Commuting from West Hollywood to Downtown (Pasadena, Santa Monica: apartments, neighborhoods, movies)

[newtola76]

Hello, I am new to LA, I just got a job in the downtown area, in the financial district. I am originally from DC and like the more urban neighborhoods of LA where you can do plenty of walking, go to see movies etc.. without having to drive. That said, I really liked the West Hollywood area. Would a commute to downtown be feasible, especially in rush hour, and if so, what do you think the average commute time would be, including on a bad day?

I really appreciate any advice you have. I am also considering the Silverlake and Los Feliz areas but I prefer to live in large buildings (for security reasons and maybe force of habit) and have not seen many of those in that area compared with West Hollywood.

Thanks!

[abstrak_tokatl]

yes, it's feasible. lots of public transportation there. Car wise, parking downtown goes for $5-10 per 15 minutes. And everything in L.A. is at least a half hour away, including "that store down the street." As the saying goes.

[newtola76]

Thanks! But if I drive, would it be a 30 minute drive or could it get to one hour + on a bad traffic day? I was given very different time estimates by various people ranging from 15 minutes to 90 minutes.

Parking will be provided by my employer, luckily.

[Desertho]

That sounds like a pain the ass. Since there are no freeways nearby, you have to crawl through to 10 miles of thich THICK car traffic on the side streets. An hour is the minimum during rush hours. Have you looked at Studio City or Pasadena as an alternative? They're both pretty urban with competitively-priced apartments (I'm guess if you can afford WeHo, you can afford anything). They're also close to freeways AND major rail lines.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

I live on the L.A./West Hollywood border and work downtown, and the commute is not bad (better than the other direction, it seems). Avoid the 110; just take Santa Monica, Melrose or Beverly, either to the 101 or into downtown via side streets. Takes anywhere from 15-35 minutes, depending.