Ok. I'm fishing around on craigslist and is it me or have rents not risen in the past few years? Maybe it's not possible but I see some decent places for around 1500.

I'm not looking for a fancy place, I guess my only thing is I don't want carpets...

i like carpets because then i can lie on the floor while watching tv, or have a good place to stretch and stuff after going running or biking. but i see your point that if you're not the first owner of the carpet it's kind of gross. sort of like having a used mattress.

anyways my only advice for housing in LA is live as close as possible to where you work. now that the mobility-based urban structure (previously a manifestation of postwar america's love affair with the car and a desire to live far from work) is so clogged by traffic that it's pretty much miserable to live more than 3 miles from the places you go on a daily basis.

then again, i wouldn't know, i live in westwood and have no car. ha.

try the hollywood ardmore, i know they have some for lease right now.

basement doubles as a fallout shelter...kinda funny (check out the doors to the elevator lobbys) and there are huge balconies.

its close to the red line at hollywood/highland.

plus hollywood blvd provides endless laughs....people are insane.

Rents are insane in LA right now. Exaggerated version of what's going on everywhere I think. Although it is definitely easier to find a reasonable price for a 2 or 3br. I'm looking for a 1br/studio and am just having to resign myself to paying more. $1800 is closer to realistic if you don't want any character (hardwood floors, etc), and don't want to live in eagle rock or highland park. There is still some decent stuff around echo park/angeleno heights if you look hard enough.

if you want any character, I mean...sorry

You mean $1800 for a 2 br? I looked at a few places and am now thinking that price might be closer to realistic but I am seeing a LOt of vacancies. I haven't looked for a place in a few years so I haven't been following the rental market.

my sister was looking a year or so ago and 1800-2000 seemed the going rate for a decent 2 bedroom. she ended up paying 1550 for a small 2 bedroom south of beverlywood. area was ok but the place was small and a bit depressing, if clean.
i would check out that area if you're willing to go west - robertson south of pico, just dont get too close to the 10, kind of sketchy. but it's convenient to mid la & culver city.

i lived on the streets in LA it was great there are lots of people hundreds and hundreds and the best part is that it was free.

then again my mortgage back home is 450 for a 3 bedroom.

what ever you do find something with ZeroVOC paints and no formaldehyde , indoor air quality is key for your body health and mind.

i heard that you can get a good deal on places that used to be meth labs

just paint over with zeroVOC paints and call it good.

Still looking for a place. Man I don't know people pay for this crap I'm seeing on the market. As of now I'm still staying in my loft for $2200.
But I'm trying to save some dough here so I can get a house down the line.

Yuck. I have to say I'm pretty burnt from looking at lots of apartments.
Decided now I'm gonna look for a 1 br but problem is I'm looking for something within striking distance of ktown where I work (30 min commute max hopefully).

Seems like its hard to find a place for less than 1300-1500 that is decent.
using craigs, westside rentals, but havent found anything too interesting yet.

There was one place that I prob woudlve taken but it was rented the day it came on the market.

Can anyone comment on housing for soon to be SCI-Arc students? I have been searching through Craigslist after being guided to look in areas such as silverlake, echo park, downtown (duh), little tokyo, but I really don't know what to expect. I don't mind having a roommate, I just don't know anyone yet! I also don't mind trying to find something by myself. I don't know LA well at all. I visited once to check out the school and that is it.

From Craigslist, it looks like I can find something decent, (one bedroom/studio with on site laundry) anywhere from $800-$1000. Is this typical or should I be able to find something less expensive that would meet the needs of a 28 year old guy that will be in studio mostly, but enjoys being able to take a break, go home an cook, etc...(sorry, that kind of sounded like an online singles ad).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I work to relocate to LA.

...and don't want to live in eagle rock or highland park...

what is that supposed to mean? Highland Park is awesome.

I'm also looking for a cheap place near SCI-Arc. I was hoping for a very cheap studio. Any ideas? If not, I may beg ichweiB to be a roomate.

try padmapper.com - makes craigslist easier to search by location

crtlZ-not a bad option. I'm hopeful to find a cheap studio as well. When were you planning on heading to Los Angeles?

I'll be there there the second week of August... I know, kind of late. I plan on visiting in early June to look for different areas and get a feel of LA. How about you?

I'm also looking for a place within walking/biking distance of sci-arc, preferably in the arts district or little tokyo. I would love a loft, but everything is pricy.

If I somehow dont qualify as low-income for these places that tout $750 studio/micro-loft things, I may beg ichweiB and ctrlZ to be roommates, haha. I live close to LA already, and will probably head down there to check some places out as soon as I finish my semester.

Where near LA do you live? My original plan was to live with relatives in Ventura County. (I think that its called 1000 Oaks.)

