Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live? Forum

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Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:51 pm

I'm a midlevel M&A associate in a major market (but not LA). I'm considering lateraling to LA to be closer with friends and family and, frankly, to mix things up with my career while I'm in a market where it could be easy to relocate.

LA is expensive! Is anyone on T-L-S homeowners? Where do you live? What about the renters?

The firm I'm most interested in is in downtown LA though the facetime requirement is not very strong right now. The thought of driving into downtown from Riverside sounds like a nightmare.

What are LA associates spending on home buys or rent, and where do you live? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 07, 2022 11:09 pm

Does your firm have an office in Century City? When they were at a firm, a couple of friends who could walk to the office from their respective apartments.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 12:07 am

I work in DTLA and live a bit south of the Beverly Grove area. The commute has been great (approximately 20 minutes each way), and I'm so close to a lot of the best restaurants/bars/attractions the city has to offer. My SO works in Century City/Beverly Hills so the location is perfect for them too. I also know a lot of attorneys that work in DTLA but live in Santa Monica. The key is living close to the 10 freeway. LA traffic is heavy going west in the morning, and east in the afternoon. If you live west of DTLA, the commute isn't too bad.

As you mentioned, housing costs are insane. In my area, If you want to buy, a nice condo/decent townhome will be around $1-1.5 million. If you're hoping for a house, it's going to be around $2 million. You can get more bang for your buck east of DTLA or in the valley, but I don't think the commute/distance is worth it.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 1:53 am

Anywhere west-side, even if you work in downtown LA. Trust me. Santa Monica, Venice, playa vista, marina del rey, playa del rey, etc. Century City is nice too.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:24 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:51 pm
I'm a midlevel M&A associate in a major market (but not LA). I'm considering lateraling to LA to be closer with friends and family and, frankly, to mix things up with my career while I'm in a market where it could be easy to relocate.

LA is expensive! Is anyone on T-L-S homeowners? Where do you live? What about the renters?

The firm I'm most interested in is in downtown LA though the facetime requirement is not very strong right now. The thought of driving into downtown from Riverside sounds like a nightmare.

What are LA associates spending on home buys or rent, and where do you live? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

LA is pretty diverse so there’s a pocket for most everyone. What are your specs? SFH with a good public school district? Condo that is walking distance to restaurants and bars? There are also middle grounds like Eagle Rock, Highland Park. Max tolerable commute?

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Anonymous User
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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:27 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:24 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:51 pm
I'm a midlevel M&A associate in a major market (but not LA). I'm considering lateraling to LA to be closer with friends and family and, frankly, to mix things up with my career while I'm in a market where it could be easy to relocate.

LA is expensive! Is anyone on T-L-S homeowners? Where do you live? What about the renters?

The firm I'm most interested in is in downtown LA though the facetime requirement is not very strong right now. The thought of driving into downtown from Riverside sounds like a nightmare.

What are LA associates spending on home buys or rent, and where do you live? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

LA is pretty diverse so there’s a pocket for most everyone. What are your specs? SFH with a good public school district? Condo that is walking distance to restaurants and bars? There are also middle grounds like Eagle Rock, Highland Park. Max tolerable commute?
My SO and I work in DTLA and first lived in WeHo for better weather but hated it because it wasn’t our vibe. We moved to the suburbs (Pasadena region) and love it. West to East traffic felt significantly worse to us. So really there’s a pocket for everyone and if you’ve never lived in LA you should visit to check out different vibes.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by hangtime813 » Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:20 pm

Pasadena and Glendale are great surburb areas but getting pricy.
Koreatown is also really fun (but crowded) and close to DTLA.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 7:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:24 pm
LA is pretty diverse so there’s a pocket for most everyone. What are your specs? SFH with a good public school district? Condo that is walking distance to restaurants and bars? There are also middle grounds like Eagle Rock, Highland Park. Max tolerable commute?
OP here. This is all incredibly helpful and insightful, thank you. I have never lived in LA, but have visited/frequented many times for work (pre-law).

I do have a family and spouse is in higher ed (is interviewing for staff positions at UCLA and USC now). We would prefer a single family home with good public schools, but that is not a priority at the moment, we could live in an apartment for at least a couple of years until we get our footing (but a 3 bed would be preferred). Suburbs are fine (we live in the burbs of our metro area now).

Will look more closely at the towns everyone has suggested. Also, Sherman Oaks has decent rent for townhouses. What do people think about driving down from that area of the valley?

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by ESQ92 » Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:09 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 7:51 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:24 pm
LA is pretty diverse so there’s a pocket for most everyone. What are your specs? SFH with a good public school district? Condo that is walking distance to restaurants and bars? There are also middle grounds like Eagle Rock, Highland Park. Max tolerable commute?
OP here. This is all incredibly helpful and insightful, thank you. I have never lived in LA, but have visited/frequented many times for work (pre-law).

I do have a family and spouse is in higher ed (is interviewing for staff positions at UCLA and USC now). We would prefer a single family home with good public schools, but that is not a priority at the moment, we could live in an apartment for at least a couple of years until we get our footing (but a 3 bed would be preferred). Suburbs are fine (we live in the burbs of our metro area now).

Will look more closely at the towns everyone has suggested. Also, Sherman Oaks has decent rent for townhouses. What do people think about driving down from that area of the valley?
Sherman Oaks to DTLA isn't the worst commute in the world, but not great. Probably close to an hour each way in traffic. Since you've got a family and want a house, I'd say look at areas in the San Gabriel Valley. Especially if you like good Asian food! Pasadena is awesome with a lot to do and close to downtown. I prefer the west side myself, but it's more expensive, crowded, and I don't envision raising a family here.

