So what's the real skinny on commuting to El Segundo? (Long Beach: real estate, rental)

[BRinSM]

unless things have changed in the last few years, my experience was that the 405 starts to back up towards south of LAX around 6am.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

unless things have changed in the last few years, my experience was that the 405 starts to back up towards south of LAX around 6am.

I just checked (it's about 7AM for you out there) and it's about 36 MPH at Hawthorne, the slowest spot heading north towards LAX. So yes, it's already slow.

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[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by atwalker

We're a family of four (2 very young kids) contemplating a move to SoCal from out of state to work in El Segundo. It looks like Torrence, Culver City, etc., are all workable commutes. But what's the real deal with commuting from Long Beach? Is this a case of "well, you can do it, but it's an hour in your car each way?"

Also- does Southern California have a metro system similar to the Washington DC Metro or BART?

Thanks.

Ok, I grew up in the area and work for Northrop. I lived in Torrance before moving to CO then back to Monterey. I have driven the 405 in both directions in the AM - from Torrance to Long Beach and from Torrance toward El Segundo. Going north is always worse because you are heading toward the airport and LA.

Here is my advice based on living in the area and as a parent with three young children. First priority is your family. Good schools can be found, believe in or not, right in El Segundo.

Next priority is quality of life including the effects of driving in LA traffic upon your husband. Trust me when I say no one likes to sit in LA traffic. There is enough stress in starting a new job without adding an 45min-1 hour+ commute to one's day - especially just to live in Long Beach.

So I would recommend El Segundo, Redondo, Manhattan and Torrance - All have good or better schools and are closer than Long Beach. IMO they are all nicer cities as well. If, for example, you lived in Manhattan Beach your husband could take surface streets to work and avoid the insanity known as the 405 at rush in LA.

This is also one of the secrets to living in LA which many locals have learned the hard way -

Live as close to work as possible and avoid the LA freeways.

I have done all the nasty commutes and eventually wised up and found a job near where I wanted to live. Driving that grid lock at rush hours just plain sucks.

Don't discount the obvious for the longer commute without doing more research on the areas in question first. I would never choose Long Beach over the South Bay cities, especially if working in the South Bay.

My 2c after living in the area for 40 years.

Derek

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Ok, I grew up in the area and work for Northrop. I lived in Torrance before moving to CO then back to Monterey. I have driven the 405 in both directions in the AM - from Torrance to Long Beach and from Torrance toward El Segundo. Going north is always worse because you are heading toward the airport and LA.

Here is my advice based on living in the area and as a parent with three young children. First priority is your family. Good schools can be found, believe in or not, right in El Segundo.

Next priority is quality of life including the effects of driving in LA traffic upon your husband. Trust me when I say no one likes to sit in LA traffic. There is enough stress in starting a new job without adding an 45min-1 hour+ commute to one's day - especially just to live in Long Beach.

So I would recommend El Segundo, Redondo, Manhattan and Torrance - All have good or better schools and are closer than Long Beach. IMO they are all nicer cities as well. If, for example, you lived in Manhattan Beach your husband could take surface streets to work and avoid the insanity known as the 405 at rush in LA.

This is also one of the secrets to living in LA which many locals have learned the hard way -

Live as close to work as possible and avoid the LA freeways.

I have done all the nasty commutes and eventually wised up and found a job near where I wanted to live. Driving that grid lock at rush hours just plain sucks.

Don't discount the obvious for the longer commute without doing more research on the areas in question first. I would never choose Long Beach over the South Bay cities, especially if working in the South Bay.

My 2c after living in the area for 40 years.

Derek

I think comparing the southbay to LB is too general. There are many parts of LB that are nicer than most of the southbay. There are parts of the southbay that are nicer than a lot of LB. Specific neighborhoods matter.

But I definitely agree, all things being equal, live as close to work as possible.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by NaplesRes

I think comparing the southbay to LB is too general. There are many parts of LB that are nicer than most of the southbay. There are parts of the southbay that are nicer than a lot of LB. Specific neighborhoods matter.

But I definitely agree, all things being equal, live as close to work as possible.

This is more the case with Long Beach than lets say El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo or Torrance. Long Beach is a large city of extremes areas from ghettos, drugs, high crime, prostitution, etc... to the nicer middle to upper class sub neighborhoods. And while it has its more disirable parts, that is really not the main point I am trying to make. Why live there when you can live somewhere just as nice or nicer closer to work? It just makes less sense to me.

