Whether movie stars, traffic snarls, or juice bars come to mind when you think of Los Angeles, CA, the reality is, there’s a lot to love about living in the City of Angels. And LA lovers say it lives up to the hype.
“It’s such an amazing, collaborative city for independent artists and small business owners,” says lifestyle photographer Jeff Mindell, who has lived in Los Angeles with his wife for five years and hopes to buy his first home in the next several months. “You really can’t beat it. I wake up every day so happy to live here.” LA-based creative director Whitney Leigh Morris, who posts about living in a tiny Venice Beach cottage on Instagram, agrees. “I’ve lived in many other cities, big and small, United States and abroad,” she says, “And I came back to LA.”
But there is a downside to living in a city where everyone wants to be: Whether you rent or own, Los Angeles is a particularly challenging (and competitive!) real estate market. We chatted with Morris and Mindell to get a sense of what it’s really like to find a place to live in La-La Land — these are their 10 best tips to keep in mind when you’re hunting for houses for sale in Los Angeles.