My daughter has just been accepted to an internship in LA 3 mornings per week. It’s unpaid so she will also need to get a job. We’ve never been but West Hollywood looks ideal. Close to the beach, close to stores and restaurants. I’ve just booked her a rental car so she will have transport.
She’s not a party animal at all, she enjoys fitness and wants to go hiking and jogging etc and take some exercise classes… Ideal accommodation would be a studio.
I’ve done some searching this evening and oh my!! Vacation rentals and apart-hotels are all quoting me 9,000 for June/July/August. I’ve seen some studios for under $1,000 but they require a minimum 1 year lease.
I’m overwhelmed. Could anyone familiar with the city let me know if W Hollywood is a good choice. And any advice on accommodation. I’m a little apprehensive about craigslist and potentially sending a large deposit now without seeing the accommodation. So any pointers would be great.
My husband suggested staying in a motel when she gets there and then trying to get an apartment. Again we don’t know how many sublets would be available at that time and as she’s alone and doesn’t know anybody in the city I think having accomodation arranged would be one less worry.
No she says they were very formal and corporate. The entire application process was the same. All communication comes from HR at an address in Torrance. In their defense they don’t offer official internships but it’s a niche industry and they are allowing her to gain some experience but I doubt they have too much experience with students.
My nephew did intern in SF, he’s a CS major and you’re right they’re great with the kids but internships are the norm there. I wish my daughter could have picked a more accessible industry! We have so much going on with her finals coming up, I’m finishing my masters and my son is going backpacking for a year. I’m ageing by the second
West Hollywood is a considerable distance from Torrance. Being a very trendy, central location it is very expensive but all of LA rents are quite expensive. West Hollywood is almost entirely gay, by the way, just so she understands the culture there. I don’t think it’s on any sort of public transportation line either.
She might do better rent wise in one of the beach communities near Torrance, if that is where the job is. She might be able to rent a room in someone’s home. There are a lot of Bnb rentals near the beach.
Warning: NEVER send anyone on craigslist money!! It is meant for in person deals and there is no protection from scammers. That’s why there are tons of rental scammer on there. Tons of real deals too but many scams. My daughter did sublet from there but after meeting in persona and seeing it. They emailed and skyped beforehand. CL has no protections and does not get involved with private deals on it. Buyer beware. If you have to deal at a distance, use a service that has guarantees. I haven’t used it but AirBnB seems to be the thing. It has protections and customer service.
She needs to find out exactly where the location will be. LA is huge and traffic patterns determine a lot of what you can do. It is not reasonable to commute from WEHO to Torrance. Sometimes you can get summer sublets near universities.
Oops sorry no her internship is in West Hollywood. She also needs to get a job so we thought there would be more work in that area with all the stores and restaurants.
The Human Resources department of her company is in Torrance but her office is not. I should have made that clearer.
She would have no problem living in a gay area so that’s not an issue. She will have a rental car for the summer.
LA in general is not public transportation friendly, but West Hollywood has buses line on every major street. Also it has Hollywood metro station near by.
Check with UCLA’s housing and see if her current university has an exchange program.
Additionally, utilities are even more expensive. She would need a roommate to help pay the bills.
All of LA is expensive, but she might have better luck in Culver City or the Fairfax district, both of which are pretty short drives from West Hollywood.
She might want to look for a summer sublet in a shared housing situation – Craigslist does have listings there: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/roo – if $1200 is her monthly budget, then she could probably find a room that meets her needs.
^^Look into that UCLA website BrownParent posted. If it’s anything like Berkeley, there will be a glut of summer subleases available from all the UCLA students on 12 month leases who don’t need their apartment for the summer. It’s a sub-renter’s market.