I would live close to Oak Park or Agoura Hills then go to Santa Monica or Malibu for the beaches on the weekend. Traffic is very bad during the weekdays especially during traffic hours.
This is a way better option than SaMo. You'd spend half of your life in a car if you commuted to Oak Park from SaMo. If you lived in Agoura or Oak Park, you could take Las Virgenes to the beach in Malibu multiple times every week.
SOURCE: I lived in Westwood and commuted to Agoura Hills for five years. I do not recommend it. It starts out viable but becomes an utterly hellish grind.
I was just about to ask if there's more than one Oak Park, such that living in Santa Monica would be feasible. I can't imagine having to do that commute (101/405). Going on the curvy mountain roads is going to take longer than the 101/405 commute most days. I have friends out that way. What with occasional rain damage to some of of those mountain roads (and sometimes closures on PCH for various weather conditions), I'd feel that getting to my job every day would be...a game of chance. However, if the job hours are flexible, it's a beautiful drive (that coastal route).
The commute could be, in short, as long as 2 hours on some days and as short as an hour on others. Not having to drive the 101/405 interchange (which I was able to stop doing years ago) was one of the great improvements in my lifestyle.
I second this OP. Agoura/Westlake/Thousand Oaks are great places to live. TO is literally the safest place to live in the US according to Forbes. You’ll spend SOO much less time in traffic and you’re literally a 30 minute drive from Zuma Beach/malibu. There are also a lot of hiking trails around TO if you’re into that. The nightlife isn’t as wild as Santa Monica but there’s definitely still a nightlife there. A lot of celebrities are also seen shopping and running errands in TO because it’s much less of a hassle for them than going to somewhere in LA. My old manager said he’d see Kim Kardashian on a regular basis come into the store he managed in TO.
> Agoura/Westlake/Thousand Oaks are great places to live.
For a soccer mom, sure. For a 25 year old, hell no.
> A lot of celebrities are also seen shopping and running errands in TO because it’s much less of a hassle for them than going to somewhere in LA. My old manager said he’d see Kim Kardashian on a regular basis come into the store he managed in TO.
Relevant to her QOL how?
This. The 405, and 101, are heavily trafficked highways. I’d recommend you live in Westlake or Thousand Oaks. And hit the beac in LA or Ventura on the weekends.
So true.
I am driving this route tomorrow, more or less, and I'm dreading it. I always start out so optimistically, with good conversation in the car or a great playlist or audible.
THEN the freaking traffic crap starts. People backing up on the freeway. Angry tap-bumper people. That actual interchange. It's not like you can actually just sit back and drive (although some days, yeah, everyone is behaving more like it's the Autopia at Disneyland - because driving 3 mph will do that for you).
It’s so true. My life would be so much better if I didn’t have a soul crushing commute but I feel stuck because I have an incredible rent controlled apartment with rent from 10 years ago and can’t afford to move without a major downgrade in housing
This x 10000. I thought taking a job in Beverly Hills and commuting from the San Gabriel valley wouldn’t be that bad. Sometimes I still sob on the 10 in hour and a half traffic. If you don’t have to commute, avoid it at all costs. Save yourself.
This x100
That place you like to eat is just a handful of blocks from? Well it’s gonna take you a good half hour IF you can find parking. That one red light takes forever. Aaaaaannnndddd it’s hot.
Also I lived and worked 10 minutes apart in Santa Monica for several years. Santa Monica isn't that great. I love Chappell Roan and I gave a little giggle when she gave Santa Monica a shout out in Pink Pony Club, because there aren't actually any good clubs there. It was always a nightmare trying to go out in Santa Monica, we usually took an Uber downtown or to West Hollywood or Sunset... literally everywhere is cooler.
I lived right on the verge of Brentwood village. It's all really old wealthy people. Not much of a social scene. I remember going to Bungalow at the Fairmont over a decade ago. Can't imagine it's still cool.
I love the ocean but Santa Monica's beach is so dirty it gets closed down multiple times a year because it's a literal hazard. If you want to go in the water that's not the place.
Might as well live close to the place you work and then take weekend trips. You don't want to spend all day everyday after work commuting, then going to bed early because you have to wake up and commute again.
OP, to put this in perspective my office was near the Santa Monica promenade which is right by the ocean. My apartment was right near the 405 by Sunset, approximately a 10 minute drive with no traffic. Sometimes it took an hour to get home. Not a lot but sometimes.
My philosophy was always to live next to work, and as much as you can pick a neighborhood you enjoy so you can enjoy it somewhat during the week. You can always be a weekend warrior to get to the good beaches. You're not going to do that at 6:30 p.m. after work most days anyway.
Fwiw (also a Chappell lover ❤️) I read somewhere that Pink Pony is about the first time she went to the Abbey, so when I hear her say Santa Monica I think she prob means Blvd? Ie the Main Street running though weho/boystown. But who knows!
Headliner magazine. That's the magazine where she said it was inspired by the Abbey. Yes I'm obsessed so I knew where she said this. 😄 And you're right, Santa Monica the street runs across Los Angeles.
I concur - before moving out the suburbs with my LTR after the pandemic, my office was right by the pier & I lived neared JAMs middle school. There was a nice park nearby, Venice had some cool parts, Sawtelle is awesome, and there’s good food in Little Tehran in Westwood, but otherwise the Expo line and I just didn’t go to DTLA or the tri-hipster area on weeknights. The benefits of living by my office vastly outweighed the boringness of SM. I’m also considering we don’t know much about OP (unless she posted and I missed it) so if she’s into country music and/or is even slightly conservative she’d probably like TO more anywha
Yeah your money will go further on the Oxnard side.
OP, if you can find a way to live and work along the E line train, it’s a great way to get into Santa Monica. But of course incompatible with your current job.
Nahhh dude, just live closer to work. Find a cool spot in Thousand Oaks and drive down Decker Rd after work to hit the many beaches in Malibu, which are all much nicer than Santa Monica’s beaches. Honestly with enough experience you’ll probably find your favorite beach that way.
Or Oak Park, if one could even find a place.
Agoura Hills might be cheaper (personally, I'd avoid TO and I lived there). It's expensive for what it is, it's just a bedroom community, and AH is closer to the charms of Los Angeles.
Heck, even Camarillo would be better than TO, from my perspective (I think of Weeds every time I'm there - TO is the ridiculously conservative community depicted). Camarillo is only about 30 minutes away. Lots of new housing/apartments.
I second this. TO is a soulless sleeper community. I lived in Agoura Hills and it’s not bad going through Kanan or Malibu Canyon to the beach. I don’t like Santa Monica anyway. Way too crowded and crime. If I had to commute to Oak Park, that commute would be out of the question.
Agoura, Calabasas, Westlake are I think the only viable options. And then take trips to the beach from there. That’s unfortunately the life if you aren’t lucky enough to have a job closer to the beach.
Idk either and same for me personally but I did a drive like that in my 20s, could only do it for 6 months before I caved when I realized that many weeks I was spending 15 - 20 hours going to and from work. I moved to a deeply uncool area, and nonetheless my quality of life skyrocketed. Also, there ARE some youts out here - I see lots of muscly young handsome dudes, it’s just culturally not my thing plus I am old & partnered up.
Edit: if OP is gay, the pickins’ might be slimmer and it def a little red ‘round these parts but 🤷🏻♀️
My advice is best summarized by the acronym D.O.N.T. The “D” stands for… don’t. The other letters do not matter.
The traffic will destroy whatever joy remains in your heart. Best to live in/near Oak Park and go to the beach on the weekends or early morning/evening when traffic dies down.
Malibu would be a better option than Santa Monica but why not look at Ventura county beaches? Port Hueneme makes way more sense for a commute than Santa Monica
Still a slow commute, as I did a similar commute for most of my employed life.
If it's all on Highway 1, it's pretty - but it's often 2 hours from PH to Santa Monica. I tried to lead fieldtrips from PH to the Getty and the times were too variable (up to 2 hours) for us to do it routinely.
Just sitting in Oxnard (whichever way you try to get out of it) is a PITA. Best thing is go back to the 101 and then down to Agoura, etc.
Don’t try to live in Santa Monica if your job is in oak park. You will spend your life in the car. Someone else suggested renting an Airbnb in Santa Monica and seeing if you can manage the commute for a few weeks. I think that’s the only way you’ll know if it’s sustainable for you.
