Redondo Beach to Newport Beach Daily Commute

[BRinSM]

There are parts of Santa Ana that are nice to live, but the majority of the city is a latino barrio. If you're not Hispanic, I wouldn't recommend living there, just because they are such a hugh portion of the population in Santa Ana.

[bhcompy]

you ask for advice but there really isnt much advice. you are both choosing to work in places on the opposite end of the LA basin. you may be able to get by in the LA area or the irvine area using metrolink for one person, but without knowing specifics it may be too far to travel from the train station or not have adequate bus routes

[d1p23nz]

What is a good, livable inland city north of newport beach to live in that is close to a freeway?

Thanks!

[bhcompy]

on the 55:
santa ana in that area is fine
tustin is a good family city
orange north of that is more affordable
anaheim hills is more upscale family living
on the 5:
santa ana in that area is hit or miss, gets better the farther north towards the 22.
anaheim and orange are okay in that area
eventually you run into fullerton, but thats a bit of a hike

[Kona93]

I commuted from Redondo to Irvine for a year before moving to Aliso Viejo. I lived in the village in RB so it would take about 20 minutes just to get to the 110 or 405. The total commute was around 50 minutes if I left RB by 6am and averaged maybe 1hr 15min if I left later. The 405 gets very slow from Bolsa down to the 55 around 7am. Northbound from Irvine after 7pm and you have an hour or slightly less. Frankly, it was not all that bad since I would leave early around 6am and come back around 7pm. It would have been much worse if I had tried to commute during rush hour.

Even AV to Irvine is 20 minutes so on the one hand an extra 30 to live in RB is not so bad if you can avoid the rush. However, even an hour commute one way means you are sitting on the 405 10 hours a week and that is a lot of lost time. I suggest trying the commute for several days before you have to commit.

[d1p23nz]

Great advice, Kona! Thank you. I am seeing that the junior members on here give great advice whereas the senior members just want to say that "the commute is bad." We have no choice but to be split working in Newport Beach and Laurel Canyon PERIOD. Thanks again to all who gave real advice!!! Greatly appreciated....

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Kona93

I commuted from Redondo to Irvine for a year before moving to Aliso Viejo. I lived in the village in RB so it would take about 20 minutes just to get to the 110 or 405. The total commute was around 50 minutes if I left RB by 6am and averaged maybe 1hr 15min if I left later. The 405 gets very slow from Bolsa down to the 55 around 7am. Northbound from Irvine after 7pm and you have an hour or slightly less. Frankly, it was not all that bad since I would leave early around 6am and come back around 7pm. It would have been much worse if I had tried to commute during rush hour.

Even AV to Irvine is 20 minutes so on the one hand an extra 30 to live in RB is not so bad if you can avoid the rush. However, even an hour commute one way means you are sitting on the 405 10 hours a week and that is a lot of lost time. I suggest trying the commute for several days before you have to commit.

[punkrocker27ka]

This is certainly a difficult commute. I would recommend you stay closer to LA County because the commute will be much worse going from orange county to LA in the morning. Coming southbound to OC in the morning is still bad but a little bit better. You should try to stay near a metro stop. There are a number of metro rail lines in the LA area and Laurel Cayon has a stop. Your wife could take the metro and you drive to Newport. Your wife's commute by car is really bad, I cannot stress that enough. Take the metro. That is my two cents. If you need any more help, please reply!

http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/maps/rail_map.pdf (broken link)