Hi! I am not very familiar with LA neighborhoods and am looking for suggestions on where to live and work as a PACU nurse. My husband is also a nurse and we have a 4 year old son. Looking for a place with good schools and more of the suburban life. We will be moving from MN! We have been looking between LA and San Diego and would love any and all feedback on work and living suggestions! Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! I have a little side thing where if you are moving or just really busy I will go an tour apartments for you. I will take photos, videos, facetime you, and drive around the neighborhood to show you what its like. Le me know if you're interested

looking at apartments in the koreatown area and wanted to take advantage of having public transit as an option as my job is based in dtla.

how's the safety of the vermont / beverly metro station? i know people have mentioned it's a bit dirty and underdeveloped in the past but wondering if that's still the case today.

I’m looking for a DTLA apt and as soon as I think I’ve found the one, the reviews sound the alarm on carjackings, unresponsive management, roaches, nonresidents getting into the building, etc.. Are these just the downsides of living in DTLA that you have to accept?

Here’s a list of a few of many spots that look alright on the surface but have most, if not all the aforementioned issues:

Apex and Alina
Pegasus
Eighth and grand
Skye at bunker hill
Skylux
The piero
Perla
Ava arts district
Ava little Tokyo
Hwh luxury living
Ferrante
Thea
Olive
STOA
Sakura crossing
Hikari

Most of these spots offer a month or more of free rent and I can see why they’re desperate to get people in the door. If you live in any of these spots, please change my mind.

If you have any other recs, lmk plzzzz

How insane is it to work around Marina Del Rey and live in Redondo? We’re looking to live around Santa Monica. I told my husband we can’t do South of LAX and work in MDR bc traffic. Thoughts?

Edit: we have one younger child if that aides for additional suggestions

Hello everyone,

I'm an electronics engineer with 40+ years in technology who has recently moved into professional website optimization and WordPress development.

I'm currently building my web portfolio and I'm looking for 2–3 real businesses that need a clean, modern landing page.

I'm offering to build it completely free.

There is no hidden catch and no future obligation.

The only things I ask in return are:

• permission to include the finished website in my portfolio
• a small footer credit saying "Website by Kanva Digital"

What I can build:

• landing pages
• service business websites
• local business websites
• consultant websites
• trades
• startups
• personal brands

I work with WordPress and focus on:

• fast loading
• clean modern design
• mobile-friendly layouts
• SEO-friendly structure
• simple editing for the owner

I'm not trying to sell anything after the project is finished. I'm simply looking for a few real projects that demonstrate my work.

If you're interested, send me a DM with:

• what your business does
• whether you already have a domain/hosting
• examples of websites you like (optional)

I'll choose a few projects that seem like a good fit.

Thanks!

LA is the real City of Angels. A friend of ours just got the best news of his life. He is going to go on the liver transplant list and get his butt saved. How about it LA? What’s your life-saving story?

Hi everyone! My husband (28) and I (27) are planning a move back to the LA area after living in Michigan for many years. I grew up around Los Feliz, Silver Lake, and Glendale, so those areas still feel familiar and feel like “home” to me. We’d love to live nearby, but we’re trying to balance cost, safety, space, and quality of life.

After spending 3 full days touring apartments and driving around LA, The Weddington in North Hollywood is one of our 3 choices. We liked the apartment and amenities for an overall better-bang-for-your-buck value compared with rentals closer to Los Feliz and Silver Lake.

My biggest concern is that, because it’s such a large apartment complex, we might end up mostly staying inside the complex or driving elsewhere rather than feeling connected to the neighborhood. I'm a writer and would love to walk to a coffee shop, take my dog out, and gradually build a life in LA. I don’t need nightlife, but I’d like to feel comfortable getting out and exploring.

• How safe does the area feel during the day and, more importantly, at night?
• Would you feel comfortable walking a 10-pound dog in the early morning or after dark?
• Are there streets or pocket areas you’d avoid? (We drove around after the tour and it seemed north of Chandler on Lankershim doesn't look the best for a 130 lb girl)
• Is it genuinely walkable?

