Recommend good apartments in West LA (Santa Monica, West Hollywood: rentals, safe neighborhood, maintenance)

[bluno]

First post Moving to LA in a couple of days. Still in the search of apartment around West LA, such as Cheviot Hills, Palms, Culver city. Looking for a 1b1b in a safe neighborhood with the price no higher than $1300. Has anybody rented apartment in that area? Could you please share your experience or recommend any apartment? Any comments appreciated.

[1200RT]

thats a gigantic area. Need more specifics. Where will you be commuting to? That budget isn't far off, but it wouldn't be hard to find apartments that cost more .......

Also, no Santa Monica, MDR, Playa Del Rey, etc?

[bluno]

Thank you, 1200RT. I should have been more specific. I will be commuting to 90064 area around highway 405. Since I will not have cars for a couple of months, I prefer living close to that area. So I said Cheviot Hills, Palms, Culver city. But certainly any good apartments in Santa Monica would also be good.

I have been looking at craigslist. I found some of the apartments are from Pacific Listing Rentals? From the videos on their website, it looks okay to me. Anybody has experience in renting from this company? I am also looking at Cheviot hills Riviera apartments. How about that?

Thanks for sharing.

[goldeneyez]

I lived in the Westside Villas on Beverly Glen for 2 years. It's pricy but safe overall, and the location is fantastic - very close to the 405, the 10, and, well, nearly everything you'd want in West LA. You'd be 2-5 min from Beverly Hills and Century City, 15 min from LAX (max 30 minutes even in rush hour), 15 minutes to Getty Center, 15 min from Santa Monica (using Olympic Blvd, quicker than the 10), 20 min to Sunset Strip/West Hollywood, and within 5-15 minutes of the best shopping in LA (including Westfield Century City, Westside Pavilion, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Center, Melrose, 3rd St Promenade/Santa Monica Place). Pico Blvd just south of the complex has several restaurants and small bars, and there are bus stops on both Olympic and Pico. The location is really exceptional.

The units themselves are expensive, nice-looking and about average overall. The walls are thin, and someone did steal a package left at my door once, but otherwise, we had no problems there. The onsite management was responsive and maintenance was quick, and there is secured underground parking plus guest parking, which can be hard to find in that area.

I know the online reviews aren't great, but we loved living there, primarily because we had quick access to everything. I'd at least check it out if it's in your price range. Also, if you can, drive up and down Beverly Glen and just call the listed vacancies. As with most LA neighborhoods, there are a ton of rentals around that area that are not advertised online.

Good luck!

[bluno]

Thank you, goldeneyez, for posting your experience. I will definitely check out that building.