Need help with move to LA....
 

My son is going to school this fall in West Hollywood. He will be "alone", wants to live alone for around $800/month and be somewhat close to the school. Have just started this project and with such great help on this site before, I'm asking for info, ideas, etc. on a safe neighborhood as well as any inside tips on the area. We'll fly out this summer to look and need lots of direction. Thanks so much.

topping for the LA crew but I think you are in for sticker shock.

With $800/mo it is not going to be easy to find a decent 1 bedroom apartment in that area.

ljc4creb,

I would think it would impossible to find a 1 bedroom in a safe area for $800..West Hollywood is pricey. Maybe it'll be possible to find a studio apartment but I lived in a studio in a not very nice area of LA (definitely not West Hollywood) for around $850 a month, so I would just raising that budget to around at least $1000 a month.

As above, I don't think that is adequate budget for living alone in that area. I think you need to either up the budget, down the neighborhood, or consider a roommate or a car.

Unfortunately he needs a bit of a reality check. Where does he live now - my guess in not such a large or expensive city.

He'll have to have a room mate to even get close to $800 a month.

Have him start w/ craig's list and then maybe we can give more advice.

if he lives in Los Angeles proper he may qualify for some rent assistance. I don't know what the requirements are now but it used to be pretty easy. Builders had to offer a certain number of "moderate income housing" units as part of their permits to build.

Try Glendale, might find a studio for that price. Good luck!

Check the classified ads section at dailybruin.com to get an idea of what apt prices are like in the area. Daily Bruin is the UCLA newspaper and it's not far from West Hollywood.

Can't the school give you some help with this?? I agree that a room mate will give him more options in housing, and help with learning the ropes in a big city. He'll need a car in LA.

Side note - for some weird reason, rentals in LA usually don't come with a refrigerator. It's a local thing and I've never seen this anywhere else, I have no idea why.

Make sure you budget for that with your move in costs.

$800/month? We're paying a thousand a month for our daughter, in Westwood, and she has 2 roommates. That's just for rent...not parking, utilities or anything else.

I wish she'd stay in her sorority house but as an upcoming senior, she's sick of the house.

Thank you everyone for the reality check. We were looking on a website and those were the actual prices per month, $800 and up. They look really small but not knowing the areas we were figuring it wasn't a good area. One place was Koreatown. We are from Boston and understand the city prices but then there are areas there that aren't very "nice" and much cheaper. That's what we don't know yet about this area. We will ask the school, we really have just started this project.

I live in S. CA and I would pass on Koreatown. I don't feel that area is safe.

Any suggestions welcome....your opinion on neighborhoods, need car?, where to really stay away from, rental office? Thanks.

Most rentals these days are tied into westsiderentals.com -- I'm not plugging them, just stating the facts. Everywhere I go on the Westside, that's the signs I see, and my friends who are trying to get apartments for their kids for their first away from home experience, have signed up. There's a fee, don't know what it is.

L.A. has little pockets of safe and not so safe areas, but it doesn't really mean anything, since you can be in Beverly Hills and get mugged if you do something, like walk down an alley at 2 a.m. But as a rule, I'd say from mid-Wilshire and the eastern end of W. Hollywood to the Pacific is generally known as the safer area of L.A. If your son is young and not street smart, that's the area I'd look.

Unless he has campus housing, I think you definitely need to budget for a car in Los Angeles (unlike Boston).

On the car thing: not so much anymore. I have 4 cars, lol, but am a big supporter of mass transit. I use the bus or walk or ride my bike. I personally prefer the Blue Bus, which doesn't (I don't think) go into West Hollywood -- you are kind of stuck with the MTA, which is more expensive. However, the new articulated MTA buses are pretty cool. For many points east, you can now take the Metro and Light Rail.

Surfergirl, thanks. I'll start with those areas (just like Boston with it's certain spots being safer). Since we have to fly out there and take a look, I really need to pinpoint where we'll look. The school is SAE on Sunset Blvd...and I think I know what that is like.

Your son's school has a fabulous page on their website concerning housing and transportation. Follow it, it's good advice.
http://www.sae-la.com/accom_living.htm

Great advice here. Do check out westside rentals. I would not look for anything too close to the beach as that would be a lousy commute for you (in time more than distance). Your school website mentions North Hollywood - this might be nice, especially near Universal City, Toluca Lake but the housing savings might be eaten up by the high parking fees near your school. You do need a car in LA but it looks like the option of public transportation to school would be good. You can go to the MTA website to look up routes.

Good luck and welcome.