Edit: If your spouse gets UCLA, she will not be wanting to live East of Downtown though.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:19 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 12:07 am
I work in DTLA and live a bit south of the Beverly Grove area. The commute has been great (approximately 20 minutes each way), and I'm so close to a lot of the best restaurants/bars/attractions the city has to offer. My SO works in Century City/Beverly Hills so the location is perfect for them too. I also know a lot of attorneys that work in DTLA but live in Santa Monica. The key is living close to the 10 freeway. LA traffic is heavy going west in the morning, and east in the afternoon. If you live west of DTLA, the commute isn't too bad.

As you mentioned, housing costs are insane. In my area, If you want to buy, a nice condo/decent townhome will be around $1-1.5 million. If you're hoping for a house, it's going to be around $2 million. You can get more bang for your buck east of DTLA or in the valley, but I don't think the commute/distance is worth it.
+1 to the bolded. Consider Culver City for this reason as well.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 7:51 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:24 pm
LA is pretty diverse so there’s a pocket for most everyone. What are your specs? SFH with a good public school district? Condo that is walking distance to restaurants and bars? There are also middle grounds like Eagle Rock, Highland Park. Max tolerable commute?
OP here. This is all incredibly helpful and insightful, thank you. I have never lived in LA, but have visited/frequented many times for work (pre-law).

I do have a family and spouse is in higher ed (is interviewing for staff positions at UCLA and USC now). We would prefer a single family home with good public schools, but that is not a priority at the moment, we could live in an apartment for at least a couple of years until we get our footing (but a 3 bed would be preferred). Suburbs are fine (we live in the burbs of our metro area now).

Will look more closely at the towns everyone has suggested. Also, Sherman Oaks has decent rent for townhouses. What do people think about driving down from that area of the valley?
I commuted from Studio City to downtown and found it was often slightly faster to take the red line train from Universal City rather than drive. I wouldn't want to do that commute from Sherman Oaks personally, but I know people who have done it for years.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:57 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 7:51 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:24 pm
I do have a family and spouse is in higher ed (is interviewing for staff positions at UCLA and USC now).
This will be a big determining factor in where you end up. If possible I'd put off the decision until after they know where they are working. If you're working downtown, Pasadena or some of the SGV burbs could be great if your spouse ends up at USC, but would be a really rough commute if they end up at UCLA.

Given the fact that your spouse is also looking at a new job and that you're new to LA, I'd suggest renting for a year somewhere that has a decent commute for both of you and using that time to explore different areas and decide where you want to settle long term. As others have mentioned, different areas of LA (and different LA suburbs) have really different feels to them and it's a matter of finding what matches up with (i) your commutes and (ii) your other priorities.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 08, 2022 9:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 7:51 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 4:24 pm
LA is pretty diverse so there’s a pocket for most everyone. What are your specs? SFH with a good public school district? Condo that is walking distance to restaurants and bars? There are also middle grounds like Eagle Rock, Highland Park. Max tolerable commute?
OP here. This is all incredibly helpful and insightful, thank you. I have never lived in LA, but have visited/frequented many times for work (pre-law).

I do have a family and spouse is in higher ed (is interviewing for staff positions at UCLA and USC now). We would prefer a single family home with good public schools, but that is not a priority at the moment, we could live in an apartment for at least a couple of years until we get our footing (but a 3 bed would be preferred). Suburbs are fine (we live in the burbs of our metro area now).

Will look more closely at the towns everyone has suggested. Also, Sherman Oaks has decent rent for townhouses. What do people think about driving down from that area of the valley?
PP and my SO actually works at one of the universities as well. If you’re lateraling I would ask what the face time requirement is. It’s pretty lax in LA compared to NYC, partially because most people drive. Sherman oaks is doable, especially if you can travel during off peak times. And in my LA office, people are now leaving at 3:30-4:00 pm and no one cares because less time in traffic is more time billing.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 09, 2022 11:20 am

I’ve commuted into LA from the valley for a while.

It’s an hour max into DTLA. Usually, in heavy traffic, it’s around 50 minutes. Off peak, 30-40 minutes.

A commute from Sherman Oaks isn’t too bad. Depending on the area you’re looking at, you could shave off 5-10 minutes each way from the numbers above.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:04 pm

Commuting from studio city to DTLA here. Its ~40-45 min for me. When M&A gets crazy, though, I have to work from home to skip the commute.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by kierkegaardaddy » Tue Mar 15, 2022 11:23 am

I think studio city/sherman oaks would be ideal if your SO ends of at UCLA but would otherwise be a hastle. Culver city or mar vista for a year to get your bearings woud be a safe bet

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 16, 2022 4:16 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:19 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2022 12:07 am
I work in DTLA and live a bit south of the Beverly Grove area. The commute has been great (approximately 20 minutes each way), and I'm so close to a lot of the best restaurants/bars/attractions the city has to offer. My SO works in Century City/Beverly Hills so the location is perfect for them too. I also know a lot of attorneys that work in DTLA but live in Santa Monica. The key is living close to the 10 freeway. LA traffic is heavy going west in the morning, and east in the afternoon. If you live west of DTLA, the commute isn't too bad.

As you mentioned, housing costs are insane. In my area, If you want to buy, a nice condo/decent townhome will be around $1-1.5 million. If you're hoping for a house, it's going to be around $2 million. You can get more bang for your buck east of DTLA or in the valley, but I don't think the commute/distance is worth it.
+1 to the bolded. Consider Culver City for this reason as well.
Culver City is great and not bad to commute to DTLA. Lived there from 2016-2018.

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Re: Los Angeles Associates - Where Do You Live?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 21, 2022 5:40 pm

Santa Monica, Venice, playa vista, marina del rey, playa del rey

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