Internship in Canoga Park; Where to stay??? (Santa Monica, Woodland: sublets, neighborhoods)

[htx089]

I am a 22 year old student from Houston, TX and I have an internship up in the Valley (Canoga Park). Where would be a good temporary place to live? I want to have fun and experience LA (beaches, bars, clubs, food, etc.) during my short stay. Any recommendations???

I was thinking about the Westwood area by the UCLA campus because of the sublet availability and the proximity to the fun areas. However, I'm a little hesitant by the commute, although it seems like it would be a reverse commute (405-N & 101-W in the AM). Can somebody fill me in on the commute from Westwood to Canoga Park?

Any info would helpppp

[BRinSM]

too far, live in the valley. you can go to the beach on the weekends.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by htx089

I am a 22 year old student from Houston, TX and I have an internship up in the Valley (Canoga Park). Where would be a good temporary place to live? I want to have fun and experience LA (beaches, bars, clubs, food, etc.) during my short stay. Any recommendations???

I was thinking about the Westwood area by the UCLA campus because of the sublet availability and the proximity to the fun areas. However, I'm a little hesitant by the commute, although it seems like it would be a reverse commute (405-N & 101-W in the AM). Can somebody fill me in on the commute from Westwood to Canoga Park?

Any info would helpppp

As close to the job as possible including Woodland Hills, Warner Center area - its' pretty nice and maybe ten minutes from Canoga Park. Lots of shops and restaurants, people, amenities, 25 minutes from Topanga Beach.

[nowincal11]

The most ideal situation would be to live in Woodland Hills or Sherman Oaks. The problem is finding a sublet in those areas. While they are both filled with young professionals and close to Canoga Park, the sublet availability is slim. While I hesitate to say use Craigslist, that may be your best option. Sherman Oaks has everything within walking distance if you stay close to Ventura. Woodland Hills is semi walkable depending where you are, but hte nightlife scene is not as grand.

Westwood is good because you have UCLA nearby, a subletters market, and walkable to plenty of stuff. The negative is the commute. It is about 45 minutes from Westwood to Canoga Park with moderate traffic. Even though you are going against the grain so to speak, there is a lot of backup bcause so many people commute to Woodland Hills (Warner Center), although not as bad as the commute into the basin (city). Plus a lot of UCLA students advertise summer sublets on Craigslist. A lot of them also live in Brentwood too, which is on the other side of the 405 just west of Westwood.

None of those neighborhoods are near the beach. Westwood to Santa Monica during the week can still be 30 minutes each way with traffic. But on weekends it doesn't take as long.

[htx089]

I've been tracking the morning and afternoon commutes from Westwood to Canoga Park the past few weekdays and it doesn't look too bad. In the morning around 7:00 AM, 405-N and 101-W look pretty good. However, around 7:30 to 7:45 the 101-W starts to slow down a little bit.

In the afternoons, the 405-S nearing Sunset Blvd. gets a little slow.

All my information is based off the google traffic maps, sigalert, and traffic.com. Could somebody please verify if my observations are correct or not??

[BRinSM]

generally this is correct. with little to no traffic, this commute could be as short as 25 minutes if you live next to the freeway. however, i would not count on this. sometimes the most difficult part of a commute can be getting on the freeway. i would count on a 45 minute drive each way from westwood to canoga park.