Living in the valley (818) and commuting to Seal Beach (Long Beach: how much, motel)

[RodC]

Hello all,

I live in the valley, currently in West Hills although I will be relocating to a more central part of the valley soon. As much as I would like to live closer to my work, I need to stay in the valley for now, so a major relocation is not an option.

I recently accepted a position with Boeing which will have me driving down to Seal Beach for the next 4 months. I say 4 months, because my position is part of a rotation program which will have me working at different Boeing sites for about the next two years, before settling into a more permanent position of my choosing. I don't know for sure what the other locations will be, but I understand some of the sites involved in the program are in Anaheim, Long Beach, El Segundo, and more. Basically, I will be commuting a pretty good distance south for the next couple of years.

Anyway, I expect the drive from the valley down to Long Beach-Seal Beach to take a couple of hours. I haven't done it yet, but if anyone could shed some light on just how long it will take, that would be useful.

The main reason for my post, though, is to find out about mass-transit alternatives. I have never used Metrolink before, but I am seriously considering it as an alternative to driving 50+ miles each way. Would it be easily accessible for this commute, and how much time might the train be able to shorten my commute by? How reliable is the service in terms of running on time? Is there anyone here making a similar commute with stories to share?

Thanks in advance for any stories and tips. I still have a couple of weeks before my start date, although I will be making the trip down to Seal Beach this coming Friday to pick up some equipment and sign some forms. If I need to arrive at 8:00 a.m., I am planning to leave sometime around 5:30 a.m. just to leave an extra cushion and so I don't screw up on the first day.

[POhdNcrzy]

I would leave at 5 am instead, for sure, at least until you've made the commute a few times and gotten a feel for it.

Also, the earlier you leave, the quicker you'll get there. BTW, I'm no expert on LA traffic, but fairly familiar.

[RodC]

Yeah, sounds like a good idea. It can't hurt to arrive early.

[the one]

i dont do this route as it extends far into the valley, but im sure a bus train route exists.

i recently read an article in the paper about a woman who commutes close to 3 hours each way from far out in the IE to santa monica.

she drives to her local metro link station and rides west into union station then drives a second car into SaMO. yes she has two cars.

it might be a grueling commute, but if you have two cars leave one at the red line stop in the valley. ride into metro station to catch the blue line south to downtown LB where your second car awaits the last leg into seal beach...

or
maybe consider living close to the red line.

the red line into downtown LA, 1/2 an hour.
the blue line in to downtown LB, 50 mins.

but you still need to get to work. maybe keep a car in LB?

FYI, the LB bus system is notorious for long waits and or redirected/revised routes. as for other buses or shuttles in the SB area ???

good luck. try out the train.

[brikag]

[quote=the one;4118268] maybe keep a car in LB? [quote]

Wow. keep a car in LB? It'll be gone when he turns and heads for the train.

You're coming from the westhills area...
Park the car at Warner Center, it's safer, and take the orange bus line from there to NOHO station. Take the red line to union station. Once there, you'll come to the main lobby and look for the blue line for long beach. The entry point is a ramp to the second level. Take that all the way to LB and either 5th or 1st. Here... I hooked up a link to where you need to go.

http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/maps/system_map.pdf (broken link)

My suggestion is to try it out on a weekend and see if it works out! The timing will be different, but at least you can see the route and the bus numbers you need to take. good luck

[RodC]

It's a nice plan, and one I had already considered, but I couldn't really afford to do that and I wouldn't feel good about leaving my car in a commuter lot every night. I might try to work out a train/bus combo, but it's looking like driving all the way might be the safest and simplest bet.

[SandyCo]

You do realize how much you'll be spending in gasoline, etc., right?? Wow, even four months of a commute like that would kill me. There's really no great way to get there, except by driving, unfortunately. The NIMBYs in West L.A. have consistently said "no" to subways or light rail in their part of L.A., so this is the result.

Too bad you don't know someone in Seal Beach or close by that you could stay with during the week, so you'd only have to make that drive once a week instead of five times a week. People did that after the Northridge earthquake when the Newhall Pass freeways were down.

Welcome to City-Data!

[CESpeed]

If you took the 405, the worst of the traffic you would experience would be trying to get into Westwood/West LA area. Once you get past the airport, it should be about 30-45 min to get to Seal Beach and Long Beach (Seal Beach is the next town south of Long beach + 15 min for Seal). El Segundo will be your shortest commute (next to airport). Anaheim will be your nightmare commute. I would highly recommend the 5. The 5 is crowded, but it is the most direct route. I was able to drive from Anaheim to Northridge in 45 min on the 5; however, I left just after traffic hour (6pm), so I would double -triple that time. Good Luck. The main problem with public/mass transit is location to site. IF there is a metrolink station near your site, check into it, if not, get some great cds, set your favorite radio stations and keep some snacks in the car. Good Luck.

[bhcompy]

might be cheaper for you to stay in a cheap motel rather than drive back and forth.

metrolink wise, you can probably find a bus/train combo.. I dunno. Los Alamitos is researching how they can extend metrolink into the city(which usually means Seal Beach will do something similar), but I doubt that will help you now.

[BRinSM]

when you're in anaheim (metrolink) or el segundo (flyaway bus), you may have transit options depending on the location of your office, but you'll be stuck making the long drive when your job is in seal beach. hopefully you can get your boss to let you start early and leave early. something like 6am-3pm would probably be ideal. 7-4 wouldn't be too bad either, but if you have to start at 8, its going to be a loooooooooong day.