I live in Los Angeles... in the Silver Lake area, east of Hollywood - west of downtown.
Let me preface the following with this: I hate moving.
For a while, I was moving every two years or so. My lovely old apartments kept getting leveled in order to develop massive luxury condo complexes. I finally landed in the "Fairfax district" and thought to myself, "I am never moving again!" But then Steve and Alice announced that they were leaving their $235-a-month Silver Lake bungalow because they'd purchased a condo in Echo Park (Steve and Alice were always like 10 years ahead of the moving trend). I asked how much the rent would go up on their apartment. "Oh, the landlady/owner said she'd raise it to $350/month if we could find a good tenant to replace us." Holy mother of Buddha! $350/mo!?! I'll take it! Practically sight-unseen, I was moving (again!) to Silver Lake.
Silver Lake, at that time, was known for: Sunset Junction Street fair, a smattering of street gangs, the Dust Brothers, homeless peeps, starving artists, the Red Lion, Uncle Jer's, Spaceland, the Vista theater, Rockaway Records and Millie's on Sunset. There is also a smattering of old-school Mexican restaurants, my favorite is ('cause they know me by name there) El Chavo. Silver Lake was fun, quirky, somewhat run down and a little scary. Ironically, the week before I moved from Fairfax I was burglarized. While giving my police report I explained about why I had all those empty boxes in my living room and told them I was moving.
Officer #1: "What area are you moving to?"
Me: "Silver Lake."
Officer #2: "Going from the fryin' pan into the fire, huh?"
LA's finest - snickering at my expense.
Silver Lake has changed dramatically since I moved here 10+ years ago. There are now restored old craftsman homes, more upscale stores, restaurants, salons, bars, clubs, vintage shops, coffee houses etc. The elderly neighbors seemed to pass away one by one, and younger families have taken their place. Oh, and there are lots of dogs... lots and lots of people walking lots and lots of dogs. We even have a dog park. There's wild life here too - skunks aplenty, racoons, possums, coyotes, and the ever present squirrel population. Traffic has increased... but I can always (unlike Fairfax) find a parking spot in front of my building - with the exception of the street fair weekend. One antiquated drawback? We still have (often when it rains) the occasional electrical blackout. It's a good thing I like candles and have plenty on hand.
How I've managed to remain in my quasi-rundown Spanish bungalow at such a small monthly cost is nothing short of a miracle. I've lived through 4 sets of landlords... and an attempted eviction (I pay 1/3 the rent as my newest neighbors so getting me to move out was obvious). The eviction story is a blog in and of itself (and just a notch above a Judge Judy episode), but needless to say, I won.
So every month when I pull out my checkbook to pay my rent, I drop to my knees and light the nearest candle (if it rains, I have to light two). I am so very grateful! I may not have found "Mr. Right" yet, but damn it, I HAVE A RENT CONTROLLED APARTMENT IN SILVER LAKE, and that's nothing to balk at. Even some of the happiest couples don't have rent control.
"...beauty is fleeting - but a rent-controlled apartment is forever."
- Sex and the City
8 comments:
very good reason to stay there. I have a very cheap 2 bedroom in your old hood. I may stay forever.
When you say "very cheap" you mean the rent, right?
No, cheap because it's made of stale bread. It needs daily repairs and it attracks ducks like crazy but it does the trick.
Ok, so when you say "trick" you means serves its purpose, right?
I'm not going near that one Missy.
I enjoyed your story. No offense, but didn't you once live next to the AVCO?
Alvy? Alvy Singer?
Very interesting. Me too. 3BR, 3BA, a C note a month. I suppose they'll find me there one day, surrounded by cats nibbling on my toes.
So about El Chavo. Say, how are the margaritas there? Any idea?
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