Thinking about buying a home but signing another lease instead? Welcome to Rental Diaries, where real people break down what it’s actually like to rent—what they pay, what they sacrifice, and what they’re still dreaming about.
Today, a Los Angeles native shares how she found the 1,200-square-foot rent-controlled apartment that has served her family of four for more than 16 years.
What was your home experience when you were growing up?
My earliest memories are of apartment living. We always had an upstairs neighbor or someone living right next door to us. Basically, from the ages of 0-13, I was never in a place where we didn’t share a wall with someone. Then my second brother was born, and our two-bedroom apartment got a little too cozy. Not to mention, we only had one bathroom, and as a pre-teen girl, that was tough. We eventually moved into a three-bedroom home in Orange County, which was much more affordable for my family than buying in Los Angeles. The new house was wild to me, because I finally had space of my own: my own room with my own closet and a bathroom I didn’t have to fight for (as much). But deep down, I think I missed the apartment.
What was your living situation like before you found this apartment?
Before my current apartment, my husband and I were in a small one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles, paying way too high a rent for what we were getting.
Did you ever think about buying?
We could either send our kids to private school or buy a house. Because the school district in the Los Angeles area we wanted to live in was not the best, we chose private school. And I wouldn’t change that decision for the world. We weren’t willing to give up location just to be homeowners.
What made you start looking for a new place?
Once we found out we were expecting, we knew we had to look for another place—one with a lot more room. But we didn’t move into a new place until our baby boy started crawling. Once a baby is mobile, you really start to realize how important square footage is. Also, parking was awful in that neighborhood. We had two cars and no designated parking spaces, which meant a few very expensive parking tickets if we forgot to move on street-cleaning days.
Did you have any non-negotiables?
I did not want to live in a place that opened up into a hallway. That felt way too claustrophobic. And we definitely needed two bathrooms (the secret to a happy marriage).
Anything else you were looking for?
Some areas of Los Angeles are rent-controlled, meaning landlords cannot raise your rent more than a designated percentage each year. We knew we wanted to take advantage of this.
Did you have a specific neighborhood in mind?
We knew we wanted to stay in LA proper. The rich culture of our neighborhood and our proximity to museums, restaurants, and parks made it very appealing to a family just starting out. I love that on any given outing, you can hear at least three different languages spoken. What