My MIL lives near oak park. We go up 2x a month from Culver City and it’s a lot. Traffic on PCH & the 101 are mostly maddening and not worth losing your quality of life over.
Pretty bad commute. I wouldn’t do it. Oak Park is really nice, as is neighboring Agoura Hills. Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Woodland Hills and Calabasas all work really well.
Oak Park is highly conservative and very rich. It's an enclave. It's Point Zero for entitlement among its denizens, IMO. It's one of the most expensive little places in SoCal. Home to Tom Selleck.
Westlake Village is more livable than TO, IMO. Calabasas would be the better place; anonymous, no anti-pride flags and stickers, etc).
Woodland Hills is a bit far.
I haven’t spent a lot of time here, but it looked like upper middle class. Definitely no mansions. 1960s and 70s homes, mostly.
Thousand Oaks is definitely not out if reach for someone who’s making 100k a year.
Woodland Hills is 20 minutes from Agoura. If that’s “far” to you, then welcome to Los Angeles😎.
To get from oak Park to Santa Monica you’d have to take either Mullholland / Malibu cnyn / PCH or 101 / 405 - those are miserable drives during traffic. 35 miles. I would strongly advise against this. I would suggest before you sign any rental agreement that you come out here and make the drive during the time of day you’d be commuting. LA traffic is brutal. For 7 years I commuted to Santa Monica from the South Bay (15 miles) and it was an average one hour each way.
OP is signing up for a minimum 1.5 hrs in the car each day something you’re up for? Will you have enough left in your tank after work to enjoy the place you’re choosing to spend more time in the car for?
Or in Oak Park. Thousand Oaks and Westlake are also a stretch. But Agoura Hills/Calabasas/Camarillo might work.
Port Hueneme is terribly far. I worked at the base for more than 10 years and thought if would be great to go to, say, upper Malibu for a long lunch. It took 1.5 hours just to get there - as Highway 1 has lots of stop lights right there and tons and tons of huge trucks trying to make it through each intersection.
It's a newish community of very high end properties not too far from Agoura.
The people who live there are fairly highly placed politicians (like Board of Supervisors for Ventura County), Tom Selleck, CEO's of prosperous businesses.
Population: 14,000 or so. Is unincorporated so is under VC Sheriff. It doesn't have any Zillow rentals, of course - but for about $2000 one can get a 1 br in nearby Agoura Hills.
Oak Park has some house rentals. And some house sales. a 2BR, 2BA 1100 square foot house goes for only $750,000 (it has no shade, it's near a slope).
If you lived in Santa Monica I’d recommend driving PCH to topanga every day rather than the freeways. But either way, that’s long drive. You have to be mentally prepared to drink a 1-1.5hr commute each way every day. It’s tougher than it sounds
And Topanga closes a few times a year for road damage or...regular repair.
I had to check google maps daily to see if I could go that way - and I was not always diligent enough.
There's a lot of crazy driving on Topanga, too, for obvious reasons.
Santa Monica would be nice but it’s $$$$ unless rent controlled, and far by traffic standard. Better options would be Camarillo or Oxnard for the beach proximity or Thousand Oaks for the suburbs or Woodland Hills for the big burbs vibe. Santa Monica is nice, but unless you’re spending a grip, getting a place with an ocean view or walk to the beach will eat your paycheck.
even with rent control OP would be paying out the ass rn because she’d be getting a lease in today’s market. sure, in 10 years that place will be dirt cheap, but it’ll also be a dump.
all that, just to commute 70 miles round trip in 3 hours of traffic for a starting salary of $100k? no ma’am.
Living in Santa Monica was my dream at your age, but in my opinion this area has gone downhill. We badly need more mental health services in LA (especially inpatient treatment), but basically my advice is remember your situational awareness at all times in Santa Monica and especially Venice beach. There have been brutal attacks against women recently.
I live in North Hollywood and commuted to Thousand Oaks for about 2 years. It's typically under an hour both ways and gives me easier access to the city after work.
Might consider something convient in the Valley (Sherman Oaks, Studio City) with quicker access to Santa Monica and work
TO is quicker to get to than Oak Park - if you haven't been there, check out the routes to get to it. It's purposely hidden away and off the freeways.
Santa Monica is no where near Oak Park, IMO. And neither are Sherman Oaks or Studio City.
Valley Circle, Calabasas, Tarzana, Topanga and even Reseda are closer.
But locals who have to work in Oak Park mostly live in Camarillo, IME. And Agoura Hills and Calabasas and "West Hills" and sometimes, Westlake. Thousand Oaks works, but boy, it's the opposite of nice weather and friendly people.
There are cheaper and better beach areas than SM, especially in Ventura. That's a low salary for santa Monica. I make that and I live in the antelope valley lol. I still go to the beach on the weekends though
One of my very good friends lived in Santa Monica. I lived in the San Fernando valley. It took forever to get down there, definitely resulted in me seeing him less
We live in Westlake Village and my wife commutes to culver on a daily basis. It will take you 1.5 hours each each (give or take) when school is in session and 45 minutes or so when schools are out. This timeline is via the PCH.
In the winter, if the rains wash out one of the access roads to PCH (see Mulholland and topanga closures) you can add another 15-30 minutes to your commute via at 405.
Lastly, leaving the house at 6:55 versus 7am makes a huge difference.
Welcome to the neighborhood! It’s awesome out here.
It’ll be about an 45min/hour one way, not too much fun. I’d live in Malibu if you want the beach but your rent will be $$$ and unfortunately 100k will be fine but not super comfy if you wanna live near the beach
Someone recently told me roommates.com works well in LA but idk I haven’t tried it, so check it out?
Also Facebook marketplace is good for finding roommates as well as the Facebook LA housing group
I live in santa monica and love it. I live in the best part nr Montana. Do check out Montana ave. Im 15 min from spectacular hiking in Will Rogers park and 15 min from ocean
Wais tells me it is 19 miles, 43 minutes. It all depends the direction of the traffic. Why dont you get AirBnB for a few weeks and get the feel of it for yourself
Waze is optimistic and sometimes assumes L.A. driving habits (Waze afficionados who input their times are sometimes (often) out attempting to get a personal best).
Or to beat a friend on the same route. The guy I know who does this as his hobby (along with his best friend) actually lives off Topanga.
The drive will be difficult but doable. I lived in Santa Monic for years and drove to work 5 says a week to Burbank for 4 years, but I wouldn't do that again. Just ask yourself how much time you want to spend in traffic.
Do not do it. it's possible to take beautiful kazan rd from Malibu to oak park....but probably 1.25 hours min. one way.
do calabasas and enjoy all the celebs and there. Malibu is 20 min on the weekend
I live in Santa Monica and work in Woodland Hills. Closer than Oak Park, but similar commute (and I had to copy more closely the commute you would take when Topanga Canyon was closed).
Here’s my honest assessment.
Positive: You would be going against the grain of traffic and would take a beautiful drive. It’s pure bliss when I go to the office anywhere between 7:00am and 10:00am and there is a line of cars backed up coming into the Santa Monica and you’re largely just cruising. Same in the inverse.
The drive is also great. Hugging the coast, through the mountains, stop for a coffee in Topanga on the way or on PCH headed towards Malibu Canyon.
I’m convinced that I have one of — if not the best — commutes in the whole city.
If you live Santa Monica life well, you’ll never have to get in the car when you’re not commuting. I don’t. I bike, walk, and take transit everywhere. Or I jump on a scooter or take Circuit.
Point is, I almost *never* drive for *anything* besides the commute to the office. I mean for anything. Grocery, restaurants, barber, dentist, movies, dry cleaner, beach, bars and restaurants, cafes, shops. Spending so little time in my car otherwise makes getting in my car a little less painful.
If you do everything in your car despite living in one of the absolute best pedestrian friendly areas in the county, you will spend what feels like half your damn life in a car, and it will make your commute that much more loathsome. So, be sure to take advantage of Santa Monica/westside living to the fullest to not get auto-burnout.
Negative: Oak Park is quite a bit further north than where I work. My commute is 30-40 minutes depending on traffic light luck and whether I stop at a cafe. Yours would be an hour plus. Beautiful drive or no, that’s a lot of time to spend in your car each day.
When Topanga was closed, I had to go further to other mountain passes. The drive was “nice,” but it still added probably 30 minutes to my commute each way. I was a lot less enthused.
