Drive Time To Burbank? (Riverside, Glendale: rental, houses, neighborhoods)

[MitchMiller]

May be relocating for job in Burbank on W. Olive right off the Golden St Fwy (5). Am looking on CraigsList at apt's (studio w/kitchen) and looks like one can be had for < $1000. I'm wondering what the commute time would be from:
West Hollywood ?
Los Feliz ?
Echo Park ?
Downtown LA (around Staples Center) ?


Are there any cheap old studios around Universal City? That's another possibility but haven't seen anything listed for rent there.

Thanks!

[canibeyou]

Your drive time is going to vary. But a safe bet is:

West Hollywood (going up over Barham, not the freeway) would be 45 minutes.
Los Feliz (taking Interstate 5, thru Glendale) 20-30 minutes.
Echo Park and Downtown (taking the freeway) close to an hour.

All because of traffic. Now, if you were to try and make a run for downtown, say, at 2am, than you'll get there sooner.

I don't know of many apt. areas near Universal City; mostly just business in the area, but if you're looking that direction check out Studio City and also look at the cities going East down Ventura Blvd. There's also Toluca Lake (part of Burbank; but tends to be pricey), No.Hollywood/ Valley Village is a hit and miss with good neighborhoods mixed in with bad ones. Glendale has LOTS of rental properties, but again, they're kinda expensive.

Good luck on the new job! Hope it goes well for you!

[UB50]

I would try to find housing in Burbank or Glendale if I were you. That way, you can take surface streets to work and it will be less congested and more predictable.

I used to live in Burbank and commute the other way (towards LA). My worst commute day (over Barham Blvd.) was a day that it took me 3 hours to drive 10 miles.

If you live in Los Feliz or Echo Park, you can take Riverside Drive to work (via Griffith Park) and skip the freeway. That will take about 1/2 an hour to 45 minutes. (Lots of lights and stop signs and I don't know how they are timed in the mornings.)

Universal City really only houses Universal Studios. You need to look at North Hollywood and Studio City to find housing.

[MitchMiller]

Thanks so much! I looked on rent.com and already see a potential in S. Glendale for $845. Hopefully the advertised rate is really available. That is a really good rental rate for a close-in location.

[motoman]

Originally Posted by MitchMiller

Thanks so much! I looked on rent.com and already see a potential in S. Glendale for $845. Hopefully the advertised rate is really available. That is a really good rental rate for a close-in location.

That's for a studio? Maybe 300-400 sq. ft.? Sounds expensive to me.

[andyourlittledogtoo]

I did that commute for years but from much further away. The secret to commuting in that area and living somewhere else is what direction you are coming from and what time of day it is. It's all about where you live versus where you work.

If you work in Burbank but live east of Burbank the commute is much much worse. If you live west and south of Burbank it is much better. That is because so many people live toward the east and north due to lower housing costs toward the Inland Empire and Lancaster/Palmdale areas. The freeways are bumper to bumper for folks traveling west in the morning and east in the evenings after work. But go the other way and it's much better.

Also, go earlier in the morning. I decided to start work at 7am for the simple reason that it shaved an hour off my commute. If I started at 8am I would spend the extra time in my car, not at home. My home was in Redondo Beach, a thirty five mile distance and I had to take four freeways to do it but I still managed to get to work within 45 minutes in the morning and in about an hour to an hour and a half (on a bad day) in the evenings but the key was working 7-4. If I had to stay overtime there was no point in leaving after 5 but before 6:30 because again that was just time spent in my car instead of working or at home.

Hope this helps. Burbank/Glendale is a great area but can be expensive to live in hence all the commuting. In LA everything's a trade off.

[DawnW]

Very much depends on what time of day you need to commute.

Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood, La Crescenta, Pasadena, Studio City, all would be fairly easy commutes.

[MitchMiller]

As for the guy that thought $845 was expensive.... I don't even live there, but I've spent hours looking at rents advertised online and $845 is cheap! I'm willing to go up to $950... hopefully won't have to go higher. Hoping to get 400 sq ft, but would settle for 325. I'm single so dont need a lot of space... time and lifestyle much more important.
Also... as for getting up sooo early... can't handle that. Here in Atlanta, I push my schedule late. Plus techie jobs usually require at least 10 hours/day... so hoping I can work 9:30 - 7:30... and travel behind the pack instead of before it. I like going to the gym, grocery, etc. behind the crowd. I get there when they're leaving.

[abeilleda]

I live in Los Feliz and commute to North Hollywood. The commute takes me 25 minutes every morning door to door at 7:30 am. I take Franklin accross to the 101 N, to the 170. The ride home can be up to 35 minutes because of increased traffic on Franklin Blvd. I think living in Hollywood or Los Feliz and working in Burbank is definately a possiblity. You can cut through Griffith Park if you work in W. Burbank or go up San Fernando if you're in E. Burbank. The prices are usually a bit higher on the south side of the hill though.