Hi all,

I'm on the verge of moving from the Chicago to L.A. Ok, I admit, I have always dreamt of living in Santa Monica. Now that I could see if that'd come true. I can afford no more than $1000 per month, but would like to live in a nice place. If any of you guys would be able to drop me some advices on the following topics, it'd be much appreciated.

1.) I'm urged by a friend to fly up there now to look for an apartment before moving there on August 1st. The whole trip would cost more than $700. Is it worthed just for the apartment? or can I wait. She told me that by Aug 1st, all the decent apartment with the right price will be gone.

2.) What neighbourhood are good to live in. I've got Santa Monica itself, Brentwood and my friend told me I'd never find cheap apartment in those neighbourhood, so I added Venice, any suggestions?

3.) What else do I need to know, pleasee... ?

Thanks heaps!,
Rak

My daughter is currently in LA looking for an apartment in the same area. If you want anything decent, you need to pay at least 800-900/month - minimum. There are several websites which help with the search, but you pay for 2 month service - $60 -cheaper than $700. Westsiderentals.com, apartments.com, ezrentlist.com) Unfortunately, people are less than honest when listing their vacancies - whether it is for a roommate or an apartment. So in a way it is good to be able to see ahead of time. After August 1, all the college kids will be back looking for apartments as well.... good luck.

also, if you have a car and a job, you may want to be close to the 10 or the 405. Depending on where you are in Santa Monica, or Brentwood, you could be close to either or both...believe me it is important at the end of a long day's commute.

I'm going to take a class at UCLA, what would be your recommendation for the neighbourhood ?

Thanks again ;-)

Paula, what rock have YOU been living under?!? You will NOT find anything decent for $800-900 in those areas. And if you're lucky enough to find a studio at that price, it will most likely be a real dump!!!

800-900 for a split rent - that was what I had intended to say - thanks for your GENTLE reminder.

Rak--

You may have to prove this to yourself, since living there has always been a dream, but my husband always talks about how miserable he was living in Santa Monica-- not because it isn't a great place, but becasue it's not somewhere you want to live on a budget. Don't take anyplace sight unseen-- come out and do your looking, and then consider maybe looking nearby, but out of the city. Or, you could do as a friend of mine just decided to do in San Francisco-- blow the budget on a wonderful apartment, and then if it becomes clear that you can't stay there, at least you had the experience.

Finally - my daughter has found a place - after three weeks of sifting through bad neighborhoods or potential roommates. You really doh ave tos ee the area, she says. Pictures that look wonderful on-line, do not live up to expectations.

I think the price varies - are you looking for a first time apartment - willing to grow into your dream apartment, or arre you goign straight for the dream?? Those are definitely more costly.....easily $1500 - 2000 for a single!! In that case, the previous poster was correct. But if you are willing to search and compromise a bit on the first one - it cna be done- you just need to be patient.

Unfortunately, due to the timeframe you are looking at, the students will be back and renting mid-August. Of course, they may not be looking at the same quality of apartments you are. Good luck!

If I was going to move to LA I would not live in SM unless I could afford someplace decent. Minimum $1800/mo.

They don't call it "The Peoples Republic of Santa Monica" for nothing! And, it certainly must be the HOMELESS CAPITAL of the United States -- and at those rents, no less!! I personally would NEVER live there!!!

Try Palms or Mar Vista - much bigger bang for your buck.

Unfortunately the rents are pretty astronimical in Santa Monica, however bargains are to be found, my best friend just moved to Santa Monica from San Francisco and found a nice one bedroom for $850.00.. it's not near the beach, but it's in a decent part of town and within walking distance to stores etc.
Right now Los Angeles is suffering from a housing shortage.. rents are going nuts. Another thing to consider is the electric situation. Our house on the border of West Hollywood and HOllywood is DWP, our bills are consistant but a few streets over they are Edison and whew! They got slammed, apparently.
There are great places to live in Los Angeles... it's much easier to find a decent place then say, New York City...(no disrespect to NYC intended)
Check out
http://www.westsiderentals.com
It's a widely used service, but honestly most people have better luck driving around, finding a neighborhood you like and going from place to place.

I used to live in Santa Monica for a long time and it is a nice place to live (was a lot better before all the tourism, that's when I moved, it's not as nice now) but there is no way you can live there for $1000 a month, or any nice neighborhood nearby and rentals are extremely rare in Santa Monica in any case, regardless of price. I don't think students are a big issue in that area, they can't afford it anyway. I would probably say that you should have some temporary living backup plan, save the $700 airfare, and look when you get there because the odds that you will find anything good in a short time on a trip like that are extremely slim, so it will probably be a waste of money. Go there, downgrade your ambitions, find someplace acceptable and then look around for what you really want when you are living there (it can take months). Lots of places in Venice are not so nice, but it's not cheap either. I think there may be more available in Brentwood or West LA. Mar Vista is okay, if you can find something, as is Culver City. It really depends where you are working, so it's hard to say what would be best. I'm not up on the latest vacancy trends, however, so my info is a little old but I know it is very very hard to find an apt. in Santa Monica.