Tag residence

Great Way To Search For Rentals In Los Angeles

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Source: 123rf.com
Image ID : 124956041
Copyright : Andrii Yalanskyi

 

I absolutely love my current L.A. residence, and I hope that I won’t have to move for a very long time.  I know a number of people who are currently looking for places to live in Los Angeles, and I can certainly say that I don’t envy them, because the whole process of searching for a desirable new abode can be downright daunting.  Thankfully, there’s Zumper, a fantastic comprehensive site on which people can research the rental market to see what the median rent prices are, browse listings, and even schedule viewings directly through the site.

I love the fact that Zumper enables you to research median rental prices for specific regions within Los Angeles County. Recent data by Zumper shows 63% of housing units are renter-occupied in Los Angeles, California, a fact I was not aware of until I visited the site.  I discovered that the current median rental price for a 2 bedroom unit in Los Angeles is at $2,650, with an inventory of 4,087 available rentals.  However, those of you who are familiar with Los Angeles County know that it is an enormous county, and the rental prices vary dramatically depending on what part of the county you are considering.

For those of you who are flexible about where you could live in L.A., or if you just want to browse the more popular parts of the county, you can simply access popular listings here:

https://www.zumper.com/apartments-for-rent/los-angeles-ca

 

However, since I am an L.A. native, I am pretty particular about which areas I would be willing to set up my cozy home shack.  If I wanted to compare three different cities which I would consider living in, I could pull up findings like this:

Average rent for 2 bedroom rental:

  • Marina del Rey $3,244
  • Silver Lake  $2,796
  • Greater Toluca Lake $2,613

 

Based on the average rental prices for the above cities I discovered on Zumper, I could then really hone in on details by adding filters to a customized search.  For example, check out the listings for a 2 bedroom unit in Greater Toluca Lake:

https://www.zumper.com/apartments-for-rent/los-angeles-ca/greater-toluca-lake/2-beds?box=-118.36732149124146,34.13775636024786,-118.33268880844116,34.16222653116007

 

You can make your rental search as specific as you want by adding filters to the search engine such as number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, pet policy, rental type, lease term, amenities, and even adjacent neighborhoods.  When you find a listing you are interested in, you can peruse photos of the unit and property, send a message to a property manager or owner, and even schedule a tour directly through Zumper.  Who wants to gather phone numbers and contact property managers the hold fashioned way?  I sure don’t, and I simply don’t have the time to sit around and make countless phone calls.  It’s so convenient to jump on Zumper and send messages which take less than a minute to compile.

One important point I would like to make about hunting for rentals, is that it’s a good idea to do an area search for activities you enjoy, so you are sure that the area you are considering moving to can accommodate your interests.  Since I love hiking, one thing I would do if I were considering a move to Toluca Lake would be to look up hiking trails in the area.  Here’s a great resource for finding hiking trails in or near Toluca Lake:

https://tolucalake.com/2020/03/take-to-the-trails/

 

If you are looking for a great new residence in Los Angeles, make sure to check out Zumper at https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/los-angeles-ca

Moving Sucks

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Last Christmas was rough to say the least, mainly because I had received a 60-day notice on December 14th that we had to move from the residence I had been at for over five years. The owner was selling the townhouse, and that was that. Since I never sit around and let fate take over, I found a new residence within 6 days, and we began packing right after Christmas, until right before the move on January 13th.

It wasn’t easy figuring out what would stay and what would go, especially since I was losing my office space and downsizing from a master bedroom which was 2-1/2 times the size of the master bedroom in the new place. We had to sign up with a different water and power company, as well as a different cable service, despite the fact that we were moving two miles down the road within the same city and zip code.

It took us two weeks to settle into the new residence. The new place is beautiful, but the layout is completely different, and the neighborhood is also quite different. The move forced me to break out of every daily pattern I had become accustomed to over the years, from where I received my mail, to the orientation of the dining room table in the room, etc. Even the spot where the toilet paper holder is in my bathroom is different from the place I had left.

When I leave the house, I have to navigate different streets, and because we are in the middle of the city, I feel like I am in a concrete jungle, with traffic everywhere I go. It takes an extra five to ten minutes to get to the street where I used to begin my trek to the gym or to the nearest freeway, and it’s testing my patience.

Another thing I just cannot get used to is the NOISE. We live near a preschool, and the sounds of children squealing during the day are like nails on chalkboard for me. Added to that are the sirens from the fire engines which depart the fire station down the street, trains which travel on the nearby train tracks, and the occasional aircraft departing from the nearby airport, and my nerves are in a state of constant unrest. It’s a startling change from the quiet foothills which we were once a part of.

Moving in general is so disruptive, as well as unbelievably expensive! It will take months before I am set straight again financially. And now we pay significantly more rent on a smaller place, thanks to the inflated rents which now exist. We got reamed as a result of the move.

It’s been almost a month since we moved, and the new residence still feels foreign to me, like I am staying at someone else’s home. It’s a beautiful space, but I have yet to get to a point where I truly own the space, feel like it is part of me. I hope it happens soon!