1loudz

Hey all,

My girlfriend and I are moving back to So. Cali in the next couple months after she finishes school. We're not sure yet what Grad school she got into or where exactly I am going to be working. The schools that she has the best chances are in Culver City and Cerritos. I'm not really a big fan of living in LA, and would rather live in So. Orange County, aliso viejo/dana point/mission viejo/laguna niguel, etc. I'm wondering if she was in school in those two areas up in LA, how long of a drive would it be for her each way with traffic? or how early she'd have to leave to avoid a lot of it? Will it be too much of a pain? I'd rather work in OC also. I have a degree in Regional Development/ Business/ Planning if anyone out there has any connections by the way, lol.

Any input is appreciated! I Look forward to possibly riding with some of you someday!

-Ryan

VanceMac

My advice, based solely on my priorites -- suck it up for a couple years (however long she is in grad school), find employment AND residence as close to her school as possible. Driving around here sucks hard, and I will do anything to avoid even looking at my car during either rush hour (which is more like 4 hours... each).

I guess it depends on the nature of her grad school. If she will be going to campus at odd times, or only a couple days/week, then you have some latitude to make your job location more of a priority. Either way, make sure you are not working very far from where you live. Most of the stereotypes about LA are way off, but the traffic nightmare is absolutely true, getting worse, and I have seen zero evidence that it will get any better in my lifetime.

Brandy

Hey Ryan, welcome to the forum. It really depends on what time of day she'll be commuting. I'm in Huntington Beach and we're just under 40 miles from LAX. Now, it could take 45 minutes or 90 minutes to get there...add in another 20-30 miles coming from south Orange county and you have what could be a nightmare of a commute.

Happytime

I agree. Nothing saps the life outa you like being stuck in traffic for hours and hours each day.

I don't know about Cerritos, but Culver City isn't too bad. Parts of it are undergoing a renovation and it is one of the few "affordable" areas remaining on the West Side. Plus, it's not too far from the South Bay Beach Path via the Ballona Creek Bikeway if you're interested in cycling. That way you have access to Malibu to the north and PV to the south.

Yeah, I agree with Vance. Traffic is a nightmare. Don't commute!

voltman

Make sure she brings single friends back.

Burrito Eater

I live in Long Beach and work in Culver City at a college (wonder if it is the same one?). I used to commute from Long Beach to Foothill Ranch which is closer then the cities you mention, It was about 50 min, without traffic. Now if you are going from those cities to Culver City up the 405, it takes about another 30 without traffic. So call it 1 hour and 20 min WITHOUT traffic. Factor in that it takes me at least an hour to get home to LB at night 3 times a week, and commuting from Culver City to the cities you mention would be absolute hell. Get a place on the Westside and call it a day, at least in LA things stay open past 9:00PM.

Pamestique 

I agree with Vance, you need to live close to school and work. Yes I Agree OC is nice, but the commute will kill you unless... school starts very late morning and you don't start your travel until say 9:30 - 10am (can't imagine classes will start as early as 5am so you have to shoot for the late classes). Then give yourself (I mean the GF) an 1 hour or so (barring no sig alerts or traffic accident) to get to Culver City. As someone who does alot of work in Century City, near Culver City, you will have to wait until after 8 pm to get that drive under 2 hours back home. And that's to Tustin where i live. Add another 1/2 - hour for South OC.

Cerritos is alittle better especially if you look for residence around Huntington Beach up to West Anaheim. If she has to do school in LA and you work in OC, good location to live is Cerritos or North Long Beach, maybe even West HB, Seal Beach etc. Lots of good bike riding there as well.

And dude - South OC is awesome, but... means your girlfriend will have the most wicked commute - she gets to hit all the extreme traffic areas like the "Y" and the "Crush" and then traffic from Buena Park on into LA. If she doesn't have to be in school every day or can do some work via computer maybe this will work out for you otherwise may the force be with you! You'll need it!

Sci-Fi

It would depend on the time of day. Cerritos shouldn't be too bad, but getting to Culver City from OC (without getting off the 405 and taking an alternate route ~around the LAX exit) means hitting a section equivalent to the Orange Squeeze at the 5/91 interchange. If she can get to the Howard Hughes Parkway, the 2nd exit after the Manchester/La Cienega exit, she can get to Sepulveda Blvd and go wherever she needs to in Culver City without too much problem. Again depending on the time of day, the trip back should be ok.

rooftest

/\ what he said about living farther north in OC. I used to live in Brentwood, and traffic on the westside of LA sucks really bad. Calling Culver City the Westside is a serious stretch btw.


You didn't mention where you live now but I've been around to many cities all over the world, and traffic sucks everywhere. Get out a map - 30 miles during rush hour in LA is pretty much the same as 30 miles during rush hour in DC, or Tokyo, or San Francisco, or Paris. (Paris is probably the worst.)

Pamestique 

This is why Orange County is so perfect - you can actually live and work here and have a reasonable commute. It is God's country (OK behind San Diego which is even better!).

1loudz

We live in Tucson, AZ right now, so It'll be quite a change. I've lived in Mission Viejo for a bit, but am a native Tucsonan. I know how bad it can be though. She is from Century City/Westwood area and she's kinda used to it. I'm kind of praying she gets into the cerritos school, and maybe we can live in the huntington area or someplace a lil closer can work.

1loudz

It's actually West LA College. She's applying for Dental Hygiene. She was going to go to dental school, then decided she was kinda burnt out from her bachelors and thought hygiene was a better choice.

urbanknight

We live in the San Fernando Valley and my wife works in south LA, almost to orange county. To avoid the mess, she works 7:30-4:00 which makes it an hour to work and 1.5-3 hours home, depending on her luck (Fridays are usually 2.5-3). It's not terrible, but what a pita. We're thinking of moving to Orange County soon, especially if I can find a job down there.

JustMe

I'm reasonably sure there are schools in the Tuscon area that have courses for dental hygienests. If not, the university of Arizona has a great campus in Flagstaff. Why would you even consider moving to So.Cal. from where you are? Not to mention that opportunities for a career in urban/regional development are probably far more available in Arizona since so many people are trying to get out of So.Cal.

cjbruin

Aren't there enough women out here for you to fear?

voltman

Fear knows no bounds.

Pigtire

I live in Venice and I used to commute (both by car and bike) when I worked in the Culver area and I have to say it's not a bad place(of course depends on the area). I'm not sure about OC but housing/apartment rental in that area is still reasonable. If you decide to live close by the school, the commute within Culver city/West LA area is not really that bad till you hit the major freeways.

jsigone

traffic sucks, LA traffic sucks, 101, 405 and 91 are to be avoided at all times during rush hr. And any time other then rush hr is just a coin toss on those freeways, even weekends.

Find a place within 5-10 miles of her school, hell even just 10 miles is pushing it.

1loudz

Unfortunately, the only "Accredited" school in Tucson has a 2 year waiting list. I have a good job here and wouldn't mind staying till she did school, but not 4 more years, I'd go insane. Once you're done with school, it's the most boring place you could be. It does have amazing cycling though. I love being able to just head out my door and ride to wherever I want safely. Either way, we're defintely moving to so. cal.

Happytime

Hey... are you part of that Arizona team we're doing battle against over at BikeJournal?

Come. Bring your miles.

1loudz

I dont even know what bikejournal is, sorry