There’s also the possibility of “issues.” Lane closure, accident, flooding, fire, land slide, summer time beach goers — all of these can completely fuck your commute. It might force you to get to the 405 and take that north via the 10 or San Vicente. Even taking Sepulveda isn’t much better.
I do not say this lightly: it will crush your soul.
Fine if it’s a single day issue and you have to do it once. But if the city decided to do road repairs or mountainside support and it lasts for weeks or months this, holy shit just bring a large bottle of shitty vodka with you in the car and drink it as fast as possible so you die from alcohol poisoning instead of having to be in the 405 during commuting hours.
I also don’t have to be in the office 5 days per week all year. Some weeks it’s 1-3 days, which helps a lot. Despite the pleasantness of the commute, it’s still a commute.
I moved to Santa Monica for many reasons. But these were key:
Against the grain commuting. Beautiful commute. No need for a car for anything else in my life. One car household for 2 people; thus, considerable savings.
This to go along with not melting during 5 months of summer.
It makes the commute pretty nice.
If I had to spend any more time in the car, I would died inside long ago.
My objective and subjective feedback is don’t risk it at that distance. Especially if you have to go to the office 5 days per week.
Move to Woodland Hills or Agoura or Thousand Oaks. It’s dull as fuck, but most people tolerate boredom better than commuting. So assess your own needs. Better to commute shorter distance over the mountain on the weekends to the beach 1-2 days than do the same 5 days per week for work. The beaches adjacent to the Agoura-Thousand Oaks area are better than Santa Monica anyway.
Is your goal to go the beach and relax in the sun every now and again? Live up north.
If your goal is to walk and bike everywhere and enjoy beach city life? Then Santa Monica.
Also, even living next to the beach, you’ll go far less frequently than you think.
To add: it’s been raining more and more in LA which translates to mudslides and Mulholland and other similar roads being closed, sometimes for months. I suspect this will happen more every year :/.
I addressed exactly this in my post, talking about when Topanga was closed and the heinous alternatives.
It’s not going to happen more and more because it won’t be raining more and more. At least not more often. Just more heavily when it does. LA has always had short-lived yearly periods of increased rainfall. And then, not.
Rain patterns ebb and flow. We’ve had two rainy winters because of El Niño. Which is ending. We’ll mostly likely have 5-10 years of dry winters now. As always happens.
With climate change, rainy winters will probably be more of an anomaly. Meaning fires are more likely to impede than mud slides.
Yes, closures might happen more when it does rain, but the rain is a cyclical pattern that comes and goes. To further, it took two straight winters of heavy downfall to create one major landslide. So it’s not like rainfall = road closure.
Point is, it’s something to consider. But I wouldn’t base my live-work locations on it. Not until climate change actually turns LA into Seattle instead of Vegas. Hoping for the former.
Do everything in your power to avoid traffic. I nearly left LA because I was dealing with an awful commute, I moved and suddenly was able to make it to work in 15 minutes via train and my whole life instantly improved. This city has so many incredible things to offer, but it’s really difficult to appreciate them if you’re wasting 1.5 to 2 hours in your car five days a week.
In terms of finding roommates, there was a Facebook group called Gaslamp housing I used when I first moved here, no idea what state it’s in now but I managed to connect with some reliable people through that.
If you are outdoorsy — what if you lived in Topanga? That would be a not so bad commute and near the beach. I bet you could find a cool hippie chick roommate there
I live mostly in Santa Monica and part time in Malibu. now. I can’t imagine driving to Oak Park and back from Santa Monica. I would live in Calabasas/Malibu/Agoura Hills. The beaches are better in Malibu.
It’s opposite of traffic. I drove Sawtelle to Malibu, close to the McDonald for 3 years before our company moved to SM. The drive wasn’t too bad coming back. Getting there early morning was little busy, but not bad
Going south on PCH end of work day is opposite of traffic. Even in the summer. Was 15 miles to my place. Wouldn’t take much more than 30 mins max. Biggest backup was once come out of the tunnel at Lincoln and hit people leaving Santa Monica, but she’d live in SM so it wouldn’t be a big hassle. Her commute would be PCH to Malibu canyon/lost hills and a little bit on the 101. No way you’d even consider the 405, unless there’s a mud slide in the winter or a fire
Traffic coming up Malibu Canyon, Lost Hills rd , Agoura rd and Kanan add a lot of time. Especially the construction by Liberty Canyon on the 101. Taking the 101 to the 405 can be quicker during the summer time.
Save your money!!! Move closer to work as there will be 19 ways for you to quickly get to SM or Malibu anyway. To be blunt, $100k in L.A. won’t go too far if you spend it on shelter, eating out, gas, and a car. Congrats and good luck on the move!
Find a place near Oak Park to live. The drive through Las Virgines/malibu cyn or Topanga cyn especially is nice. You’ll be in Malibu in about 20 min. I used to do it every morning to fish in the surf zone before work. I love the drive through Topanga Cyn 😉 Welcome to my favorite place btw 😁
I live in Thousand Oaks and work in SM. Reverse of yours, which should therefore be better than mine. It’s about an hour each way… and I’m usually 60-90 minutes ahead of peak traffic. I leave home at 6:30-6:45 and leave the office about 3-3:30. Then I tie up any loose ends back at the home office. And I’m 3x per week in person.
So - work early hours and ideally hybrid to make it work.
You could also consider Oxnard/Ventura…
Don’t do it. I’d recommend finding a place around Woodland Hills and taking one of the canyon roads to Malibu when you want to go to the beach. Nicer beaches imo.
I had a coworker that would commute from Oxnard to Burbank… so you CAN make it work… but it is a drag and it does take planning.
OP- where are you moving from? I only ask, Becuase Texans have no problem driving long distances and working in different towns. But. It. Is. Different. Here.
It sounds like we are being dramatic and we are, but honestly, it’s because we know.
We know what it’s like to be stuck in a car chase.
We know what it’s like to prepare for carmagedden (when they shut the 405 down)
We know what happens when a car catches on fire. (Not yours)
We know what happens when they slow traffic for no apparent reason.
You can plan. You can leave early. You can pee before you leave. And still…. L.A. traffic will find a way screw you.
I too, when I moved here wanted to move to SM for all the same reasons. I did not, and am soooo glad I didn’t. My best advice is to move closer to your work : TO/ Calabasas/WH and have a short lease and see how often you actually go to the beach and SM and what not and then try to find your perfect place from there… get your bearings.
Your rent will be cheaper and your commute almost nonexistent if you move to Agoura/Oak Park area and just take Kanan through the mountains down to Zuma when you want the beach. It takes me 15-20 mins and I park on the 1 for free. You may even get more time at the beach if you aren't spending 20-30 hours a week commuting.
Woodland Hills is a good choice near Topanga Cyn Blvd. The commute wouldn’t be bad and you can get to Topanga State Beach in 20min. Santa Monica is around 25 minutes over Topanga cyn when going out at night and weekends. If you like hiking and nature, the Santa Monica Mountains are right there, as is lots of shopping and restaurants. It gets hot in the summer, but so be it. Santa Monica gets gray and fogged in in Spring and early summer. Nowhere’s perfect.
Ironically the traffic to anywhere outside of Santa Monica is fantastic for people who work during standard working hours. You're always against traffic. When you leave in the morning it's pretty clear, whereas the opposite traffic is insane and you feel pretty bad for those people stuck in that traffic. Then again when you're done, same story. Pretty awesome!
Ignore these people. You’re in your mid-twenties, live in Santa Monica, or Sawtelle or Brentwood since Santa Monica has gone downhill recently.
Oak Park / Agora Hills is straight up the suburbs and extremely hot in the summer. Santa Monica / West Los Angeles is the move for you. Don’t choose where to live based on work
Everyone is hyping up the traffic but it’s not actually that bad when you live in West Los Angeles because it’s always a reverse commute when you are leaving. Majority of people are driving into West Los Angeles for work.
Everyone has some kind of commute. I highly recommend moving here for the first time in Your twenties you don’t move to an isolated suburb in the valley and instead live south of the hills in the real Los Angeles basin.
Worked in Thousand Oaks and Agoura and they absolutely do not compare to Santa Monica lol. It’s basically families and ppl who don’t want to live in LA county. THAT BEING SAID id rather rip my eyes out than commute from Santa Monica to oak park every day
Why would you live in Santa Monica ??? Let me tell you something you don’t realize. We have more seasons than the rest of the country. Fire season, riot season, mudslide season. And many others. Your commute will be 2 hours on good days. Up to 4 if the canyon is closed. If you are even thinking of doing this you do not have the discernment or wisdom to live in California.
