Accommodation in Los Angeles

Unlike east coast cities, LA has grown in girth rather than height making scores of unique and spread-out neighbourhoods. The best place to live in Los Angeles will depend largely on proximity to work as commutes can take hours out of a day.

West LA is more expensive and up-market than the east and south where some of the poorer neighbourhoods reside. Many expats living in LA want to be near the ocean and Santa Monica is a favoured beach community. Santa Monica sports a festive and fun atmosphere and is a more residential and up-scale version of Venice Beach, another expat and tourist centre. For quieter, but more expensive, beach property, Malibu stretches out to the north.

Farther inland are Westside's lavish homes of the rich and famous. Although neighbourhood names including Beverly Hills, Bel Air and 90210 may be familiar to people worldwide, few expats move there. More common are the areas of Hollywood that range from expensive hilltop mansions to seedy low-rise tenant buildings. It is all part of the racy charm that defines areas there like the Sunset Strip. Downtown is primarily business real estate.

There are a large number of other neighbourhoods that could be attractive because of close proximity to work or less expensive housing costs. Choosing a neighbourhood can be dizzying in a city with so many areas and it is typical to hire a realtor. In general, house prices are high, averaging around half a million dollars, and renting is considerably cheaper although still expensive. In the west side a nicer apartment will cost over US$1000 a month.