2 months in L.A.?

My wife and I have decided to say "The hell with it!" and look into staying in Los Angeles for 2 months.
We have a young daughter (7 y.o.) and a dog. We'll be driving to LA from Ottawa, Canada, and would like to stay in LA for all of February and March.
I'm going to temporarily relocate my office to LA, and hopefully meet all the LA forum members so we can burn some film, or get together for drinks, at least.
Our problem is LA is bloody expensive, and it's hard to get a 2-month rental, much less commit to anything from 4500 miles away over the internet.
We think we've tried every possible website, I've written to friends and family for any referral, but no luck yet. Looked into an RV, but those are pricey, too.

So I'm looking at you, Angelenos; do you have any suggestions as to where we can continue looking for a short-term sublet/rental?

Thanks in advance!

Most of the newcomers I've seen there seem to be living under bridges. It's not for me.;)


Kent in SD

Bridge, hey? Hmm, you're giving me ideas...

Hi Ari,

Homelessness is no joke. If you'd like to have a drink or coffee, PM me off list. I'm in Pasadena.

Hi Mark,
I was joking about my own situation.
If we make it out there, I'd happily get together and will certainly let you know. Thanks!

With those fires, there are going to be a lot of people looking for housing in LA! Good luck.
if you can do San Diego, the City has converted ex-naval housing into a sort of tourist housing area. I stayed there and they are nice albeit kind of "government housing" looking.
I don't remember the name but the prices were very reasonable and had good access to all the touristy areas.
Might be worth a search.

Ari,

I live in Orange County, about an hour south of LA. I love to meet you and your family for a drink or coffee while you are here.Maybe we can go out shooting together.

Hugo

Thanks, John, but SD is not really an option.
Hugo, I'd love to meet you as well, and I'd be thrilled to go shooting with you.
I hope we can make it out there.

Hey Ari,

Getting a little cold up there??? ;-)

It's been nice here lately, day temp hi 60's/low to mid 70's and 50's night (F)...

True, LA's getting a more than a bit pricey, as we have a rising population, but little new housing, so there's a ripple effect across the board of cost + availability/access to affordable long or short term housing, so a tough question... Let me think about possible possibles...

You might consider looking around Ventura, as it is a little more reasonable, less traffic, close to the beach, and within reasonable driving distance to LA, but the down side is with the fires in Ojai, there will be folks from the area looking for housing too... (I'm currently in and out of the area on a project, and I like it!!!)

I understand the mentioned difficulties as I had to leave where I lived, so my stuff is in storage, but still looking for a residence/workspace, but in the meantime had to crash where we could, but what an interesting perspective one gains (and photo ops!!!)... But may have to look in Ventura for larger affordable space... Any Angelenos with any ideas???

PM me any questions, but when you get settled, maybe I can show you some sites to shoot or touch base???

HNY

Steve K

Ari I'm in if you make it down here...good luck with the journey!
Best, Peter

Steve, it would be a real pleasure meeting up with you as well.
Another friend had recommended Ventura as a good place to look.
Yes, it's cold here, but we're used to it; the main reason we're going out West is to attend WPPI in Las Vegas.
Coupled with the long winter, and our lack of success at finding a home to buy here in Ottawa, we figured "Why not get out of town for a while?"
I just need to be able to keep working while I'm away, which isn't hard, but would need some preparation/arrangement.

I’ll see if I can come up with some ideas this week.


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2 months is tough. I'd look at Caltech rentals, or other college rentals. Air B&B, etc. I'll put the word out around here. Again, if you're here, let's get together. Our neighbor has a 7 yo boy. There are 2 girls a couple of doors down age 8 & 6.

Wish you well, happy new year!

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Originally Posted by ScottPhotoCo

I’ll see if I can come up with some ideas this week.


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Thanks, Tim!

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Originally Posted by Mark Woods

2 months is tough. I'd look at Caltech rentals, or other college rentals. Air B&B, etc. I'll put the word out around here. Again, if you're here, let's get together. Our neighbor has a 7 yo boy. There are 2 girls a couple of doors down age 8 & 6.

Wish you well, happy new year!

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Thank you, Mark; would be great to have kids meet and play, even only once.
We've scoured sublets, AirBnB, VRBO, etc. But LA got quite expensive while I wasn't looking, and Steve makes a number of good points as to why.

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Originally Posted by peter schrager

Ari I'm in if you make it down here...good luck with the journey!
Best, Peter

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Peter, would love to! Thank you for the well-wishes.
Just want to warn everyone that last time I posted a "Coming to LA" thread, we had our furnace die on us, and spent $11K for a new HVAC system, completely obliterating any chance of going anywhere for a long time.
But this time, we have to be in Las Vegas at the end of February, so we're cautiously optimistic :)

I've put the word out to a person who has short term rentals.

Thank you very much, Mark!

I'll keep you posted

Happy to get together with you all when you visit. I'm an hour east of LA

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Originally Posted by matthew blais

Happy to get together with you all when you visit. I'm an hour east of LA

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Would love to, Matthew.