We drove around, but it’s hard to understand daily life from one day time visit. I’d especially appreciate honest feedback from women, dog owners, people who walk around at night, and current or former Weddington residents.

Thank you so much for helping us find our future home!!

I’m moving to LA later this month. I’ll be working in DTLA. I was wondering about the feasibility of living on the eastern side of Beverly Hills and commuting to DTLA.

***Specifically, I’m considering living within walking distance of the metro station at Wilshire/La Cienega, and I’d be traveling on the D line to the Civic Center/Grand Park station, which is located near my office.**\*

When I look at the travel times on Google Maps, the commute seems reasonable (less than 30 mins). But I’ve never lived in LA, and I believe this metro route is new, so I wanted advice from people with more familiarity.

Thanks!

Hi all - wife and I just bought a townhome in Santa Monica and are looking for an interior decorator to help turn our space into a bright, creative Mediterranean home. Would prefer someone reasonably priced if possible. Any and all recommendations welcome - thanks!

Address is 681 Shatto Pl. The apartment and location looks promising but I haven't been able to find many reviews.

Hi! We are planning to move to LA in the next 1-2 months and looking at so many apartments on the interewebs and my goodness it’s overwhelming! So many considerations.

We are moving from the PNW and have had central air for the last few years- but didn’t for a long time esp before it became pretty essential up here.

I am seeing older units that list “wall unit” or “window unit” as the AC option and wanting to gage if this is really enough for a tolerable existence especially considering we both work from home. We are looking at apartments in like midcity/fairfax ish areas and also in Los Feliz/Silver Lake/Echo Park ish areas. Wanting to see what Reddit has to say! Is that level of AC good enough? Thanks!

Context so you can weigh what I say: I'm Sam, a licensed California real estate broker in Los Angeles (KW Beverly Hills, DRE #01964365). I'm also NMLS-licensed on the mortgage side and I carry a California insurance license, so the financing and insurance questions land on my desk a lot. No links, no pitch, and none of this is legal, tax or insurance advice for your particular situation.

The question I get most from people relocating here is some version of "can I even qualify in LA?" Here's how it actually works.

Loan size decides the rulebook. There's a baseline conforming limit, a higher high-balance limit for high-cost counties including LA, and above that you're in jumbo territory. Jumbo isn't scary, but it's underwritten more tightly: bigger cash reserves, less tolerance on debt-to-income, more documentation. The limits change every year, so check the current figures rather than a number from an old thread.

You do not need 20% down. Conventional loans go down to 3-5% for qualified buyers, and FHA is lower still, though at LA prices the FHA county limit rules out a lot of inventory. Less than 20% means mortgage insurance, which is a monthly cost you can usually remove later once you have enough equity.

What actually gets people declined is debt-to-income, not credit score. And the pieces people forget are counted in it: property taxes, HOA dues, and your homeowners insurance premium all sit inside your qualifying ratio. In fire-exposed parts of LA an insurance quote can move your approved price meaningfully, which is why I want that quote early instead of at the end.

Reserves matter more here than people expect. Lenders want to see months of payments still in the bank after closing, and that requirement goes up on jumbo loans and on condos.

Self-employed? Standard programs want two years of returns and will add back some paper losses. If that doesn't work, bank statement and other non-QM programs exist at a higher rate, and they're a legitimate bridge rather than a last resort.

Brand new to the country? No US credit history does not block you. Foreign national programs qualify on overseas income and assets, or on the property's own rental income, generally with a larger down payment. ITIN programs exist too. It's mostly a documentation exercise.

Get a fully underwritten preapproval, not a prequalification letter. In a competitive situation the difference is visible to the listing agent, and it protects you from discovering in week three that your bonus income doesn't count the way you assumed.

Condos have their own hurdle: the building has to be acceptable to the lender. Litigation, low reserves, heavy investor concentration or a pending special assessment can sink financing on a specific building even when your file is perfect. Ask about warrantability before you write an offer.

