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I live in Los Angeles; The Mecca for the automobile. Back in the early 20th century, the city was trying really hard to invest in public transportation through

I live in Los Angeles; The Mecca for the automobile. Back in the early 20th century, the city was trying really hard to invest in public transportation through the use of electric street cars. Unfortunately, car manufacturers were able to weasel their way into the pockets of the city planners and put a stop to that. We have a problem in Los Angeles. And that problem is that it's almost impossible to live close to where you work. Most white collar jobs here require an hour or longer of commuting time. Sure, it's possible to find jobs closer to your home, but when you are a professional in a specific field, your choices are restricted. I live in North Hollywood, which is just West of Burbank in the San Fernando Valley. It's actually miles from Hollywood despite what the name may suggest. I work in El Segundo. Before that, I worked in Culver city. It would take me 4 or more hours and several metro -> bus -> metro transfers to get to work without driving. The city is working on several new Metro lines and Bus only lanes, but it doesn't solve the problem of everyone being so spread out.

0xffff2 8y ago
Do you own your house? I'm curious because you speak as if "where you live" is an immutable fact, whereas my solution would to be to move closer to work.
- Mister_Snuggles 8y ago
  For some people, moving isn't very easy. If you have kids there's the whole issue with switching schools, etc. If you tend to switch jobs frequently it may be a case of just getting settled and now you're in a new job. Moving is also, for many people, a gigantic pain that they'd rather avoid, even if it means suffering through traffic every day.
  - 0xffff2 8y ago
    The original comment says "it's almost impossible to live close to where you work". None of the things you mention come anywhere near the bar of "nearly impossible" in my book. As far as I can tell, it's completely possible.
asdff 8y ago
Getting to El Segundo is tough, and will be improved in a couple of years, but when you worked in Culver City you could have taken the red to expo line, it would be a little over an hour on that route, depending on how close you are to the stations.
sandworm101 8y ago
At least you work in a single place. I used to work in film/TV and public transport was never an option. Even if we weren't filming on location (ie at a place, not in a studio) the irregular working hours made it impossible. When designing public transport we have to remember that not everyone works 8->6 at a fixed location. Today I have a nice government job at a fixed location (military) but still need my car. A couple times a month I get called in at strange hours (3am) and my boss doesn't want to hear "the buses aren't running yet".

0xffff2 8y ago

Do you own your house? I'm curious because you speak as if "where you live" is an immutable fact, whereas my solution would to be to move closer to work.

Mister_Snuggles 8y ago
For some people, moving isn't very easy. If you have kids there's the whole issue with switching schools, etc. If you tend to switch jobs frequently it may be a case of just getting settled and now you're in a new job. Moving is also, for many people, a gigantic pain that they'd rather avoid, even if it means suffering through traffic every day.
- 0xffff2 8y ago
  The original comment says "it's almost impossible to live close to where you work". None of the things you mention come anywhere near the bar of "nearly impossible" in my book. As far as I can tell, it's completely possible.

asdff 8y ago

Getting to El Segundo is tough, and will be improved in a couple of years, but when you worked in Culver City you could have taken the red to expo line, it would be a little over an hour on that route, depending on how close you are to the stations.

sandworm101 8y ago

At least you work in a single place. I used to work in film/TV and public transport was never an option. Even if we weren't filming on location (ie at a place, not in a studio) the irregular working hours made it impossible. When designing public transport we have to remember that not everyone works 8->6 at a fixed location. Today I have a nice government job at a fixed location (military) but still need my car. A couple times a month I get called in at strange hours (3am) and my boss doesn't want to hear "the buses aren't running yet".