Why not base out of Las Vegas instead? Plenty to photograph there and nearby, far fewer crowds and better air quality.
A lot of short term rental possibilities available.

We thought of that, but having the beach as a daily activity does a lot to keep a 7-year-old happy and busy, and it's free.

Would be fun to meet up with you once you have your situation sorted. Unfortunately, I’m no help there.

If you look up the Los Angeles Analog Film Photography Facebook group I’ll accept your join request and you can post to the group when you feel like heading out.

-Nick


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Ari... check out some of the corporate housing opportunities. One of the companies down here is Oakwood. They seem to be all over the place and offer communities of fully furnished apartments. The one I visited was really nice, had a pool and play areas, and was relatively secure. Month-to-month leasing options in addition to long term leasing... if their adverts are accurate.

https://www.google.com/search?source....0.v5N3KsJlaMQ

I'll bet that there are others...

According to one of my wisest friends and wife, to keep a 7-year old happy requires not much more than a TV and swimming pool. :) There are a lot of opportunities, though, for more enriching experiences for children in LA.

I wouldn't mind meeting you, too, when you get down here.

Thanks, Nick and Brian. Would love to meet up as well, should we get to LA.
Brian, I'll have a look at Oakwood; I've checked out similar websites, so far, not much.
One that may be interesting for longer-term stays, in case anyone's looking for that, is Rad Pad: http://onradpad.com

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Originally Posted by Ari

We thought of that, but having the beach as a daily activity does a lot to keep a 7-year-old happy and busy, and it's free.

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Yeah, and playing at the beach is a lot more wholesome for her than playing the slots! ;)

Unless they're My Little Pony slots :)

I'd try for a rental down at a beach town...any beach, but perhaps Redondo, Hermosa, Manhatten, etc. Santa Monica, perhaps, walking distance from the sand. Off season, so a little cheaper. Have no idea about cost these days. It has only been 40+ years since I spent a winter down there. Acres of sand to play on and a walk/bike/skate trail that runs along the beach for miles. A little more recently (not by much, only 35 yrs ago) I spent a few winters down in Ocean Beach in San Diego. Too expensive in the summertime, but not too bad in the winter (Jan - April). Rent was a little cheaper, too, because the jets from the international airport took off right above our heads (but not from 11pm to 7am). But I was 2.5 blocks from the beach.

Thanks, Vaughn; we definitely have to widen our search to find something affordable. I also want to be able to get a decent sense of LA, so it wouldn't be something that far away.

Hi Ari

Too bad you're not coming through Tucson!

I have a sister in Torrance - she might know of a place. Torrance is pretty close to the beach towns.Long Beach might be a possibility too - is there any place you really have to be or just "LA area"? LA is spread over quite an enormous area as I'm sure you know. How long will you be in Las Vegas? I wouldn't mind flying in to say hello - same for LA come to think of it.

Between the fires in Santa Rosa destroying 1000s of homes and the flooding happening now in SoCal, the rental market probably has been affected. Good luck in your search. You might have to decide which "LA" you wish to experience! Lots of varieties. My Dad (b 1922) grew up in Santa Monica, then near downtown LA. After WWII, he went to work for the City of LA and about 1950, bought a house built with veterans and their families in mind in Alhambra. I grew up there and enjoyed it, but was happy to move to northern CA!

Jim, I'd love to meet up as well, but I know that moving around isn't easy for everyone.
We plan on coming through Phoenix, maybe we can meet up there?
Vaughn, thanks again. We're still looking and will probably end up within 30 minutes' drive of the beach. Any beach. :)

Good morning everyone,
My family and I have to cancel our trip. We have a family member here who needs to undergo some minor, but important, treatment, and we think we should stay for the first month of the treatment, to make sure everything is ok.
My wife and still have to go to WPPI in Las Vegas at the end of February. We'll be driving, and hopefully we can get in a couple of days in the LA area before heading off to the trade show.
I want to thank everyone here for their kind and helpful suggestions and offers to meet up; it would have been my great pleasure, but I hope this is just a postponement, and we'll all get to meet up soon.
A deep and appreciative thanks to all of you!


PS: In anticipation of home-schooling our 7 y.o. girl while in LA, I bought some books about LA that wold have taken us through some interesting parts of the city, offering plenty of fun, educational opportunities.
The best, and most interesting, of the books I've read so far is Reyner Banham's Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. I would highly recommend it, even though it was written in the late 1960s.

Reyner Banham's book is a CLASSIC. Great reading. I first read it in 1975... and probably should find my copy to read again.

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Originally Posted by BrianShaw

Reyner Banham's book is a CLASSIC. Great reading. I first read it in 1975... and probably should find my copy to read again.

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Great book!!! Just re-read it, but that world it describes is going fast/gone... (Still a trace in the 80's)

But there's still plenty of "dingbat" apartments!!!

Steve K