Hi! I'm moving to LA with my partner and since LA has so many neighborhoods we don't know where to start looking. What neighborhoods would be best for 2 gay men in their late 20's? We were thinking of $1000 a month for rent. Have any ideas? Thanks for any advice. Donny

Venice is a very neat place to live. You'll be very comfortable there. The rent may be more than what you are planning on paying. Good Luck!

When I was in LA this summer I noticed quite a few really nice aparmtment buildings in the Los Feliz section...I don't know about the rent though.

You might have a tough time finding much to rent for $1,000. Rental rates have really shot up in the past few years and despite the economy, rents don't seem to be coming down.

West Hollywood would be a great place to start. Plenty to do in the neighborhood and a heavy gay population.

Venice and Santa Monica are both fun beach areas, but the vacancy rates are very low and the rents are very high.

Long Beach is a less expensive alternative as a beach community, but it's further removed from the LA scene. But you can hop on the Blue Line and make it to LA in around 20 minutes. From what I've heard there's a growing gay population in the Pine Street area of town.

The Silverlake area is another growing area. And Pasadena is a popular city with a lot of restaurants and shopping.

Another area that is really starting to take off is the downtown LA area. There are a number of older buildings being turned into lofts in the historic core. There's a very diverse population and a growing community atmosphere. You might want to check out a new website called newdowntown.com. There's a forum on that site as well and you might get better information on some of the LA neighborhoods from locals.

Good luck!

CC Gives very good advice. Generally speaking the closer you get to the beach the pricer it is.
You can go to www.westsiderentals.com it costs money to join the service but they have a free browser feature.
I always recommend people in LA drive around the neighborhoods and just get out when they find one they like and walk about.

LA has "neighborhoods"? Who knew?

C.C.'s advice is good. Also, try looking into Eagle Rock (L.A. near Pasadena) and Mount Washington. East Silverlake is still affordable; areas around the lake are sky high. I have friends who live downtown; it's still rough around the edges and services are scarce, but it's worth a look (great buildings). East Hollywood is on the road to repair also.

M.

I noticed they had some housing developments going in at Huntington Beach... new homes starting at $750,000.

C's advice is right on for the LA rental market. $1,000 for rent doesn't get you much anymore. You're definitely not going to get into a new project. I was looking in Pasadena over the weekend and the new complexes seem to be running from $2,000 to $4,000!

Just curious DB, but how does the housing prices in HB relate to this posting? They want rentals in LA for under $1,000, not high priced houses in OC.

I'm moving out to the LA area from Washington DC and would love to find a loft to buy, but no such luck. Anyone have any idea if there are any loft projects for sale in Southern California? Thanks!

Sarah I think you'll get more answers form this amazingly knowledgeable board if you re-post with your own heading--people on this thread are going to answer Donny probably.

The Laguna, or Newport beach our both very nice, and Orange County has a big gay population

Good luck finding anything that is remotely a safe residential area for a grand a month. The cost of living in the LA area is sky high.....

Where in Los Angeles will you be working? Santa Monica? Long Beach? Those are over an hour a way from eachother in rush-hour traffic. You've received some far-flung housing options here. Westsiderentals.com should give you a good idea of prices - rents are sky-high here. For a decent two bedroom you are probably going to be upwards of $1200. Somewhere between that and $1600 should get you something pretty nice as long as you don't need a pool or many amenities. If you narrow down your area I bet you ill get a lot of help. Welcome to Los Angeles!

Yes, Laguna Beach has a predominate gay population. But Orange County is heavily Republican and not always gay supporters. So while there are a few pockets of gay neighborhoods, I'd hardly say that it holds true for the county. You're much better off in the more liberal LA county. As a gay man, I've always felt most comfortable living in neighborhoods such as LA, Santa Monica and Pasadena.

You've got some good advice so far. As many others have pointed out, a grand ain't going to get you much in the land of sunshine. Pasadena is one of my favorite communities, but like another poster said, the rents are starting at 2 grand and up for new projects.

Santa Monica is a good place as well, but unless you have a rent controlled unit, forget about finding a decent place at that rate.

donny - the best thing you can do for yourself is to try to live close to work. it can make all the difference between a miserable existance and a very pleasant life in la.

that said, if you want to live in areas with a large gay population, west hollywood is, of course, number 1. but there's a large friendly gay scene in long beach too. and yes, laguna is pretty gay but very very expensive and about 50 miles from downtown la. silver lake and los feliz are close in, good options, with some bargains to be found in silver lake in what you might call "transitional neighborhoods", slowly improving but still a little rough.

also consider the neighborhoods bordered roughly by melrose to north, la brea to the east, olympic to the south and la cienega to the west. these include fairfax, miracle mile and others. there are some nice older spanish syle duplxes and quads, but i wouldn't think there's much for under $1500/mo here.

finally keep in mind that gay singles and couples are everywhere in la., even in the far flung burbs. don't feel like you have to live in a gay ghetto. most (not all) NATIVE angelenos are pretty easygoing and few freak about having gay neighbors. and the smart ones know we generally help raise home values!

good luck!