I am moving to a new town home in South Orange County and my roommate and I are paying $1795/month with no utilities (except trash) included.

I would love to hear what everyone else pays because I feel like we pay a lot, and I'm nosy. ;)

East Los Angeles and surrounding areas (City Terrace, Monterey Park, University Hills, etc.), where I live, is probably the best bang for you buck. The area is as safe as any in LA; Certainly as safe as Highland Park or Glassel Park.

I have an approx. 1300sq ft, 2-story 2bd 1ba townhouse in Koreatown. The total rent is $1,150, water included. We even have a parking space! I've been there less than 2 years, so I wouldn't blame rent control...

Westwood - $978 for a studio (includes trash & water) and that's a good deal on the west side unfortunately.

We found a pretty amazing deal in Echo park (more on the Silver lake side). It's a 3 bed/2bath house with a huge front and back yard for $2000. One bed (mine) is sort of small with no closet but i'm from the east coast and we are used to that kind of thing.

I think the key is to find an owner who doesn't use a management company. Our landlady is sweet and has kids our age so she sympathizes with our situation.

Melissa

980sf loft 400sf patio downtown for $1600 a month. We have to pay for parking, so that pushes the total to $1800, but I still feel like we got a good deal.

The definition of cheap really depends on your vantage point. You can get a really cheap place in Antelope Valley, eastern San Gabriel Valley, the Inland Empire, etc., but would you be willing to live there?

Jose, El Sereno is also crazy cheap and a nice community, plus a lot of artists are moving in. And you have the coffee house on Huntington Drive, too.

If you're looking for cheap digs there's always the part of Los Angeles County to the far east: Palmdale/Lancaster/Quartz Hill... Sort of like the asteroid belt, but my cousin just bought a five bedroom two bath house with a two car garage and an acre of land for under $250,000. I think apartments are nearly free if you don't mind commuting by space shuttle.

you pay for the weather . . . . SGV and the "other" valley are hot as hell during the summer . . . I'm talking "take a cold shower and you're dry from the heat in 5 min" hot

1300 sf. two bed, two and half bath two-story condo. two parking spaces and laundry downstairs in east long beach (the nice part, by the university). $1300. :-) best deal ever! found it on craigslist listed in the wrong county so nobody even came by before us. :-) we're moving to boston in four weeks though. I'm excited because I'm an east coast girl, but man i'm gonna miss this deal!

I live in a one-bedroom, 4-unit building (no upstairs or downstairs neighbors :). We have hardwood floors throughout, a workable-sized kitchen at probably around 1000 sq ft. We pay $1050.

Oh, sorry, my apartment's in Glendale.

NoHo Arts District - I live in a two story loft that's approximately 800 sq. ft. and it's $1,020. It includes parking and was originally $975 a month, but recently went up because of all the renovations taking place in the area. It's central to everything I want to do and I love being able to walk to the metro station, grocery store, cafe's, park and cupcake shop!

Not sure how many sq. ft my house is, but it is a 4 bed/3 bath on the border of silverlake & los feliz. Single story house with pergo floors, stainless appliances, slate counters, high ceilings, central air/heat with a touchscreen thromostat thing, washer/dryer, jacuzzi tub in one of the master baths, then my bedroom has a skylight my master bath has a sauna/steam shower. Tiny backyard with a meyer lemon tree, two houses behind me that share our lot.

Rent is $3250 total / my part is $850.

You couldn't PAY me to leave this house and move to the valley.

Approx 600 sqft one bedroom in Brentwood for $1365. It includes a nice sized deck on the second story of a 9 unit building. Includes water and trash. Crappy management, so-so neighbors, kinda crappy apartment really (although the high ceilings and hardwood floors are nice). But I work from home and my husband's commute is two blocks from home so we're going to stay put for now. If we wanted to move but keep the commute that he has now, we'd probably pay a few hundred bucks more.

I live in a quite large one bedroom apt. in Encino with two parking spaces for $1395 (plus electricity). Sorry, don't know the square footage! My boyfriend and I were a little choosy about where we wanted to live. Nothing too fancy but it had to be reasonably priced, no ghetto neighborhood, no rundown building where you know you'll be calling the manager all the time, and lots of parking for guests. There's a lot of cheap apartments in the valley but it's a deal for a reason. It's usually in a congested area where there's hardly any parking and the buildings are in bad shape.

