I've lived in the "L.A." area all my life. Where you live ought to be determined by where you
work. Otherwise, you're liable to be driving half of your life to get to and from work. I work
near Manhattan Beach right by LAX. It's expensive. The whole South Bay (Palos Verdes in the south to
Santa Monica in the north) is expensive as long as you are near the ocean. Unless you are working
graveyard shift, if you aren't within 15 or 20 miles of your job, it could take you up to an hour (or
more) to commute each way depending on where your job is. If I could afford it, I'd live in Manhattan
Beach or El Segundo to be near work. Unfortunately, my ~$230K house in the San Gabriel Valley 40 miles
inland would cost ~$500K+ in either of those two towns.
As far as a job, Computer Sciences
Corporation is probably the biggest IT outfit around these parts but they are always understaffed
and overworked. Everytime they get a new contract, they lay people off for some reason. They are
headquartered here in El Segundo.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Karl
You shouldn't have a problem finding an apartment in that price range in those areas. The crime rate is down in these areas also. My place is in a nice area and close to everything that you would want. Although it is about 20 min to the beach. Check 
is a whole 'nother matter!! 