Well Southern California is developed differently than any other major metropolitan area due to the one thing they have to deal with that not many others have to...earthquakes. Since earthquakes obviously knock things down you do not have high rises, skyscrapers and penthous apartments dotted all over the downtown area. LA is an older city that was founded and developed back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Since they did not have the construction technology to deal with earthquakes then as they do now you have this huge spread out city. Walking and public transit are only viable if you only want to go within a few miles of where you live. If you want to go anywhere in SoCal you have to get a ride, through traffic often, around not just LA but all the surrounding counties even. Since you cannot build up on the land as in tall buildings, the price to live in more populated portion of the most populated state is a lot higher than normal. If you do find somewhere cheap then I must worn you that there is a reason no one will pay high prices to live there. USC is at the heart of the North Eastern portion of Downtown LA. It is actually not very expensive but I would advise you if you do not know the area to live as close or even on campus so you do not find your self in the wrong part of town. UCLA is on the NW portion of town town heading towards the beach and Hollywood so it is more pricey and a much nicer area. As you head farther to the inner parts of the city the prices do drop off, so the estimates of living can only be predicted if you live on campus on the higher priced apartments/dorms and not if you find a better deal elsewhere.