I may not come until mid august. I'm coming from Houston and hoping to keep my job as long as possible so I can save money. I'm good with trying to share a place. All options are good ones for me right now. I wouldn't mind coming out to check out places, but id prefer not to have to pay for a flight again unless I just have to. Maybe we can email each other to see what might possible!

Definitely. I'm taking in all of the input and information from everyone concerning decent places to live in the area and will visit them early June. I will definitely let you know what I find.

padmapper is very helpful. I was able to find some decent rates.

highland park is a great location, specially for the sci-arc students strapped on cash. i live in a 3 bedroom house and rent is $1600, which is a deal, specially for a cute craftsman home.

i'm actually relocating to the bay area, starting an m. arch program in the fall, so the house will be available august 1st.

with a house of 3, each with their own room, rent is only $533 and some change each. highland park is about 5-7 miles away from sci-arc, between downtown and pasadena. i live withing walking distance the the gold line which is also convenient.

anyway, if anyone might be interested, just send me an email :)

So I found an ad for a place in "Lincoln Heights" for a studio at $690 per. Still $$$, but by far the best that I've researched thus far. 3 seconds after I left a phone message for the owner, a friend of a friend, that lives in LA (from DC) called me and told me that Lincoln Heights has a huge Mexican gang problem. His fyi was, if your not Latin, it would probably be an even more difficult trek.

Good times.

Compton and Ladera Heights is pretty cheap.

im sorry crtlZ but stop being xenophobic and get over it. welcome to los angeles, fool

^ It is difficult for me to respond to such a moronic statement. But I dare to try anyway:

1. Exactly where in my post did you sense xenophobia? Was it the part were I wrote "Mexican gang" or "if your not Latin"? Were you taking that as ostensible descriptions since you are reading it from me, a post or would you do the same if you read about it in a newspaper or hear it on tv? What if I said, "I'm moving to Alabama and was told that in this particular neighborhood there's a Caucasian gang that doesn't like anyone non Caucasian to move in," or "I'm moving to the Republic of Congo and the people in this particular region have shown a dislike for homosexuals." You of course would think, "He's not of white or he's a homosexual."


I'm caught between wondering if you are serious in what you typed or are you trying to get a rise from me - Since it could be a post out of levity or you are actually assuming that I am not of Spanish decent. What you assumed is a puerile reaction to something that you did not think through. (IMHO - you probably should do so before posting what you can't erase.) The unequivocal, and unfortunate, truth is that LA continues to have areas of serious racial tension - not unlike many other parts of the country - and it would be nice if anyone moving to a new place knew of the areas where this exists.

Not every statement that has a cultures description attached to it is racist, prejudice or xenophobic. Welcome to the real world.

out of curiosity, why would not being latino further endanger you from gang violence?

^…Before you get on your soapbox and start throwing insults and accusations of xenophobia, you should understand what is being discussed, as well as, the world that you live in.
Being latino does not exempt you from gang violence, however being part of a particular group may induce violence, in a particular area, because of your affiliations (race, creed, culture, beliefs or even color of clothing.) Have you not aware of the gang violence over things as trivial as red vs blue (bloods vs crips), the tension between blacks and Latinos, especially in LA. Did you think that tensions in the bible belt between whites and blacks ended with the end of Jim Crow laws?
Were you seriously asking the question or was that rhetorical nonsense?

I honestly have to agree with kishkash on this one. If you want to avoid any and all racial tension than I hope you can afford to live in Malibu or something.

For starters you are attending a school that sits on the fringe of Skid Row. Not exactly white picket fences and green grass. On your daily walk to the coffee shop, expect to step over and around homeless people, feces, the occasional rat and countless other roadside diversions. Someone in my class got mugged on the way home to his apartment in the middle of the day. I'm not saying you need to pack a gun and riot gear but rather to be smart about your environment and be aware of your surroundings.

Lincoln Heights, like almost any neighborhood in LA has it's good areas and it's bad areas. To throw a general label at a neighborhood is terribly misguided and you will really miss out on some of the best things LA has to offer.

And P.S. $690 for a studio in LA is pretty cheap. I doubt you will find anything cheaper (unless you don't want a kitchen and are willing to share a bathroom with all of the other residents of the building). It's better to find a roommate because you can find something a lot nicer and pay less. I only paid slightly more than $690 for a pretty amazing 2 bedroom in Highland Park. Although there a lot of people who don't speak English there so maybe you should look elsewhere.

What with KishKash are you exactly agreeing with? You ‘re admitting that there is racial tension – which is what my post was about. Because I acknowledged the tension, Kish referred to it as xenophobia. So according to that logic you agreeing that the acknowledgement, which you are doing, is xenophobia.

What with KishKash are you exactly agreeing with? You ‘re admitting that there is racial tension – which is what my post was about. Because I acknowledged the tension, Kish referred to it as xenophobia. So according to that logic you agreeing that the acknowledgment, which you are doing, is xenophobia.

whatever dude.

