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pseydtonneNote: 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 WholePaycheck 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.
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
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.
