Santa Monica vs Westwood for College Student (rent, condo)

[pugsnotdrugsmang]

Hi there,

My son will be attending UCLA in the upcoming fall. I'm looking to purchase a property that I can stay at while i'm visiting the LA area. (3-4 times every year) He would be living there full time as well during his studies.

I'm looking for a 2 bedroom condo in either Santa Monica or Westwood. My budget is $650,000 - $850,000
Right now i'm leaning towards Santa Monica because its so nice but it feels like you get a little more bang for your buck on the Wilshire corridor...

How would the commute be from Downtown Santa Monica to UCLA every morning? I'm aware that Westwood is a college town and it's close proximity to UCLA's campus might make more sense for my son...still the beachy vibe of Santa Monica is much more appealing to me than the artificial east coast feel that westwood offers.

Please let me know your thoughts

[Joe Van Fossen]

The commute wouldn't be that bad, especially if he's able to schedule his classes outside of rush hour for the most part. Even during rush hour there are way worse commutes out there. If you prefer Santa Monica, I'd say go for it. I'm sure your son won't mind.

[rpc1]

Originally Posted by Joe Van Fossen

The commute wouldn't be that bad, especially if he's able to schedule his classes outside of rush hour for the most part. Even during rush hour there are way worse commutes out there. If you prefer Santa Monica, I'd say go for it. I'm sure your son won't mind.

Are you out of your mind? The traffic on SaMo Blvd gets backed up from the 405 to well past Bundy every morning and afternoon. Same with San Vicente, Olympic and Sunset. I would never want to make that drive. Even the side streets get flooded with cars. And if he tries to take the 405 for anything, he'll be in the middle of some of the worst traffic in America.

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by rpc1

Are you out of your mind? The traffic on SaMo Blvd gets backed up from the 405 to well past Bundy every morning and afternoon. Same with San Vicente, Olympic and Sunset. I would never want to make that drive. Even the side streets get flooded with cars. And if he tries to take the 405 for anything, he'll be in the middle of some of the worst traffic in America.

I disagree. It's not really that bad as long as you get on San Vicente or Olympic. Even at its worst it wont take more than 30 minutes from Santa Monica to Westwood. The backup is usually from just east of Barrington to the 405 and in 15+ years it's never taken me more than 15 mintues to get through.

To the OP live in santa monica. Much more pleasant and better than westwood. don't worry about getting to see your son, santa monica and westwood are super close even in the worst of traffic.

Just a minor suggestion though, your son should live in the dorms for a couple years at UCLA, no matter how much money you have... it's key to making friends and getting the full UCLA experience.

[disgruntled la native]

Originally Posted by rpc1

Are you out of your mind? The traffic on SaMo Blvd gets backed up from the 405 to well past Bundy every morning and afternoon. Same with San Vicente, Olympic and Sunset. I would never want to make that drive. Even the side streets get flooded with cars. And if he tries to take the 405 for anything, he'll be in the middle of some of the worst traffic in America.

I disagree. It's not really that bad as long as you get on San Vicente or Olympic. Even at its worst it wont take more than 30 minutes from Santa Monica to Westwood. The backup is usually from just east of Barrington to the 405 and in 15+ years it's never taken me more than 15 mintues to get through.

To the OP live in santa monica. Much more pleasant and better than westwood. don't worry about getting to see your son, santa monica and westwood are super close even in the worst of traffic.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Originally Posted by rpc1

Are you out of your mind? The traffic on SaMo Blvd gets backed up from the 405 to well past Bundy every morning and afternoon. Same with San Vicente, Olympic and Sunset. I would never want to make that drive. Even the side streets get flooded with cars. And if he tries to take the 405 for anything, he'll be in the middle of some of the worst traffic in America.

Not really... I've just been in much worse traffic and have a friend who regularly commuted 40 miles to UCLA for two years. Even at its worse, the 6-8 miles on side streets wouldn't be that bad. Plus, you can try to schedule classes in a way that avoids peak traffic hours.

[yby1]

I would buy in Westwood, mainly because I don't like commuting into Westwood. I don't think it's the worst commute out there (SaMo to WW), but I don't think living in Santa Monica is worth it. I would prefer to live within walking distance to campus.

[SpaceMonkyPunks]

Call me envious, but if your kid gets to stay in a property rent-free, then that lucky little brat can put up with a bit of traffic. Buy where you want to buy.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkyPunks

Call me envious, but if your kid gets to stay in a property rent-free, then that lucky little brat can put up with a bit of traffic. Buy where you want to buy.

SpaceMonky is crying into his student loans and debt.

[Ceece]

Why on earth would you buy something if you can easily afford rent a place for your son wherever you want? Maybe he'd like to live with friends somewhere along the line instead of your condo, maybe he'll transfer, or ::gasp:: drop out and do something else. This doesn't seem like a well thought out plan.

I'm speaking as someone who could and did rent places for my daughter wherever she wanted when she was in college. I also know someone who went the "buy a house and rent it out to students" route for their kid, and it was terrible trying to be a long distance landlord in a college town. Plus, she lived in a sorority house for a year and wasn't even IN the house. They couldn't wait to sell the place and lost money in the process.

It might be different if a condo was a good investment, but it's not.