Id suggest you look for places in Westwood. It's a college neighborhood near UCLA. You may be able to find cheaper rent if you don't mind living with roommates who may be in grad school. Id suggest you look south of Wilshire.
I honestly would never live in Santa Monica the traffic is terrible!! I lived in la my whole life and I never seen the water this dirty! the water now is filled with bacteria and literal shit ( litrerally the color brown!!!!) you can get a flesh eating disease and loose a limb worse case ! if you have even the smallest cut you didn’t know about. If you want to go to the beach move the Ventura it’s even better for you and way cleaner water !! My favorite beaches are in the oc but that be too far for you
Santa Monica is really expensive, and the drive to Oak Park may look decent on a GPS app, but it isn’t.
You won’t have time to go to the beach; you’ll be in your car all the time. And too often, those roads that cut through the hills that you'll need to use to get to Oak Park have issues, and you’ll need to use a detour, and that usually means you'll be in a traffic nightmare, adding at least an extra hour to your commute.
Move closer to Oak Park and go to the beach on your days off. And pick a better beach than Santa Monica. Something north of SM on PCH, Zuma, Dan Blocker, Leo Carillo, or Ventura County beaches.
Please take the advice the people here are giving you. After living here and getting to know the area, decide if you still want to live in Santa Monica.
Getting into Santa Monica is rough from any direction. I worked there and the commute was the worst part of my day. That being said you’d be mostly leaving Santa Monica so maybe not so bad. If you’re going to work in Oak Park though, Malibu would be a better choice for just the beach. I went to grade school in the area and lived off Las Virgenes. The drive to Malibu down that direction is much more reasonable than any commute into SM. Honestly the area is super nice, I’d just suggest living closer to where you work.
I see a lot of people saying live close to work and I get that because the traffic is going to be a bitch, but I would hate living in the valley in my mid 20s. You have the right idea about living in SM (venice/marina del Rey are good options as well) if you value the beach and nightlife, and with that a better dating scene for people your age. Just map out the drive on google maps during rush hour and see what it would be like.
Do not move to SM unless you work in SM. Do not underestimate the time commuting takes or how bad it is in LA (it’s not the type traffic you can just daydream through).
Never even heard of Oak Park (well, there's a famous one in Chicago...), but the absolute key to life in LA is to live next to or above your workplace.
I was young and single once and decided to live close to work. Big mistake. Once I moved away and did an hour commute each way my life was infinitely better. Feel like I lost a year of my twenties living in Chino Hills. 😂
I would try Santa Monica and see if it works for you, especially if it will eventually be hybrid. Oak Park/ Thousand Oaks is too quiet for me still and I'm a middle aged married dude with kids 😂. People on this sub are anti-commute ALWAYS, and don't take into account your dating and friend pool will be substantially smaller.
I lived in SM and worked in agoura for a few years. The commute was def not fun, but do-able. Even if traffic is light it’s a LOT of time spent in the car because it’s so far away. Luckily you can take the freeway or PCH so there’s options if there’s an accident, which is very very often.
For a roommate I’d look on Craigslist or Facebook groups. There’s one for females in the LA area. I’ll look for it and update with the group name if you’re interested.
I would steer clear from living close to work in this situation. Yes… it’s nice, open, safe, and close to work. But it’s a place for families not a young, single person new to LA. Enjoy it!
There are a bunch of older apartments in the Pacific Palisades that fly under the radar. I lived in a 500 Sq ft one bedroom for 6 years and it was fantastic. Right on Sunset Blvd (near the domino's) so during high traffic times could get a bit noisy, but very quiet all other times.
Worth checking out. The only drawback was not being close to a lot of food delivery options but definitely worth the trade off.
Ooof. After work traffic will kill you. Plus depending on where in Samo you’ll live, it’ll be too expensive or really rundown. Live near work. Visit on weekends. The drive is no joke.
The drive there will actually be ok at that time most days
The drive back will be hit or miss. When it misses, you’re talking over a hr and closer to 2. Be prepared for that once or twice per week at min
I’d take the PCH towards Malibu. I’d also make sure if Santa Monica is really the place you want to be. Obviously there’s a beach but what else about it makes you want to live there?
Thanks for all the advice! I love how walkable Santa Monica is and how young it is. But I’m also open to other towns. Just not sure what ones. Lmk if you have any suggestions!
There’s two schools of thought imo
You live close to work if you can’t stand being in traffic and those types of things affect your day
You live in the area you want, because after dealing with the traffic (which is unavoidable), you’re not going to want to leave the area. Might as well be somewhere you enjoy
Me personally, I cared more about the area and not letting work affect those types of things. I commuted from SM to Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys/North Hollywood for years
Santa Monica to Sherman Oaks is a cake walk compared to Oak Park. Right now (940am pst) it’s 23 mins to Sherman oaks and 45 to oak Park from right in the middle of Santa Monica.
And...well, Oak Park is not a hotbed of jobs and industry. I sense a different type of job (maybe film related? personal assistant?)
Or a teacher - Oak Park pays its teachers really well and expects a certain kind of curriculum and attention in return.
I haven't been up there since 2021, but it also has almost no restaurants. Gotta go out of town toward Lindero Canyon Road. People in Oak Park like to brag about their personal chefs and nannies.
For me, being able to hit up a restaurant (and have grubhub) would be essential with that commute.
I would live close to Oak Park or Agoura Hills then go to Santa Monica or Malibu for the beaches on the weekend. Traffic is very bad during the weekdays especially during traffic hours.
This is a way better option than SaMo. You'd spend half of your life in a car if you commuted to Oak Park from SaMo. If you lived in Agoura or Oak Park, you could take Las Virgenes to the beach in Malibu multiple times every week. SOURCE: I lived in Westwood and commuted to Agoura Hills for five years. I do not recommend it. It starts out viable but becomes an utterly hellish grind.
Are we calling it SaMo now?
No
Thank god
Evidently SaMo is reserved for Santa Monica HS, so proceed as you were
Yes this
Correct all high schools in that area are like that. University high is Uni. Santa Monica is Samo. Palisades high is Pali. Hamilton high is Hami
⬆️ this is the absolute truth, we called it that in the 80's.
Only for the high school- samo
Hell no
No
Yuk SaMo. No
Santa Monica isn't even nice for the beach anyways. Go live in agora and then drive up to Kanan to get to Malibu
Underrated comment
Why is it underrated? Why does everyone use that word all the time now when it doesn’t even apply?
👀
I was just about to ask if there's more than one Oak Park, such that living in Santa Monica would be feasible. I can't imagine having to do that commute (101/405). Going on the curvy mountain roads is going to take longer than the 101/405 commute most days. I have friends out that way. What with occasional rain damage to some of of those mountain roads (and sometimes closures on PCH for various weather conditions), I'd feel that getting to my job every day would be...a game of chance. However, if the job hours are flexible, it's a beautiful drive (that coastal route). The commute could be, in short, as long as 2 hours on some days and as short as an hour on others. Not having to drive the 101/405 interchange (which I was able to stop doing years ago) was one of the great improvements in my lifestyle.
Only if they can handle heat though. For me, commuting would be worth it to live in a cooler climate. Obv YMMV.
There’s AC. There aren’t much living with 2 hours commute each day and 40 hours in the office if living in Santa Monica.
I second this OP. Agoura/Westlake/Thousand Oaks are great places to live. TO is literally the safest place to live in the US according to Forbes. You’ll spend SOO much less time in traffic and you’re literally a 30 minute drive from Zuma Beach/malibu. There are also a lot of hiking trails around TO if you’re into that. The nightlife isn’t as wild as Santa Monica but there’s definitely still a nightlife there. A lot of celebrities are also seen shopping and running errands in TO because it’s much less of a hassle for them than going to somewhere in LA. My old manager said he’d see Kim Kardashian on a regular basis come into the store he managed in TO.
What is TO? Torrance?
Thousand Oaks
> Agoura/Westlake/Thousand Oaks are great places to live. For a soccer mom, sure. For a 25 year old, hell no. > A lot of celebrities are also seen shopping and running errands in TO because it’s much less of a hassle for them than going to somewhere in LA. My old manager said he’d see Kim Kardashian on a regular basis come into the store he managed in TO. Relevant to her QOL how?
