Working at UCLA--where to live? (Vista, Redondo Beach: apartment, to rent, condo)

[seraphita]

Hi all,

My husband got a job at UCLA and we're looking at places to live. Can anyone recommend an affordable, family-friendly neighborhood within an hour's commute of the school?

Thanks in advance,

[BRinSM]

you'll probably need to look in the valley for family friendly unless you can afford santa monica. are you looking to buy/rent? what's your housing budget? do you need public schools? what grades are your kid(s) in? etc....

with none of that information available, i would recommend woodland hills since your commute tolerance is high.

[disgruntled la native]

^Yeah all those questions.

Always better to live close to work though. Mar Vista and Culver City are near UCLA, fairly affordable for upper middle class families, and have okay schools.

[seraphita]

We have 2 kids, one 2 years old and the other 1 month old, so we don't have to worry about schools yet. We are looking to rent for at least the first few years. We'd eventually like to find a house $400,000 or under, but that might be impossible in this area.

[ccm123]

Culver City is a nice area. The South Bay communities of El Segundo and Redondo Beach area also nice areas and are about an hour or less away.

[Spikett]

Are you interested in renting a single family house, condo, apt?? What is your monthly budget?

[seraphita]

We'd like to rent a 3-bedroom for 1500-2000/month . . . preferably at the lower end of that range.

[jm1982]

For this price range, I'd probably look into a part of Van Nuys near Sherman Oaks and closer to Ventura Blvd. Lowest price 3bedrooms in Sherman Oaks seems to be a little over the $2,000 .

The nice part too would be its only like 11 miles from UCLA .

Woodland Hills is nice , but it seems like it would be hard to get a 3bedroom under 2k there. Also you'd be further from UCLA. Culver City also pretty nice , and would be closer to UCLA but will be over the 2000 a month also.

Good luck in your search.

[knowitall99]

1500 a month gets you a one bedroom apartment. you should considering sticking the kids in the same room and renting a 2 bedroom apartment. plan on spending 2000. you are willing to commute an hour each way? damn. the 405 is a frickin nightmare during rush hour and that's what you would have to take to get from UCLA to woodland hills,sherman oaks, or anywhere else in the valley. you should stay on the westside.

maybe consider culver city (it used to be ghetto but it's better now), or maybe west LA.

[Aldous9]

Originally Posted by knowitall99

1500 a month gets you a one bedroom apartment. you should considering sticking the kids in the same room and renting a 2 bedroom apartment. plan on spending 2000. you are willing to commute an hour each way? damn. the 405 is a frickin nightmare during rush hour and that's what you would have to take to get from UCLA to woodland hills,sherman oaks, or anywhere else in the valley. you should stay on the westside.

maybe consider culver city (it used to be ghetto but it's better now), or maybe west LA.

what classifieds are you looking at? $1500 will get you a two bedroom apt in a decent area. For $2000 you could get a 2 bdr in Westwood.