I am moving to LA in Oct. NEED ADVICE!!! (Los Angeles: apartments, rent)

[Numb1ne]

Me, my girlfriend and our 1 1/2 year old are planning to move to LA in Oct. We were hoping to stay near/closer to the water because we are from Michigan and are used to being by the water. We are looking for a a 2 Bedroom apt/house in a decent neighborhood price range from 900/1100. Please inform us on the where to and where not to move. I've found cheap places but am not sure about the neighborhoods.

[Charles]

Why are you moving to LA?
What line of work are you (two) in?
Where do you expect to work?

[CESpeed]

A two bedroom for $900 - $1100 in LA You are right to be suspicious of the neighborhood. Especially by the water. You might find a studio for that.

Charles' questions need to be answered before you can get reliable advice.

[Numb1ne]

Why are you moving to LA?
We want to move to California. Our choices were either LA or Berkely.
What line of work are you (two) in?
Im a musician, She is going to eventually be a student (i have asstablished recources and connections im not moving there on some "I want to be a rock star" tip)
Where do you expect to work?I plan on touring the west coast alot. She plans on working retail.

[CESpeed]

If you have a choice between LA and anywhere, 90% of the time I'll say choose the other. In this case, your girlfriend plans to go to school UC Berkeley is one of the best in the country. You have a child. Northern California is a much better place to raise a child. It's greener and the people are not nearly as pretenious.

[Numb1ne]

we are still thinking Berkley. The more we look into LA the more we are steered up to Nor Cal. I used to live in SD. I loved it there, but i was also single with no kids.

[bettedaviseyes]

Because you have a baby, you will need at least a two bedroom apt., and I don't think you will feel safe living anyplace in L.A. where a two bedroom apt. costs only 900-1000. Just something to consider. I love L.A., but I am going to have to agree that it may not be right for your family at this time.

[caligurltotx]

Good luck but not gonna happen. If you mean close to the water as in beach cities, then forget it. Beach cities are nice and expensive. The avg rent in LA is somewhere around $1600 last I read. I don't live in a beach city but a nice suburb and a one bdrm is $1250. Downtown Long Beach will put you near the water but again yr price range is a one bdrm. You may be able to get a 2 bdrm for 1300 - 1500 in some of the older bldgs like on 1st st, Appleton, 2nd, 3rd, 4th streets.

[Joycee26]

Welcome to Los Angeles, I hope you enjoy it here! It is a great city and a beautiful place to live. Deciding on where to live depends on where you are going to work. Sherman Oaks is a lovely place in the valley, which is over the hill from the city. You should be able to find a one bedroom for $1,100, but that would be probably the cheapest. And that would be a small one bedroom. Less expensive areas aren't as nice. As far as living in a nice area in the city (on the westside), the cheapest would be around $1,300. The west side is considered areas such as Santa Monica, Westwood, Marina del Rey, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Mar Vista, Culver City, etc. 2 bedroom apartments in Encino, a city in the Valley, you may be able to find for $1,300 and up. In the city, a 2 bedroom in a nice area would start more around $1,650 and up.

Let me know what city you are planning on moving to, and I can inform you more

[SandyCo]

I have throw in my vote for moving to Berkeley instead, but the housing market up there is expensive as well. Please do more research on what kind of money you'll both be bringing in and draw up a budget before moving anywhere! Your 1 1/2 year old needs stability; is your life where you're at now really so awful? Retail jobs don't pay that well, and how is your girfriend going to pay for school?

Here is my standard advice for anyone thinking of moving to L.A. or even California in general: Please save up several months of living expenses before moving here, so that you can escape if you need to. There are countless stories of people getting stuck in bad situations here because they didn't have enough money to leave. This is an expensive state to live in.