SOYOUWANNA FIND AN APARTMENT IN LA?

2. PICK A NEIGHBORHOOD OR CITY

The Los Angeles area is a huge, sprawling, super spread-out megalopolis, filled with movie stars and lowlifes (and the two groups are not mutually exclusive). Many people who claim to live in L.A. actually live in another city entirely. The many independent cities which constitute the L.A. area make it very difficult for an unfamiliar person to search for an apartment there. What you need, of course, is a map, and there are several maps available.

Most residents of L.A. have a Thomas Guide in their cars. The Thomas Guide is the definitive guide to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, with extremely detailed maps of everything in the county. It's a very worthwhile purchase. Get it now.

Of course, the maps won't tell you what the areas and cities are like, and we won't either. We'd like to tell you, but there are over 100 definable neighborhoods/cities in the L.A. area and even more if you include Orange County (some people do commute from Orange County to L.A. or vice versa), and we just don't know that much. You can find tons of information about cities and regions here.

In Los Angeles and West Hollywood, there is a piece of folk wisdom which holds that west of Fairfax (a major street which runs north/south) is good, while east of Fairfax is bad. This is generally a good rule, subject to the following exceptions: (1) north of Beverly Boulevard, you can go much further east before it becomes foul, (2) in Hollywood itself, there is no strict eastern boundary on the "nice" area, and (3) when we say "bad", we don't necessarily mean "dangerous"; areas east of Fairfax are mostly just less pleasant. We're not going to single out any particular neighborhoods and claim that they're dangerous. Some residents' group might sue us for lowering their property values. Just drive to the location and use this simple test: if you are afraid to get out of your car, it's probably a dangerous neighborhood. L.A. is very helpful in that it doesn't hide its foulness; if you're in a bad neighborhood, you can tell. But to make a long story short, a lot of college/just-out-of-college students live in Westwood, West Hollywood is considered to be the hip/trendy/gay area, Santa Monica is a pricey and touristy but beautiful and fun area, Brentwood is rather expensive, but has nice restaurants and is centrally located, and then… there's the San Fernando Valley.

With regard to the San Fernando Valley (universally referred to as simply "the Valley" of "Valley girls" and Fast Times at Ridgemont High fame), a lot of people who work in L.A. live there, with good reason. It's very pretty there, there are lots of good restaurants, it's very safe, and the rents are cheaper so you get more bang for your housing dollar. The other side of the coin is that the Valley is hot, smoggy, and boring. Or so we hear. It's really kinda like one big suburb. Cities located in the Valley include: Burbank, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Reseda, Tarzana, Van Nuys, Northridge, Granada Hills, Thousand Oaks, and Woodland Hills.

When you're reading about or visiting neighborhoods, keep the following factors in mind:

• Is the rent affordable? Are the stores, shops, gyms, and bars in the area affordable? (No matter what they say ahead of time, most people spend their money in nearby establishments.)
• How close is the public transportation you will use for the short time before you realize that it is impossible to live in L.A. without a car?
• What are the nearby schools like?
• Who lives in that neighborhood? Yuppies? Students? Ninjas?
• Where will you park your car? If the apartment you're looking at doesn't include parking, how easy is it to park on the street?

Here we will insert a timely word about commuting. First, you will need a car. You can technically live in L.A. without a car, but you will be bored out of your gourd, because nothing is ever within walking distance of anything else. And unless you're living in the storage closet of your workplace, be prepared to commute. Commuting is often the worst thing about living in Los Angeles, so you should try to place yourself somewhere that will allow you a livable commute to your work. Most people commute using the famous L.A. freeways, which are probably not as hellish as you've heard, but aren't much fun, either. The freeways which run roughly north-south are odd-numbered and those which run roughly east-west are even-numbered. The 10 freeway runs from Santa Monica through the west side to downtown and east L.A. The commute along the 10 from the west side to downtown, or vice versa, is usually from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on traffic. The 405, which runs along the coast a few miles inland, from the Valley down to San Diego, can be pretty nightmarish during rush hour and on weekend afternoons (especially near Century City and Santa Monica). The 101 runs from downtown through Hollywood and the Valley, and it is terrible during rush hour and early evening, but not too bad the rest of the time. When you're considering a place to live, it's best to go here and get driving directions from the apartment to your place of work (or the general area in which you expect to work). If it looks like a nasty commute (the driving directions will give you an estimated time), you might want to reconsider.

Once you have a basic idea of the neighborhood(s) you want to live in, you should decide whether or not you want to use a real estate broker. A broker is a person who does most or all of the apartment hunting for you. Not for free – brokers charge fees for finding you an apartment. That fee varies. In L.A., it is usually equivalent to a half month's rent, but it can be lower and it's worth shopping around.

Using a broker has several advantages. Brokers will do your leg work; they find apartments and make appointments to fit your schedule. A broker would probably be invaluable to an individual who is unable to take time off from work or to someone who lives out of town. Brokers also tend to have a wide selection of apartments to choose from, and they have access to apartments not available to the general public. If you do decide to use a broker, there are several ways to find one. Many brokers advertise in the newspapers or in online classified ads; you can also find brokers in the yellow pages. Finally, many companies have associated brokers used for relocating employees. If you work at a big company, ask your human resources person if there is a broker your company uses.

If you have the time to spend some time looking around yourself, it probably isn't necessary to get a broker. We understand laziness as well as anyone, but if cheapness is also a factor, do the work yourself and don't waste your money. It's not as tough to find a place in L.A. as it is in other big cities.