Ask the Hive Mind: which apartment should we take?

[pseydtonne]

Note: a shorter version of this is also on Google+. Apologies in advance for the extra bandwidth.

Sienna and I are in Los Angeles this weekend, hunting for apartments. This is so different from apartment hunting in Boston: you can walk up any street in Hollywood and see several signs. Then you can call and sometimes walk right in. This is mind-blowing to her (after years in NYC) and me.

We've narrowed it to two places: A) a two-bedroom near Fairfax & Santa Monica in West Hollywood, $1500; B) a giant one-bedroom off Olympic near La Brea, $1300. Each is a first-floor pad. Each has an off-street parking space (covered), at least a couple electrical outlets that need updating, a fridge (I'd never thought that would be optional but it is here), on-site laundry, hardwood floors and a gas stove.

Advantages of each:

A) West Hollywood seems to be Somerville with palm trees; Russian stores half a block away on Santa Monica; a Whole Paycheck Foods two more blocks away; and a Gelson's (like Whole Foods meets Wegman's) another couple blocks away.

B) Soundproofed; back of building so no street noise; lots of space; funky mouldings (very 1920s), corners for hiding (kitty would be ecstatic); one of my favorite kitchens EVER; a giant bedroom closet with floor-to-ceiling cedar paneling and a good few other large closets; separate shower and tub; cool burger joints (not a big deal in this city of burgers); near Koreatown; a real living room with mantle over a bricked-up fireplace; an old milk delivery slot and tiny wrought-iron things.

Check this out: there is a box slot that has been blocked to prevent theft. However inside its lid is a dial with sticks to tell the milk man whether you want yay many bottles, et cetera. It's not useful but it's just one of the things that make me love the place.

Downsides:

A) Small (but still workable) kitchen; smaller, not that interesting a building.

B) The neighborhood sucks compared to Hollywood -- Sienna described it as "if Hollywood is Brooklyn, then that part of Olympic is like Long Island City"; more outlets need to be rewired and I'd probably have to do that myself (lots of two-prongs but enough three-prongs to live).

Sienna prefers A: even though B is closer to her job, it's in a much more walkable neighborhood. I prefer B, because the apartment is a much better place to be home and a far nicer place to telecommute. It's not that B is wicked far, even from A. However A is clearly in the center of the cool things while B is where I would rather sit for eight hours of the day working and then spend eight hours sleeping.

I would slaughter a goat for the pad on Olympic (and $200 cheaper doesn't hurt). The neighborhood is safe but boring, but the apartment sings to me. A seems functional while B is a place to hold a small party, a secret, world unrelated to the outdoors. A is perfectly nice but doesn't have that feeling of wanting to tell me a story about itself. However nearby mid-Wilshire is strangely dull: why is it called the Miracle Mile when it has strip malls and... tar pits? (Tar pits!) Oh certainly, LACMA rules... as do the tar pits.

I'm so biased toward A, although B has the social stuff, that I ask y'all for comments.

Comments

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of apartments like B in West Hollywood. I would suggest you look just a little more in West HOllywood and see if you can find that place.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

first, if you don't feel the same, i'd keep looking -- given the market it sounds like there's a lot more to choose from than either of you are used to.

second, if your job allows, i'd look at the out-of-the-home telecommuting properties of each neighborhood. i do a lot of work from my laptop, but it's nice to take it places :)

third, if you are picking both a workplace and a home, i'd go with b if looking more weren't an option.

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

How unhappy would the kitchen in A make you? (The kitchen in my last place made me very unhappy, and I almost never used it.)

If you have to pick one or the other, I'd pick the one that makes you happy, if S isn't rendered too unhappy by B. Although I must say that a second bedroom is conducive to visitors, just saying.

Also, you can always go visit other neighborhoods....

I agree that you should look more if you can.

[tenshikurai9.livejournal.com]

Although I must say that a second bedroom is conducive to visitors, just saying.

Fortunately I wouldn't be discouraged if they went with a one bedroom, but that's because I'm still fit for floor sleeping.

[pseydtonne.livejournal.com]

You're only allowed to visit if you already have a ticket out of town. This ain't no flop house for hobos.

[tenshikurai9.livejournal.com]

Don't worry. I have a fear of being stranded from my New England and cat.

[dobrovolets.livejournal.com]

I'd go with B, but for me the kitchen is always the most important room. (Big part of the reason I want out of NYC--you need to be a millionaire to have a decent kitchen here.)

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

How far is the second apartment from all the cool stuff? You said the places were relatively close, but I don't know the scale (or the traffic patterns). I mean, currently you are discussing location versus comfort, and that is a tough discussion.

IF, as rednikki says, there are places like the one you like that are in the neighborhood you like, then should you have more time I think you should spend a bit more time looking for such instead of other sightseeing just this once.

I would be more inclined toward B) due to the whole cooking thing, but it's not going to be my place. I can understand the lure of A, being able to walk out to socialize and walk home. That's why so many people we know live in or around Davis Square, after all.

This coast will be a bit less fun and quirky with you on the other one, I gotta say.

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

And an important thing to note here is that there are few walkable neighborhoods in LA. Most neighborhoods are like neighborhood B.

Dante, I have one other suggestion: visit both neighborhoods at night. You may be surprised by what you see and it may seal your decision for you.

[tenshikurai9.livejournal.com]

I would slaughter a goat for the pad on Olympic

That's a big hint as to your preference. Though the advice rednikki gave you seems like something to listen to.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I think there is more of a chance that you can both get more of what you want if you jeep looking. Whatever compromises you can both live with will become more clear as the search continues.