[Head416]

Well, it's been a while now. I started working by LAX last Monday. We're looking at a house to rent, and I think we found the one. It's near Ladera Heights, but a little east. Which means it's kind of between a good area and a bad area. The several blocks right around it seem nice, we even drove through at midnight Friday night and everything was nice and quiet.

It's a 3 bed, 2 bath, plus a den, detached two-car garage, covered patio, and backyard... but we'll be paying $2,200. Quite a bit more than I was planning at first but we just don't want to cram into a little place. I'll be a few minutes from work but my wife will have a bit more of a drive. She'll be at UCLA two days a week and doesn't know yet where she'll be the other three, so there's only so much we can do.

I really appreciate all the advice. You guys woke me up to harsh realities of commute time and rent costs.