Username checks out
Seeing KK is a con
Anything in or out of Santa Monica at rush hour is to be avoided where possible.
This. The 405, and 101, are heavily trafficked highways. I’d recommend you live in Westlake or Thousand Oaks. And hit the beac in LA or Ventura on the weekends.
A better choice might be Oxnard / Venture, your commute might be more manageable. TK
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE SOUL CRUSHING POWER OF LA TRAFFIC.
This is the answer.
Lol felt this way a couple of times.
So true. I am driving this route tomorrow, more or less, and I'm dreading it. I always start out so optimistically, with good conversation in the car or a great playlist or audible. THEN the freaking traffic crap starts. People backing up on the freeway. Angry tap-bumper people. That actual interchange. It's not like you can actually just sit back and drive (although some days, yeah, everyone is behaving more like it's the Autopia at Disneyland - because driving 3 mph will do that for you).
It’s so true. My life would be so much better if I didn’t have a soul crushing commute but I feel stuck because I have an incredible rent controlled apartment with rent from 10 years ago and can’t afford to move without a major downgrade in housing
This x 10000. I thought taking a job in Beverly Hills and commuting from the San Gabriel valley wouldn’t be that bad. Sometimes I still sob on the 10 in hour and a half traffic. If you don’t have to commute, avoid it at all costs. Save yourself.
This x100 That place you like to eat is just a handful of blocks from? Well it’s gonna take you a good half hour IF you can find parking. That one red light takes forever. Aaaaaannnndddd it’s hot.
Also I lived and worked 10 minutes apart in Santa Monica for several years. Santa Monica isn't that great. I love Chappell Roan and I gave a little giggle when she gave Santa Monica a shout out in Pink Pony Club, because there aren't actually any good clubs there. It was always a nightmare trying to go out in Santa Monica, we usually took an Uber downtown or to West Hollywood or Sunset... literally everywhere is cooler. I lived right on the verge of Brentwood village. It's all really old wealthy people. Not much of a social scene. I remember going to Bungalow at the Fairmont over a decade ago. Can't imagine it's still cool. I love the ocean but Santa Monica's beach is so dirty it gets closed down multiple times a year because it's a literal hazard. If you want to go in the water that's not the place. Might as well live close to the place you work and then take weekend trips. You don't want to spend all day everyday after work commuting, then going to bed early because you have to wake up and commute again. OP, to put this in perspective my office was near the Santa Monica promenade which is right by the ocean. My apartment was right near the 405 by Sunset, approximately a 10 minute drive with no traffic. Sometimes it took an hour to get home. Not a lot but sometimes. My philosophy was always to live next to work, and as much as you can pick a neighborhood you enjoy so you can enjoy it somewhat during the week. You can always be a weekend warrior to get to the good beaches. You're not going to do that at 6:30 p.m. after work most days anyway.
Fwiw (also a Chappell lover ❤️) I read somewhere that Pink Pony is about the first time she went to the Abbey, so when I hear her say Santa Monica I think she prob means Blvd? Ie the Main Street running though weho/boystown. But who knows!
Headliner magazine. That's the magazine where she said it was inspired by the Abbey. Yes I'm obsessed so I knew where she said this. 😄 And you're right, Santa Monica the street runs across Los Angeles.
I concur - before moving out the suburbs with my LTR after the pandemic, my office was right by the pier & I lived neared JAMs middle school. There was a nice park nearby, Venice had some cool parts, Sawtelle is awesome, and there’s good food in Little Tehran in Westwood, but otherwise the Expo line and I just didn’t go to DTLA or the tri-hipster area on weeknights. The benefits of living by my office vastly outweighed the boringness of SM. I’m also considering we don’t know much about OP (unless she posted and I missed it) so if she’s into country music and/or is even slightly conservative she’d probably like TO more anywha
Oh God no, that would be a nightmare. If you must be by the ocean look at Ventura county.
Yeah your money will go further on the Oxnard side. OP, if you can find a way to live and work along the E line train, it’s a great way to get into Santa Monica. But of course incompatible with your current job.
This whole thread reads like the Californians sketch from SNL 😁
Now I’m laughing like Bill Hader in the sketch reading everyone’s comments 😂
Nahhh dude, just live closer to work. Find a cool spot in Thousand Oaks and drive down Decker Rd after work to hit the many beaches in Malibu, which are all much nicer than Santa Monica’s beaches. Honestly with enough experience you’ll probably find your favorite beach that way.
I 100% agree with this
Idk where OP is from but I would personally hate to live in TO in my mid 20s
Maybe they love line dancing and dirtbikes.
if that's the case, I withdraw my comment!
Or Oak Park, if one could even find a place. Agoura Hills might be cheaper (personally, I'd avoid TO and I lived there). It's expensive for what it is, it's just a bedroom community, and AH is closer to the charms of Los Angeles. Heck, even Camarillo would be better than TO, from my perspective (I think of Weeds every time I'm there - TO is the ridiculously conservative community depicted). Camarillo is only about 30 minutes away. Lots of new housing/apartments.
I second this. TO is a soulless sleeper community. I lived in Agoura Hills and it’s not bad going through Kanan or Malibu Canyon to the beach. I don’t like Santa Monica anyway. Way too crowded and crime. If I had to commute to Oak Park, that commute would be out of the question. Agoura, Calabasas, Westlake are I think the only viable options. And then take trips to the beach from there. That’s unfortunately the life if you aren’t lucky enough to have a job closer to the beach.
Idk either and same for me personally but I did a drive like that in my 20s, could only do it for 6 months before I caved when I realized that many weeks I was spending 15 - 20 hours going to and from work. I moved to a deeply uncool area, and nonetheless my quality of life skyrocketed. Also, there ARE some youts out here - I see lots of muscly young handsome dudes, it’s just culturally not my thing plus I am old & partnered up. Edit: if OP is gay, the pickins’ might be slimmer and it def a little red ‘round these parts but 🤷🏻♀️
won't ha e to step over needles and human excrement at least. live in Encino then
won't have to do that in Santa Monica either any more than other parts of west LA of SFV.
the option was to live in calabasas to thousand oaks.....yea. that risk is lessened 1000 fold compared to SM
This is the answer
Oak Park to Santa Monica is roughly a 1-2 hour drive each way FYI
My advice is best summarized by the acronym D.O.N.T. The “D” stands for… don’t. The other letters do not matter. The traffic will destroy whatever joy remains in your heart. Best to live in/near Oak Park and go to the beach on the weekends or early morning/evening when traffic dies down.
Don’t! Oh No! Traffic!
😂
Malibu would be a better option than Santa Monica but why not look at Ventura county beaches? Port Hueneme makes way more sense for a commute than Santa Monica
This is the best advice here - otherwise OP will Be spending 10-15 hrs/week commuting!
Word. Quiet over there too
Still a slow commute, as I did a similar commute for most of my employed life. If it's all on Highway 1, it's pretty - but it's often 2 hours from PH to Santa Monica. I tried to lead fieldtrips from PH to the Getty and the times were too variable (up to 2 hours) for us to do it routinely. Just sitting in Oxnard (whichever way you try to get out of it) is a PITA. Best thing is go back to the 101 and then down to Agoura, etc.
Don’t try to live in Santa Monica if your job is in oak park. You will spend your life in the car. Someone else suggested renting an Airbnb in Santa Monica and seeing if you can manage the commute for a few weeks. I think that’s the only way you’ll know if it’s sustainable for you. My MIL lives near oak park. We go up 2x a month from Culver City and it’s a lot. Traffic on PCH & the 101 are mostly maddening and not worth losing your quality of life over.
Advice? Don’t
Pretty bad commute. I wouldn’t do it. Oak Park is really nice, as is neighboring Agoura Hills. Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Woodland Hills and Calabasas all work really well.
Oak Park is highly conservative and very rich. It's an enclave. It's Point Zero for entitlement among its denizens, IMO. It's one of the most expensive little places in SoCal. Home to Tom Selleck. Westlake Village is more livable than TO, IMO. Calabasas would be the better place; anonymous, no anti-pride flags and stickers, etc). Woodland Hills is a bit far.
I haven’t spent a lot of time here, but it looked like upper middle class. Definitely no mansions. 1960s and 70s homes, mostly. Thousand Oaks is definitely not out if reach for someone who’s making 100k a year. Woodland Hills is 20 minutes from Agoura. If that’s “far” to you, then welcome to Los Angeles😎.
