Affordable neighborhoods within half an hour of Century City
January 13, 2015 12:14 PM   Subscribe

Where could I find an affordable studio within a 30 minute or so commute by car to the Century City area of L.A.?

I might be moving to Los Angeles in the near future for a new job, and I'm trying to figure out where I could live that is within a reasonable commute from my office, which is in Century City. I'd like to find something that's a 30 minute commute or less by car (I'll be working normal working hours).

I don't have a huge budget, at least to start, I'm looking for something around $1,100 a month. I'm hoping I can find a decent studio in an ok neighborhood for that price. I'm in my early 30s, single, would enjoy a neighborhood that's walkable with restaurants, but more than anything I just don't want to live in a super sketchy neighborhood where I have to worry about my car getting its windows busted in, etc.

Any suggestions on where I should be looking?
posted by tokaidanshi to Home & Garden (10 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Palms. Mar Vista. Culver City.

West Hollywood is within 25 minutes if you have routes planned to avoid heavy traffic or street closures.
posted by jbenben at 12:32 PM on January 13, 2015


My first thought was "Unicorn Acres." Because that's a tough one.

Check out Glendale. My hipster cousin lives there.

Vue at Montrose has two Studio plans. Seems close to your price point. It's close to a municipal park and Old Town Glendale.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:35 PM on January 13, 2015


Best answer: Culver City is a really nice, walkable area and would be a short commute, but I am not sure if you would be able to find a studio in your price range. I'd at least check Craigslist - I bet you'd be happy in that area if you can find something.

If you are open to a slightly longer commute, Koreatown is a great place to live - very walkable, very good access to public transit, and I bet you could find a decent studio for $1100/month. It's about a 30 minute drive in the middle of the day, but probably more like 40-50 minutes during rush hour - though I haven't done that drive during rush hour recently, so perhaps someone can give a better time estimate.

Westwood is a walkable area and a short commute, but I would recommend against living there in your early 30s unless you prefer to be surrounded by undergrads - I lived there in my mid-20s as a grad student, and it was fine, but I wouldn't move back there now.
posted by insectosaurus at 12:35 PM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


FYI, Glendale is probably at least an hour if you drive during rush hour. I recommend finding somewhere to live where you can commute on surface streets only - LA's freeways (especially the 10 and the 405) are best avoided during heavy traffic if at all possible.
posted by insectosaurus at 12:39 PM on January 13, 2015 [3 favorites]


I live in a tiny area called Del Rey (not to be confused with Marina Del Rey). I have a gorgeous 1BR duplex for $1350. You could easily find a studio in your price range in this neck of the woods, and probably a tiny bit south heading towards the airport as well. I can get to the Westfield Century City in 15-25 minutes, traffic depending. Come on down!
posted by mykescipark at 12:42 PM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: There are also some excellent, inexpensive beach apartments if your timing is right in Playa Del Rey (we lived there for years and paid just over $2K/month for a two bed one bath with an amazing patio about 70 yards from the ocean). It's very ragtag, since it's basically the last bit of beach where non-millionaires can live in the city (although that is changing with development plans that keep getting stalled). It's a fun community--I miss the annual traditions, like the post-Labor Day all-neighborhood cleanup and the post-Christmas tree burn on the beach.

Likewise, and right next door, is Playa Vista--it's only been built (like, all of it) in the last several years, and it's much more dense than the average stretch of LA. It has its own collection of shops, restaurants, and a sort of neighborhood gathering spot in the middle that also has a gym, pool, etc. It's pretty cool and has an amazing location right on lots of transit and transit corridors.

Both are very near LAX, which you will freak out about for one day (omg plane noise every three minutes!) and then probably adjust to immediately. I worked out of a home office the entire time we lived there and never had a problem with it, since noise ordinances have windows double paned and so on.

Otherwise seconding Del Rey, Culver City, Palms, Mar Vista, and environs.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 1:00 PM on January 13, 2015 [2 favorites]


keep in mind, how far and in which direction and time of day you can drive 30 minutes and travel X number of miles can be sort of a crazy theoretical math problem in the L.A. area. I'm much further south, and i'd say less than 10% of my office drives less than 30 min to get to work. i'm 2.5 miles away, and it takes 5-20 minutes depending on the magic of morning traffic.
posted by th3ph17 at 1:07 PM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


If I were you, I'd look in ktown and midcity. Midcity if you find ktown too dense. Midcity will be super residential. Ktown is lousy with studio apts. I have no idea what studio availability in midcity will be like other than friends say you can get a lot of space for the money. Traffic becomes increasingly assy the further you head west. Don't live west of Century City.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 1:23 PM on January 13, 2015


Best answer: You are getting ideas for some great areas to look at--my contribution is to remind you to be sure
that parking is included!
posted by calgirl at 10:13 PM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


S Doheny Drive from Wilshire down to W Olympic Blvd. in Beverly Hills is lined solid with 2-3 story apartment buildings, plus the city has rent control. Many retail businesses on Olympic. South of Wilshire, it's hard to tell one is in Beverly Hills, if that's an issue.
posted by Homer42 at 6:55 AM on January 14, 2015


« Older Cheapest way to ship something refrigerated?   |   Please recommend Celtic songs with simple... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.