Landed a job in Venice. Rent expectations?

[Dunbar42]

Santa Monica has rent control on multi-unit properties built prior to 1978. Not sure about Venice but I don't think so.

In terms of seasonality of rents maybe there's more demand in the spring/summer. Landlords look at the price of comparable units on the market when they are pricing their rentals. If there's more demand during a certain time of year (or less supply) I can see it pushing rents up. However, that's just conjecture.

Your best bet is going to be to find a temporary living situation and get out here so you're not up against a time limit to find an apartment. It will be a lot more convenient to view apartments if you're staying in the area too. IME you need to see a place in person to get a realistic impression. Low resolution pictures posted online only tell you so much.

[BRinSM]

FYI, rent control will not benefit you as a new renter in the area. rent control is for long term tenants who have been in the same unit for years. you may be talking about subsidized housing, but if you can afford $1800/month for rent, you're income is going be too high to qualify.

[iama30something]

I just went through this. While I'm not moving from East Coast, I am moving from Hollywood to the Westside and it's quite a shock on price.

I ended up at $2100/month for a nice apartment in Venice. We will be 4 blocks from Abbott Kinney and a little less than a mile from the beach.

I was looking all over Venice, MDR, Santa Monica, etc.. I didn't like anything I saw in Santa Monica. I thought places were priced much to high for what you got. The lowest I found was $1795/month and that was an independent landlord. I was considering it, but the place was a small and 20 blocks from the water. For just a few dollars more, I decided I would be much happier in Venice.

The most expensive I looked at was $2500/month for a 1 bed on Main Street in Santa Monica, literally 2 blocks from the beach. It was dump and less than 500 sq/ft.

If you don't expect to be within walking distance of the beach, I'd think $1800 would cut it, but it won't be anything upscale.

If you don't care about being near the water, check out: Mar Vista, Culver City, Palms, West LA... you'll be able to get something pretty nice for $1800.