Los Angeles, CA

[walkinthepark]

Hello! 

 

I've got a potentially very silly question... Is the Long Beach-UCLA commute doable? I have a car, but would be mostly relying on public transportation. Does anyone have experience making this commute? 

 

(Moving from CO, so not really sure if the 2hr Google Maps estimate is at all realistic...)

 

Thanks!!

[masgniw]

That's a long, long way.

 

The public transit option is brutal and the drive will put you on the 405, which is notoriously the worst freeway in Los Angeles. You'll need to consider if spending 4ish hours commuting every day to school is how you want to spend your time.

 

Is there a reason you'd be living in Long Beach? If you're looking to save money on housing, you might want to consider living in the San Fernando Valley.

[pbnwhey]

Anyone have experience with the drive from the Valley to campus? I'm considering various places to live and really want to find a place with a yard for my hands-on-project-loving significant other. I'm assuming that requirement will get me farther away, but any chance at finding something in the SF Valley for $1200-ish?

[Cambienta]

18 minutes ago, pbnwhey said:

Anyone have experience with the drive from the Valley to campus? I'm considering various places to live and really want to find a place with a yard for my hands-on-project-loving significant other. I'm assuming that requirement will get me farther away, but any chance at finding something in the SF Valley for $1200-ish?

I lived up in Sherman Oaks for 6 months before deciding to move to West LA. The 405 in the morning is a killer (so are Sepulveda and Beverly Glen, the only other real routes through the mountains); my ten-mile commute easily got up to taking an hour and a half-- and taking the bus was even worse, time wise. 

If you definitely know you'll never need to commute down in the morning, regularly, then I'd say it's doable--any time that's not rush hour, the drive/bus ride is easy and fast. 

[kafcat]

I am thinking of accepting my offer a UCLA...any advice on finding reasonably priced studio appts? After living with roommates for a while, I've come to the conclusion that I am more comfortable living by myself. I own a car but would rather have a short commute (and possibly take public transportation).

[zerozircon]

Any suggestions of places within walking distance that are cheap (less than $1000 per person)?

[lilacs]

On 3/19/2016 at 4:07 PM, zerozircon said:

Any suggestions of places within walking distance that are cheap (less than $1000 per person)?

If you're looking to share a room with someone, under $1000/ person is definitely doable. It's $1400-$2000 for a 1 bd in the immediate Westwood vicinity. If you're looking to go cheaper, south of Wilshire, Culver City, and Palms are all areas you should look at.

[kanon]

I got stipend of $22000 per year. I will get around $19200 after paying the tax (13% approximately). Is it possible to live with this amount? I am an international student and would like to live near campus. How much will the rent cost? Is there anyone currently living in graduate housing? Is it easier to get graduate housing? I don't know anyone there. So I preferred to live in graduate housing. But I would like to know others opinion. How much will books and mandatory fees cost?

[Hudson0345]

Hi

I have been accepted for FALL 16 at USC for my masters in CS. Can anyone tell me the safe and the best places to live in for off campus housing.Further we are planning for 4 ppl staying together so if possible suggest some apts names so that we can directly contact them for housing options.

Thanks in Advance!!!

Edited April 6, 2016 by Hudson0345

[phdnext123]

Has anyone opted for grad student housing - Weyburn or Hilgard? I am particularly interested in Hilgard (because it seems cuter, and comes with a full size rather than twin size bed), but I am skeptical. It seems awfully close to the sororities/undergrads on campus and I am quite a bit older than that. Approaching 30. I also would prefer to bring my own furniture, which is not an option in either of these buildings. If I look off campus, it will likely be south a bit, maybe Culver city. Longer commute, but perhaps cheaper? I want to live alone and the price of grad student housing ($1500) is my absolute MAX. I would prefer to pay closer to $1000. I am used to a commute (living in another traffic-ridden city where it often takes me 45 minutes to do a 6 mile commute), but would prefer to be within 20-30 min of campus, even during traffic.

Thoughts? Ideas? Would love any input on this. I have never lived in LA so I am a bit clueless.

[rockrmoose]

Reviving this topic.

