(3.5k Budget)Is it better to rent: A Large Apartment, or A Small Apartment and Small Office (San Diego: loft)

[Slower B]

Hey city-data.
As a quick background on myself, I am from the San Diego area, and have lived down here for a while. I am 27 and looking for a change, so I have decided I want to move to LA. I can work from anywhere, so ideally I am looking for an apartment large enough for a home office, or an office nearby to rent. The only issue with the LA move, is that I cannot seem to find either an apartment large enough for a productive home office. The other option would be to rent a relatively small apartment and an office nearby.

Income $100k, I don't want to spend more than $35k annually on rent, office included. I figure this leaves me at about either 2k for an apartment and 1-1.5k for an office, or 3.5k for an apartment.

Where in LA will I be able to find this sort of a deal, because I cannot seem to find it anywhere on the west side?

Thanks

[adr3naline]

Not sure about office space but $2k/mo will get you a 1-bedroom apartment in many nice areas outside of Santa Monica / Venice. $3500/mo in Santa Monica will get you a large 1-bedroom but workspace may be out of the question.

What kind of work do you do? Would operating from a coworking space be an issue? There's tons of coworking options on the West Side (Cross Campus, CoLoft, Working Village, Real Office Centers, etc).

[Slower B]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

Not sure about office space but $2k/mo will get you a 1-bedroom apartment in many nice areas outside of Santa Monica / Venice. $3500/mo in Santa Monica will get you a large 1-bedroom but workspace may be out of the question.

What kind of work do you do? Would operating from a coworking space be an issue? There's tons of coworking options on the West Side (Cross Campus, CoLoft, Working Village, Real Office Centers, etc).

I run websites and that sort of a thing. Online entrepreneur you could say. Never really considered coworking, is it just a shared space or something?

And what do you think i will have to pay for a relatively nice office space on the west side? Like 500 SQFT at least.

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by Slower B

I run websites and that sort of a thing. Online entrepreneur you could say. Never really considered coworking, is it just a shared space or something?

Yep, shared space. You're often surrounded by like-minded individuals consisting of small business owners, freelancers, successful contractors, etc. Most coworking offices are fitted with amenities such as conference rooms which make it easy to host client meetings or at least have basic items such as print/copy/fax machines, coffee shop, etc. Lots of deals for new-comers. I would check it out if I were in your position.

Originally Posted by Slower B

And what do you think i will have to pay for a relatively nice office space on the west side? Like 500 SQFT at least.

The going rate for private space in the SM area seems to be ~$50/sqft/year. So $2000/mo. West Side is expensive. Prices can be cut in half if you're whiling to work around Hollywood, West Hollywood, Century City. Drive isn't terrible if you wanted to commute from Santa Monica > any of the above, vice-versa.

[Dunbar42]

My brother pays $2500 for a new construction 1100 square foot 1BR loft in Hollywood. The loft space is perfect for an office and is separate from the rest of the living area. You could even have client meetings there if you furnished it right since the bedroom is walled off from the rest of the apartment. I would say that what you want is out there but probably not near the beach if that's important to you.

BTW, $3500/mo. on a $100k/yr. income seems like a lot to be spending on rent.

[socal88]

If you don't want to spend more than $35K/year on rent, you can't get an apartment that's $3.5K/month because that will run you $42K/year. Considering that your after-tax income will likely be in the mid 60s based on $100K pre-tax income (assuming you're paying for a good medical plan, etc.), you wouldn't have very much left for bills, personal spending, 401k savings, and non-401K savings.

My advice: find a good sized apartment that allows you to work from home that is in the mid $2,000 range. Santa Monica and other nice parts of the west side would pretty much be out of the question. If you want to be close to nightlife and the hustle and bustle, you can find some good spots in West Hollywood, Hollywood, Los Feliz, or Studio City for example. If you want to be in a more suburban area that's bit more laid back, I'd recommend Pasadena, Glendale, or Burbank. Sherman Oaks or Encino in the Valley are also good locations. Just depends on what type of environment and setting you're looking for.

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by Slower B

Where in LA will I be able to find this sort of a deal, because I cannot seem to find it anywhere on the west side?

It depends on what you consider LA. A 3 bedroom house can be found for under $3000 in most parts of LA. The closer you get to the job centers: Downtown, Century City, Santa Monica, Burbank, the higher the rents.

If internet uploads speeds are important, you'll want to look for an area serviced by Verizon Fios.