So you see the error in your "agreement" and the response is "whatever dude." Honestly, I wouldn't have responded to KK's negligent post if she/he didn't throw out xenophobia - a kin to racist - when that had nothing to do with what I stated.

I was agreeing with kishkash points that you are blowing things way out of proportion. You have proved that I was correct.

Have fun in LA man. Don't get shot.

Actually I was initially poking fun at the irony of timing and information in my original post. As for my responses to Kishkash, my responses to him/her is rather subdued considering the accusation.

I managed to stay bullet free in NYC, let's hope that I can do the same in LA.

Downtown
SB lofts (there are like 4 or 5 buildings that are operated by them)
Spring Street Lofts
(Most of the Lofts in the Bank District are good)
Sakura Crossing lofts (little tokyo)
There are some apartments around school that are good too but I don't know there names. I think a lot are independently owned.

That was some info from a friend at SCI-Arc

Thanks for the info. Do you know price ranges?

ichweiB - never mind, got it.

downtown is less safe than lincoln heights or highland park on any given day... specially in the area where sci-arc is located. i mean that's skid-row. dealing with the mentally ill is a whole different animal.

make friends with the community and you'll be fine. though it might be better for those living in these communities if you didn't drive rental prices up, so stay out!

i've been living in a wonderful 3 bedroom house in highland park for over 4 years now and pay only $533 for my portion. rent is $1600 all together. we just made friends with the local gangsters, "the avenues" and it's all gravy. except for the time they came to one of our house parties and stole some purses/bags on the floor outside. that could happen anywhere though. still, we don't have jail bars on our windows or anything.

anyway, i suppose it isn't for everyone, but i love this community.

by the way, your comment did seem pretty racist, but what's new. oh, and it's not latin, it's latino. latin would be the language.

I'm debating on whether or not to move closer to sci-arc to save some time on the drive and gas (I live in CHino btw). Does anyone know anybody that lives at the alexandria or who knows what the price rates are? their website says rent starts as low as 650 a month depending on income.

hey fellow archinectors.

i'm moving from la to they bay and wanted to help my landlord rent out the house we currently reside in. the house is located in highland park (los angeles, ca 90042) off avenue 51 and marmion way.

here are some details:
nice craftsman home w/ lots of character
3 bedroom
2 bath
spacious living room (17'-7" x 15'-0")
good sized kitchen (10'-9" x 12'-5")
lots of storage
laundry hook-ups
hardwood floors
crown moldings
built-in bookshelves
includes refrigerator and stove
car port that fits at least 2 cars and then probably another 2 cars fit on the rest of the drive way.

if you'd like to stop by and take a look at the house, please send me a message. we could be available to show you the house between 6-8pm during the week and anytime during the weekend, for the most part. just call us and we'll set something up.

we will be moving out by july 31st, so availability can be worked out with the landlord. by the way, our landlords are pretty cool. some of you may already be familiar with the neighborhood, but you couldn't ask for a better location. we're really close to the metro (gold line) which takes you to little tokyo and within walking distance to sci-arc. the memebers of the community are mostly latino families, though gentrification is obvious.

about the rent, we don't know yet if they're going to try to increase it, but currently, we pay $1,600/month and since it's a (3) bedroom, we split rent into (3), which is about $533.33 each per month. the room with it's own bathroom is smaller than the other (2) rooms, but it does have it's own bathroom so we figured it evens out. the new tenants can figure out how they'd like to split up rent. also, for reference, they originally wanted $1,700/month, which is still a really good rate.

as for the utilities, we would say it isn't more than $50 each/month, so you're still looking at about $600/month each with utilities included. of course, we don't have cable- so utilities meaning water, power, gas and internet.

images of the house can be seen here: http://gallery.me.com/its.bird#100067

the pictures aren't soo great, and please excuse the mess as we are starting to purge and pack up. the images really don't do much justice for the charm of this amazing home. if i weren't moving to berkeley, i would still be living here for sure!

so that's about it. if you or someone you know is interested in renting the house, please contact me. we have lived here for about 4.5 years now and really love it!!!

hope this finds everyone well and please spread the word.

thats a pretty good deal. hp still has a decent amount of riff raff lingering but there are def some nice houses in the area.

If I spent more time on the east side I'd check it out.

highland park isn't beverly hills! but that's also what makes it such an amazing place to live! i've been living here for 4.5 years now, and i have nothing bad to say. the little gangster kids don't really bother anyone, and i'll take gangsters over the stuck up crazies on the westside any day. i LOVE highland park!

i lived in westwood and west la while in college, so i'm really not a fan of the westside. way too crazy...

really though, for a nice 3 bedroom craftsman house, the price can't be beat, even if the landlord rents it out for $1700/month when we leave.