Is anyone looking at housing yet? Any suggested neighborhoods to live in that are affordable and not too far from campus? I want a single room but don't want to pay more than $1k a month for it. Not sure if that's reasonable or not. Willing to do a 30 minute commute during traffic times.

Edited February 7, 2017 by rockrmoose

[NoirFemme]

On 2/6/2017 at 4:33 PM, rockrmoose said:

Reviving this topic.

Is anyone looking at housing yet? Any suggested neighborhoods to live in that are affordable and not too far from campus? I want a single room but don't want to pay more than $1k a month for it. Not sure if that's reasonable or not. Willing to do a 30 minute commute during traffic times.

Sorry...but 30 minute commute!! In LA!! 

Okay, now that that's out of the way, my advice is to look for roommates first and then housing on your own as a last resort. UCLA is in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the area, which is why I decided against applying there (I live in the Foothills, which is only 40m east, but in regular traffic it's a 1.5-2 hr commute, so it wasn't worth it financially or commute-wise). A $1k or less budget will only get you a room in a shared living situation in practically all of LA. Go on Hotpads and look for housing in the Westwood, West LA.and Sawtelle neighborhoods if you want to be within walking/biking/bus distance without the 90% possibility of horrendous traffic if you needed to commute from further out. 

[rockrmoose]

2 hours ago, NoirFemme said:

Sorry...but 30 minute commute!! In LA!! 

Okay, now that that's out of the way, my advice is to look for roommates first and then housing on your own as a last resort. UCLA is in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the area, which is why I decided against applying there (I live in the Foothills, which is only 40m east, but in regular traffic it's a 1.5-2 hr commute, so it wasn't worth it financially or commute-wise). A $1k or less budget will only get you a room in a shared living situation in practically all of LA. Go on Hotpads and look for housing in the Westwood, West LA.and Sawtelle neighborhoods if you want to be within walking/biking/bus distance without the 90% possibility of horrendous traffic if you needed to commute from further out. 

Yeah, I guess that was wishful thinking haha.

Thank you for the advice! I was thinking the san fernando valley since sherman oaks isn't too far, but it seems like it will be bad with traffic. I've decided that I don't want to have a shared room. Do you think it will be more than $1,500 for a single room?

[NoirFemme]

2 hours ago, rockrmoose said:

Yeah, I guess that was wishful thinking haha.

Thank you for the advice! I was thinking the san fernando valley since sherman oaks isn't too far, but it seems like it will be bad with traffic. I've decided that I don't want to have a shared room. Do you think it will be more than $1,500 for a single room?

That's an okay budget--you'll have better luck with a studio or a decent 1 BR apartment at that threshold. But since SoCal is a landlord's market all year round, the affordable, convenient housing is snapped up pretty quickly by people already in the area. If you can visit LA to scout for housing early on, you should have your deposit/credit/co-signers ready to go if you find something you like. And if it turns out to suck, at least you are in the position to look around for when your lease is up.

Edited February 9, 2017 by NoirFemme

[Sigaba]

3 hours ago, rockrmoose said:

Do you think it will be more than $1,500 for a single room?

$1.5k will get you a single room/bathroom in a shared space (a room in a house, condo, or apartment). If you're willing to read through a lot of weird ads, you may be able to find a gem via craigslist. There are people who want to share space with people who pay rent on time, are mostly quiet, but friendly (but not too friendly).

As for the 30 minute commute during "traffic times,"  unless you have a rotor winged aircraft or a time machine, that's not going to happen.

To understand traffic patterns, you can use sigalert for the freeways or the traffic option on Google maps/earth.

Unless you're going to be doing oodles of fieldwork, you may not need a car in L.A. if you pick where you want to live by mass transit service. Don't necessarily go by what the apps tell you. A line can be packed in both directions during peak times but a few blocks away can be a line that provides a more comfortable ride. A rapid line may have fewer stops and run more frequently than a local line, but you may be sharing a bus with Pee Pee people and members of Team Bat Shit Crazy.

Do what you can to stay off the Blue line.

