Moving to LA..Is it worth it? (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: for sale, to rent)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

1 mil would buy you a pretty nice in Culver City. Not huge, but still nice.

Something like this, $949K, 3BR, 1.75BA

[Jakehorror]

Originally Posted by Charles

Something like this, $949K, 3BR, 1.75BA

I knew homes were expensive in L.A. but wow! That little toy house would only be about 35K in Indiana! hahaha! But then you'd be.....in Indiana joy.
Still I gotta laugh at those prices. That's just obscene, that's the only word I can think of to describe L.A. real estate prices. Look like I better get cozy in the studio....for the rest of my life!
Out of sheer curiousity and ignorance, could somebody enlighten me (in 1st grader terms please) as to how they can justify such a high cost of home ownership? I could even grasp that little hut pictured going for 400k, that's alot, but I understand it IS Los Angeles, still I can't fathom some of these tiny shacks going for a million bucks. Pardon my lack of knowledge on the subject.

[susanf813]

Originally Posted by WSH SF

Um, there are 13 million people in Los Angeles metro, 12.5 Los Angeles County and 4 million people in The City of Los Angeles.

To the OP, you would be better off in Orange County. I don't think you will like Los Angeles much if you're this scared of grime and crime over a few stories you've read on the internet or on the news. Orange County is safer, cleaner, boring and conservative.

Its not really a "few" stories, its every day on the news. Ive been reading it to keep up to date. I just want to avoid problems if possible, I understand there is crime in every big city. I am from Houston and its bad here. OC is really nice, but boring like you said. I want to live in or around LA because of the opportunity, and schooling. IDK too much about OC but Im just going to assume if I lived there the commute to LA would be impossible.

[susanf813]

That house is ridiculously over priced. I looked online at alot of homes and they were alot nicer than that, but I was looking in Calabasas, Simi Valley, and TO. Maybe Culver city is just more expensive? Why?

[timelesschild]

Here are the two best (most helpful) ideas about Los Angeles real estate I've gotten from this site:

(1) there is a 3-way balance between safety, convenience, and cost. You can have any 2 of the 3, essentially. So each buyer brings his/her own set of circumstances to the table, decides what is important to focus on for him/her, and makes compromises accordingly. I've noted previously that Susan is in a particularly good position to buy because she doesn't have to give up much from the formula, due to her particular set of circumstances. About the worst you'll have to settle for might be small rooms? Which shouldn't matter since you're in school and working, not raising children. Jake, your situation is relatively easy because you don't mind an edgy neighborhood. Both of you are fortunate in that you have no children to factor in schooling, etc., for. Not that children are a misfortune-far from it! Just, they add a second set of people with a separate set of needs to the household.

(2) the houses that are costing so much LOOK like suburban homes and it's tempting to compare them with the suburbs in X other city. However, they are actually urban homes on highly valued land. The high value is due to the lot's proximity to workplaces and beaches. The casual suburban appearance is just a perk.

OK, I'm new too and still figuring it all out myself. It's definitely worth it though! This site is so helpful.

[CESpeed]

Prices are going up because the who think they are better than everybody can keep the lower classes away from them.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by susanf813

We are looking into Calabasas to live, but would work in the West LA area...Also, is it hard to get a job? I am a personal trainer and bartender.. Thanks for any help.

First, your comment about occupation. LOL. You and everybody else in LA...just kidding...you'll be fine.

I am a native of LA, after my parents came from Europe. The part about LA I will always love is that it welcomes everybody, though it has gotten crowded. Being a native, I never felt someone couldn't come there, like the a-holes in Seattle do.

You know, the West Side is the place to be and was the place to be, depending on your frame of mind. It is the place to be if you want to see and be seen, have more money than the inland dweller and need to be 5 + degrees cooler at any given time. It was the place to be for those of us who have seen the pace of the West Side get frenzied, such that that pace is now available in other locations of the Southland.

I grew up near Sepulveda and National (smack in the middle of West LA) and personally do not like the "innocence lost" factor. In the 70s, it was a reasonably quiet, modestly priced and fairly unpretentious place inhabited by a mosaic of people who coexisted fairly well. Now, it is more "have and have not," with certain ethnic groups growing exponentially, such that it has polarized the area instead of unifying it.

