Suggestion for housing location (Long Beach, Huntington Beach: transfer, good schools, to live in)

[1200RT]

Does she drive from west la to OC now?

FWIW, i used to commute from santa monica, and then pasadena to irvine a few times a week. Not a pleasant commute.

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by BrianSm

Hi there! I am wondering if it’s reasonable to take a job at university of Southern California in LA while spouse having job in Costa Mesa.

Originally Posted by BrianSm

Thanks for the reply. We live in LA but my wife is considering job in Irvine.

Originally Posted by BrianSm

We live in west LA.

Now I see more clearly. It was just last year in July that both you and your wife landing jobs here in Encino and were looking for places to live/rent. So am I right in assuming that your lease may be coming up for renewal so time is of the essence in making your decision? Are you currently still making the commute to Encino? Are you WEST LA west of the 405 or east of the 405? The commute to USC will not be too bad at all so in my opinion, it isnt worth trying to move/relocate.

As far as your wife's employ, how far along in the process is she with this potential new employer? I work for a very very large national financial services firm and we have offices in Irvine, SD, LA, Century City, etc and all over the country, and we would never consider someone who lives in LA for employ in Irvine. Its just not at all a doable commute. Im shocked that after seeing her west LA address they are considering her. My advice, is, if she's just only CONSIDERING employment in Irvine, and not yet applied/interviewed for the role, is to NOT consider employment in Irvine. If she's no longer working in Encino and is looking for employment, there are a LOT of opportunities here in LA and with you potentially working near downtown at USC, its not worth moving.

Good luck in your job search and apartment hunting. I still say stay were you are and have your wife look for employment here in LA.

[bad debt]

I think I would try and look for a place in Seal Beach / Los Alamitos / Cypress / Cerritos area. But you could do the nice areas of Long Beach, but then you would be a bit further from the freeways so I think the commutes would definitely be worse to either area.

Those commutes are doable. Not good, but not 100% soul crushing.

[BrianSm]

Originally Posted by bad debt

I think I would try and look for a place in Seal Beach / Los Alamitos / Cypress / Cerritos area. But you could do the nice areas of Long Beach, but then you would be a bit further from the freeways so I think the commutes would definitely be worse to either area.

Those commutes are doable. Not good, but not 100% soul crushing.

Thanks a lot

[BrianSm]

Originally Posted by Kings Gambit

Now I see more clearly. It was just last year in July that both you and your wife landing jobs here in Encino and were looking for places to live/rent. So am I right in assuming that your lease may be coming up for renewal so time is of the essence in making your decision? Are you currently still making the commute to Encino? Are you WEST LA west of the 405 or east of the 405? The commute to USC will not be too bad at all so in my opinion, it isnt worth trying to move/relocate.

As far as your wife's employ, how far along in the process is she with this potential new employer? I work for a very very large national financial services firm and we have offices in Irvine, SD, LA, Century City, etc and all over the country, and we would never consider someone who lives in LA for employ in Irvine. Its just not at all a doable commute. Im shocked that after seeing her west LA address they are considering her. My advice, is, if she's just only CONSIDERING employment in Irvine, and not yet applied/interviewed for the role, is to NOT consider employment in Irvine. If she's no longer working in Encino and is looking for employment, there are a LOT of opportunities here in LA and with you potentially working near downtown at USC, its not worth moving.

Good luck in your job search and apartment hunting. I still say stay were you are and have your wife look for employment here in LA.

Thanks a lot for your help and comments. Appreciate it

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by BrianSm

Thanks a lot for your help and comments. Appreciate it

Yeah, but you didnt answer any of my questions.

[pathrunner]

Originally Posted by Kings Gambit

Now I see more clearly. It was just last year in July that both you and your wife landing jobs here in Encino and were looking for places to live/rent. So am I right in assuming that your lease may be coming up for renewal so time is of the essence in making your decision? Are you currently still making the commute to Encino? Are you WEST LA west of the 405 or east of the 405? The commute to USC will not be too bad at all so in my opinion, it isn't worth trying to move/relocate.