If you find a place in NoHo, check out the housing a block in each direction. You may be in a nice place on a nice street and a block over you will hear felony traffic stops often. 

[rockrmoose]

50 minutes ago, Sigaba said:

$1.5k will get you a single room/bathroom in a shared space (a room in a house, condo, or apartment). If you're willing to read through a lot of weird ads, you may be able to find a gem via craigslist. There are people who want to share space with people who pay rent on time, are mostly quiet, but friendly (but not too friendly).

As for the 30 minute commute during "traffic times,"  unless you have a rotor winged aircraft or a time machine, that's not going to happen.

To understand traffic patterns, you can use sigalert for the freeways or the traffic option on Google maps/earth.

Unless you're going to be doing oodles of fieldwork, you may not need a car in L.A. if you pick where you want to live by mass transit service. Don't necessarily go by what the apps tell you. A line can be packed in both directions during peak times but a few blocks away can be a line that provides a more comfortable ride. A rapid line may have fewer stops and run more frequently than a local line, but you may be sharing a bus with Pee Pee people and members of Team Bat Shit Crazy.

Do what you can to stay off the Blue line.

If you find a place in NoHo, check out the housing a block in each direction. You may be in a nice place on a nice street and a block over you will hear felony traffic stops often. 

Thank you so much! Super helpful and I will use your advice during my search!  Yeah, I've been debating whether or not to take my car with me. Was toying around the idea of riding a scooter after seeing lots of them in Berkeley, but that's probably a bad idea in LA... 

[Aperio]

I was wondering.... do a lot of graduate students live on campus due to the high rents? If so, what's that situation like?

[NoirFemme]

On 2/8/2017 at 11:16 PM, rockrmoose said:

Thank you so much! Super helpful and I will use your advice during my search!  Yeah, I've been debating whether or not to take my car with me. Was toying around the idea of riding a scooter after seeing lots of them in Berkeley, but that's probably a bad idea in LA... 

I would personally advise you to keep your car. Traffic is terrible in SoCal because it's not public transit friendly, no matter if each major area of the region boasts of buses and trains that go everywhere. I would only advise to not have a car if you plan to never leave your surrounding neighborhood.

[NoirFemme]

Oh, and Craigslist is not the only place to look for housing or roommates--most of the major real estate sites (like Trulia) also have a rental section where property management companies, landlords, and people looking for roommates post available housing. I snagged my place through Zillow. HotPads is another excellent source. 

[ClearlyNow]

I just want to say that most of the warnings about transit being terrible and not having a car being debilitating are complete nonsense. I was terrified of moving to LA because everyone was repeating this spiel, but it's absolutely overblown. I live in West Hollywood and can get to campus within 30 minutes taking the bus, and having a transit pass allows you to get pretty much anywhere as it can be used on Metro, Big Blue Bus, Culver City Bus, LADOT, etc. If you're going to UCLA, I urge you not to worry about having a car. Live in a reasonably close neighborhood that has direct access to campus through public transit and you'll be more than fine.

[NoirFemme]

23 hours ago, ClearlyNow said:

I just want to say that most of the warnings about transit being terrible and not having a car being debilitating are complete nonsense. I was terrified of moving to LA because everyone was repeating this spiel, but it's absolutely overblown. I live in West Hollywood and can get to campus within 30 minutes taking the bus, and having a transit pass allows you to get pretty much anywhere as it can be used on Metro, Big Blue Bus, Culver City Bus, LADOT, etc. If you're going to UCLA, I urge you not to worry about having a car. Live in a reasonably close neighborhood that has direct access to campus through public transit and you'll be more than fine.

Well, my advice is based on the assumption that you--general you--are living in Los Angeles for 5-7 years, not just attending UCLA. Ergo, you might want to live like a resident and not like a temporary guest. There's a reason why I and others mention traffic and having a car--we live here. We know what it's like to call this place home.

