Commute from West LA to Pasadena (Los Angeles, Brentwood: apartment, how much, home)

[norcalnic]

What is the commute like from West LA to Pasadena? I'm in Northern California now and am interviewing at a company in Pasadena next week. I have a lot of friends who live in the Westwood/Brentwood area, so I was planning on living there, but I'm not sure how much of a nightmare the commute will be. I'd be working normal business hours. Thanks in advance!

[JackSparrow]

1. Search Button.
2. Map of Los Angeles.
3. Work where you live; live where you work.

You're facing the minimum of a 1.5 hour commute each WAY.

[norcalnic]

Thank you, Jack. I have already searched this forum, but didn't find any clear responses for West LA to Pasadena (seems a lot of people want to do the reverse, which isn't the same). I have also mapped the route on google, so I am aware of the distance; however, as we all know the distance pretty much means nothing, it's all about the traffic. I was hoping to find someone familiar with that specific commute. It sounds like it will be bad; I will take that into consideration if I get an offer from this company.

[TwinMom06]

I don't do this commute, but you can check sigalert.com during rush hour and see which highways leading from Pasadena to West LA are congested after work. My husband works in downtown LA and it takes him 30-45 min to get home to West LA afterwork. We live in a part of West LA that is off the 10 freeway off Bundy. I work in Westwood, and the traffic is so bad on city streets coming out of Westwood, that it takes me 45 min to get home (5 miles away).

Although there is bad commuter traffic everywhere, the main freeway you want to avoid is the 405 freeway, especially the Sepulveda Pass portion, after work. It can be a parking lot if you hit it at the wrong time. Maybe when you come for you interview, you can time how long it takes you to get from Pasadena to Brentwood in after work traffic. Don't forget that street traffic in Westwood and Brentwood is very bad also after work.

[stefyc]

They'd have to pay me A LOT of money to do that commute! At least an hour if not more (I'd bet an hour and a half depending on where in West LA - how close are you to a freeway?) if you are traveling during rush hour. If you are "off" hours, then maybe not so bad (40 minutes?). I would really recommend against this unless you love spending time in your car

[POhdNcrzy]

I think this commute is do-able if you need to. Hollywood to Pasadena took me 30 minutes almost every time I drove it and same for the reverse coming back. I found the ONLY way to go was 101 W for a couple miles to Universal City, then Lankershim and Cahuenga to 134 E direct to Pasadena. I think you can do this commute from more westerly parts of LA comfortably in one hour or a little over. Problem with this commute will be when you have those "LA moments" where for whatever reason it takes 2 hours instead of one hour(uuuuuuugghhhh arrrrghhhhh !)

[motoman]

I have found that a good rule of thumb for communting in LA, during most times of the day, is to assume an average speed of 10-15 miles per hour on surface streets, and anywhere from 15-25 miles per hour on freeways, depending on the freeway and the area. In some areas it can be even slower.

For example, my commute from West LA to downtown is exactly 13.5 miles from my apartment to my parking garage. During normal commute times it takes anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour. That is an average speed of about 13 to 23 miles per hour. So call it 20 miles per hour on average.

Going to Google maps and getting directions from West LA to Pasadena gives me 24 miles. It says in traffic it can take up to an hour and a half. That is 16 miles per hour, which is within the range.

[SandyCo]

The best rule of thumb for living in this traffic-choked city is to live as close as possible to where you work. Remember, you're doing that drive both ways, every single day, for five days a week! It's funny how so many people think, "Oh, an hour in traffic is doable; I'll be fine." Five years go by; their commute has now increased to 1:15 or even 1:30, and they're ready to tear their hair out. Seriously, live close to where you work. You'll thank yourself for it later!

[motoman]

Think about this too. If you spend two hours per day commuting, and you work 240 days per year (260 working days, less 10 days of vacation and 10 holidays), you will spend 480 hours per year commuting, which is the equivalent of working an additional 60 days, or three months, per year, assuming your typical 8-hour workday. How does a 15-month work year sound to you? :-)

[POhdNcrzy]

Okay, okay, jeez, forget the hour each way commutes....but did you know some people with relatively high-paying white-collar jobs on the Eastern seaboard commute as much as 2 hours each way to work. Example: Connecticut to Manhattan !