As far as your wife's employ, how far along in the process is she with this potential new employer? I work for a very very large national financial services firm and we have offices in Irvine, SD, LA, Century City, etc. and all over the country, and we would never consider someone who lives in LA for employ in Irvine. Its just not at all a doable commute. I'm shocked that after seeing her west LA address they are considering her. My advice, is, if she's just only CONSIDERING employment in Irvine, and not yet applied/interviewed for the role, is to NOT consider employment in Irvine. If she's no longer working in Encino and is looking for employment, there are a LOT of opportunities here in LA and with you potentially working near downtown at USC, its not worth moving.

Good luck in your job search and apartment hunting. I still say stay were you are and have your wife look for employment here in LA.

I agree entirely with this post. West LA to Irvine is insane. OP, you both will be distressed if she gets and takes that job.

[Ruth4Truth]

It's interesting how couples who are new to an area interview for jobs that are in opposite ends of the regional map, then come to C-D to ask where they should live in-between the two job locations. Locals are horrified, because they know the lay of the land and of the freeways, and the traffic flow. We just had an inquiry like this on the San Francisco Bay Area forum.

There's so much more involved than points on a map. Plus, people seem to be so conditioned to commuting, rather than looking for jobs where they live, that they accept as a given that life in their new area or state will involve commuting. So they apply for jobs all over the place, even in distant cities, as long as there's a freeway connecting the location with their home neighborhood, and feel lucky to have a job. "OK, C-D, we both have jobs. Now how do we make our commutes work? What's the best location for us, now that we've spread ourselves out over opposite sides of the map with our job locations?"

Oy!

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

It's interesting how couples who are new to an area interview for jobs that are in opposite ends of the regional map, then come to C-D to ask where they should live in-between the two job locations. Locals are horrified, because they know the lay of the land and of the freeways, and the traffic flow. We just had an inquiry like this on the San Francisco Bay Area forum.

There's so much more involved than points on a map. Plus, people seem to be so conditioned to commuting, rather than looking for jobs where they live, that they accept as a given that life in their new area or state will involve commuting. So they apply for jobs all over the place, even in distant cities, as long as there's a freeway connecting the location with their home neighborhood, and feel lucky to have a job. "OK, C-D, we both have jobs. Now how do we make our commutes work? What's the best location for us, now that we've spread ourselves out over opposite sides of the map with our job locations?"

Oy!

Agree. I think in most cases, (this case in particular) its really someone who WANTS to move here but really arent sure where to live and dont even have jobs yet. They just ask questions and wait/hope for answers that would arm them with knowledge so when they do move here (again, I dont think most are here yet), they have some idea of where to go/do.

[pathrunner]

I used to work in downtown L.A. My commute was mandated by the SCAQMD (Southern California Air Quality Management District). We were handed a bus pass free by our employers. It was $100 per person at that time. (The company might have gotten a break on the price, not sure.) High fines were issued for people who defied that and drove in, parking in the subterranean parking lot. I remember the fine at the time was $10,000 PER DAY. That was in 1991.

Large commuter vans would travel from Victorville and BARSTOW to downtown L.A. and beyond. Those people were in the van 6 hours per day (3 hrs. each way). They lived out there because housing was cheaper. But their lives were spent riding in a van and working in a high rise. What kind of quality of life is that? There were no cell phones, or WiFi for laptops. Most people just slept, read books or listened to their Walkman.

In the Southern California basin, it's insanity but people do it all the time. When I turned 50 I told myself absolutely no more commuting. My L.A. commute was 1.5 hours each way IF traffic was good and the bus didn't break down on Kellogg Hill on Friday night (it was always Friday night).

When I got a job in Portland Oregon my commute was about 8-10 miles going against traffic so it wasn't too bad. But coming in from West of Portland was a nightmare, especially during winter.

It seems to me that one of the couple has to work from home and the other has to commute, hopefully not far (live close to that person's work). That's the only way it's goin to work out.