sparklegem

Thank you to everyone who has been helping me with my many questions. There seems like there might be one more variation that I need to explore.

What is the commute to Pasadena from Santa Monica like? Or visa versa?

There is a school (that we have not looked at yet) in Pasadena that we are considering and my husband has started a job in Santa Monica. We have not picked a place to live yet and I wondered if Pasadena would be an easier or more difficult choice then Northridge for a school for my daughter.

Thank You (in advance)!!!

rjw_lgb_ca

The commute is not particularly good-- a little under 30 miles one-way. On empty freeways, maybe 45 minutes. On a typical workday, 60 to 90 minutes. If you try to do it without hopping freeways, 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Is a progressive private school like Crossroads Academy (in SM) out of consideration? I have had many friends teaching at Crossroads, and it's quite a good school. K through 12, as I recall, and it's a good preparatory school. Or, if you want to go a bit off-beat, how about where Jodie Foster went to school-- L'Académie Française de Los Angeles, in west LA?

rjw_lgb_ca

Duhhhhh-- I meant Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles. Silly me.

mlgb

I, too, am a bit surprised that you haven't been able to find a school on the "Westside." Marlborough is another good one (all girls).

But yes, Pasadena would probably be a better choice. You could even decide to settle closer to Pasadena, eg, South Pasadena, San Marino. You might even decide that some of the public schools in those districts are good enough.

here_today_gone2Maui

I used to commute from Pasadena to Brentwood, not quite to Santa Monica. If your husband can work flex time it is doable. I either went in at 6 am (leaving Pasaadena around 5ish, somedays earlier) or not until after 10. The drive was about an hour at those times. Afternoon drive is worse and many nights I would stay on the westside until after 8 rather than spend 2 hours on the freeway. At the time my daughter was interning for a casting agent in WeHo, and we would carpool in. Her early call times dictated my early days and having her with me gave me someone to eat and shop with while I was killing time waiting for the PM drive. Once she went back to college I lost interest in the commute and went back to freelancing.

But lots of people do it. I have worked with people who commute down from the dessert and even once worked with a woman who drove in from Temecula to Pasadena area everyday. for me, personally it was ultimately the commuting that drove me out of L.A. and out of CA. I realized too late that I spent too much time away from the important things in life when I was younger. If I had it to do over again I'd take a less prestigious job closer to home and spend more time with my family than sitting in traffic.

tracys2cents

Waldorf School is actually Altadena I think, not Pasadena, so that's another 10 mins to commute from Santa Monica.

There is a "Westside Waldorf School" in Santa Monica, I believe.

rjw_lgb_ca

here_today, I fully understand where you're coming from. My commute is getting exponentially worse every year, it seems; thank the stars I can work from home (ahh, Broadband is the best!!!) occasionally.

sparklegem, listen to here_today-- she speaks with great wisdom on this subject.

clarkgriswold

Good points.........and dont' forget to add 10 minutes more to the commute for each year that she'll be in school...it's getting worse not better!


On the other hand, when in California, do like the Californians! Get the tike her own SUV and fill 'er up!

dina4

sparkle gem,
The commute is really brutal and getting worse every year.
How old is your child and what kind of school are you looking for? There are lots of great private schools all over LA. I would consider picking where you want to live first, and then find a school that's convenient.

ed

The suggestion of South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia or Temple City is good.

Their public schools are excellent. :-B

Surfergirl

Glad you brought this up. I completely forgot I had to go from WLA to Pasadena tomorrow and be there at 9:30 a.m. I'll let you know the length of time it takes. Darn, now I have to run to work early to pick up the stuff I was supposed to take!

LTR

I live in Arcadia, which is just east of Pasadena and spend most of my days driving between accounts. I would not recommend that commute either way. It can take 3 hours if it is raining or there is an accident etc. Normal 3:30-6:30 traffic from Santa Monica is about 1 1/2 hours.

sparklegem

Thank you, everyone! The commute sounds really bad. I will look into the schools suggested. It makes me not want to move. We have a friend who is the same industry as my husband and he is trying to persuade us to move to Florida. I will do some research on that, too.

Thank You Again,
Gem

Surfergirl

1.5 hours at 8:30 a.m. today from the 10 & 405 interchange to Pasadena.

1.0 hours for the return trip at noon.

suze

I am native to and still big fan of the greater Los Angeles area. But I would only move back if I could have a job reasonably close to my housing. A 1-2 hour daily commute would override all the positive things about living there for me.

wantagig

Hi Sparklegem,

short answer to your question:

"It's hideous"

lynnejoel1015

I would NOT want that commute.

Northridge would be an easier commute to and fro Santa Monica, IMO.

It's tough... my sympathies.

lynnejoel1015

p.s., I don't know how dead-set you are on sending your daughter to private schools or how old she is, but Santa Monica has one of the best public school programs in all of Southern California. I have a coworker whose 8 year old children are in public schools in Santa Monica and they're brillant, EXCEPTIONALLY well-behaved children. They knock my socks off!

sparklegem

Thank you all for your replies!

lynnejoel1015- Do you know what school your friend' children attend? I will look into the SM schools.

lynnejoel1015

Hi Sparklegem,

I'll gladly ask!

Lynne