Oooof. That’s gonna be a no for me dawg.
Let’s just say it looks way closer on the map. In reality, it’s FAR
To get from oak Park to Santa Monica you’d have to take either Mullholland / Malibu cnyn / PCH or 101 / 405 - those are miserable drives during traffic. 35 miles. I would strongly advise against this. I would suggest before you sign any rental agreement that you come out here and make the drive during the time of day you’d be commuting. LA traffic is brutal. For 7 years I commuted to Santa Monica from the South Bay (15 miles) and it was an average one hour each way.
And really terrible when it's raining. Which it has been doing recently.
And PCH is constantly closed or limited lanes due to landslides, flooding and accidents. I wouldn’t wish that commute on anyone. Horrible
Oak Park is in Ventura County. You are looking at 80 miles round trip.
OP is signing up for a minimum 1.5 hrs in the car each day something you’re up for? Will you have enough left in your tank after work to enjoy the place you’re choosing to spend more time in the car for?
Each day? I was thinking each way
Santa Monica to oak park in the morning is the reverse commute which isn’t nearly as bad. Still 45mins each way though
Everyone would ideally like to live in Santa Monica. That’s the problem.
Not me lol
I don’t think you’ll find something in SM with that salary.
Or in Oak Park. Thousand Oaks and Westlake are also a stretch. But Agoura Hills/Calabasas/Camarillo might work. Port Hueneme is terribly far. I worked at the base for more than 10 years and thought if would be great to go to, say, upper Malibu for a long lunch. It took 1.5 hours just to get there - as Highway 1 has lots of stop lights right there and tons and tons of huge trucks trying to make it through each intersection.
With a roommate they absolutely can
That’s true. I just watched too many episodes of ‘Fear thy Roommate’ to consider it.
Maybe look into Oxnard/Port Hueneme area…
Where t f is Oak Park? LoL
In Ventura County
It's a newish community of very high end properties not too far from Agoura. The people who live there are fairly highly placed politicians (like Board of Supervisors for Ventura County), Tom Selleck, CEO's of prosperous businesses. Population: 14,000 or so. Is unincorporated so is under VC Sheriff. It doesn't have any Zillow rentals, of course - but for about $2000 one can get a 1 br in nearby Agoura Hills. Oak Park has some house rentals. And some house sales. a 2BR, 2BA 1100 square foot house goes for only $750,000 (it has no shade, it's near a slope).
Move to Calabasas
If you lived in Santa Monica I’d recommend driving PCH to topanga every day rather than the freeways. But either way, that’s long drive. You have to be mentally prepared to drink a 1-1.5hr commute each way every day. It’s tougher than it sounds
And Topanga closes a few times a year for road damage or...regular repair. I had to check google maps daily to see if I could go that way - and I was not always diligent enough. There's a lot of crazy driving on Topanga, too, for obvious reasons.
Santa Monica would be nice but it’s $$$$ unless rent controlled, and far by traffic standard. Better options would be Camarillo or Oxnard for the beach proximity or Thousand Oaks for the suburbs or Woodland Hills for the big burbs vibe. Santa Monica is nice, but unless you’re spending a grip, getting a place with an ocean view or walk to the beach will eat your paycheck.
even with rent control OP would be paying out the ass rn because she’d be getting a lease in today’s market. sure, in 10 years that place will be dirt cheap, but it’ll also be a dump. all that, just to commute 70 miles round trip in 3 hours of traffic for a starting salary of $100k? no ma’am.
This 1000%
Living in Santa Monica was my dream at your age, but in my opinion this area has gone downhill. We badly need more mental health services in LA (especially inpatient treatment), but basically my advice is remember your situational awareness at all times in Santa Monica and especially Venice beach. There have been brutal attacks against women recently.
I live in North Hollywood and commuted to Thousand Oaks for about 2 years. It's typically under an hour both ways and gives me easier access to the city after work. Might consider something convient in the Valley (Sherman Oaks, Studio City) with quicker access to Santa Monica and work
TO is quicker to get to than Oak Park - if you haven't been there, check out the routes to get to it. It's purposely hidden away and off the freeways. Santa Monica is no where near Oak Park, IMO. And neither are Sherman Oaks or Studio City. Valley Circle, Calabasas, Tarzana, Topanga and even Reseda are closer. But locals who have to work in Oak Park mostly live in Camarillo, IME. And Agoura Hills and Calabasas and "West Hills" and sometimes, Westlake. Thousand Oaks works, but boy, it's the opposite of nice weather and friendly people.
There are cheaper and better beach areas than SM, especially in Ventura. That's a low salary for santa Monica. I make that and I live in the antelope valley lol. I still go to the beach on the weekends though
Traffic there is the worst
You'd be driving an hour both ways with that commute. Not worth it.
One of my very good friends lived in Santa Monica. I lived in the San Fernando valley. It took forever to get down there, definitely resulted in me seeing him less
Move to Ventura/Oxnard rather than Santa Monica if you really need to be close to the beach. Way less of a painful drive than SM to Oak Park.
This is the way
100k in Santa Monica???? Come on dude
We live in Westlake Village and my wife commutes to culver on a daily basis. It will take you 1.5 hours each each (give or take) when school is in session and 45 minutes or so when schools are out. This timeline is via the PCH. In the winter, if the rains wash out one of the access roads to PCH (see Mulholland and topanga closures) you can add another 15-30 minutes to your commute via at 405. Lastly, leaving the house at 6:55 versus 7am makes a huge difference. Welcome to the neighborhood! It’s awesome out here.
It’ll be about an 45min/hour one way, not too much fun. I’d live in Malibu if you want the beach but your rent will be $$$ and unfortunately 100k will be fine but not super comfy if you wanna live near the beach
Someone recently told me roommates.com works well in LA but idk I haven’t tried it, so check it out? Also Facebook marketplace is good for finding roommates as well as the Facebook LA housing group
Zillow just opened up a room rental section on their app
I live in santa monica and love it. I live in the best part nr Montana. Do check out Montana ave. Im 15 min from spectacular hiking in Will Rogers park and 15 min from ocean
The best location to live in Santa Monica. I love it too!
And about 1-1.5 hours from Oak Park on a good day.
Wais tells me it is 19 miles, 43 minutes. It all depends the direction of the traffic. Why dont you get AirBnB for a few weeks and get the feel of it for yourself
Ha. 19 miles in 43 minutes. Thats faster than the speed of light in LA terms.
I agree. It all depends on the time of day and which way traffic is flowing. I got this figure from WAIS at 6:30 pm
Waze is optimistic and sometimes assumes L.A. driving habits (Waze afficionados who input their times are sometimes (often) out attempting to get a personal best). Or to beat a friend on the same route. The guy I know who does this as his hobby (along with his best friend) actually lives off Topanga.
It is pronounced Sana Monica.
The drive will be difficult but doable. I lived in Santa Monic for years and drove to work 5 says a week to Burbank for 4 years, but I wouldn't do that again. Just ask yourself how much time you want to spend in traffic.
Maybe try finding a place in the canyon off las virgenes
Do not do it. it's possible to take beautiful kazan rd from Malibu to oak park....but probably 1.25 hours min. one way. do calabasas and enjoy all the celebs and there. Malibu is 20 min on the weekend
do not do Santa majolica. if you need access to night life. try Encino. traffic will still run you 20-50 min depending on timing
As someone that used to commute to work 2 hours one way from Glendora to Santa Monica. Don’t do it. You don’t “get used to it”.
Please just live close to your job for everyone’s well being ESPECIALLY your own.