Edited February 14, 2017 by NoirFemme

[KingNikolai1]

I agree with NoirFemme. I take the bus to campus, but having a car is indispensable when you want to get to a place without worrying about mass transit. The prices of on-campus grad housing aren't that much better than living in non-university housing within 9 miles of campus. The best deals are the off-campus grad housing in Culver City and Palms, but competition is extreme. As Sigaba mentioned, the bus runs but expect it to be inefficient especially during peak traffic. Oh and when it rains the buses become the Homeless Express, which may make some people feel uncomfortable. I haven't had too many issues, but I am a guy so I know I don't have to deal with much in terms of unwanted attention. My 35 minute (~9 miles) commute from Sherman Oaks via bus easily becomes 1 hour during rush hour. Sometimes housing is a bit cheaper in the Valley, but I am certainly moving out because the commute can be beyond aggravating.

A quick note about traffic, there is pretty much always traffic no matter what time of the day. The difference is between the light traffic of 1 am vs. the parking lot traffic during rush hour. 

[Sigaba]

On 2/13/2017 at 7:12 PM, NoirFemme said:

Well, my advice is based on the assumption that you--general you--are living in Los Angeles for 5-7 years, not just attending UCLA. Ergo, you might want to live like a resident and not like a temporary guest. There's a reason why I and others mention traffic and having a car--we live here. We know what it's like to call this place home.

I have lived in L.A. for quite a while. I work in a department at a consultancy that pays excruciatingly close attention to very specific aspects of vehicular ownership and usage.

I don't agree that owning a car is necessary if you're willing to trade money (the cost of operating a vehicle) for time (waiting on public transportation) and then to divert some of the saved money to rent cars or use a ride sharing service from time to time. Some of the time you get back. One can read while drivers grind it out. While they look for parking, one's stop is a short walk to one's destination.

FWIW, in 2015, AAA projected the average cost of vehicle ownership at about $8.7k--that figure doesn't include the cost to store (park) a vehicle. That same year, my transportation costs were about $1.2k in pre tax dollars for metro passes plus about $450 for car rentals--which included looking for a place to move and the move itself. Add the cost of Amazon Prime membership, I had a fair amount of money to spend on other things than a car.

My $0.02.

[NoirFemme]

7 hours ago, Sigaba said:

I have lived in L.A. for quite a while. I work in a department at a consultancy that pays excruciatingly close attention to very specific aspects of vehicular ownership and usage.

I don't agree that owning a car is necessary if you're willing to trade money (the cost of operating a vehicle) for time (waiting on public transportation) and then to divert some of the saved money to rent cars or use a ride sharing service from time to time. Some of the time you get back. One can read while drivers grind it out. While they look for parking, one's stop is a short walk to one's destination.

FWIW, in 2015, AAA projected the average cost of vehicle ownership at about $8.7k--that figure doesn't include the cost to store (park) a vehicle. That same year, my transportation costs were about $1.2k in pre tax dollars for metro passes plus about $450 for car rentals--which included looking for a place to move and the move itself. Add the cost of Amazon Prime membership, I had a fair amount of money to spend on other things than a car.

My $0.02.

As I reiterate: I assume you're not going to spend your time only in your immediate area of LA. There are important events, sites, and places to attend across the region that makes relying on public transportation unreasonable. But I suppose my perspective is shaded by my position in the cultural sector--I wouldn't be able to work and study in this field if I couldn't get around on my own.

[ghanada]

I also agree with NoirFemme about needing a car in LA. I dug up this old post I wrote about 4 years ago in this very thread and gave a little rant about my reasons. While I haven't lived in LA for a while now and know the public transportation situation has vastly improved, I still visit quite often and still think it isn't at the same level as more "walking friendly" big cities like Boston (I lived there), NYC, DC, etc. Read below for the full spiel, but my updated feelings are less harsh and that I think it depends on what you want to get out of LA. If you are mostly happy in your local neighborhood/community and are satisfied with just going back and forth between school/work and, then yes, you are perfectly fine without a car. Lots of people are like this and have deep connections in their local area and don't feel the need to drive around for billions of hours. Just uber, bus, train, rent, bum rides, etc. for the few times you need to get somewhere outside. I absolutely understand and appreciate this choice and I too think I could make that lifestyle work if I really wanted to. 