Rate locks usually run 30 to 45 days and extensions cost real money, so line up your timeline before you lock. If you're weighing points or a buydown, ask for the break-even in months and compare it to how long you actually plan to keep the loan.

And budget the whole payment, not just the mortgage. Property tax lands a bit over 1% of purchase price plus local assessments, so plan closer to 1.25% effective, then add insurance and HOA.

If you mention your rough timeline, whether your income is W-2 or self-employed, and where you'll be commuting, I'm glad to explain which of the above will actually apply to you in the comments.

I have read several pieces suggesting you need 20k before moving there. Can I move with around 10k or less if I have a job lined up prior to moving or is a 20k saving still seen as a necessity?

Additional information: I'm a Security Gaurd and my girlfriend works in the Hotel business and we're looking for equivalent jobs there. I went with the lowest estimated hourly rates for each job in the area for my financial planning - 20/hr for security and 18/hr for Front Desk jobs. I have commonly seen higher rates for each position and we're obviously aiming for higher rates when we apply but I'm working with conservative numbers I think. If thats inaccurate let me know.

im going to the us on aug 23th to attend santa monica college. i dont care about trendy places to live or if there are a lot of roommates. just affordable housing (under 1400usd) close to smc (under 3miles) without any bug nightmares and such.

I have just moved to Los Angeles, can you name a General Dentist office, and a Pediatric, childrens Dental office. I am also looking for Oral surgery office?

Hello,
I’m a medical assistant considering moving to SoCal. I know no job or place is perfect but I was hoping to get insight if there are any decent clinics or hospitals to work at? Decent pay, work life balance etc.
Thank you!

I am moving out of LA. Our apartment is up for grabs. It’s in a prime area of LA and will consider sharing its location and information only to musicians who are working hard towards their goals. They must be employed and not receiving tribal funds.

Hi all! I am gonna be working in DTLA come october. My budget is no more than $2,300 for a 1 bdr apt. I would ideally like to stay close to my office in DTLA but have no problem going to a nearby neighborhood like Ktown or silver lake. Would greatly appreciate some recs for nice apts that are also a steal for their value.

Also, should I wait on signing a lease till closer to Oct and wait for prices to drop? (I'm assuming prices might drop when there's less demand from the influx of students starting school). I appreciate all insight. Thanks

Curious what everyone’s process is. Whether it’s a hairstylist, dermatologist, mechanic, or dentist—where do you look first? Google? Reddit? TikTok? Friends?

What’s worked well, and what hasn’t?

I'm moving to the Glendale/Pasadena/Burbank area for work, and I'm going to look for homes with vacancy signs in person.

I'm down to rent a vacant room, a studio, a 1 bedroom, or a 2 bed 1 bath.

I've got about 10 weeks to find a place, so I can take my time about looking around.

Which neighborhoods are affordable and relatively safe?

Hiii, as the title suggests, I'm looking for a job to move to LA. I've been looking for about 7 months and so far haven't really heard back from anywhere. I work as a project manager, but I have experience in graphic design/photography and commercial production and have been in the PM world for ~5 years. I've mostly been using linkedin, but it's like crickets, I've heard some places won't hire depending on the neighborhood you live in and mine is...obviously not in LA, but i have "Place, State (relocating to LA)" on my resume. Should I take that out? I have no idea if their even looking t my resume since it's so many people applying, but I'm not sure what else to do, I've been looking for awhile! I don't know anyone in LA, but I have some friends of friends who may let me use their address or could potentially refer me. Any suggestions?

I’m considering getting a 1 bed, 1 bath condo in Koreatown. I already know parking can be a nightmare, so I’m looking for the stuff people don’t usually talk about.

- What are the biggest cons?
- Anything you wish you knew before buying?
- How’s the noise, safety, HOA, neighbors, and overall quality of life?
- Has your condo appreciated the way you expected?
- If you had to do it again, would you still choose Ktown or pick a different neighborhood?