Whats the commute like from the South Pasadena area (LA) to USC? I'm not from California and looking for apts.

Answer 1

Brutal.
Lots of people live in the Pasadena area, and further out in the foothills towards Colton, Riverside, etc. -- and they all come in on the 210 or 10 freeway into LA in the morning. I've had it take me 2 hours to get from Pasadena just to I-5 around 7AM, and that's not at all unusual. It can be a little better if you are carpooling (there are special lanes set aside for carpoolers), but even they jam up.

USC is a great school in a horrible part of LA. Finding decent apts. nearby is darn near impossible. But I'd suggest looking *west* and *south* from USC rather than east -- anywhere east will have a horrible morning and evening commute.
Try Santa Monica, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, even parts of Inglewood (some are ok, some are bad).

Good luck, and congrats on getting into USC!

Answer 2

Los Angeles (LA county is HUGE). It's a common misconception that the people who live in LA county are close to each other, when in fact, that's super far from the truth sometimes. The commute from Pasadena to USC is NOT a good one.. I'd suggest living somewhere near USC where you don't have to drive on the freeway. It's do-able, not to say that it'll take hours, but it's better save your time/energy/very expensive gas if you can. If that's the only place you want to live, then go for it, but be prepared to spend at least a good hour on the freeway (round trip). Again, not terrible, but not the closest either.

Answer 3

It totaly depends on the time of day. The 110 freeway is the route, and it has some rush-hour backup through downtown although its pretty good at other times.

You can also take the subway - Gold line to Union Station for $1.25 then the Dash bus to USC for 25 cents

Answer 4

The PITS.

Answer 5

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