Any housing advice for UCLA School of Dentistry?

[seminole0928]

I was accepted into UCLA School of Dentistry class of 2021. Los Angeles is a big place and although the tuition is very cheap, the cost of living in LA already has my bank account crying. Thus far, between filtering through and having several conversations on SDN, talking to peers in my class and during my interview day, emailing faculty, current students, and residents I have narrowed down some decent areas to live. I've heard great things about Culver City, K-town, Sherman Oaks, Burbank, West Hollywood, and N. Hollywood.

I'm looking for a 1-2 bedroom apartment that is less than $2000. I've been raiding zillow and craigslist and have contacted several property managers so I have a firm idea of which areas are more cost effective than others. That being said, I am more interested of any personal experiences in terms of safety, any input on the commute to UCLA, anyplace that I should avoid, any other reliable rental websites, etc.

Unfortunately, I am not a California resident so I would like to have a firm baseline of some decent areas before I make the trip out to LA to hunt for an apartment.

Any advice is good advice, so please chyme in if you have an opinion!

...Unless of course you're an SDN troll... :troll: 😉

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[seminole0928]

Have you looked into on-campus graduate housing? A former classmate of mine is living in one as a medical student, and she likes the Weyburn complex a lot. I've visited her, and the place is nice. If you're not a native Californian, you most likely haven't realized that commuting in LA is horrendous, to be honest.

Yes, I've applied for the off campus housing and I am really hoping it works out. Living is subsidized so its super affordable, and rent can be further subsidized with a position as an apartment coordinator. That being said, it's a lottery system and from what I've heard the chance of getting into those apartments are slim.

Eitherway, I need a backup just in case. And yes, although I rented a car so I could drive in LA traffic myself, I'm sure I only caught a glimpse of how bad traffic really is during rush hour. I am hesitant to jump the gun and take an apartment for 3k a month just because its right next to the school but I strongly value what you are saying, it's just without experience, I don't have much of a gauge of what areas are driveable during rush hour.

During my stay, I was not able to check out the areas north or east of the school. From what I've seen, generally all major highways need to be avoided all together (405, 101, 2, etc), especially if you're driving south into the city during rush hour? So I would assume that Sherman Oaks, Burbank, and/or NOHO are in bad areas for traffic? What about Culver city and K-town which are relatively close to campus?

 

[kdforthree]

Yes, I've applied for the off campus housing and I am really hoping it works out. Living is subsidized so its super affordable, and rent can be further subsidized with a position as an apartment coordinator. That being said, it's a lottery system and from what I've heard the chance of getting into those apartments are slim.

Eitherway, I need a backup just in case. And yes, although I rented a car so I could drive in LA traffic myself, I'm sure I only caught a glimpse of how bad traffic really is during rush hour. I am hesitant to jump the gun and take an apartment for 3k a month just because its right next to the school but I strongly value what you are saying, it's just without experience, I don't have much of a gauge of what areas are driveable during rush hour.

During my stay, I was not able to check out the areas north or east of the school. From what I've seen, generally all major highways need to be avoided all together (405, 101, 2, etc), especially if you're driving south into the city during rush hour? So I would assume that Sherman Oaks, Burbank, and/or NOHO are in bad areas for traffic? What about Culver city and K-town which are relatively close to campus?

If you are still intent on looking for backup, Culver City is most likely your best bet. It is close enough where even with traffic the commute should be manageable. I advise against k-town, distance combined with traffic going to and from campus would be awful as you'll be going with traffic both ways. Maybe look into some apartments south of Wilshire (still in Westwood area), I think you might be able to find a 1 bedroom for less than $2000 (though I'm not too sure about this, only know a few people who got apartments there for cheap). Best of luck with your housing situation!

 

[w4nt2baDDS]

Look south and west, not east, and definitely not north. Hollywood traffic is a killer and anything to the north will be a mistake.

I know the culver city area well. Technically you don't want to live in culver city, you really need to live in "Palms" which is between westwood and culver city. Palms has some good bus routes and is where a lot of the commuting students live. Not sure if you plan to drive but finding an apartment near a bus stop can be really ideal, especially corners that have more than 1 bus option. National & Westwood intersection, National & Sepulveda, and Sepulveda and Palms are good spots.

Don't live further south than Venice. In my opinion the UCLA presence begins to thin out south of national and is no longer felt passed venice blvd, also the bus options become bleak south of Venice. Somewhere between Pico and Palms blvd could be ideal

I would limit your search to about 4.5miles south of UCLA and maybe two miles west. Not the cheapest spots but the commutes are a bit more manageable.

I'm going off the assumption you need a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartment though... most dental students live in the weyburn graduate student housing right next to campus in studio apartments for about $1,400ish/mo

 

[dudeethatsrad]

I'm not sure I want to live in Weyburn yet, but should I still be applying now?

 

[seminole0928]

Look south and west, not east, and definitely not north. Hollywood traffic

Look south and west, not east, and definitely not north. Hollywood traffic is a killer and anything to the north will be a mistake.

I know the culver city area well. Technically you don't want to live in culver city, you really need to live in "Palms" which is between westwood and culver city. Palms has some good bus routes and is where a lot of the commuting students live. Not sure if you plan to drive but finding an apartment near a bus stop can be really ideal, especially corners that have more than 1 bus option. National & Westwood intersection, National & Sepulveda, and Sepulveda and Palms are good spots.

Don't live further south than Venice. In my opinion the UCLA presence begins to thin out south of national and is no longer felt passed venice blvd, also the bus options become bleak south of Venice. Somewhere between Pico and Palms blvd could be ideal

I would limit your search to about 4.5miles south of UCLA and maybe two miles west. Not the cheapest spots but the commutes are a bit more manageable.

I'm going off the assumption you need a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom apartment though... most dental students live in the weyburn graduate student housing right next to campus in studio apartments for about $1,400ish/mo

Thanks for the great advice! Having access to the public transportation would be awesome, although how reliable is it? I see that the metro TAP cards are about $24/ month (~$300/ yr), if so, thats pretty cheap. Does anyone know when to expect to hear back for the student housing? I've come into contact with several employees at the student housing complexes and they said it could be as late as early July.

 

[alyssalj]

You will not find apartments for less that $2k/month near UCLA. If you're not willing to commute 45+ min while living in Westchester or Inglewood (near LAX), your best bet is to room with 2 or even 3 people to a room. Crazy rent here in LA, all the ****oo celebrities and internationals buying up property like it's candy.

Also, north near Van Nuys/Hollywood (near Universal Studios) maybe be a little cheaper, but you'll deal with 405 traffic, which is THE WORST in America, outside of possibly the 95 in Boston, lol.

Headed to UCLA in the fall and I'm terrified of the traffic, but as a current Boston resident this gives me hope lol.

 

[KillaCam]

You will not find apartments for less that $2k/month near UCLA. If you're not willing to commute 45+ min while living in Westchester or Inglewood (near LAX), your best bet is to room with 2 or even 3 people to a room.

You can find apartments for about $1600/month about a mile out of UCLA near Century City like I did for 2 years. My 1 bedroom was pretty nice but you have to jump on them when they become available or else they will be gone in a day, no joke. Have to get aggressive as in see the place immediately once available and have money order ready for deposit and first moths rent within an hour to lock it down like I had to do. So its def possible to find stuff guys but you have to be willing to look online 2-3x/day and maybe even drive around 2-3x/week to find the places. I biked to school from my place which was right next to Century City mall and it only took 8 min to get to campus. I thing the Weyburn housing sucked, too small and furniture was uncomfortable. I never lived there but had plenty of classmates that did that I partied with there. To each their own