Moving from Houston to L.A. (Santa Monica, Culver City: apartments, to rent, house)

[PinkLadyK]

First off, please excuse my user name. I realize it makes me sound like I'm 12, but I ceated it a long time ago, and now use it on all of the forums I frequent because otherwise, I'd never be able to remember what name to use where.

My husband and I are considering moving from Houston to LA in the next 12-18 months for his job. I am not a big fan of change, so I have to research this and think about it a lot before I can do it. I have some preliminary questions, if you'd be so kind. I did search the forum quite a bit, and have been lurking for a couple months, so I think I know what you want to know from me.

We will be early 30s when we move. No kids, no plans to have any while we're there (so no school concerns). We have 2 dogs and a cat, and we absolutely MUST have an fenced yard for them. So no apartments.

We would like 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but would settle for 1 bathroom. Three bedrooms (or a bonus room) would be great, but not required.

We need 2 parking spots (this appears to not be standard in LA like it is in Houston). We'd LOVE a 2-car garage, but again, will be realistic about options.

Husband's job would be in El Segundo; I would have to find work. Potentially at UCLA (but this is not set, and is less important than Husband's job).

We don't want 1-hour commutes to work, but we do want to live in a fun area. The whole point of moving to LA would be to enjoy LA, so we want to live somewhere young, hip, fun . . . not a Conservative, family suburb (though obviously safety matters). We don't care about bragging rights -- zip codes mean nothing to us, but a "cool" area matters.

We'll rent, and can't pay more than $3,000 a month, but would love to stay under $2500. We aren't in a rush to buy.

So, is this possible? Can we find something in our price range, and if so, where would we look? Put it this way . . . with all of my requirements, will we be able to find a place to rent that family and friends would want to visit?

Thanks so much! (And sorry for being so wordy.)

[timelesschild]

Your wish list is doable on your budget. A quick Craigslist search yielded the following results. (I searched westside for home, yard, 2BR, with cats and dogs, under $3000.) There were plenty more where these came from. Enjoy!

Charming Spanish Style Home in Culver City (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/apa/1020075393.html - broken link)

WOOF! BIG DOGS OK. SANTA MONICA RENOVATED, WASH/DRY IN UNIT. YARD. (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/apa/1020013751.html - broken link)

Huge House on Corner Lot! Walk to Beach! (http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/apa/1019447885.html - broken link)