Commuting Time (Santa Ana, Irvine, Fullerton: for sale, real estate, home)

[nr10]

I am trying to figure out how long it will take to commute from Irvine to Downtown LA. Being specific how about if I left Irvine at 6AM? At 7AM? Also how long will the evening commute be - leaving downtown at 5PM or 6PM.

Many thanks.

[EscapeCalifornia]

1.5-2 hours each way. Leave before 6am or after 7pm or those numbers go up.

[missionhome]

I would take Metrolink if I were you. Board at Irvine Station at 7:05AM or Tustin Station (depending on which is closer to your home) at 7:11AM. Train arrives at Union Station in Downtown at 8:15AM. That is way faster than a car is going to be and much more relaxing. At least you can read or use a laptop.

On the return, trains leave Union Station at 5:40PM arriving in Tustin at 6:40PM and Irvine at 6:47PM. A train also leaves at 6:30PM arriving in Tustin at 7:27PM or Irvine at 7:34PM.

Buying a monthly pass also opens you to certain Amtrak Train routes as part of the "Rail 2 Rail" plan.

Once at Union Station there are a variety of options to get you to your office. You could walk, take a taxi, a bus, or the metro lines/subway.

Metrolink :: Schedules

[missionhome]

Yep so it will be about a little over an hour if you take the train.

You could live in this home for example for sale at $745k (I saw you wanted around 800K).
3462 EBOE, Irvine, CA | California Real Estate | Listing Information

It is a slightly older home, but has been redone nicely and has a pool. The local elementary school, College Park Elementary, is just a short walk down the street in the center of the neighborhood. It is rated a 9/10. Venado Middle School is about 1.5 miles away and rated a 10/10 and your kids could probably walk the 1 mile to Irvine High School rated a 9/10. Irvine Unified is a very good school district, but I'm sure you already know that.

There are also several large parks nearby, including the one next to the elementary school and shopping is all right where you need it.

The best part is that the Tustin train station is just 1 and half miles away. You exit the neighborhood and turn left on Harvard, make a right on Edinger and the station is on the right. So, for your commute:
Drive to Tustin Train Station (3 minutes)
Then there are three trains that fit your time frame of 6-7AM departure
Train 603 departs Tustin 6:12AM and arrives at Union Station in LA at 7:20AM.
Train 605 departs Tustin 6:42AM and arrives at LA at 7:50AM.
Train 683 departs Tustin at 7:11AM and arrives at Union Station at 8:15AM.

OK for transfer to a transport to the center of downtown (Union Station is just outside downtown). It depends on where you work in downtown and which buildings, but once you are in there, it is fairly small and all walkable.

So, after your train arrives, go to the Red Line Subway with the head sign "North Hollywood." The subway trains leave every ten minutes. So if you took train 603 arriving at 7:20, just walk down to the subway and hop on the subway to 7th street at 7:27 AM. In five minutes you arrive at 7th Street Station and are in the center of downtown and can walk to any building you need.

The way home is just the reverse of this commute:
So, the time added up:
Drive to Station: 3 minutes
Wait for train: 5 minutes
Train Ride: 65 minutes
Transfer to Subway: 5 to 10 minutes
Subway Ride: 5 minutes
Walk to your building: I don't know how far you'll be.
So you at 83 minutes or 1 hour 23 minutes. If you want to live in a community as safe and good for raising a family as Irvine, then this is probably your shortest option for a commute. And let me tell you, this is much better than the drive up the 5 freeway at rush hour which is so so so so slow. I think the 5 freeway is at least two hours from Irvine.

The cost: A monthly pass for the Tustin to LA route is $228. With a regular car, you probably will be filling up at least once a week, maybe even more with that distance at about $45 or more per fill up. So the train is probably going to be cheaper too.

[slang75]

I agree with the other posters...take Metrolink. I do that commute (I work on bunker Hill) everyday on the train. It's a rough commute no matter how you go. It will take you 1 hour and 40 minutes each way. It's also prone to long delays. I lost 3.5 hours of my week due to a broken train on Wednesday and a shooting in Fullerton on Friday. Here are a couple things you should know -
- Tustin train station is full before 6:30AM and they do tow from the business lot frequently. Plan on driving to Irvine or Santa Ana.
- Get a monthly pass if you can ($235 a month). This way you can use Amtrak at no extra cost. That adds more train options, especially at night (Metrolink only runs until 6:40PM and Amtrak until 10PM).
- The 7:05AM train that leaves from Irvine is the most relaxed. It's the first stop and never gets that crowded. It will get you to Union Station right around 8:10AM.
- I often get out around 4PM and will get home around 6PM (it's a freaking long day!).
- The redline in LA is good. There is also the Dash (free with Metrolink pass) and shuttle buses. You should still give yourself 20-30 minutes to catch a train at night.
- Always have a ticket. I saw someone get a $300+ dollar fine for no ticket last week.

Personally, it don't think it's worth it. I will be ending this nightmare in the next couple months. If you can - avoid that kind of commute.

Good Luck