Is there a happy middle place to live between Santa Barbara and Santa Monica? Help two lovebirds out! (Oxnard: fit in)

[Tulipsncadberrys]

My boyfriend and I have been happily living together in L.A. for the past year. However, he is starting a PHD program in Santa Barbara, and I accepted a job at a Santa Monica law firm. We are trying to find a middle point to live where the commute won't drive both of us insane.

We're looking at Oxnard right now. I've heard mixed things about morning and evening commutes on the PCH?

I would really appreciate any traffic advice or suggestions of where else to live. It can be a little closer to L.A. than Santa Barbara, since I'll be commuting 5 days a week in traffic, and he won't have to go to school every day. We're both in our 20s, no kids and content to live frugally (we've been sharing a studio apartment)

Thanks!

[BRinSM]

all i have to say is ouch! at least one of you is going to have a miserable commute, possibly both of you. even from oxnard, you're looking at well over an hour commute each way. thousand oaks is at least an hour or so from santa monica during commuting hours and add atleast 20-30 minutes to/from oxnard. good luck!

[Tulipsncadberrys]

bleh, we thought Oxnard might be better because of its proximity to the PCH. Is the PCH traffic no better than 101 traffic (minus the pretty ocean view)?

[uptown_urbanist]

Any chance your boyfriend can take the train some of the time? There was a thread on commuting from LA to SB by public transit (or a combination of driving and train) a couple of weeks ago that had some useful information. If he could do some of the commute that way he could at least get a some work done while in transit. I think the trip to Santa Barbara from Union Station takes about two hours, but if you lived near one the stops along the way you could cut that time down, yet still be within bearable commuting distance for you.

I've been in similar graduate school positions (lived apart from my husband briefly, and several friends had situations similar to you and your boyfriend); you're setting yourself up to both be miserable and tired. I'd at least consider the possibility of each getting your own place to stay during the week; maybe your boyfriend could rent a room in SB and split his time between there and with you in Santa Monica. The commute is going to be horrible no matter how you try to work it. If it's like my program you might end up with more quality time together that way than you would if you both spend so much free time commuting and then he has to try to fit in coursework (or if you have a lot of long work hours) on top of that.

[JohnG72]

Driving mostly on the 405, it took me 1 hour, 15 minutes at 515pm to drive from Victory/405 to Playa del Rey today. Normally its not quite that bad, but sometimes its worse. For reference, its around 17 miles.

I agree with the suggestion about one person renting a room near where they work and return home on weekends.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I take the PCH all the time and seldom see it as an issue. I live in Oxnard, work in Ventura though. The big issue with the PCH is when a wreck happens, when a fire happens, rock slide, mud slide, or damage from an earthquake. I have seen all of these issues during my 44 years in the area. My dad worked in Santa Monica when I was a kid, we lived in Port Hueneme. He made that drive for 6 or 7 years. What better road in the area can you have to drive on though? Their is a reason that homes along the PCH sell for $million$. From the north end of Oxnard I can make it to Santa Monica in less than an hour. It can get busy though.

[VLWH]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I take the PCH all the time and seldom see it as an issue. I live in Oxnard, work in Ventura though. The big issue with the PCH is when a wreck happens, when a fire happens, rock slide, mud slide, or damage from an earthquake. I have seen all of these issues during my 44 years in the area. My dad worked in Santa Monica when I was a kid, we lived in Port Hueneme. He made that drive for 6 or 7 years. What better road in the area can you have to drive on though? Their is a reason that homes along the PCH sell for $million$. From the north end of Oxnard I can make it to Santa Monica in less than an hour. It can get busy though.

Move to Oxnard and buy a speed boat.

[streetscenes]

There is a lot of commuter traffic that comes from the south (Ventura, Oxnard, etc.) into Santa Barbara every day. Most working class people can't afford to live in Santa Barbara so they drive in everyday.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Oxnard already mentioned ... also, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Westlake, and if you can afford it, Malibu. I purposely left out Ventura - that's getting skewed too much in the direction of SB and the commute to Santa Monica from there would be pretty bad.