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Los Angeles |OT| GAF's Guide to the Greatest City in the Universe

JDeluis

Member
So the 2 bus goes from Sunset and Echo Park Blvd right to Westwood? I might try it out. The only issue I see is getting up a little earlier to walk to that intersection (probably a 15 minute walk from my house), and walking home in the dark with a backpack full of tech once Daylight Savings Time kicks in and the days really get shorter. At that point I will probably appreciate the fact that the gangbangers have mostly been replaced by hipsters in my neighborhood.

Sunset between Alvarado and Echo Park Blvd is hilarious now. So many tight jeans, horned-rim glasses, and stupid-looking hats where there used to be wifebeaters.

The advantage of catching the bus on sunset and echo park is that the #302 limited starts from that stop. It's a big advantage because even with traffic it will pass 1-2 #2 busses. It becomes a local bus once you hit Beverly and will stop at every regular number #2 stop until reaching PCH. It's also not picking up people who want the #4 bus. I drive these buses depending on my schedule.
 

beat

Member
MTA

use and abuse that site evilore...just be there 10-15min before cuz sometimes the buses comes earlier than scheduled except for subway. they come right on time as prompted from the media screen

If you have a smartphone, use the hell out of nextbus.com (http://www.nextbus.com/?t=Nextrip). 99% of the time it's right about when the next bus will come. I guess that's not super helpful except to let you know little things, like whether you have time to stop at a corner store and buy an iced tea before your bus arrives.

But yeah, between NextBus and Google Maps, most of my bus trips work out just fine. (also, I generally keep my trips no further than Culver City -> downtown at the very furthest.)
 

Puddles

Banned
Puddles,
Get your motorcycle licence.
The course should be easy for anyone with experience.
Also, cheaper parking at any university.

This is great advice.

Today I left my house at 6:50 thinking the traffic would be lighter. Did it work? Fucking LOLZ! Another 75 minute trip to go 14 miles. Actually, the 405 was far and away the fastest part of the drive. There was about a 6 mile stretch of the 10 West that took me over 50 minutes.

If I could have been lane-splitting the whole time, I would have cut that commute in half.

Next time I'll leave around 6:15 and see how quickly I can get there. Even if I get to class two hours early, I can study, I can go to the gym. Even sitting in the student lounge and posting on GAF is more productive than sitting on the 10.
 
This is great advice.

Today I left my house at 6:50 thinking the traffic would be lighter. Did it work? Fucking LOLZ! Another 75 minute trip to go 14 miles. Actually, the 405 was far and away the fastest part of the drive. There was about a 6 mile stretch of the 10 West that took me over 50 minutes.

If I could have been lane-splitting the whole time, I would have cut that commute in half.

Next time I'll leave around 6:15 and see how quickly I can get there. Even if I get to class two hours early, I can study, I can go to the gym. Even sitting in the student lounge and posting on GAF is more productive than sitting on the 10.

Dude, if its taking you that long to go to Westwood you might as well just take something like 3rd Street -> Santa Monica Blvd (via Burton) -> Wilshire. That should get you there I would say 50 minutes tops. Hell just Sunset is about 45 minutes b/w Downtown and Westwood.

(Third Street recommended for the sex that is it's stretch through Hancock Park, Western to La Brea, usually 0 reds. )
 

Mifune

Mehmber
I commute from Los Feliz to Santa Monica everyday and it rarely takes more than 45 minutes. What route are you taking from Echo Park that it takes you 75 minutes, Puddles?

Metro usually takes that long. Although it doesn't FEEL like it takes that long.
 

Puddles

Banned
I commute from Los Feliz to Santa Monica everyday and it rarely takes more than 45 minutes. What route are you taking from Echo Park that it takes you 75 minutes, Puddles?

Metro usually takes that long. Although it doesn't FEEL like it takes that long.

I guess traffic was just particularly bad on the 10 today. But I would kill for 45 minutes. I haven't done this route much, so I've been experimenting. So far I've tried out Sunset all the way down, Wilshire all the way down, and the 10 to the 405. Next time I'll probably try out 3rd.

I used Wilshire to come back the other day, starting out at around 3pm, and I didn't get back until almost 4:30.
 

