UCLA and HSC campus of USC commute (San Gabriel, Culver City: rentals, neighborhood)

[missmariss]

My husband and I are moving to L.A. this summer. He is taking a postdoc position at UCLA and I am going to start a grad program at the Health Sciences campus of USC. We are looking for a safe place to live where our commutes won't be horrible. We can spend around $1300/month on rent. We also have a 50lb dog, so we would rather live in a more residential area. Any suggestions?

[BRinSM]

traffic to ucla is worse than to USC/county hospital. however, $1,300 for a place in a residential neighborhood that allows large dogs is going to be very difficult to find within 5 miles of ucla. be prepared for a long search. you may get lucky, but you never know.

[sirinyat]

I agree with BRinSM--$1,300 isn't going to get you very far, particularly if you're looking to live on the Westside in a two bedroom. It will be hard to find a rental that allows large dogs. If I were you, I'd look at Palms, Culver City (off the 10 and Robertson) and Mid-City (like Carthay Circle/Square) first. Try Westside Rentals - it's worth the $60 to join. After that, you could look at living closer to USC. Dog ownership + rentals don't often mix in this town, unfortunately.

[JohnG72]

^^^^^^^^^^^

This is pretty good advice.

And yeah, the $1300 may be too low. Via Westside rentals you might be able to find a guesthouse in that price range that will accomodate the dog being in the yard.

[DowntownVentura]

I don't know the San Gabriel Valley well but I am fairly certain you will have better luck finding a nice residential place with a large dog there with your budget than you will in the westside.

It would mean you would have a nice commute but the commute to UCLA will be tough.

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by sirinyat

I agree with BRinSM--$1,300 isn't going to get you very far, particularly if you're looking to live on the Westside in a two bedroom. It will be hard to find a rental that allows large dogs. If I were you, I'd look at Palms, Culver City (off the 10 and Robertson) and Mid-City (like Carthay Circle/Square) first. Try Westside Rentals - it's worth the $60 to join. After that, you could look at living closer to USC. Dog ownership + rentals don't often mix in this town, unfortunately.

Echo that. Look closely at Culver City. It's sort of midway between the two for driving, but once the Expo Line gets running (I think late this year), it's a train ride from/to downtown, and the connecting buses are pretty good to UCLA.

[DowntownVentura]

Originally Posted by Bunjee

Echo that. Look closely at Culver City. It's sort of midway between the two for driving, but once the Expo Line gets running (I think late this year), it's a train ride from/to downtown, and the connecting buses are pretty good to UCLA.

I think you either don't know where Culver City is or you don't know where USC HSC is. I am guessing the latter. The USC Health Science Center is here USC Maps It is not the main USC campus

[smokingGun]

for $1300 i'm gonna say Korea-town. Not pretty or even boho but it's equidistant to both Boyle Heights & Westwood.

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by DowntownVentura

I think you either don't know where Culver City is or you don't know where USC HSC is. I am guessing the latter. The USC Health Science Center is here USC Maps It is not the main USC campus

Ah! Yeah, it's the latter. I just saw USC and figured it was at least close. I lived near USC and went to UCLA. I would have killed for that Expo Line back then instead of starting my commute at 5:00AM.