work in monterey park spouse work in orange where to live? (Irvine: apartments, to rent)

[raj2009]

Hi,
I have a new job in monterey park CA.my spouse works in Orange. we have lived in irvine for the past 5 years and find it hard to move out. what are the good places to live between orange-monterey park. how long would the commute be from irvine to monterey park if we decide to stay put in irvine? i would also like to stay fit by going to the gym everyday. is this doable living in irvine and working in monterey park? we are open to renting in safe places.

[JohnG72]

You have a predicament. The places that are equidistance commute wise are not exactly so great. At least not as nice as Irvine.

However, you do have options, and moreso if you do not have kid/school concerns.

The best I can think of is Walnut/West Covina. The drive to Monterey Park will be bad, but its not far. I'm thinking its a 30-40 minute commute along the 10, but I'm not entirely familiar with it. I'm also thinking that its a reverse commute on the 57 into Orange, but again, I'm not entirely familiar.

I'd also think that Rowland Height/Hacienda Heights would be similiar.

[raj2009]

how about cerritos? i also did a test drive at 7:10am from irvine reached office @8:30am.

[JohnG72]

Looking at traffic patterns this morning, it appears I gave really bad advice.

Cerritos will probably be about an 45 min to hour drive to Monterey Park and wow!, an 1hour 20 min commute to Irvine? I guess if your ok with that............seems harsh to me.

The relevent reverse commutes at that time are the 5 south of the 605 and the 605 north. There appears to be little morning traffic, but there is some evening traffic. The 10 both ways will be horrible no matter what.

That leaves pockets of Whittier. Theres some nice places near Rose Hills, but the surrounding area(borders Pico Rivera) isn't nice. Then theres uptown Whittier and the area north of Beverly, but it leaves you further from the freeway. And some parts of Downey are nice.

[BRinSM]

cerritos is a nice city and would cut down the commute considerably if irvine is your other option. i actually prefer cerritos to irvine with it's access to the north orange county, long beach, as well as some nice beaches. not to mention cerritos is nearly as well kept as irvine, just a bit older. you may also consider brea, la mirada and parts of la habra, which are also very nice.

[raj2009]

how about crime rate in cerritos? i know cerritos is good but irvine has been rated the safest cities to live in.

[ragnarkar]

Cerritos is an upscale community so like Irvine, crime should be a little below the national average.

Have you considered commuting by Metrolink? Unfortunately, Monterrey Park doesn't have a station nearby but Cerritos is not extremely far away. Your wife can drive to Buena Park and take Metrolink to Orange. Buy a monthly pass; I cannot stand sitting in traffic for more than 2 hours a day even if I'm paid to do so..

[raj2009]

yes. i am considering metrolink also. From union station we have shuttles to our office in monterery park. i will try it out from irvine to start with.

[raj2009]

what are the good places in cerritos to buy a home?

[raj2009]

today we drove down to fullerton to look at some apartments/homes. we didnt like the area compared to where we live now in irvine. are there any other areas as good as irvine between monterey park and orange?