Hey, you know what, I like the West Valley. In fact, growing up on the West Side, I always thought "when I grow up, I want to live in Chatsworth, Woodland Hills or Calabasas." Well, my parents moved up to the Pacific Northwest, I got a job in Atlanta (I'm back West again, but not in LA) and I have never gone back.

It has its problems. The census puts the city at 3.85 million and the county of LA, which picks up some deserts, at 9 + million. There is crime which you can, to some extent, position yourself to avoid. There is smog which is getting better...it is, cars don't pollute 25% of what they did in the 70s. There is traffic...at last, SOME rail has started. There is cost...that's the worst part, right now--it is overpriced.

I think that LA is still a great city. Going back there to visit, the first thing that comes to mind is that the climate is INCREDIBLE and I wonder how any of us could have left that behind to go north. For the newcomer, it will be a never-ending discovery. And, you know what else, there are a lot of very nice and friendly people (oustide of super monied or "I'm in the industy" a-holes, who you probably won't meet) because everyone has a story and is from somewhere else (except me). Also, with its low(er) density and great climate, it's eminently more livable than the NY area (where, in my 20s, I had thought about going to grad school and am glad I didn't).

Like Randy Newman's song of 1984 says "I LOVE L.A.". Great song. Great world class city!

[goodbyehollywood]

Here's the reality:

That little $949K bungalow is pretty much what you're going to get on the westside, which most people find the most desirable. Consequently, it's the least affordable. It will be on a very small lot-- 2500-5000 SF-- and that 5000 SF is harder to find, especially with a price tag under $1 mil. The rooms will be small; the closets, laughable; the amenities, few. You will be boxed in on three sides and the adjoining houses will be so close you can almost reach out and touch your neighbor's wall. The distance between will be about six feet in some cases, because the legal lot line is very, very close and many homes have garage entry from behind, so there's no driveway on the side for a buffer.

You will be able to hear your neighbor's phone ring with the windows closed and you will be able to hear every word of their dinner conversation and TV programs if the windows are open. If they party on their patio late at night and you have to work the next day, you're going to learn the true meaning of misery. You will have little privacy, even with a fence, which most homes have. And if you live next door to a two-story house, you will have no privacy at all. If you live next door to a McMansion, you will have a worst-case scenario, because most likely, they will have built lot line to lot line, 2-1/2 stories up, and they will be encroaching on you from every angle. Occasionally, they're considerate, but very, very rarely. (Okay, almost never.) They are going to maximize the use of their space, and if it affects you, too bad. If you live near the beach and that cute little bungalow next door sells, you are safe in assuming that it's going to become a McMansion, with all that entails. Land is just too valuable and egos too big.

The good news is, most people learn to live with all this. It's the trade-off for living in L.A. (not Ventura County-- L.A. and yes, there is a difference) and all the great stuff that the city offers. There are negatives, and many people can't adapt. The housing situation is ridiculous, but it is what it is and being unrealistic about it is only going to add to your frustration. If you find these great bargains for $500K or even $600K, you have to realize that these are not going to be in areas that most people find desirable. Otherwise, they'd be priced higher.

Why? Because people will pay it. As long as people keep paying these outrageous prices, prices will remain high. If people would refuse, prices would come down, because some people have to sell. Buyers hold all the cards. You don't have to buy; you choose to buy. And that's why tiny, unremodeled stucco boxes sell for $1000 or more a SF. Still, I do love L.A.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by Charles

Something like this, $949K, 3BR, 1.75BA

Spare me. How recent is that? What is the exact location? Unless it's practically on top of the beach, the area is no longer fetching those prices. In Culver City, that would be about $ 600,000 now. In the flat parts of the West Valley, like Canoga Park, that would be about $ 475,000 now.

By the way, most, not all, of Culver City sucks and it is not a good address. It is surrounded on all 4 sides by LA zip codes and I would opt for those (90034 West LA, 90064 Rancho Park, 90066 Mar Vista, 90045 Westchester and 90056 Ladera Heights...pricey) instead of CC.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

Spare me. How recent is that? What is the exact location? Unless it's practically on top of the beach, the area is no longer fetching those prices.

It's an active listing. Not close to the beach. I don't want this post to get zapped for advertising but if you realtor dot com Culver City for $900K to $1M range, you'll find it.


The address is

3146 ROBERTS AVE 90232 - Google Maps