studio apt in Koreatown (apartments, for rent, insurance)

[Moriarti]

I work at an office building at Wilshire and Ardmore in Koreatown. It's between Western and Normandie.

I'm looking for a studio apartment in the area. Close enough so I can walk to work. The closer the better.

My budget is $900. There's not much on hotpads.com for that price. When I move it up to $950 quite a few pop up. Last week when I was looking I found a few at $850 but they are gone. Maybe they just go fast. I even found a couple in the $770 range but they were too small (250 sf).

Is my budget alright? Will I find a place if I look hard enough (and act quick enough)?

Also,I do have a car and from what I've read the parking is pretty dreadful in the area at night. Would I end up having to pay for a lot?

If Koreatown is a bit too ambitious for my budget any recommendations? Ideally something close enough to where I could bike to work.

[Bestinlife]

Koreatown <----

Cheapest I found was The Langham Apartments seems to fit your budjet.

[Moriarti]

Originally Posted by Bestinlife

Koreatown <----

Cheapest I found was The Langham Apartments seems to fit your budjet.

Yeah, I saw that. Worth checking out. Thanks

[Moriarti]

Originally Posted by Time of the Month

there are a million vacancies at $900 or less: los angeles apts/housing for rent classifieds "koreatown" - craigslist

the problem with craigslist is that lots of apartments are labelled Koreatown when they aren't actually in Koreatown. They'll label an apartment Koreatown when it's actually right next to MacArthur Park.

About half of those listings on that front page aren't even in Koreatown.

Like this one from that page:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac...443126535.html

Okay...not Koreatown even though its advertised as such. But man...nice looking apartment! Wait.....there's this:
Pictures in this ad are a representation and may not reflect the actual apartment that is currently available.

Ha...this is craigslist for ya.

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

Originally Posted by Moriarti

the problem with craigslist is that lots of apartments are labelled Koreatown when they aren't actually in Koreatown. They'll label an apartment Koreatown when it's actually right next to MacArthur Park.

About half of those listings on that front page aren't even in Koreatown.

Like this one from that page:
Westlake Apts - Neoclassical Architecture, Single Apt, Great Location!

Okay...not Koreatown even though its advertised as such. But man...nice looking apartment! Wait.....there's this:
Pictures in this ad are a representation and may not reflect the actual apartment that is currently available.

Ha...this is craigslist for ya.

Search on craigslist and use the map view, not the list view (as you've found, the list is useless)

With the map, you can just pick and choose the listings within areas of your choosing, it works exactly like padmapper.

Having said that, your budget is a little low, and that's why you're getting a lot of Westlake and/or sketch listings.

[Moriarti]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkyPunks

Search on craigslist and use the map view, not the list view (as you've found, the list is useless)

With the map, you can just pick and choose the listings within areas of your choosing, it works exactly like padmapper.

Having said that, your budget is a little low, and that's why you're getting a lot of Westlake and/or sketch listings.

I guess I could push my budget up a little considering I won't be spending hardly anything on gas. But I'm being told by some people that $900 is plenty to find a Koreatown studio as long as I am patient and jump at the right place when it opens up.

[timtemtym]

Do you need a car? In Koreatown there is good subway access, a nice Ralph's, lots of restaurants and coffee within walking. It's a very dense area and not having a car would save you gas, insurance, fees. You could up your budget without a car. I have an interview down on Wilshire soon and if I get that placement, I will definitely park my car for as long as possible and if I get by without it long enough, I'll sell it. I'd love to live without driving.

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

Originally Posted by Moriarti

I guess I could push my budget up a little considering I won't be spending hardly anything on gas. But I'm being told by some people that $900 is plenty to find a Koreatown studio as long as I am patient and jump at the right place when it opens up.

Yes and no. Lots of people have an outdated view of Koreatown's prices/Koreatown itself, the area is becoming a lot more popular, rapidly. What you can find left at that price, in my experience from looking at a few last year - when prices were cheaper - the ones that were 850-950 were really sketchy buildings that hadn't been taken care of.

[Moriarti]

Originally Posted by timtemtym

Do you need a car? In Koreatown there is good subway access, a nice Ralph's, lots of restaurants and coffee within walking. It's a very dense area and not having a car would save you gas, insurance, fees. You could up your budget without a car. I have an interview down on Wilshire soon and if I get that placement, I will definitely park my car for as long as possible and if I get by without it long enough, I'll sell it. I'd love to live without driving.

Yeah. I'm not getting rid of my car. It's just been paid off. Plus my insurance is only $60 a month. And if I walk to work I won't be spending much on gas.