Searching for an apartment

Atwater, Studio City, Los Angeles, Burbank, Korea Town, Larchmont, Glendale, Valley Village, Glassell Park, Pico, and of course, Hollywood. These are just some of the neighborhoods I have visited, driven through, or looked at apartments in; 14 in the last three days.

Let me back up a bit. I arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful drive from Phoenix; desert into mountains into the snow capped peaks outside LA. I love driving through the southwest.

I made a quick stop in Redlands, about 60 miles east of LA, to see my old friend Roberto. Roberto has been in California about 7 years. He got married, has a 4 year old son, and now has a critically acclaimed restaurant in Redlands called Farm. It was so nice to get a chance to say hello, have a sandwich, and catch up a little. Soon I got back on the road for the final 60 miles. I arrived in Burbank at Betty and Mike’s about 4:30. It was still warm enough for Betty and I to sit on the front porch, in the sun, and have a beer.

Sunday was the Oscars telecast. Betty and Mike invited me to their friends Reed and Marny’s house for an Oscar Party. They live in Hollywood, about a mile from the Kodak Theatre. It is the closest to the Oscars I have been, so far. I say so far because I will definitely attend an Academy Awards ceremony one day as a nominee. I’m getting closer all the time.

There were several connections to the Oscars there in that room. Reed had a role in Good Night and Good Luck, so we were all hoping that it would win an award. I was one of the many crewmembers Robert Altman thanked while accepting his lifetime achievement award. Yeah!

Monday morning I hit the ground running. I did a lot of driving around different neighborhoods I thought I wanted to live in. I made a lot of calls, but mostly I left a lot of messages. Some people returned, many didn’t.

It took a lot of time, and while I did get to see three apartments, I decided to join a rental service and get more leads. Westside Rentals is the most popular, and at 70 dollars for two months of listings, it’s not unreasonable. Soon I had thousands of listings to narrow down into usable choices.

Tuesday I saw about 7 or 8 apartments, I can’t keep them straight in my mind. I did lots of driving back and forth across the hills into the valley, out of the valley and back again.
The good thing is I am getting a crash course in Los Angeles geography and streets. I am really getting to know it and be more comfortable with it each day. But after seeing so many places, I was exhausted, and nothing I saw was any good.

The housing stock in LA is very different than in Chicago, where we have, I think, a much finer rental pool to choose from. Many of the places I saw in my price range, $1200 a month, (for a 2 bed/2 bath) were boxy and ugly, like the 4 plus ones you see on Sheridan Rd. in Rodgers Park. No style, no details, and mostly small and dirty. For $1200 a month in Chicago you could get a pretty nice place in a nice neighborhood, not here.

Today, Wednesday, I had more luck. I upped the price range and started seeing slightly better prospects. I saw some places I really liked. I decided to stop looking in the Valley. I want a real LA urban experience right now, and I want to be closer to all the action. Besides, if I live in the Valley I’ll end up working in Santa Monica, and if I live in Santa Monica, I’ll end up working across town in the Valley. In Hollywood, I’m right in the middle.

I think I found a couple of good ones that I will show Circus on Friday morning. Maybe we can just get one and move this weekend. That would be ideal.

It’s so wonderful that I have such a nice place to stay with Betty and Mike; they are so welcoming and accommodating, but I have to get started on my new life here, and the first step is having a place of my own.

I haven’t even been here 5 days yet, and yet it feels like I’ve been here a lot longer. There are many people I miss back in Chicago, one especially, and that is very difficult, but there is so much going on to keep me busy that the days pass quickly.

I must practice patience.