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Los Angeles ERA, (potentially) what's up?

Lockheartilly9799

Lockheartilly9799

Member
Nov 23, 2017
4,988
So I'm in the final running for a job out in Los Angeles, CA and I'm supposed to hear back "early this week". That hasn't happened yet but fingers crossed. i got great feedback last Tuesday with "you gave more details than any of our other candidates so far". So, so far so good.

I've been doing massive research on the LA rental market. Seems like everywhere, the absolute minimum on rent is 1500 a month. Most places are like 1800 are up. The job is located in El Segundo. My fiancee and I were considering living in Little Tokyo since we love the area so much.

Should I live in El Segundo, closer to the job or is it ok for me to live in Little Tokyo and make the commute on a daily basis? My San Diego friend says that it'll probably take me 1.5 hours one way to get to El Segundo during rush hour. Any general thoughts?
 
Titik

Titik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,490
Im also from San Diego.

Living in Hollywood now. If you want to live in Little Tokyo and work in El Segundo then take the train because otherwise that will be a brutal commute. (It is actually doable: Red line then expo then green line)

Rule in LA is to try to live closer to where you work or where you hang out the most.

Rent has come down because of the pandemic btw so you have some leeway. Try to get an apartment that is also 15 years old or older as that will cover you under the new rent control laws.
 
StopMakingSense

StopMakingSense

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,714
CharGP02A said:
So I'm in the final running for a job out in Los Angeles, CA and I'm supposed to hear back "early this week". That hasn't happened yet but fingers crossed. i got great feedback last Tuesday with "you gave more details than any of our other candidates so far". So, so far so good.

I've been doing massive research on the LA rental market. Seems like everywhere, the absolute minimum on rent is 1500 a month. Most places are like 1800 are up. The job is located in El Segundo. My fiancee and I were considering living in Little Tokyo since we love the area so much.

Should I live in El Segundo, closer to the job or is it ok for me to live in Little Tokyo and make the commute on a daily basis? My San Diego friend says that it'll probably take me 1.5 hours one way to get to El Segundo during rush hour. Any general thoughts?
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1) Little Tokyo seems like it would be much more expensive than the prices you are quoting...

but ignoring that, when traffic returns to normal, you will hit very bad traffic going to El Segundo in the morning from Downtown. 1.5 hours is higher than it should be, but I'd peg it at 1-1.25 hours going there every morning, with the evening being worse at yeah, 1.5 hours or even worse. (getting back downtown from the Westside in the late afternoon/evening just sucks as is)
 
Titik

Titik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,490
You should also consider that that 1 hour commute might not sound too bad but that isn't the case. That whole 1 hour will be done in the most stressful, and shitty kind of traffic. You will be under heavy stress that entire commute so you have to factor in the toll in your mental and physical health.

San Diego one hour on the freeway is vastly different from LA one hour on the freeway.
 
LuxCommander

LuxCommander

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
1,050
Los Angeles, CA
Hi friend, I made that same exact move back in October! My wife and I did our research and were able to land in a spot within walking distance of the job. Totally worth it for the savings on gas alone. You can easily head out to anywhere in LA County and the OC on the weekends; before the lockdown we were going all over the city with minimal traffic impact if you just time it right. Having easy access to the beach is also a major plus as well.

If you have any questions about this part of LA, feel free to ask, I'll try to answer as best as I can.
 
Titik

Titik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,490
Oh yeah if the beach access is very important to you then living nearer the El Segundo is absolutely essential. Little Tokyo might as well be a different city of you want constant beach access.
 
OP
OP
Lockheartilly9799

Lockheartilly9799

Member
Nov 23, 2017
4,988
Titik said:
Im also from San Diego.

Living in Hollywood now. If you want to live in Little Tokyo and work in El Segundo then take the train because otherwise that will be a brutal commute. (It is actually doable: Red line then expo then green line)

Rule in LA is to try to live closer to where you work or where you hang out the most.

Rent has come down because of the pandemic btw so you have some leeway. Try to get an apartment that is also 15 years old or older as that will cover you under the new rent control laws.
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Is there a good site to read up on the train in LA so I can figure out if your suggested route is good?

StopMakingSense said:
1) Little Tokyo seems like it would be much more expensive than the prices you are quoting...

but ignoring that, when traffic returns to normal, you will hit very bad traffic going to El Segundo in the morning from Downtown. 1.5 hours is higher than it should be, but I'd peg it at 1-1.25 hours going there every morning, with the evening being worse at yeah, 1.5 hours or even worse. (getting back downtown from the Westside in the late afternoon/evening just sucks as is)
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Most rental sites have seen 1 bedroom places in Little Tokyo between 2000 to 2500. I want to stay on the lower end of that but most seem to be in that range. Should I assume that the Google Maps traffic of 35-55 minutes being inaccurate then (I did add arrival by 9 AM to it)?
 
Titik

Titik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,490
CharGP02A said:
Is there a good site to read up on the train in LA so I can figure out if your suggested route is good?