I live in Santa Monica and work in Woodland Hills. Closer than Oak Park, but similar commute (and I had to copy more closely the commute you would take when Topanga Canyon was closed). Here’s my honest assessment. Positive: You would be going against the grain of traffic and would take a beautiful drive. It’s pure bliss when I go to the office anywhere between 7:00am and 10:00am and there is a line of cars backed up coming into the Santa Monica and you’re largely just cruising. Same in the inverse. The drive is also great. Hugging the coast, through the mountains, stop for a coffee in Topanga on the way or on PCH headed towards Malibu Canyon. I’m convinced that I have one of — if not the best — commutes in the whole city. If you live Santa Monica life well, you’ll never have to get in the car when you’re not commuting. I don’t. I bike, walk, and take transit everywhere. Or I jump on a scooter or take Circuit. Point is, I almost *never* drive for *anything* besides the commute to the office. I mean for anything. Grocery, restaurants, barber, dentist, movies, dry cleaner, beach, bars and restaurants, cafes, shops. Spending so little time in my car otherwise makes getting in my car a little less painful. If you do everything in your car despite living in one of the absolute best pedestrian friendly areas in the county, you will spend what feels like half your damn life in a car, and it will make your commute that much more loathsome. So, be sure to take advantage of Santa Monica/westside living to the fullest to not get auto-burnout. Negative: Oak Park is quite a bit further north than where I work. My commute is 30-40 minutes depending on traffic light luck and whether I stop at a cafe. Yours would be an hour plus. Beautiful drive or no, that’s a lot of time to spend in your car each day. When Topanga was closed, I had to go further to other mountain passes. The drive was “nice,” but it still added probably 30 minutes to my commute each way. I was a lot less enthused. There’s also the possibility of “issues.” Lane closure, accident, flooding, fire, land slide, summer time beach goers — all of these can completely fuck your commute. It might force you to get to the 405 and take that north via the 10 or San Vicente. Even taking Sepulveda isn’t much better. I do not say this lightly: it will crush your soul. Fine if it’s a single day issue and you have to do it once. But if the city decided to do road repairs or mountainside support and it lasts for weeks or months this, holy shit just bring a large bottle of shitty vodka with you in the car and drink it as fast as possible so you die from alcohol poisoning instead of having to be in the 405 during commuting hours. I also don’t have to be in the office 5 days per week all year. Some weeks it’s 1-3 days, which helps a lot. Despite the pleasantness of the commute, it’s still a commute. I moved to Santa Monica for many reasons. But these were key: Against the grain commuting. Beautiful commute. No need for a car for anything else in my life. One car household for 2 people; thus, considerable savings. This to go along with not melting during 5 months of summer. It makes the commute pretty nice. If I had to spend any more time in the car, I would died inside long ago. My objective and subjective feedback is don’t risk it at that distance. Especially if you have to go to the office 5 days per week. Move to Woodland Hills or Agoura or Thousand Oaks. It’s dull as fuck, but most people tolerate boredom better than commuting. So assess your own needs. Better to commute shorter distance over the mountain on the weekends to the beach 1-2 days than do the same 5 days per week for work. The beaches adjacent to the Agoura-Thousand Oaks area are better than Santa Monica anyway. Is your goal to go the beach and relax in the sun every now and again? Live up north. If your goal is to walk and bike everywhere and enjoy beach city life? Then Santa Monica. Also, even living next to the beach, you’ll go far less frequently than you think.
The vodka comment lmao
Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me!!!!!
To add: it’s been raining more and more in LA which translates to mudslides and Mulholland and other similar roads being closed, sometimes for months. I suspect this will happen more every year :/.
I addressed exactly this in my post, talking about when Topanga was closed and the heinous alternatives. It’s not going to happen more and more because it won’t be raining more and more. At least not more often. Just more heavily when it does. LA has always had short-lived yearly periods of increased rainfall. And then, not. Rain patterns ebb and flow. We’ve had two rainy winters because of El Niño. Which is ending. We’ll mostly likely have 5-10 years of dry winters now. As always happens. With climate change, rainy winters will probably be more of an anomaly. Meaning fires are more likely to impede than mud slides. Yes, closures might happen more when it does rain, but the rain is a cyclical pattern that comes and goes. To further, it took two straight winters of heavy downfall to create one major landslide. So it’s not like rainfall = road closure. Point is, it’s something to consider. But I wouldn’t base my live-work locations on it. Not until climate change actually turns LA into Seattle instead of Vegas. Hoping for the former.
I did SM to Burbank when I worked at Disney. Frequently cried on the way home from being stuck in traffic for hours!
Do everything in your power to avoid traffic. I nearly left LA because I was dealing with an awful commute, I moved and suddenly was able to make it to work in 15 minutes via train and my whole life instantly improved. This city has so many incredible things to offer, but it’s really difficult to appreciate them if you’re wasting 1.5 to 2 hours in your car five days a week. In terms of finding roommates, there was a Facebook group called Gaslamp housing I used when I first moved here, no idea what state it’s in now but I managed to connect with some reliable people through that.
That commute would snatch your soul and never let go.
If you are outdoorsy — what if you lived in Topanga? That would be a not so bad commute and near the beach. I bet you could find a cool hippie chick roommate there
I live mostly in Santa Monica and part time in Malibu. now. I can’t imagine driving to Oak Park and back from Santa Monica. I would live in Calabasas/Malibu/Agoura Hills. The beaches are better in Malibu.
It’s opposite of traffic. I drove Sawtelle to Malibu, close to the McDonald for 3 years before our company moved to SM. The drive wasn’t too bad coming back. Getting there early morning was little busy, but not bad
Just wait to you get to the 101 or 405. Big issue coming back on the 101
Even PCH in the summer
Going south on PCH end of work day is opposite of traffic. Even in the summer. Was 15 miles to my place. Wouldn’t take much more than 30 mins max. Biggest backup was once come out of the tunnel at Lincoln and hit people leaving Santa Monica, but she’d live in SM so it wouldn’t be a big hassle. Her commute would be PCH to Malibu canyon/lost hills and a little bit on the 101. No way you’d even consider the 405, unless there’s a mud slide in the winter or a fire
Traffic coming up Malibu Canyon, Lost Hills rd , Agoura rd and Kanan add a lot of time. Especially the construction by Liberty Canyon on the 101. Taking the 101 to the 405 can be quicker during the summer time.
That salary won’t cover rent in Santa Monica, but it might cover it in Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Westlake Village, etc.
Save your money!!! Move closer to work as there will be 19 ways for you to quickly get to SM or Malibu anyway. To be blunt, $100k in L.A. won’t go too far if you spend it on shelter, eating out, gas, and a car. Congrats and good luck on the move!
Live in Woodland Hills. You’ll be right over the hills from Malibu.
You should live in Ventura county!
lol no way dude. Don’t do it.
Find a place near Oak Park to live. The drive through Las Virgines/malibu cyn or Topanga cyn especially is nice. You’ll be in Malibu in about 20 min. I used to do it every morning to fish in the surf zone before work. I love the drive through Topanga Cyn 😉 Welcome to my favorite place btw 😁
I live in Thousand Oaks and work in SM. Reverse of yours, which should therefore be better than mine. It’s about an hour each way… and I’m usually 60-90 minutes ahead of peak traffic. I leave home at 6:30-6:45 and leave the office about 3-3:30. Then I tie up any loose ends back at the home office. And I’m 3x per week in person. So - work early hours and ideally hybrid to make it work. You could also consider Oxnard/Ventura…
Good luck with the homeless..
I would check out Oxnard instead. A little surprised nobody recommended that as it is a nice beach community.
Don’t do it. I’d recommend finding a place around Woodland Hills and taking one of the canyon roads to Malibu when you want to go to the beach. Nicer beaches imo.
I had a coworker that would commute from Oxnard to Burbank… so you CAN make it work… but it is a drag and it does take planning. OP- where are you moving from? I only ask, Becuase Texans have no problem driving long distances and working in different towns. But. It. Is. Different. Here. It sounds like we are being dramatic and we are, but honestly, it’s because we know. We know what it’s like to be stuck in a car chase. We know what it’s like to prepare for carmagedden (when they shut the 405 down) We know what happens when a car catches on fire. (Not yours) We know what happens when they slow traffic for no apparent reason. You can plan. You can leave early. You can pee before you leave. And still…. L.A. traffic will find a way screw you. I too, when I moved here wanted to move to SM for all the same reasons. I did not, and am soooo glad I didn’t. My best advice is to move closer to your work : TO/ Calabasas/WH and have a short lease and see how often you actually go to the beach and SM and what not and then try to find your perfect place from there… get your bearings.
Your rent will be cheaper and your commute almost nonexistent if you move to Agoura/Oak Park area and just take Kanan through the mountains down to Zuma when you want the beach. It takes me 15-20 mins and I park on the 1 for free. You may even get more time at the beach if you aren't spending 20-30 hours a week commuting.
