Santa Monica, in particular, is a terribly difficult place to find an apartment, unless you are willing to shell out BIG bucks-not only every month, but for outrageous deposits and finder's fees. Though rent control was abolished in January 1999, it's still a major pain.
One cool thing about these neighborhoods is that there are a variety of different housing options from which to choose including houses, duplexes, apartments, and condos. Most neighborhoods offer lots of charm with interesting people and shops nearby.
Prices vary widely,
as do other considerations such as safety, amenities, community spirit, and
other intangibles.
With both Santa Monica and Venice, esp. in the South Santa Monica/Ocean Park area, don't expect to find a nice-sized place for any less than $1500. Most rentals are tiny 2BD-1BA sans parking, and go for anywhere from $1050 to $1700. These places can get away with such high rents because they a) tend to be close to the beach, b) have hardwood floors, and c) incorporate the "quaint" factor.
Small apartments are much easier to find than 2BD places, with singles outnumbering 1BDs. Prices range from $500 to $1000 depending upon size, location, and amenities.
Good roommate situations are also hard to find, but this method could land you a choice apartment for less $. No one wants to give up a good deal, so many beach residents would rather replace old companions than take the risk of not finding another pad.
Roommate shares run the price gamut, depending upon location, number of people, and how long the current lease has been running. The general range is $450 to $700, but I've seen people ask up to $900 and have had friends who pay as little as $300/month.
You can try to be picky, but unless you have good luck shining down on you, compromise is the key. My roommate and I made an amenity list for our dream apartment and then prioritized what was a must and what was a wish. I highly recommend this strategy.
$ to advertise roommate listings
This is all that's left of Santa Monica's best local newspaper, but it's
a great resource for not only rentals, but also garage sale info and bargain
bin finds as well. Be aware that many of the housing ads are rental agencies,
but not all. Wouldn't look at the Outlook as an employment resource-unless
you're just looking for part-time, ho-hum work.
L.A. Times
No roommate listings
An excellent resource for most things, but it probably won't help you find a place to live. You might use it to identify other rental or realty companies not listed above, but I've compiled a pretty thorough list of companies (for Venice and Santa Monica, at least).
Meanwhile, the Times Classifieds is a good place to search for job leads,
since almost every company in Los Angeles advertises there-if they even
advertise. Likewise, I recommend surfing over to www.calendarlive.com for
entertainment updates because they do a rather good job of covering the
local scene.
$ to advertise roommate listings
Formerly just covered the Marina/Playa/Venice areas, but with the demise of the Outlook it has spread northward to include Santa Monica.
It's not much of a resource for anything except for apartment hunting,
but since that's why you're here, don't miss it. Ads are from local
residents and rental companies. They also have lots of "Roommate ads".
(Side note: This is how we found our 3rd roommate.)
Free roommate listings
This is Los Angeles' definitive alternative bible (Sorry NewTimes).
There are lots of roommate ads and they're bound to be some sane people among the freaks, but judge everyone very carefully. Almost all of the rental ads come from the rental agencies I've already listed.
On a side note, the L.A.W. has ok job listings (some professional opportunities
mixed in with the "nude dancer" ads), but is mostly notable for great
liberal reporting on local news and excellent coverage of the local
music, bar, and club scenes. A must-read for city dwellers. The Valley
edition is pretty good, too.
Free roommate listings
Sister publication to the SF Weekly, NewTimes really doesn't compare
to the L.A. Weekly or even it's Northern California counterpart. However,
it does provide a different set of roommate ads, although on an infrequent
basis depending upon space available. It's value as a resource for rental
listings is nil.
Free roommate, apartment listings
No guarantees on the type of people who you might get from the Recycler (from either the renter or the lessee perspective), but it's widely read, free distribution on the Web (I think it costs $2 to buy the printed version), and there's lots of ads listed. My friend lived for more than a year with 2 guys who advertised in the Recycler, and she lived to tell about it.
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