-Mid-city apartment Los Angeles near Robertson & Pico. [building of 10 units]
-2 bedroom
-2 bathroom (1 shower with master, 1 shower/tub combo separate from bedrooms)
-2 parking spaces
-hardwood floors
-outdated kitchen and bathroom tiles / fixtures
-heat, no dishwasher, laundry on site but not in unit, shared patio, hose in front yard for washing cars, quiet neighborhood and quick access to the 10 freeway

$1,700 a month [L.A. Department of Water & Power (electricity) and The Gas Company (gas) are not included, but that is minimal extra cost. Water and trash included.]

I think I found a good steal. Still, I see any expense of living in the city as a payment towards culture and atmosphere. Like others, you couldn't pay me to move outside the city or to the valley. Why don't I just move to Utah? ;)

Highland Park: very large studio with a separate bed nook (so it's basically a 1 bdrm), hardwood, fenced-in front yard, gardener, original tile and other charms, pets allowed, great neighbor, great landlords. $775

no utilities, street parking only.

I adore my neighborhood and wouldn't ever consider moving to The Valley even if someone GAVE me a house there. no way, no how. but looking at everyone else's rent prices, I know I definitely have a good thing going...

oh, and Glassell Park is 100% not The Valley.

Echo Park/Elysian Park: I pay $1000 for a <500 sq. ft 1 bedroom/1bath studio on top of the hill facing Glassell Park/Glendale. Everything is insanely small, there is no room to move around in the bathroom and kitchen, but I do have wrap around patio balcony with a beautiful view where my pup can hang out during the day. Wood floors, wood walls and lots of windows and natural light. Gas, water and trash are included in my rent. I thought it was overpriced when I moved in last year, but 1 bd apartments are going for around $1600 in the more congested parts of Echo Park.

I live in a three bedroom, one bath house in Long Beach (near Cal State). We pay $1100 and our rent hasn't been raised once--in 7 years. The house is about 1100 sqft, not including a covered patio. We have a tiny front yard, a huge backyard, and beautiful hardwood floors. You couldn't pay me to move to the Valley. The traffic and the heat would kill me.

Westwood: $700 <100 sq. ft. room, shared bath & kitchen. Utilities included.

(I live dorm-style in a converted fraternity house, it's *lame* but the upside is I don't own a car and can walk to work).

$700 for <300 sq. ft, in Echo Park/Elysian Park. It's unbelievably tiny but there's only one shared wall which is important to me (4 years of living above loud neighbors will change your priorities). Hardwood floors, walking or biking distance to a lot of places I want to get to, and a small (tiny!) outside area for barbecues. At first I hated it, thought I was getting ripped off; but I've seen places without kitchens or even bathrooms going for more! Ridiculous!

Speaking of ridiculous rents, I hope all the renters here are going to vote no on Prop 98!

Los Feliz (on Hollywood border) $850 plus all utilities except water. building has 40 units. top floor 1000 sq. ft. apartment with (yuck) carpet and lots of windows. no private balcony. one parking space. laundry. pool. street parking is scarce but close to everything!! all the rooms are huge and airy with TONS of closet space. kitchen is a good size but appliances are old. tile and linoleum throughout kitchen and bath are super old. love the bang for my buck although we need a couple extra bedrooms so we can have private offices as we both work from home. just looked at a 1400 sq. ft. 3 bedroom in highland park for $450,000.

i've lived in the valley before in NoHo and Burbank and the commute isn't bad but it's really hot in the summer.

I think the Valley is the cheapest, but depends on where. Near Ventura Blvd, not really. But I have some friends who got a 2-bedroom, 1-bath, all remodelled w/a big landscaped yard near Havenhurst & Victory for $2100 a month. They can walk to the Orange Line busway, and Balboa park. It's an older home w/ lotsa charm. I'm jealous.

I rent a 1940's-era-built condo near Ventura Blvd and Sepulveda for $1k and it includes a private garage. But the owners there are snootty, and the HOA actually says no sunbathing on the lawn! Still...I've been there 4 years, and now rents on my street are $1400 for the same thing.

