy around Lake Balboa area. (singles starting at $600. 1 bedrooms starting around $950)

 

Good luck

[+ deej]

Agree on Culver City. And the truly sick and twisted part is if you go even FARTHER west into West Hills, or over into Agoura Hills, rents actually go UP.

 

They go down a bit over the county line in Thousand Oaks, but only a little and certainly not enough to justify the resulting commute for someone who works in WeHo.

 

Every year when my rent goes up I look around thinking "surely there must be a better deal" but there never is. :-(

[Guest Adono]

You might take a look at Eagle Rock or even parts of Highland Park. Seems to be slowly but surely attracting a hipper demographic but I think affordable prices can be found. Not a long drive from Silverlake. Not close to WeHo, but you don't need to go back there all the time, do you?

[SAdler]

>Since you guys collectively seem to have info on just about

>everything I thought I'd try my luck here. I'ved live in LA

>for about 16 yrs. The past 10 have been in quiet west

>hollywood neighborhood. It's been an incredible rent in a

>place I call my home. Long boring detailed story short, I have

>to move. No choices. I have to move. All I got to say is

>DAAAAAMN have rents skyrocketed since the last time I looked!

>I've been driving around Weho. $1500 for most hole in the wall

>singles.

 

Something tells me you and I have been paddling in the S.S. Rent Stabilization together. It's quite a lovely boat if you can get on board in time and keep up a steady stroke.

 

10 years? I can only imagine what you were paying before your (this is an assumption) bastard owners decided to convert to condos. If that's the case look into a loan and buy with the discount they're probably offering and the new federal interest rates because you probably won't get a better deal. If you are having a standard renter's issue and it sounds like you can't work it out I'm sorry to hear about your situation.

 

$1500 for a hole in the wall single? I haven't looked in a while either Hot damn. I never gouged Justin and currently have a short term sublease who is a somewhat close friend that I'm only overcharging a little. Good to know when he's out I can get most of my rent paid for

 

>Koreatown and Echo Park are more reasonable,

>but...well it's Koreatown or Echo Park. Do I really have to

>give up a neighborhood where I can walk around at night? I can

>walk to work now.

 

But they have a Ralph's now! (anyone who lives in LA would get that joke) Yes living that far east would definitely make me pull out the pills and vodka. Sometimes you wanna just be able to walk around your neighborhood without fear of shooting. Although the upsurge in violence in West Hollywood in correlation with the addition of new donut stores opening CANT be a coincidence.

 

>So who knows about finding the deals? Craig's List? Westside

>Rentals? I would love to find a clean, quiet, no frills single

>for $800-1000. Do you think that's a pipe dream?

 

Delusional comes to mind. You MIGHT be able to find a decent studio a little further east of boystown for that much but I wouldn't hold your breath.

 

I found my place after weeks of scary craigslist options and then finally breaking down and looking on Westside Rentals. Ironically enough I didn't find the place on Westside, I found it when I was walking back to my car and saw another for rent sign on my new building. The key is being vigilant and giving EVERY place a chance.

 

Now everyone hates me when I tell them how much I pay. Then I tell them how much my ex neighbor (God rest her soul and I should have worked harder to get on her sublease in addition to doing her chores and carrying in her groceries) paid for her 4 bedroom, 3 bath penthouse with back balcony and front patio ... $585. Someone actually shot milk out their nose.

 

>I have till

>December. I want to find another place I can stay for a long

>while. Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

Good luck in your search! Another place to check religiously is WeHo.org and their weekly rental list. Those places tend to be in good upkeep but a little higher.

[raulgmanzo]

You said you can walk to work. That ought to be worth quite a bit of money, and health both mental and physical.

If you regularly walk to work you might be saving considerably on gas, and maintenance compared with moving away from West Hollywood.

 

Echo Park or Koreatown are very walkable and while not as safe as WeHo I think fears are exagerated. Certainly Silverlake seems to be very safe these days. I regularly walk at all hours of the night there.

 

Those places are all very central, convenient to downtown and connected to WeHo 24/7 on transit. I find myself shuttling back and forth from WeHo to Silverlake, and Downtown, sometimes a few times a day/night during my largely car-free L.A. visits.

 

Koreatown has 24 hour food (and not just korean) thats a huge plus to me. Mmmmm maybe I'll stay in Koreatown this visit.

 

Anyway in my walks around those neighborhoods I see a fair number of apartment for rent signs on buildings and on the bulletin boards of local businesses such as gyms and cafes.

 

Raul

[Guest jstlooknthx]

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, I do walk to work since my apt. is only 6 blocks from work.

I was looking in the area surrounding Larchmont Village yesterday. One of those bizarre neighborhoods in LA where you can be standing on a block of quiet elegant old school mansions, then turn the corner and your in a the ghetto. OK, maybe no the ghetto but the difference is drastic. You drive past these beautiful landscaped lawns, then see the same guys who were cutting those lawns sitting in the dirt with their wife and kids outside their dilapidated apt. building two blocks away. Guess he can walk to work too.

So just how vast is Koreatown? I saw this AMAZING studio somewhere around Vermont and 8th. $975 for this huge upper corner single. The neighborhood was like some futuristic film where we are so overpopulated and homogenized that everyone looks the same and every sign is written in three languages. It was so incredibly dense with cars, small business, and people I couldn't breathe. Even the apt. manager showing me the place made it extremely clear to me that I did not ever want to walk anywhere at night. It also took me and hour of horrible traffic to get back to work from there. It just felt really bad, so I passed on the idea.

Don't get me wrong guys. I'm not precious. I was a poor artist most my life like many in this town. I need no frills what so ever. I want a place that feels good to be in and I'm going to find it!

