Work in Marina del Rey and live in Silver Lake? (Santa Monica: home, neighborhoods)

[cari13]

Hi,
I am moving from Germany to LA in summer as I got offered a job in Marina del Rey. I would prefer to live in Silver Lake/Echo Park/Highland Park, rather than in neighbourhoods close to Marina.
Is it a very bad idea, though, because of the traffic situation?? My office hours are 7.30 - 4.00.
What is it like? Doable? Rather than spending hours commuting every day, i might look for something in Santa Monica then? Or could you recommend a closer neighbourhood a bit similar to Silver Lake...?

Thank you for your help

[nightlysparrow]

Well, it would mean taking 5 or maybe 6 different freeways each way, everyday.

[genjy]

If you could get on the 10 West freeway by 6:15AM... you should be OK.

When you leave work, you would have to get on the freeway as soon as possible. 4PM's traffic is pretty horrible, but 5PM-7PM's even more so.

It's pretty tricky to get on any freeway from Silver Lake--unless you live in the area near Los Feliz. Expect to drive 15-25 minutes to reach 10 West if you down near Sunset Blvd.

[ElysianEagle]

i think the mornings might be ok, but you'll still get traffic when you leave the office.

a bigger concern for you should be the cost of fuel, do you really want to be spending that much on gas every week? if you can get your office to arrange telecommuting options for at least some of the days of the week, that would be neat.

if you like Silver Lake, do take a look at Venice. it's quite hipster-ish, next door to santa monica, close to the beach and of course close to where you'll be working.

EDIT: i could be wrong, but i think venice might be more expensive than silver lake. so the money you save on gas might be gone on rent, lol. but you would save the commute time which can be a big deal.

[Dunbar42]

Ya, I would recommend Venice or south Santa Monica (Ocean Park or Sunset Park neighborhoods.) They all have a pretty similar feel although the Main St / Abbot Kinney area are the most touristy so look east of there if you want an "edgy" feel. The MDR to Silver Lake drive is going to take at least an hour at 4pm.

[disgruntled la native]

Hell no. Don't do it.

Like others said, Venice is very close to marina del rey and has many of the same offerings of Silver lake. If you like Silver lake so much, you can always go there for fun on the weekends.

[eureka1]

I have a friend who commutes daily to Culver City from Silverlake. What makes it bearable is that she works flexible hours, doesn't leave work till 7pm or later. To most people, the West side is far more desirable than Silverlake.

[Ceece]

My daughter commutes to Santa Monica, right off 10, from Silverlake. I think she adjusts her hours to start a little later (9:00-10:00) and leaves around 7:30-8:00pm. It's around an hour. With no traffic she gets home in under 30 minutes.

[BRinSM]

i agree with disgruntled LA native, stay close in venice and enjoy silver lake on the weekends. from venice you could even ride a bike to work if you were into that (MDR and venice are neighbors). venice is lacking in the live music department compared to silver lake (as is the westside as a whole), but is better in every other category in my opinion (restaurants, bars, weather, beach, walkability, etc...).

[HarryKerryJr]

Cari13, living far from your work without a good public transit option is NOT how it works here. You need to find a place somewhat near Marina Del Rey. It doesn't have to be adjacent to the Marina, but in the general area, at LEAST. Santa Monica or a number of other communities on the westside offer some good places to live with a commute that is doable, if not without some challenges. Commuting from neighborhoods you've mentioned to Marina Del Rey will make you regret the decision and hate yourself, and the traffic, and you'll have to move closer to cope, anyway. So, do it right the first time. You just don't know how it is here and how bad a decision you are about to make. Don't learn the lesson the hard way.