Commute from Hollywood to Westwood (Santa Monica, West Hollywood: apartments, rent, home)

[XMethosX]

Hi

I am moving to LA in August and will be working out of Westwood. The areas that I am looking to move to are in Hollywood and I wanted to know what the normal commute time is for rush hour times; morning and evening. For example Hollywood blvd. to Wilshire (westwood).

[CESpeed]

You are probably going to have a 30 - 45 min commute.

[dingo050]

What part of Hollywood? I've driven from Wilshire/Westwood to Hollywood/La Brea several times during the afternoon rush hour and it takes me 45 minutes-1 hour taking Santa Monica Blvd. It's brutal. Bumper to bumper...I'm not sure what the alternatives are, except maybe going down to Olympic and taking La Brea up to Hollywood...

[katenik]

this is a 20-minute drive that can easily triple at peak traffic times, because all of the major E/W thoroughfares are very congested, often as late as 10am and as early as 2 or 3pm. as there is no freeway route that isn't illogical, you'll be crawling on surface streets much of the time. sunset usually moves a little faster than santa monica or wilshire, but make sure to drop south before you reach UCLA.

[LaEscritora]

I drive from Los Feliz (near Hollywood) to Westwood every day and it is brutal. The drive in the morning can take 40 minutes to an hour and I rarely get home at night in under an hour, sometimes longer. The worst part is that it is all surface streets and often bumper to bumper. It is totally do-able, but frustrating.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

That is a teeth-gnashing slog as a commute. If you plan to work in Westwood, live in Brentwood/West L.A./Santa Monica and hang out in Hollywood on the weekends.

[Sorcerer68]

It's quite shorter if you live somewhere like down by The Grove but still more than I'd like to drive. If you live in East Hollywood, add 20-30 minutes to whatever your commute is...

Live closer if possible. I have a feeling your issue is affordability.

[fastfilm]

If you must commute from, say, Wilshire + Westwood Blvd. to mid-Hollywood, I would utilize the following streets: Wilshire to Beverly Glen, east on Sunset, right on Holloway to left on La Cienega, to east on Fountain, to wherever (check maps in case I left out a street or two.)

What you're looking for in a genuine commute to a daily job is reliability of time of commute so that you're never late from traffic. "Shortcut" personal routes like these should avoid a lot of the variables of normal commuting routes. I would guestimate 40 minutes for the route I outlined.

A now-outdated reference book I once used for my farflung freelancer go-sees called "L.A. Shortcuts" once spelled it out for newcomers: L.A. traffic is so congested that quite often a windy, twisty, single lane mountain canyon road is a more reliable commute than a ten-lane freeway, which will always clog up from crawling at 20 mph to standstill stopped.

[LaEscritora]

Originally Posted by fastfilm

If you must commute from, say, Wilshire + Westwood Blvd. to mid-Hollywood, I would utilize the following streets: Wilshire to Beverly Glen, east on Sunset, right on Holloway to left on La Cienega, to east on Fountain, to wherever (check maps in case I left out a street or two.)

What you're looking for in a genuine commute to a daily job is reliability of time of commute so that you're never late from traffic. "Shortcut" personal routes like these should avoid a lot of the variables of normal commuting routes. I would guestimate 40 minutes for the route I outlined.

A now-outdated reference book I once used for my farflung freelancer go-sees called "L.A. Shortcuts" once spelled it out for newcomers: L.A. traffic is so congested that quite often a windy, twisty, single lane mountain canyon road is a more reliable commute than a ten-lane freeway, which will always clog up from crawling at 20 mph to standstill stopped.

FastFilm, I don't know if the OP will use this but I certainly appreciate the tip! I work right in that area and your shortcut will be a big help. Thanks!

[samson802]

Live in West Hollywood... tons of nice apartments near the Hollywood/West Hollywood border (west of La Brea and east of Fairfax). It'll be a shorter commute and rent is reasonable. Go west on Sunset, go through Beverly Hills, make a left onto Hillguard (sp?), and give it another mile and you'll be in Westwood. It really depends on the exact neighborhood you're relocating to, but don't take any other routes as you'll be stuck in traffic. Especially do not take Santa Monica... you'll be stuck for hours and wasting valuable gas. Wilshire is another good road to take, but that is if you're coming from Korea Town area. Good luck!!