[Epigonos]

Again look in Culver city. First try the area around the city center. It is nice, has some sidewalk cafes and appears to be very safe. Second choice might be the area behind the old Helm's Bakery Building. The area is gentryfing. Surfas, a wonderfuly cooking supply store, is located on the back side of the old Bakery on Washington and someother interesting shops and cafes are sprouting up.

[raulgmanzo]

Koreatown is anything but homogenous

 

OP wrote:

> The neighborhood [koreatown] was like some futuristic film

>where we are so overpopulated and homogenized that everyone

>looks the same and every sign is written in three languages.

 

Koreatown is a very ethnically diverse place. Far more diverse than say West Hollywood.

 

For example the 2000 census says

WEST HOLLYWOOD:

86% white, 3% black, 3.8% asian, 8.8% hispanic, 0.3% american indian

 

KOREATOWN:

24% white, 3.8% black, 25% asian, 66% hispanic, 1.1% american indian

 

Wilshire center which seems to blur into Koreatown (or vice versa) has an ethnic makeup not much different with only slightly more white and asian and a bit less hispanic than koreatown.

 

I see signs in a lots of languages. Along with lots in english, korean and spanish I see armenian, thai, chinese, japanese, arabic and vietnamese.

 

Being served by two subway lines (red and purple) and numerous buses (several with 24/7 service) it's highly accesible and with the miracle mile etc just down Wilshire there tends to be lots of visitors which I believe makes the area even more delightlfully mixed up.

 

I don't claim to be an expert on any part of L.A., I don't even live there (I live in Chicago). But I'd still love to give anyone a great tour of what an interesting, fun and walkable city L.A. can be.

 

Raul

This month I'm in L.A. from the 17th until the 22nd.

[Epigonos]

RE: Koreatown is anything but homogenous

 

The problem with Koreatown is that the area adjacent, to the east of it, known as Pico/Union is one of the most dangerous sections of Los Angeles. The area from Union Avenue on the east, Normandie on the west, Pico Blvd. on the south and 6th on the north is home to some of the most violent Salvadoranean gangs in the city. The section immediately around MacArthur Park is particularly dangerous. I will drive into Koreatown for dinner, now and then, but would NOT under any circumstances consider living there. Far to frequently the violence from Pico/Union spills over into Koreatown.

[Guest PWIT]

RE: Koreatown is anything but homogenous

 

>KOREATOWN:

>24% white, 3.8% black, 25% asian, 66% hispanic, 1.1% american

>indian

 

Is there a typo in the numbers or an overlap in the stats?

 

>Being served by two....

 

OK, I have nothing to add to the point, just like the way it started. :+

[raulgmanzo]

RE: Koreatown is anything but homogenous

 

About:

>>KOREATOWN:

>>24% white, 3.8% black, 25% asian, 66% hispanic, 1.1% american indian

 

Pwit asks:

>Is there a typo in the numbers or an overlap in the stats?

 

Its an overlap because many fit in more than one category. For example I'm hispanic and white, not just because of non-hispanic part of my family but my latin american roots are racially speaking primarily white.

[+ Tygerscent]

Ya... LA is over the top pricy~ Seaboi suggested Seattle. Forget Seattle, come to Portland. Safe anywhere anytime of day and night and all transportation downtown is free. It rains much less in Portland and is closer to Cali and a good hub fro the east coast and mid west.

I generally find a huge house and then get room mates. Right now I live in a nice quiet 3400 square foot home. I have litte over one half acre and grow tangerines, nectarines, oranges, kumquats, blueberries, figs, peaches, cherries, raspberries and more in my own yard... all chemical free!

The house is an "L" shaped ranch style home and I live in one half of it. I have my own bathroom, my Tyegr's Den working area, my bedroom with fireplace in it and glass sliding doors to the back patio, discrete back yard for naked sunbathing, three other rommmates who live on other side of the house and split the rent. There are potentially five bedrooms here but I use the one as my work area. So we split the rent four ways and the house is affordable.

I did this all through college... find big house and get a bunch of renters. The bigger the house the more space you have to yourself and mroe people to socialize with.

We had a room open up until last week! Had I known I would have invited you up to check it out!

We've met and worked together before so I would have felt comfortable with that. My roommates all know what I do for a living and are completely relaxed about it all. We have a no drama policy here and so have not had any problems over the past five years.

There are a number of places around Santa Monica and Ogden that have some reasonable rent. neighborhood safety is variable... not quite Ashcroft area but not exactly crime riddled either. Upper West Lake or Silver Lake has some nice places up in the hills and I know some guys who have gooten places in the Studio City area but they are a bit smaller and might be too out of the way for you. Especially if you are not mobile~

Tyger!

http://www.tygerscent.biz/Galleries.html

http://www.tygerscent.biz

503.317.8055

http://www.daddysreviews.com/area.php?loc=63150&who=tyger_portland

men4rentnow.com tygerscent in Portland, Oregon

[Guest jstlooknthx]

I love Portland. Two years ago I went up for a week just to see it. Stayed at the Mark Spencer. So nice to be in a city where you can walk everywhere! I just don't have any reason to move up there. My job is here. Everyone I know is here. I guess I don't city hop as much as I did when I was younger.

Yes, LA rents are proving to be outrageous. My job is actually in a precarious place also. I am going to lie on a mexican beach next week to de-stress. A vacation I booked before I knew I had to leave my home. I believe on some level we are orchestrating everything in our lives. I just need to take a look at why after years of all this consistency I am suddenly without a home and possibly a job. It seems like I've decided to just dissolve it all. Maybe I am ready to leave this sunny zoo I live in. I think depression is talking. I need to be alone on a quiet mexican beach for a while.

"We've met and worked together before." Thanks for the reply, but I you might have me mixed up with someone else. I don't think I've ever met anyone on this board, though I've come to appreciate many of your posts over the years.