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Lady Gaga Lived Here In New York and There in Bel-Air

It may seem hard to imagine a world without Lady Gaga, but back when the singer was just Stefani Germanotta- a 20-year-old art school dropout with a flair for the absurd- she decided to leave her parents' Upper West Side apartment for a one bedroom walk-up in New York's Lower East Side.

A New York Post biography of Lady Gaga describes the apartment as nothing special, just a plain four walls with a futon, queen-sized mattress, and a record player crammed inside. Of course, there were some elements that were pure Gaga. She had a David Bowie picture above her bed and scared the neighbors with her less-than-demure way of dressing; one neighbor was particularly curious about the provocatively dressed "prostitute" living up stairs.

Fast forward a mere four years and Gaga-mania has swept the nation. The singer now has a more comfortable place to house her many eccentric hats and her collection of carnivorous couture in Bel-Air. In July, Gaga began renting a $5 million home in the hills of Bel-Air that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Hollywood.

Unlike the small apartment she rented while making it big, Lady Gaga's new $25,000 a month home has plenty of space for the singer to move around. It sits on an acre of land and boasts an impressive pool that overlooks the Hollywood Hills, perfect for an aching starlet.

See the photos.
Times certainly have changed for the pop star: where she once was begging for people to come to her performances at New York clubs, she is now avidly avoiding paparazzi flashbulbs in a Bel-Air mansion. One thing has remained unchanged though: Gaga's hatred of the mundane.

Have you seen her dressed in raw meat?

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Ilyce R. Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com and The Equifax Personal Finance Blog, and is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.
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