Most rental sites have seen 1 bedroom places in Little Tokyo between 2000 to 2500. I want to stay on the lower end of that but most seem to be in that range. Should I assume that the Google Maps traffic of 35-55 minutes being inaccurate then (I did add arrival by 9 AM to it)?
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You can use Google maps for the train and the Metro LA's own site to overlay it. They are pretty accurate.

And yes that estimate om Google map is very misleading. You should double or triple anything that you see there when you look outside of rush hours. It's best never to underestimate LA traffic. It will burn you down.

You should look at other cities surrounding El Segundo like Hawthorne etc. These are more diverse and working class areas too. Think Chula Vista and other areas south of SD.
 

Ashhong

Member
Oct 26, 2017
16,592
SoCal traffic is no joke. You will hate life with a 1.5 hour commute in traffic.
 
StopMakingSense

StopMakingSense

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,714
CharGP02A said:
Most rental sites have seen 1 bedroom places in Little Tokyo between 2000 to 2500. I want to stay on the lower end of that but most seem to be in that range. Should I assume that the Google Maps traffic of 35-55 minutes being inaccurate then (I did add arrival by 9 AM to it)?
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Click to shrink...

Traffic is still heavily affected by COVID office closures, which is reflected by the google maps traffic reports.
 
TDLink

TDLink

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,411
Definitely do not live in Little Tokyo if you are working in El Segundo. That commute would make you hate life. Look closer. If you really want close Japanese restaurants or something look at Torrance, which is more like LA's "real" Little Tokyo anyway.
 
OP
OP
Lockheartilly9799

Lockheartilly9799

Member
Nov 23, 2017
4,988
So far, the majority of folks are saying to stay in El Segundo due to the commute. I love me some sweet juicy feedback. Thanks everyone so far! The big tug-of-war I'm having with myself is that due to the costs of rent being similar, the downtown apartments with really nice amenities catch my eye (especially in Little Tokyo) keep appearing in my mind. There aren't any El Segundo apartments that are as nice. They're all older. We're also in another conundrum because we each have a car lol
 
Titik

Titik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,490
If you have two cars, you will most likely also pay more for parking in Little Tokyo.
 
Septimus Prime

Septimus Prime

EA
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
8,500
Go for Torrance. It's much closer and nicer, and it has a huge Japanese community (in fact, the city feels a lot more Japanese than Little Tokyo) if that's what you're looking for.
 
M.J.

M.J.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,059
Hell, I'd rather live in south bay than little tokyo anyway... Being near the beach is great!
 
facepalm007

facepalm007

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,095
El Segundo is right next to LAX, so yeah, you're commute is going to suck if you're going to live in Little Tokyo. (I was dumb enough to commute from the OC to Play Vista for work for a year and it killed me on the inside.)

Torrence is a good choice since it has a large Japanese community/shops/restaurants. But Manhattan Beach, Redando, and even Playa would all be better choices than Little Tokyo.
 
fundogmo

fundogmo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,122
Little Tokyo commute is horrible, also (you may know this) it's a rough neighborhood next to skid row. Commuting to El Segundo will easily take over an hour.

Torrence is nearby and has a huge Japanese community, as does Sawtelle (20 minutes away).

Live close-ish to work, visit Little Tokyo on weekends. Know that you can always do a cheap in-town move after a year.
 
thermopyle

thermopyle

Member
Nov 8, 2017
2,982
Los Angeles, CA
Where are you coming from OP?

Live near Sawtelle if you want to be near the other japanese foodie enclave. Also if you live within distance of the Expo Line, it's simple enough to get to and from LT if you really want to spend your free time here.

As someone who lives next to LT, you have to have a very high tolerance for all the things that come with living in a downtown area, especially one that neighbors Skid Row. When I moved to downtown 4 years ago from the Westside, I was young, single, and the nightlife made it worth for me. Now that I'm a little bit older, I still enjoy my access to amazing food and events in and around the area but the shine has dimmed a bit. That commute is no joke either, mine was to Santa Monica and it is indeed about an hour in morning then 1.5 heading back.

Torrance to El Segundo is about 30 minutes during rush hours.
 
leder

leder

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,111
CharGP02A said:
So far, the majority of folks are saying to stay in El Segundo due to the commute. I love me some sweet juicy feedback. Thanks everyone so far! The big tug-of-war I'm having with myself is that due to the costs of rent being similar, the downtown apartments with really nice amenities catch my eye (especially in Little Tokyo) keep appearing in my mind. There aren't any El Segundo apartments that are as nice. They're all older. We're also in another conundrum because we each have a car lol
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DTLA sucks though. Not as much as it used to, but there are still way better places to live.
 
OP
OP
Lockheartilly9799

Lockheartilly9799

Member
Nov 23, 2017
4,988
thermopyle said:
Where are you coming from OP?

Live near Sawtelle if you want to be near the other japanese foodie enclave. Also if you live within distance of the Expo Line, it's simple enough to get to and from LT if you really want to spend your free time here.