Oh yeah, $400 in 4 years, $100 a year??! I have no real rent control - only the appreciation and compassion of my landlords - but I say vote no on 98 too!

Westchester is not cheap in spite of the proximity to LAX. When I was going to school there I had to live in Mar Vista for $900 a month.

Glendale - about 500 sq feet, not including the shared backyard.
It has a washer, dryer, hardwood floors, 1-car garage in a duplex in the hills close to Glassell Park. Pay $1000 a month. Just got a new job in Santa Monica and the money I'm saving not paying westside rent is going to the gas tank :(

I agree that it is all about finding an apt not controlled by a management company - I found my place on the Recycler because my landlord does not know how to use the internet (!). The last place I lived was also found there and was an even better deal - it was a 2 bedroom with a seperate dining and living rooms, plus small office and 1 1/3 bath, also in Glendale, also only $1000 a month.

so laure, you just figured out that Venice is really really expensive compared to the valley? Uh, yah.

Thanks for the informal survey, laure. I'm moving to LA in the fall and this makes me feel more comfortable about finding a place at a reasonable figure :)

mr gary lee - everywhere in LA county is hot! i live in santa barbara so i have thin skin though :) i can't take any sort of weather.

i love the SF and SG valleys despite the heat!

Location, Location, Location. Its cheaper because you have to live in smog and heat ;)

I live in Long Beach, just north west of down town, transitonal area. Paying $600 a month for a 400 sq ft single with sleeping area. But the building is very old and not well cared for. My unit was a mess when I moved in, took out the nasty wall to wall carpet and cleaned and painted it. So now I feel like its a good deal,

2 bed, 2 full bath, 2 pkg, patio, top floor corner, dshwr...
I love my new place in Venice, $1650 is nothing for being 8 blocks to the beach. The building is kept up well, we have new carpet, and the place is pretty quiet. I think it takes a long time and picky endurance to find Westside spots.
I would never live in the Valley simply because I like SaMo and Venice better.

If prop 98 passes, then rent control will be gone and there won't be anymore cheap places..ANYWHERE.

Not sure what the sqft was, but it was a studio in Koreatown that I'd definitely go back to. I paid $750 at the time, but it looks like it's gone up to $850. With the one bedroom only $950 I may splurge on that upon my return. All utilities included, parking was (at the time) $60 for a garage across the street. No AC and no pool, and they filmed on the street all the damn time so things were blocked off and the building was left open to use as staging or whatever. That led to a very insecure feeling, as my door only had a deadbolt... Also had a roach problem, but what place in LA doesn't? It had great location though, a block to Wilshire and the subway, a strip mall with several food options across the garage, and not a bad walk (7 blocks) to the grocery store (didn't have a car). I felt safe walking out and about, which I did often, except at night. Lots of kids on the street playing, so you know at least one mama/nana was watching over them through a window.

I live in Alhambra, on the boarder of S. Pasadenda and E. LA. My rent is amazingly cheap! A condo that is 3 bedroom 1 small study, 2.5 bath, AND garage is only $1,600/mo. My room is only $600/mo, which is dirt cheap compared to all of my co-workers who live on the Westside and pay ~1k/mo. I anticipate the rent going up soon since the landlord hasn't raised it in over 2 years. I like being close to good Chinese food on Valley Blvd but and the freeways (10, 210, 710, 60, 134) are all close by. I would never buy a house in Alhambra though--to ghetto--unless the city goes through major gentrification.

Mar Vista is not bad. I had a 2 bedroom, hardwood floors with ample street parking for $1100 a few years ago. 3.25 miles to the beach (and even closer to costco!).

Rent control is only in effect in specific areas of LA. Some argue that rent control actually drives rent pricing higher.

http://dca.lacounty.gov/tsRentControl.html

Discuss, as Laure might say.

Cities with rent control

The following cities in Los Angeles County have rent control. Cities enforce their own rent control laws. For more information or to file a complaint, contact your local rent control agency:

* The city of Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley:
Toll free: (866) 557-7368.
* Santa Monica: (310) 458-8751
* West Hollywood (323) 848-6450
* Beverly Hills (310) 285-1031

How Rent Control Drives Out Affordable Housing
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-274.html