HOUSING INFORMATION A. Off-Campus Living Most IBEAR participants choose to live off-campus in rented apartments or houses. There are many private apartment buildings within walking distance of the University. Also, there are numerous suitable residential areas within a 20-40 minute drive. Monthly rental fees for studio, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments average $800, $1000 and $1300 respectively. Most landlords will require a security deposit and a few require long-term leases before they will rent. One option to bypass the apartment search is to take over the apartment of a participant who is graduating. Classified advertisements typically found in local and community newspapers may be useful resources when you are looking for a place to rent. A few of the more popular papers are The L.A. Times, The Daily Breeze, The Larchmont Chronicle, Pasadena Star News, The Recycler, The Easy Reader, Pacific Palisades Post, North Shore Shopper, The Argonaut, The Outlook, Glendale News Press, Beverly Hills Courier, and West Hollywood Independent. Generally, you can purchase or pick up copies of these periodicals at local grocery stores, but local libraries are also convenient places from which to view the listings in several papers at one time, copy the ads you find interesting, and make phone calls to arrange to see the apartments. General Perspective of Neighborhoods: Arcadia/Pasadena/Glendale: Very nice and secure. There are many malls and parks. It is a great area for families with children. Arcadia is considered one of the best school districts of Los Angeles. Arcadia is a 40-70 min. commute to USC, Pasadena and Glendale being less time (30-60 minutes). Culver City/West L.A./Santa Monica: Many apartment buildings on Bundy drive, some of which are reasonably priced. Only 12 miles to USC and a 20 to 30 min. commute. Close to LAX airport, Beverly Hills and Downtown. Prices may be on the higher side near the beaches. Palos Verdes/Rolling Hills/San Pedro in the South Bay: Beautiful area, but 25 miles from USC. Takes 45 min. to commute to school. Very safe neighborhoods and houses, condos, and apartments are available for renting or leasing. Playa del Rey/Marina del Rey/El Segundo: Beach cities. Lots of beach sports, sailing/surfing/etc. Crowded on weekends, 16 miles from USC. Torrance/Redondo Beach/Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach in the South Bay: Rather secure, many places to dine out, large Asian community, and some houses are as affordable as apartments to rent. West Hollywood/Mid-Wilshire/Westwood: All areas toward the west of LA, which are along the Wilshire Blvd. corridor. Each community has its nice areas worth seeking out (ex. Westwood – younger university crowd, West Hollywood – mix of gay and Eastern Europeans). Near-Campus Housing Some students choose to live in the area surrounding the USC campus. An advantage to living close by is that you do not need a car to get to campus. There are several apartment buildings within easy walking or bicycling distance of the campus, and a University Tram Service provides transportation in most of these areas. While living near USC means living in an urban environment with its associated problems, the area within a mile radius of campus is patrolled by the USC Department of Public Safety (DPS). The following are suggested short-term, near-USC housing options: Chez Ronnee: 2 bedroom, 2 full bath, extra luxury apartments with an exquisite landscape built in a prime location to cater to the needs and comfort of USC students. For more information, call (213) 746-7121 or (213) 748-4314. Graduate Row: 1157 W. 30th, at the corner of 30th and Orchard Avenues. 1, 2, & 3 bedroom furnished apartments within walking distance to USC are available. For reservation information, contact Jerry Busch at (213) 746-4878. B. On-Campus Housing Although most Marshall MBA students live off campus, there are on-campus housing options for you to consider. USC Housing offers a wide variety of living arrangements. Accommodations include apartments, residence halls, and houses in a variety of styles, locations, and sizes. All USC housing facilities are fully furnished, include laundry facilities, provide local and long distance phone service, and provide an electronic security access system. Demand is high for USC Housing, and interested participants must apply as soon as possible in order to increase the chance of obtaining a unit. For further information, please contact: Housing Services Office Parking Structure X University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089-1332 Phone: (213) 740-2546/1809 or (800) 872-4632 Fax: (213) 740-8488 E-mail: housing@usc.edu Web site: http://housing.usc.edu C. Rental Listings One way that we can help you is by forwarding information from a rental subscription service. The Program Coordinator (Ivonne Castillo) may be contacted for this information. She will do a search based on your specifications and forward the listing to you. You may email her with this request at ivonne.castillo@marshall.usc.edu with the following information: 1. Name and email contact info. 2. Specifications that you're looking for in an apartment (ex. 1 bedroom, Santa Monica location, no pets, $1000-1500). 3. Any additional information that you would need to indicate. Web Sites – Relocation Information Relocation information is available for sale at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce bookstore. You can reference their website at http://www.lachamber.org/bookstore/rbk.html. State Information (213) 620-3030 http://www.gsa.gov/et/fic-firs/fic.htm County Information (213) 974-1311 http://www.co.la.ca.us/ City Information (213) 485-2121 http://www.ci.la.ca.us/ Tourist Information: (213) 689-8822, LA Convention & Visitor's Bureau Rentals sites include o http://www.westsiderentals.com o http://www.apartments.com/ o o http://www.aptsforrent.com/ http://www.rentals.com/ D. Roommates Having a roommate may be a good way to decrease some of your housing costs. If you are interested in sharing housing with another IBEAR participant and would like to speak to other participants who are also interested in having a roommate, please communicate with each other on the Online Discussion Board. Once you are confirmed, you will have access to the online forum. E. Temporary Housing At USC USC offers apartment and dormitory facilities to accommodate the needs of students attending the summer session at USC. This summer housing program is suitable for IBEAR participants who arrive during the summer and are looking for temporary housing arrangements. Assignments are made on a first-come basis. Housing rates for the summer are a bargain; they average 60% of the rates during the academic year. All apartments are furnished except for household items, such as kitchen utensils and bed linens. For further information, please visit the Housing Services web site at: http://housing.usc.edu Hotels - The following hotels are in close proximity to the campus: 1. Maison 140 Hotel 140 South Lasky Drive, Beverly Hills, CA. 90212 (310) 281-4000, (310) 281-4001 fax. Reservations (800) 432-5444. Nice location, near everything. 2. Vagabond Inn, 3101 S. Figueroa, telephone: (213) 746-1531, fax: (213) 746-9106, (discounted rate for students with letter of admission from USC). 3. Radisson Hotel, 3540 S. Figueroa, telephone: (213) 748-4141, fax: (213) 746-3255, (discounted rate with letter of admission from USC, depending on date). Located next to USC. 4. Holiday Inn, 1020 S. Figueroa, phone: (213) 748-1291, fax: (213) 748-6028. Location is approximately 10 blocks from USC (too far to walk). 5. Wilshire Grand Hotel, 930 Wilshire Blvd. at 7th Street (downtown LA), telephone: (213) 629-4321, fax: (213) 612-3989 6. Hyatt Regency, 711 S. Hope, (downtown LA), telephone: (213) 683-1234, fax: (213) 629-3230, (discounted rate for USC students, depending on availability).