How I Rent: Why I Left a “Perfect” Apartment

Brenner has a good thing going in LA: A great apartment, a neighborhood he loves, and a routine that works. He’s leaving anyway.

Why would he opt out of a setup that most renters dream about? We sat down with Brenner to talk about leaving a life that checks all the boxes, and why Austin is worth the risk.

Renter: Brenner

Location: Los Angeles, CA → Austin, TX

Occupation: Technical Account Manager

Who you share your apartment with: My plants

What's the most YOU thing in your apartment?: My artwork and plants. I think it's an extreme green flag that I can keep 14 plants alive.

How did you end up in your current LA apartment?

I've been in LA for eight years now, including college. I went to LMU, which is what originally brought me to LA. The first three years out of college, I lived with three of my good friends from back home in Hawaii. It was fun. But when you have three roommates in the house, all boys, it can be a lot after a few years.

I am a very organized and neat person. I was always the one cleaning up after my friends. I'm really grateful for the time I had with my buddies, but I just felt like I was at the point in my life where I wanted my own space.

I'm just east of Culver on Adams Boulevard. In the last 10 years, there's been so much new development. I live in one of the first buildings that was redeveloped on the street. Since then, they've built maybe 10 new ones. It's crazy.

I'm in a nice one-bedroom. It's got all my simple needs — an in-unit washer dryer, dishwasher, and central air. My selling point was the really good natural light. And I get a tandem parking stall for a one-bedroom, which is pretty rare.

Any trade-offs when you moved into your own place?

First off, coming from having roommates, I was like wow, I'm paying so much more in rent. Which is what it is.

My previous place was a three-story townhome where we all had our own bathrooms. I had a walk-in closet, and I have a decent amount of sneakers. So I really had to get creative with how much I could fit in my closet here. I had to purge some things for sure.

After eight years, what's the one thing LA taught you?

Everyone learns this the hard way — knowing when to drive somewhere is the most elite skill you can have. If you drive at the wrong time, your life will be miserable. It took me a little while to figure out, but now anytime I leave my apartment, it's like, okay, let's think about this. Am I going to get stuck in traffic for an hour? I think that's such an underrated skill.

So why leave?

I took inventory at the start of this year and was like, okay, I have this newfound freedom. I can be anywhere in the States. Why not try a new city?

Last year, I was actually in Austin for the second time ever for a work event. I was like, this place is really fun. Everyone's super active. The food is amazing. And best of all, the rent is $800 cheaper than what I pay now. Also, there's no state income tax in Texas, which is awesome.

So when you started looking in Austin, how did you figure out where to go?

Shameless plug — I used Apartment List.

The survey asks what neighborhoods you're interested in, and I was like, okay, I actually have no idea what any of these neighborhoods are. So I literally went on YouTube and looked up the best Austin neighborhoods. But it's one thing to show a neighborhood on camera. You can't really feel what it's like until you're actually there. So I flew up to Austin and explored different neighborhoods. One of them was North Austin by The Domain, and that's where I ended up settling.

What made that area click for you?

It actually reminded me a lot of Playa Vista here in LA, and I've always loved Playa Vista. It's new and modern, and it's quiet.

Everyone told me I should live downtown because that's where everything is. But I've lived in a busy city for the last eight years. I kind of would enjoy being a little further away from the action.

How does the new apartment compare to what you have now?

I'm definitely getting more square footage. My new one-bedroom will be about 800 square feet compared to maybe 650 now. I'm also getting a pool, a gym, and a co-working space. I'm really pumped to have all that.

One weird thing I noticed, and I've heard this is normal in Texas, is that there isn't assigned parking. There's a big parking structure, but you don't get your own stall like I have in LA.

Did you see it in person before signing?

I actually didn't tour this specific building myself. I toured some other apartments in Austin, but I used virtual tours pretty heavily. I also did a couple FaceTime tours with the leasing agent, which was super helpful. It just felt like a gut feeling.

As the move approaches, is there anything you feel anxious about?

The biggest thing is making friends.

When I moved to LA, my best friend moved with me, and we went to college together. It's so much easier to make friends when you already have friends. So the thing I'm most anxious about is meeting new people and having to make adult friends for the first time. I've been lucky to always be surrounded by people I've known for years. That's going to be a challenge for me because I'm not the most extroverted person.

But Austin is such an outgoing and active city that I feel like if I'm going to do this, this is the place.

Leaving a good apartment isn’t the obvious move. But for Brenner, that’s exactly why it feels right. It isn’t easy moving to a new city, but sometimes the next move isn’t about fixing what’s broken. It’s about exploring and finding out what else fits.