Relocating for a position in EL Segundo (Pasadena, Santa Monica: 2015, apartment)

[MikeGarz]

I'll be relocating to LA from Philly in the next month and a half and have a question about the commute from Downtown to EL Segundo. How "manageable" would that drive be? * I don't mind leaving early around 6am ish.

My girlfriend would not have a car and would be getting a job in the agency/photography area so it limited our options to Culver City and Downtown. Both would have many options for her, but Culver City from what i can tell is much more expensive. So Downtown seems like a great option, except for the commute part ?

I've found some great places in downtown, but haven't decided yet mainly due to not knowing how the commute would be. I'm not expecting a quick 25 minute commute, but well over an hour might be a problem.

Are there any public rails that connect the two? that could be an option as well.

** We are only looking at apartment buildings ( mid / high rise )

Thanks,

[StreetLegal]

What is your approximate monthly housing budget?

Not sure there is a huge difference in rent between Culver City and Downtown LA (DTLA), unless you are looing at Skid Row in DTLA. It is true there is more new development in DTLA so there are more housing options to choose from but the new development is expensive.

There is the "Green Line" light rail which has a station in El Segundo but depends on where your office is in El Segundo. You'd take the Blue Line from DTLA and transfer to the Green Line to get to El Segundo.

Culver City has the Expo Line light rail running through it which connects it directly to downtown LA. But requires too many transfers and back tracking to get you to El Segundo in an efficient manner. The "Expo Line" Phase II will open in late 2015 or early 2016 which will connect Culver City to Santa Monica. Right now the Expo Line Phase I only connects Culver City to Downtown LA.

Drive time from DTLA to El Segundo with no traffic is about 25 minutes. By no traffic I mean at 1am in the morning. At peak hours I would estimate about 45 minutes to 55 minutes.

Culver City to El Segundo is 15 minutes with no traffic. At peak hours I am not sure but I am guessing about 40 minutes to an hour.

Peak hours is a relative terms in LA since you can get hit with a traffic jam at almost any hour. But roughly speaking peak hours are 7am to 10am mornings and 3 or 4pm to 7pm or 8pm evenings.

[MikeGarz]

Originally Posted by StreetLegal

What is your approximate monthly housing budget?

Not sure there is a huge difference in rent between Culver City and Downtown LA (DTLA), unless you are looing at Skid Row in DTLA. It is true there is more new development in DTLA so there are more housing options to choose from but the new development is expensive.

There is the "Green Line" light rail which has a station in El Segundo but depends on where your office is in El Segundo. You'd take the Blue Line from DTLA and transfer to the Green Line to get to El Segundo.

Culver City has the Expo Line light rail running through it which connects it directly to downtown LA. But requires too many transfers and back tracking to get you to El Segundo in an efficient manner. The "Expo Line" Phase II will open in late 2015 or early 2016 which will connect Culver City to Santa Monica. Right now the Expo Line Phase I only connects Culver City to Downtown LA.

Drive time from DTLA to El Segundo with no traffic is about 25 minutes. By no traffic I mean at 1am in the morning. At peak hours I would estimate about 45 minutes to 55 minutes.

Culver City to El Segundo is 15 minutes with no traffic. At peak hours I am not sure but I am guessing about 40 minutes to an hour.

Peak hours is a relative terms in LA since you can get hit with a traffic jam at almost any hour. But roughly speaking peak hours are 7am to 10am mornings and 3 or 4pm to 7pm or 8pm evenings.

The range I've been looking at is between $1700 - $1900 / month. Depending on what is included in the rent, how big the apartment is, etc. We've lived in lofts/studios here and have found many in the DTLA area which is nice. I've actually stayed away from the skid row area when looking for places. Mainly focusing on the financial district even the the arts district.

Collectively I agree that the price between the two isnt much different, but when we focused on high rise or loft buildings DTLA was a bit cheaper.

I guess ~45 isn't to bad at all, would it be less if I were to leave at say 6-6:30? I think I can deal with that type of commute if it meant living in DTLA.

** that price range is just base rent not including utilities / etc

[ccm123]

I used to commute from South Pasadena to El Segundo. South Pasadena is just north of Downtown LA. I left home at 6:15 AM and arrived around 6:50-6:55 AM consistently. That was more than 10 years ago, and I hear traffic has gotten worse.

The commute back home will be worse than the one commuting to work. Afternoon traffic on 110 starts backing up around 3:00 PM through Downtown. I had to commute all the way through Downtown to get back home and it always took about 30 minutes or more just to get through Downtown, where all of the traffic congestion was. My commute back home was always an hour or more.

[StreetLegal]

Originally Posted by MikeGarz

I guess ~45 isn't to bad at all, would it be less if I were to leave at say 6-6:30? I think I can deal with that type of commute if it meant living in DTLA.

As ccm noted, yes, leaving that early will make a big difference. Coming back in the afternoon/evening is another story. But if you live downtown you can avoid the crawl on the 110/Harbor Freeway by getting off and taking side streets when you get close to downtown.

[MikeGarz]

Thank you both, I don't have a problem leaving that early. I'm sure I'll learn my way around eventually to take the side streets to cut some time off.

Not sure if it'll make a difference, but I'll most likely be living just west of the financial district.
1111 Wilshire to be exact. So I won't be directly in DTLA, I've heard the area is nice as well. Curious what your thoughts of that area is before I make anything official.

[agnt.starling]

I now reside in El Segundo and work in DT, being that I came from the San Gabriel Valley (-which was a painful commute), the commute to DT both am/pm to/from El Segundo is doable. However, I don't do the Fastrak because it's so expensive, it's just easier to take the streets. But a lot of people don't like doing that because of the lower income areas you have to drive through. I've also done the Greenline/Blueline and it's not that bad, either way, I have to be at work by 7am & work long days so I can have a couple days off each month.

Leaving the office at 4:30pm, driving home by streets up until I get the 105 west, it's usually 30 minutes. Longer if by rail, but not too much longer.

So if your living in DT, it shouldn't be that bad of a commute.