Which areas of LA would you recommend to new faculty or staff for affordable housing?

When new faculty or staff join the UCLA community from another city, state or even country, it can be difficult to learn about the many different neighborhoods that make up our city. If you like your neighborhood and would recommend it to newcomers, please share some of the details about it here:

  • What types of housing are most prevalent (apartments, single-family homes, condos, etc.)?
  • What is typical for rent on the average property in your neighborhood?
  • Are there notable amenities (good schools nearby, ample grocery stores, nice parks, etc.)?
  • What is your commute to UCLA like from your home?

Responses

UCLA Housing has many resources within the university and outlying areas online and in-person: http://ucla.in/bA1ZoO

Santa Monica *Big Blue Bus (BBB) is an excellent system for getting to UCLA, with extensive service to the UCLA Hilgard Terminal as well as more limited service to Ackerman. http://www.bigbluebus.com

Santa Monica – Many UCLA staff and faculty live in Santa Monica. Santa Monica is a well-to-do city of about 80,000 people west of UCLA. The vast majority of the residents – 70% – are renters, and most reside in multi-family housing. The average rent on a market-rate two bedroom unit in Santa Monica was $2,150, according to a city report released in 2012. The public schools are excellent; the sidewalks are wide and clean; the city government is well-run; and residents are no more than two blocks from a Big Blue Bus stop (although that is no guarantee of the headways). The Wilmont section of Santa Monica is the city’s densest corridor, although don’t be alarmed; the population densities more match Park Slope, Brooklyn than, say, Manhattan. The City approved a progressive long-range planning document in 2010 which articulates its vision for a future that includes focusing development near the forthcoming Expo Line, and reducing vehicle miles traveled through the expansion of bike infrastructure and siting neighborhood-serving retail near housing.

Commute times to UCLA vary based on your start point in Santa Monica and your end point on campus. Those who live off Wilshire Boulevard and work in Wilshire Center will find their commutes are less than 25 minutes door-to-door by bus. A door-to-door commute by bus for someone who lives on the edge of Venice and works on The Hill may be an hour.

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