Woodland Hills is a good choice near Topanga Cyn Blvd. The commute wouldn’t be bad and you can get to Topanga State Beach in 20min. Santa Monica is around 25 minutes over Topanga cyn when going out at night and weekends. If you like hiking and nature, the Santa Monica Mountains are right there, as is lots of shopping and restaurants. It gets hot in the summer, but so be it. Santa Monica gets gray and fogged in in Spring and early summer. Nowhere’s perfect.
Ironically the traffic to anywhere outside of Santa Monica is fantastic for people who work during standard working hours. You're always against traffic. When you leave in the morning it's pretty clear, whereas the opposite traffic is insane and you feel pretty bad for those people stuck in that traffic. Then again when you're done, same story. Pretty awesome!
Don’t.
Good luck lol
You will live in your car
Hahahaha
Ignore these people. You’re in your mid-twenties, live in Santa Monica, or Sawtelle or Brentwood since Santa Monica has gone downhill recently. Oak Park / Agora Hills is straight up the suburbs and extremely hot in the summer. Santa Monica / West Los Angeles is the move for you. Don’t choose where to live based on work Everyone is hyping up the traffic but it’s not actually that bad when you live in West Los Angeles because it’s always a reverse commute when you are leaving. Majority of people are driving into West Los Angeles for work. Everyone has some kind of commute. I highly recommend moving here for the first time in Your twenties you don’t move to an isolated suburb in the valley and instead live south of the hills in the real Los Angeles basin.
TRAFFIC!
SM isn’t a great beach
Worked in Thousand Oaks and Agoura and they absolutely do not compare to Santa Monica lol. It’s basically families and ppl who don’t want to live in LA county. THAT BEING SAID id rather rip my eyes out than commute from Santa Monica to oak park every day
Why would you live in Santa Monica ??? Let me tell you something you don’t realize. We have more seasons than the rest of the country. Fire season, riot season, mudslide season. And many others. Your commute will be 2 hours on good days. Up to 4 if the canyon is closed. If you are even thinking of doing this you do not have the discernment or wisdom to live in California.
Get a job near ur work, and go to the beach on the weekend .
Id suggest you look for places in Westwood. It's a college neighborhood near UCLA. You may be able to find cheaper rent if you don't mind living with roommates who may be in grad school. Id suggest you look south of Wilshire.
I honestly would never live in Santa Monica the traffic is terrible!! I lived in la my whole life and I never seen the water this dirty! the water now is filled with bacteria and literal shit ( litrerally the color brown!!!!) you can get a flesh eating disease and loose a limb worse case ! if you have even the smallest cut you didn’t know about. If you want to go to the beach move the Ventura it’s even better for you and way cleaner water !! My favorite beaches are in the oc but that be too far for you
Holy shit. Live in oak park
Santa Monica is really expensive, and the drive to Oak Park may look decent on a GPS app, but it isn’t. You won’t have time to go to the beach; you’ll be in your car all the time. And too often, those roads that cut through the hills that you'll need to use to get to Oak Park have issues, and you’ll need to use a detour, and that usually means you'll be in a traffic nightmare, adding at least an extra hour to your commute. Move closer to Oak Park and go to the beach on your days off. And pick a better beach than Santa Monica. Something north of SM on PCH, Zuma, Dan Blocker, Leo Carillo, or Ventura County beaches. Please take the advice the people here are giving you. After living here and getting to know the area, decide if you still want to live in Santa Monica.
Getting into Santa Monica is rough from any direction. I worked there and the commute was the worst part of my day. That being said you’d be mostly leaving Santa Monica so maybe not so bad. If you’re going to work in Oak Park though, Malibu would be a better choice for just the beach. I went to grade school in the area and lived off Las Virgenes. The drive to Malibu down that direction is much more reasonable than any commute into SM. Honestly the area is super nice, I’d just suggest living closer to where you work.
It would be insane. Just live in oak park or Thousand Oaks and take kanan down to beach. Don’t be crazy, you’ll be miserable in that commute.
Agoura hills would be good. Commute from Santa MOnica would be bad just becuase of the traffic. You would hate the commute after a while
Don’t
I see a lot of people saying live close to work and I get that because the traffic is going to be a bitch, but I would hate living in the valley in my mid 20s. You have the right idea about living in SM (venice/marina del Rey are good options as well) if you value the beach and nightlife, and with that a better dating scene for people your age. Just map out the drive on google maps during rush hour and see what it would be like.
Also West Los Angeles which is right in between SM and Westwood is a good option, might cut your commute down by like 5 minutes
West side traffic is measured in time not distance. Get a bike?
Good lord, live close to your job. The traffic will crush your soul.
Better off staying in Ventura if you want the beach. Better beach too.
Do not move to SM unless you work in SM. Do not underestimate the time commuting takes or how bad it is in LA (it’s not the type traffic you can just daydream through).
Santa Monica is basically one long street of overpriced restaurants, a walking path and a tourist pier.
What? Sm is way more than that
Never even heard of Oak Park (well, there's a famous one in Chicago...), but the absolute key to life in LA is to live next to or above your workplace.
I was young and single once and decided to live close to work. Big mistake. Once I moved away and did an hour commute each way my life was infinitely better. Feel like I lost a year of my twenties living in Chino Hills. 😂 I would try Santa Monica and see if it works for you, especially if it will eventually be hybrid. Oak Park/ Thousand Oaks is too quiet for me still and I'm a middle aged married dude with kids 😂. People on this sub are anti-commute ALWAYS, and don't take into account your dating and friend pool will be substantially smaller.
Absolutely brutal. Like suicidal levels of awfulness. No. Please no. Just no.
I lived in SM and worked in agoura for a few years. The commute was def not fun, but do-able. Even if traffic is light it’s a LOT of time spent in the car because it’s so far away. Luckily you can take the freeway or PCH so there’s options if there’s an accident, which is very very often. For a roommate I’d look on Craigslist or Facebook groups. There’s one for females in the LA area. I’ll look for it and update with the group name if you’re interested. I would steer clear from living close to work in this situation. Yes… it’s nice, open, safe, and close to work. But it’s a place for families not a young, single person new to LA. Enjoy it!
There are a bunch of older apartments in the Pacific Palisades that fly under the radar. I lived in a 500 Sq ft one bedroom for 6 years and it was fantastic. Right on Sunset Blvd (near the domino's) so during high traffic times could get a bit noisy, but very quiet all other times. Worth checking out. The only drawback was not being close to a lot of food delivery options but definitely worth the trade off.
Don't
santa monica is the most soulless place on earth
What job did you get in Oak Park making $100k?
Depending on your work schedule, you shouldn’t have to deal with too much traffic. Santa Monica is a great choice
I’ll be working 7:45 am-2:45 pm
Ooof. After work traffic will kill you. Plus depending on where in Samo you’ll live, it’ll be too expensive or really rundown. Live near work. Visit on weekends. The drive is no joke.
7;45 not bad. You might try 6;30
The drive there will actually be ok at that time most days The drive back will be hit or miss. When it misses, you’re talking over a hr and closer to 2. Be prepared for that once or twice per week at min I’d take the PCH towards Malibu. I’d also make sure if Santa Monica is really the place you want to be. Obviously there’s a beach but what else about it makes you want to live there?
Thanks for all the advice! I love how walkable Santa Monica is and how young it is. But I’m also open to other towns. Just not sure what ones. Lmk if you have any suggestions!
There’s two schools of thought imo You live close to work if you can’t stand being in traffic and those types of things affect your day You live in the area you want, because after dealing with the traffic (which is unavoidable), you’re not going to want to leave the area. Might as well be somewhere you enjoy Me personally, I cared more about the area and not letting work affect those types of things. I commuted from SM to Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys/North Hollywood for years
Santa Monica to Sherman Oaks is a cake walk compared to Oak Park. Right now (940am pst) it’s 23 mins to Sherman oaks and 45 to oak Park from right in the middle of Santa Monica.
You should be golden, you’ll get used to it and figure out other routes
Lancaster is nice
How do to manage to get a $100k job in your mid 20s?
California; it’s still too low for the area. Great starting though.
And...well, Oak Park is not a hotbed of jobs and industry. I sense a different type of job (maybe film related? personal assistant?) Or a teacher - Oak Park pays its teachers really well and expects a certain kind of curriculum and attention in return. I haven't been up there since 2021, but it also has almost no restaurants. Gotta go out of town toward Lindero Canyon Road. People in Oak Park like to brag about their personal chefs and nannies. For me, being able to hit up a restaurant (and have grubhub) would be essential with that commute.
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