My only hesitation about that is I personally know I wouldn't get out as much if I didn't have my own car parked next to my house. As slight of an inconvenience as it is to request an Uber or walk a few blocks to get a zip car, it is enough (again, for me personally) that there would be many cases I just wouldn't go out to something because of it. I understand I might be more lazy/cheap than others. And I recognize that also means I would prioritize the people/events that are most important to me, but at the same time I know I would miss out on those unplanned random adventures that I last minute got up and drove out somewhere just because I could. There were countless times I would get spur of the moment invites to shows, movies, dinners, or even friends calling for help and just needing to talk in person at 12am. And looking back, I think there's a lot I would have missed out on without a car and it was often those moments that I remember and cherish the most. However, I know that might not be relevant for many people. 

But if you are at all like me and the type of person that wants to experience everything a new city can offer you, having a car is the way to go. 

Here's what I originally posted:

Now, this advice goes to you and ANYONE reading this post...GET A CAR! I know you might be used to cities where you walked everywhere or had nice transportation systems. Los Angeles is not like that. Only if you are planning on staying for like 1 year, then maybe you can go without a car. But if you are planning on being there for 2+ years, you should definitely get a car. Just something cheapy like $2,000 is fine. And I have heard EVERY argument about why you will be fine without a car. And yes, I agree it is POSSIBLE to get by without a car, but I argue that you are missing the entire culture and point of LA. Many people say LA sucks because there is no culture and it is fake and blah blah blah. That is BS. I lived there for 8+ years and if you understand what makes LA great, you will absolutely love it there. What makes LA great is that there are so many communities and different cities/regions all spread out. Each one has an incredibly different vibe with different types of shops, restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. But that means you have CHOICE. There is a scene for everyone. And if you are adventurous, you will love checking out all the different areas in southern Cali and appreciate various things in each. For instance, Santa Monica is awesome for a chill beach vibe that is family friendly and convenient. There are some cool bars out there and 3rd Street Promenade is a fun touristy thing to do. Venice beach is more eclectic with a cool art scene and hippies abound. Especially in the Abbot Kinney area. Manhattan/Hermosa Beach are small, little surfer-attitude beach towns for lazy afternoons and beach type bars. Downtown LA is a gentrified hip scene, with interesting restaurants and bars littered with young professionals trying to stand out. Silver Lake area is the home of the hipsters where creation and art happens. Lots of trippy, unique things going on over there. West Hollywood is the unofficial socal capitol of LGBT and alternative lifestyles. Lots of great restaurants and laid back bars. Hollywood is the ghetto touristy area, but with the highest class clubs and hottest singles trying to hook up. 

And all those places are a just a small fraction of socal, which are nearest to UCLA. I didn't even mention more northern areas like Griffith Park, the Valley, Studio City, Pasadena, etc. Or Southern areas like Long Beach, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, etc. Each of those ares are completely different from the rest and offer their own unique things to do. I also didn't mention all the amazing ethnic areas, like Little Tokyo (both in Sawtelle area and Downtown), Chinatown, Little Ethiopia, and Korea Town. There are also full on ethnic REGIONS in socal like Inland Empire for Chinese people (Covina, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights, El Monte, etc) or the Valley and East LA for Mexican people. There are just really cool pockets of areas that can't be found anywhere else in the world. 

The main point of this, is that you HAVE TO DRIVE to get to these areas. Yes, there will be traffic. Yes, you will be irritated and be running late for everything. But I guarantee you, you will discover awesome things and create new experiences that will blow your mind. You will also have the right to say you lived in LA and dealt with the traffic. It toughens you up a bit. The traffic itself is part of the LA culture. You would be doing yourself an incredible injustice to not have a car and trap yourself in Westwood/West LA. There is definitely enough things to do around that area to which you can make do. But seriously, you will be trapped in this bubble and never experience the beauty of LA. 

Ok that is my rant for the day. I love LA and miss it dearly. I want to do anything I can to promote the awesomeness of socal and help the non-believers understand what it truly means to be an Angelino. Anyone can message me for advice as well.