As someone who lives next to LT, you have to have a very high tolerance for all the things that come with living in a downtown area, especially one that neighbors Skid Row. When I moved to downtown 4 years ago from the Westside, I was young, single, and the nightlife made it worth for me. Now that I'm a little bit older, I still enjoy my access to amazing food and events in and around the area but the shine has dimmed a bit. That commute is no joke either, mine was to Santa Monica and it is indeed about an hour in morning then 1.5 heading back.

Torrance to El Segundo is about 30 minutes during rush hours.
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I am coming from the other side of the country. I've been to LA in the past a few times, including Little Tokyo but I've never lived on the west coast
 
Emergency & I

Emergency & I

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,634
OP, I work in El Segundo. Would you be working West of PCH/Sepulveda or East (i.e. by the Lakers facility)?

Wife and I live in Torrance. It's not a bad drive but not always zippy. Torrance is kind of sprawling so it can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 40 tbh. It's a super safe area sometimes (known as Borrance). Some GREAT restaurants though and it's got a bunch of fantastic Japanese restaurants (my wife is Japanese). It's pretty convenient to all the best Beach towns around here too.


Little Tokyo is an 1+ commute once traffic picks back up. It's a great area it's really far tbh. DM me if you have any questions because it sounds like we might end up yelling at each other on the 405 one of these days :)
 
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fundogmo

fundogmo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,122
CharGP02A said:
So Google says Torrance to El Segundo is around 20 minutes? Is that accurate to you folks?
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That's about right. The 405 highway is the gargantuan one that has notorious traffic jams, but South of the airport it's almost always clear.

image.jpg


If you want to be in a place that's just a little bit more exciting, also has amazing weeknight Japanese food, and has better access to the rest of LA, Sawtelle is a pretty nice compromise. You might be more likely to find a modern condo-style apartment, if that's what you're aiming for.
 
Emergency & I

Emergency & I

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,634
So another point is leaving El Segundo after 5pm if you're heading South/West. There's a pretty rough bottleneck around Aviation/El Segundo/Imperial if you don't know what you're doing. It can add a lot of any commute if you don't know what you're doing.

FYI - there's some modern apartments across the street from Northup Grumman that are pretty nice. Might be looking at $2,600 or so in rent but it's nice and modern and there's Metro Line right beside it that you can take to DT or all across the city. You've also got free rides to LAX from there. It's not walkable but they're nice (wife and I lived there a few years back). Might be cheaper now thanks to COVID.
 
thermopyle

thermopyle

Member
Nov 8, 2017
2,982
Los Angeles, CA
CharGP02A said:
I am coming from the other side of the country. I've been to LA in the past a few times, including Little Tokyo but I've never lived on the west coast
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Well to be frank DTLA and Little Tokyo are in pretty rough states even before covid and the civil unrest so while that might not put you off the thought of moving to LT, it's something to keep in mind. Also the apartments are nice (I assume you're looking at Ava or Wakaba) but don't fall for the amenities lol. You'll likely use them maybe 2-3 times a year if that. A lot of amenities (pool, gyms) are actually closed for use by residents due to the pandemic.
 
Titik

Titik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,490
Yeah Sawtelle is a good compromise especially if you are young.

Btw op what kind of living are you looking for? Do you like the city or more the suburbs?
 
shazla

shazla

Member
Oct 28, 2017
76
As other people have recommended Sawtelle if you are into the japan vibe is fun. I'd also like to suggest Culver city - it's very close, but you can get that Marina/Abbott kinney vibe pretty conveniently
 
Shogmaster

Shogmaster

Banned
Dec 12, 2017
2,598
My friend commutes from SouthBay to El Segundo and it's still 30 minutes commute.

El Segundo has some nice hidden areas for residential. Also look at near Otis College of Art/Loyola area too (Manchester/LAX) before it gets to Playa Del Rey and gets stupid expensive.

If you must chase your yellow fever, Carson even has Mitsuwa market and is close enough to El Segundo.
 
molnizzle

molnizzle

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,695
Living in the city and commuting to the suburbs might be the absolute stupidest thing I've ever heard of.
 
irri

irri

Member
Oct 27, 2017
132
Los Angeles
Echoing what others have said, please don't think about living in Little Tokyo and commuting to El Segundo, that commute would be soul crushing.

Torrance is a great alternative, or any of the beach cities of south bay. Your commute will be 20-30 minutes at worst.
 
akilshohen

akilshohen

Member
Dec 8, 2017
1,307
I wilshire move to Little Tokyo, it's nice to check out every once in a while, but walking around certain areas in DTLA at night is hella sketch.
I would suggest being closer to work. As said earlier, being the food on sawtelle and in Torrance is better.
 
hateradio

hateradio

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,733
welcome, nowhere
Best way to live in LA

  • Live near work
  • Live near work
  • Live near work

Thanks!


However, if your job is flexible and offers WFH, then the commute may not be as bad.

My goal is to WFH and live in LA at some point, when I can afford a house. :lol
 
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