So that might not be somewhat biased, as I've only lived on the westside (in Westwood and three different apartments in Brentwood). As a NYC transplant, I was presently surprised by what the Los Angeles rental market had to offer (you mean I don't have to move my bed to open my closet/store my winter clothes in the kitchen stove?).
Here are some thoughts on the apartment hunting process:
1) Craigslist is not just for perverts/psychopaths, especially in LA.
Just make sure you ask a lot of questions, and find someone with a similar schedule/who will be respectful of study time. Or, better yet, the Anderson facebook group offers many rental options so you can find a roommate within the Anderson community. Plus, an apartment share offers a significant savings in both rent/utilities; my portion of our 3B/2B at Goshen/Granville was $850/month.
2) 2B/2B = #1
Math nerdery aside, the 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom share I had in Brentwood was the best of both worlds--social but with enough private space that you're not up in each others biz all the time. I paid $1100/month as my share of one such unit a block north of San Vicente at Barrington (convenient to Pinkberry, a major selling feature).
3) Make SURE wherever you live you get a space there is ample parking. Try to see the spot when you're looking at the unit; some landlords have a sick sense of what constitutes enough space for your Escalade/pickup truck.
4) Don't start too early.
Typically units that are shown are available immediately or within 30 days (I've found that in LA unless the names on a lease change, once a lease term is up, it just goes month-to-month, so landlords don't have a lot of advance notice about vacancies). Managers will be unlikely to hold an apartment for more than six weeks, so looking about a month before (or as soon as a week or two) tends to be ideal.
WHERE TO FIND A PLACE:
A popular site is Westside Rentals--for a fee ($60/60 days) you get access to listings that are comprehensive/less sketchy than some of the free sites. If you go this route, I'd suggest getting together with other Anderson friends to split the cost. You can also use the PadMapper app, which lets you set a price min/max and search a particular area, then pulls in data from several different rental websites.
My best advice, however, would be to find the area you want to live and just walk around. The buildings have signs with a phone number and available units.
SO WHAT IF I'M NOT IN LA YET AND CAN'T "JUST WALK AROUND," AIMEE???
Well, funny you should ask--to (hopefully) make the apartment hunting process smoother, I've created an Instagram account for the Anderson community to share apartment leads. Follow @AndersonApartments, and anytime I'm walking around the neighborhood I'll snap photos of buildings with open listings, then tag the address and manager's phone, so, if interested, you can get in touch and can start doing some pre-work before you get to town.
Best of luck with your search--feel free to post any additional questions in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them!
--Aimee Musil, MBA '15
Follow me on Twitter @BonjourMonAimee