Verano

Reads Ace as Lace. May God have mercy on their soul
If you have a smartphone, use the hell out of nextbus.com (http://www.nextbus.com/?t=Nextrip). 99% of the time it's right about when the next bus will come. I guess that's not super helpful except to let you know little things, like whether you have time to stop at a corner store and buy an iced tea before your bus arrives.

But yeah, between NextBus and Google Maps, most of my bus trips work out just fine. (also, I generally keep my trips no further than Culver City -> downtown at the very furthest.)

that also works. also, why would you buy an iced tea while waiting for the bus on its scheduled time to arrive?? lmao..

I miss DTLA...crazy ass bums pee 5 ft from you not giving a damn...the good ol days
 

PG2G

Member
And the kind of lifestyle you want to have. I spend a crap load on food, alcohol, clubs and what not. But I eat at foodie spots, drink craft beer, and party in Hollywood.
 

Puddles

Banned
How much money does a person need to make to actually be able to live in the Los Angeles area?

Do you need a 1bdr, or are you willing to split a place with roommates?

I am looking at rooms in different places on the westside now, and I estimate that I would need at least $1500/month for all expenses. So it's not that bad if you're employed. People support themselves on minimum wage, so theoretically you could do it on that. Hopefully you make a bit more than minimum though.
 

Poody

What program do you use to photoshop a picture?
I commute from Los Feliz to Santa Monica everyday and it rarely takes more than 45 minutes. What route are you taking from Echo Park that it takes you 75 minutes, Puddles?

Metro usually takes that long. Although it doesn't FEEL like it takes that long.

on snap, neighbor!
 
that also works. also, why would you buy an iced tea while waiting for the bus on its scheduled time to arrive?? lmao..

Because, depending on the line, it may be up to 30 minutes between buses, so if you are not sure on the time of the buses arrival, you can check and see if you have time to grab a drink or something from the hypothetical convenience store right there if you are going to be waiting 10+ minutes.
 

beat

Member
Because, depending on the line, it may be up to 30 minutes between buses, so if you are not sure on the time of the buses arrival, you can check and see if you have time to grab a drink or something from the hypothetical convenience store right there if you are going to be waiting 10+ minutes.
Yeah. The buses might be frequent or they might not be, but they're rarely right on schedule. Nextbus uses GPS (or something) to tell you when the actual arrival time will be... roughly. It's still far more accurate than depending on the published schedules.
 

jstevenson

Sailor Stevenson
NoHo, Burbank, and Sherman Oaks/Studio City have great bars.

yeah, Northridge is kind of shitty (though cheap because of that!) for multiple reasons:

-10+ minutes in any direction to a freeway
-Mostly chains / suburbia
-Hot

The SFV isn't all bad, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, NoHo and Burbank have a pretty nice little restaurant and bar scene.

If you also go really far out, say, Woodland Hills or something, you can get into a lot cheaper apartments, with some decentish nightlife and restaurants.

Generally speaking though, stay along the 101 corridor in the valley if you can. and make sure your place has AC.
 
Echo park to Westwood?

Alvarado to 6th street, one block north of Wilshire. That takes you at least to fairfax. From there, taking Wilshire (or Olympic) to Westwood isn't so bad.
 
Gotta gig in Palos Verdes tomorrow, boo. PV is fucking far. Luckily my trip to Oceanside next week is via Metrolink ($7.50 one way with disability placard!).
 

Verano

Reads Ace as Lace. May God have mercy on their soul
Gotta gig in Palos Verdes tomorrow, boo. PV is fucking far. Luckily my trip to Oceanside next week is via Metrolink ($7.50 one way with disability placard!).

yeah PV is a fuckin drag...however hot chix abound so its worth the trip.
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
curry fries are the shit. i had the lotus root chips too, but they were overseasoned imo. they make a good old fashioned there.

Ah sorry to hear that, I'm often try to make sure they get seasoned well (so you drink more). I suppose I was a bit heavy handed with that batch.
 

Puddles

Banned
Today I finally took the 3rd St - Barton Way - Santa Monica Blvd - Wilshire route to get to Westwood, and it was like sex compared to the 10. Granted I made the drive early in the morning, but I cut 10 minutes off my best commute time so far. The stoplights on 3rd St are very reasonable, much more so than Wilshire or Sunset.

And that Spirit House thing sounds fun. I'm probably in.
 
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