Derek

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

This is more the case with Long Beach than lets say El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo or Torrance. Long Beach is a large city of extremes areas from ghettos, drugs, high crime, prostitution, etc... to the nicer middle to upper class sub neighborhoods. And while it has its more disirable parts, that is really not the main point I am trying to make. Why live there when you can live somewhere just as nice or nicer closer to work? It just makes less sense to me.

Derek

I think we're agreeing. You lumped the southbay together which is about the size of Long Beach. In my opinion neighborhoods in LB like Virginia Country Club or Naples are as nice as anything in the southbay (PV, South Redondo, etc.). There are also parts of LB that are as bad as Hawthorne or Lawndale. So it depends on the neighborhood.

Ultimately, if you can live close to work in a neighborhood that is just as nice as another you should.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by NaplesRes

I think we're agreeing. You lumped the southbay together which is about the size of Long Beach. In my opinion neighborhoods in LB like Virginia Country Club or Naples are as nice as anything in the southbay (PV, South Redondo, etc.). There are also parts of LB that are as bad as Hawthorne or Lawndale. So it depends on the neighborhood.

Ultimately, if you can live close to work in a neighborhood that is just as nice as another you should.

Yes, you are right. And that is why I specified the smaller cities closer to work such as El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo or Torrance. The larger South Bay has some cities which I would not recommend such as those you have mentioned. But I think this is an important point for someone new to LA and this area in specific. Neighborhoods vary much more extremely even within a city such as Long Beach than many other parts of the country.

So for example if the poster had heard from a friend that Long Beach or 'the South Bay' is a great place for a families they could wrongly assume that the whole city or area is great. And then go down the path of looking for place and finding a great deal in a very bad section of LA. And these depressed, high crime areas are only a few miles away from the nicer upscale areas (sometimes in the same city). That is something one discovers once they move here, but may not realize it upon first visit. Like I visited the Aquarium or Bel Monte Shores, so Long Beach is great right?

And yes please do not move to Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena or Torrance PO (LA Strip) as a new family to the area. It is always better to error on the side of caution with regards to crime and good schools when new to LA. Then later if you find a killer deal on a less exensive house in Hawthorne close to work and weigh all the associated risks and benefits and still like it then you can go do that. But you will be in a much better place in making an informed decision. And some families do make that choice for whatever reasons they have. The same is true for the less desireable parts of LB.

Derek

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Yes, you are right. And that is why I specified the smaller cities closer to work such as El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo or Torrance. The larger South Bay has some cities which I would not recommend such as those you have mentioned. But I think this is an important point for someone new to LA and this area in specific. Neighborhoods vary much more extremely even within a city such as Long Beach than many other parts of the country.

So for example if the poster had heard from a friend that Long Beach or 'the South Bay' is a great place for a families they could wrongly assume that the whole city or area is great. And then go down the path of looking for place and finding a great deal in a very bad section of LA. And these depressed, high crime areas are only a few miles away from the nicer upscale areas (sometimes in the same city). That is something one discovers once they move here, but may not realize it upon first visit. Like I visited the Aquarium or Bel Monte Shores, so Long Beach is great right?

And yes please do not move to Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena or Torrance PO (LA Strip) as a new family to the area. It is always better to error on the side of caution with regards to crime and good schools when new to LA. Then later if you find a killer deal on a less exensive house in Hawthorne close to work and weigh all the associated risks and benefits and still like it then you can go do that. But you will be in a much better place in making an informed decision. And some families do make that choice for whatever reasons they have. The same is true for the less desireable parts of LB.

Derek

well said

[f_m]

I would vote for Torrance or other similar adjacent areas so you don't have to drive very far, otherwise it's a pain. Torrance has good schools as do the nearby beach cities.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Beth56

El Segundo is a nice town to live in also.

I'll second this. El Segundo has an adorable main street, all kinds of restaurants and stores, a nice beach, and reasonably priced housing. You're near the airport, which is a little noisy, but I lived there for a few years and you get used to it. In fact, I thought it was kind of fun to watch the planes.

I haven't been there for a few years, but the Blue Line used to have a large station there (right next to Costco). I'm guessing it's still there. It's not convenient for getting to Long Beach (you'd have to transfer) but it's another good reason to choose El Segundo as a place to live.