Apartments for Rent in Los Angeles

Los Angeles apartments simply soak up the sunshine and star power. This mega-metropolis is the second most populous city in the United States and one of the most ethnically diverse. In places it's thick with skyscrapers and in others it sprawls-along river basins, mountainsides, flats, and the sparkling seashore. From freeway to freeway, from the Kodak Theater to the waves of the Pacific Palisades, it's all Los Angeles. And all you need to become a bona fide Angeleno is a Los Angeles apartment.

L.A. is sunshine and smog. It's full of both fabulous fortunes and hardscrabble luck. Celebrity sightings and bumper-to-bumper traffic, earthquakes and world-class educational opportunity-these things all give Los Angeles character. Choosing the neighborhood that best suits your style-be it along Hollywood's Walk of Fame, in the hills of Los Feliz, among the Downtown lofts, or near the museums of the Miracle Mile will help you narrow your search for the perfect selection of apartments in Los Angeles.

Spanish governor, Felipe de Neve, founded Los Angeles in 1781. Forty years later, after the Mexican War of Independence, the area was claimed by Mexico. It wasn't until 1848 that California was purchased back by the United States. L.A was incorporated as a city shortly thereafter, just before California joined the union in 1850. By 1900, the population of Los Angeles was over 100,000. In 1930, more than a million people called L.A. home. It enveloped the San Fernando Valley after World War II and, as of 2010, held more than 3.7 million people.

Los Angeles is an international center of business, trade, education, science, and-of course-entertainment. Hollywood makes L.A. the "Creative Capital of the World." According to the University of Southern California, more creative artists are concentrated in L.A. than anywhere else, at any time in history. That means jobs in motion pictures, television, video games, music, and more. Other major industries in L.A. include international trade, aerospace, technology, fashion, and tourism. It's also a center of manufacturing.

If you've come to study, you'll have a ton of options apartments for rent in Los Angeles near your campus. There are three public universities: U.C.L.A.; Cal State University, L.A.; and Cal State, Northridge. Private colleges are too numerous to list, but include U.S.C., the American Film Institute Conservatory, Loyola Marymount University, and Occidental College. There's also a robust community college system in Los Angeles.

The average one-bedroom apartment in L.A. rents for $1,383. Two-bedrooms come in at around $1,628. Of course, you'll find a vast range of apartments and houses available in the huge city of Los Angeles. A chic house in Hancock Park costs more than an apartment in a grittier section of Westlake.

If you're moving to or within Los Angeles, you'll also rapidly learn to consider your commute. L.A. is a big city and traffic is a way of life. Think about how far your prospective apartment is from work and what freeways and surface streets you'll take to cross the distance. The joke is: it takes half an hour to get from anywhere to anywhere else in Los Angeles. Be careful the joke isn't on you.

You want entertainment? Los Angeles has you covered. This is where the magic happens. If a movie is playing anywhere in the world, it's probably on a screen in L.A. You can tour Universal Studios, gawk at the Capitol Records building, or compare your hands to Jack Nicholson's prints in the cement outside of Grauman's Chinese Theater. Later, catch a concert at the Hollywood Bowl or grab a cocktail at the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip. Feeling sporty? Go see the Dodgers, the Kings, the Clippers, or the Lakers play. Stroll along Muscle Beach in Venice or motor along Mulholland Drive atop the Hollywood Hills. Don't forget your star map to find the homes of the rich and famous.

Angelenos know how to throw a party, and they're good at wrangling invites, too. January is the Tournament of Roses and the Rose Parade. February, join the red-carpet crush at the Oscars. There's the L.A. Marathon and then the Dodgers season opener and you're into summer. When it's hot, the Hollywood Bowl gets swinging with the Playboy Jazz Festival. No less than five film festivals later, it's almost Christmastime, and you can watch Pacific grey whales migrate along the coast.

No matter what you're in the mood for, you'll find it in L.A.-even if it's peace and quiet. Rent.com® has the Los Angeles apartment listings you need to make this city your home.