Looking for apartment building recommendations (Pasadena, West Hollywood: apartments, rentals, countertops)

[whichwayla]

Thanks in advance for your advice:

My partner and I are looking for a place to live in L.A. We want a one-bedroom and can spend up to $2000/month (or even $2200 if it's exactly what we want). He works downtown and wants to take the bus to work (as opposed to driving or the subway). We like to take walks in the evening, and so need an area that is safe enough to do that. We're also pretty sensitive to noise (neighbors playing loud music, trucks idling outside the window, etc.) and so need someplace fairly quiet. We like open kitchens (so that the person cooking doesn't feel like they're in a galley) and hate "apartment carpet" (wood, concrete, berber, etc. are good). So far we've mostly been looking at bungalows, duplexes, etc., but have not been having good luck, so we were thinking about focusing more on large buildings. Unfortunately, pretty much all of the buildings rated on apartmentratings.com get bad ratings . . . can anyone on this forum point us in the right direction?

[katenik]

is there some part of LA that you prefer? where have you been looking? you can get a bus to downtown from just about anywhere if you're willing to ride it for three hours, so that doesn't really tell us much about the part of town that appeals to you. however, i'm tempted to recommended someplace like park la brea (the new addition) because it has all the modern amenities and you can probably afford it, but that area (3rd/fairfax) is VERY busy and congested, so i don't know if it would be quiet enough for you.

how about larchmont? that's close enough to downtown, and quiet. i'm not sure how much rental property is there, however.

[whichwayla]

We've been looking in West Hollywood, Silver Lake, Larchmont . . . we've also done a little looking in downtown and in Pasadena/S. Pasadena. My partner would prefer not to spend more than about 40 minutes on the bus, and shorter than that would be even better. (He would also be okay with an above-ground light rail; he mostly doesn't like being underground.)

The Villas at Park La Brea are a little pricey (they seem to start around $2300/month) and we really don't need luxury -- we don't care about granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and that kind of thing. We were thinking about the regular Park La Brea apartments . . . they just get such bad online reviews.

It would be great to hear from someone who could say, I lived in X building (or had a friend in X building) and it was quiet, had good access to a bus line, etc. But any advice is appreciated -- we're so tired of spending each weekend looking at apartments!

[katenik]

villa francisca on palm avenue in west hollywood. 1 1/2 blocks to bus line on santa monica blvd. ask if units are available on the east side of the building so you are not facing palm, which has an unusual amount of traffic for a residential street. manager's name is ron kapp. he's very nice and responsive to tenants.

caveat: walls are thin, so if your neighbors do make noise, you'll hear it. also, if you want berber carpet (which isn't standard in most rentals), offer to pay the difference to have it installed. say you're allergic to synthetic, or something.

[lalagonegaga]

My former apartment building was a DREAM. The owners bought and refurbished (really immaculately in some cases) older buildings in Mid-Wilshire and parts of Hollywood. The last place of theirs that I lived (Mid-Wilshire, literally around the corner from the Red Line which will get you Downtown in about 10 minutes) was silent as a tomb. I never once, in 3 years, heard anything from my neighbors. It helps that they have a fairly stringent application process to weed out the crazies. Their apartments are nice, clean, well maintained and just a real pleasant living experience. They're also dog friendly, if you're interested. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, PM me and I'll give you their website and my old building location.