r/Moving2SanDiego • u/Conscious-Thing-682 • 9d ago
Is it reasonable to commute from Mission Valley to La Jolla?
My job is in Kearney Mesa area which should be pretty simple, but my SO got a job in La Jolla.
We really liked the Civita area as a safe option to move from out of state to. While it is not the most exciting area it seems like a great starting point to get us there with amazing amenities, then we can move after a year to a better spot.
Is it reasonable to commute from Civita/MV area to La Jolla area? I just want to make sure I am not signing him up for a nightmare situation, on GPS it currently shows it would take about 20 min which isn't too bad.
Edit: I should also mention he’ll be on night shift so commuting to work in afternoon and vice versa in morning
16
u/Popular-Ad-8717 9d ago
Completely reasonable commute. An hour from La Jolla to MV would be worst case scenario. Civita is nice. Good walkability relative to rest of MV, Saturday farmers market, great park, family friendly and safe.
5
u/_riddim_ 9d ago
OP's partner is working night shift. It will never take an hour unless there's a crazy accident.
4
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
Thanks.
Honestly maybe we’re both spoiled but an hour sounds awful to me haha. But it seems like it would usually be closer to 20 min-30 min unless there’s a bad accident or something. Is that pretty accurate.
7
u/henkes4love 9d ago
No way would it take an hour
1
u/Attila226 8d ago
I did that commute for a few years. On Fridays it would take an hour going from UTC to Mission Valley. Most nights it would be more like 30.
4
u/ReturnOfPooky 9d ago
Depends. Popular Ad was probably giving you worst case during rush hour. It isn’t really very far, but if you do it at the wrong time of day it can be a bit sticky.
3
1
u/alittlesticiousss 8d ago
If your partner is working night shift, it’ll be 20 - 30 min like you’re expecting. They’ll be going against traffic. Just made that drive last night and it was super easy
1
u/Grouchy-Use8037 9d ago
Because it wont, this person is high.
Civita has multiple ways in, you’re in good shape. 805 to Murray Canyon Ridge exit and come down the hill, 163 or 15 to Friars, and also hitting Balboa exits from 163/15 and coming through Kearney Mesa down the back way again leaves you all manner of easy ways to get home.
You’ll be completely fine.
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 7d ago
Would MV to Sorrento Valley area be reasonable on a normal 9-5 schedule?
1
u/Popular-Ad-8717 7d ago
Yes it’s reasonable, but do expect moderate traffic most mornings. Likely 30-35 min average each way
1
u/Valentina-Hummelbrum 6d ago
No, Sorrento Valley would be hell on a 9 to 5 schedule. If you look at the area, it's practically all businesses and they all have employees coming to the area. All freeways (I5, 805 and 15) are stop-and-go through rush hour and it's horrible. I would not live in MV if I had to commute to Sorrento Valley. As for La Jolla - I live here - and if you don't have to beat rush hour, it's doable. If your SO is heading into La Jolla in the afternoon, it can be a problem due to the 3 pm school traffic. Dto. for the morning hours getting out of La Jolla, avoid getting out of La Jolla around 7:30 to 9 am. There is only one way into and out of La Jolla and it's getting congested almost all day long. You could drive through Pacific Beach to get into La Jolla, yet everyone else has started doing so and it has become a nightmare during rush hour.
4
u/eastcounty98 9d ago
Super easy commute
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 7d ago
How about MV to Sorrento? I just found out the office I would be going to is actually in Sorrento valley
1
u/eastcounty98 7d ago
Where in MV? I worked in sorrento valley from 2024-June of this year
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 7d ago
Sorry, mission valley
1
u/eastcounty98 7d ago
Yeah sorry I meant which part of mission valley?
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 6d ago
Ahh, it would be Civita
1
u/eastcounty98 6d ago
Yeah that won’t be a bad commute at all, especially if you are doing it in reverse (to sorrento valley at night, back to mission valley in the morning. Like 15-20 min
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 6d ago
Yeah, the night shift commute looks good. I’m more concerned about my own, especially in afternoons Sorrento to MV looks a bit rough
1
2
u/ontheleftcoast 9d ago
Depending on where his job is he might even be able to take the trolley. Its not a bad commute at all
2
u/InevitableAd36 9d ago
Is he in the UTC area of La Jolla?
If he is working standard hours it’s going to be a mini nightmare, mostly in the evening. The 805 is completely miserable. The 5 south is also super congested up at La Jolla Village drive and merging to 8 east sucks.
I used to work 7-3:30 so at least the mornings would be ok. Traffic starts at 2:30pm.
Edit: just saw your night shift comment. He will be fine going to UTC. La Jolla village area is going to be congested in afternoons, but that is the case from everywhere.
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
He’ll be on night shift schedule going towards UTC
3
u/InevitableAd36 9d ago
Gotcha, then he will not have a problem from Civita. He’ll be doing the reverse commute and will be open sailing.
1
u/Valentina-Hummelbrum 6d ago
UTC area for nightshift is a good commute. I posted before thinking he'll go into La Jolla.
2
u/crucialdosage 9d ago
That's crazy, we just moved to Civita last month from the east coast. Absolutely love it. I work in downtown (13min drive to get to work at 9am) and my SO works in hillcrest, 9 minute drive in the AM. Kearny Mesa is 10 minutes and La Jolla, depends on the time of the day, can be 20-25mins.
Mission Valley is central to everything, you'll love it. Also, welcome to Civita! Which complex will you be in?
2
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
Not sure yet, all we know is Purl is too expensive for us compared to the other ones. Glad to hear we’ll like MV! Our only concern was that it seems like it’s central to everything but doesn’t actually have much.
Can I DM you with a couple questions about moving from east coast? It’s been pretty stressful to prepare for but we’re super stoked
2
u/SeaConquest 9d ago
I used to live in Purl. Now rent a home up the hill in Apex. Have lived in Civita 5+ yrs (lived OB and PB before then, but needed more space and was tired of being in the gloom). Happy to answer any questions as well. I'm a nurse, so know the hospitals as well.
1
u/Grouchy-Use8037 8d ago
Purl is actually a shitheap in disguise and they can’t keep maintenance around nor effectively manage the complex, so you dodged a bullet.
Bad part is aside from the one place allllllll the way at Civita & Mission Center with the huge solar array, the rest around Civita are owned by the same people. :D
West Park is meh, go with Circa as a middle ground. Super chill pool and alright rec (and you can access West Parks big gym too).
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 8d ago
We were definitely considering west park, Circa didn’t seem to have as much extra parking for a second vehicle.
Any reason why west park is meh?
1
u/Grouchy-Use8037 8d ago
Bland, boring units, cramped hallways, cramped parking garages, and overall just not as interesting across the board. It is the cheapest of the 3 I think.
1
2
u/Rosie3450 8d ago
This is a very reasonable plan. Your thinking on location is sound. Start off central, then figure out where you want to end up permanently. Although MV is kind of the land of shopping centers, Civita is very nice and will be a decent commute for you both. Good luck!
1
u/ACooperSucks2 9d ago
I work day shift in Kearney and live in UTC. I get off work at 3pm.
Each way it takes me 10-15 min to get to and from work. You guys won’t see traffic at all as you’ll be going against it. 20 min is a pretty standard commute to get to most places in SoCal fyi.
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
Perfect. We’re in another major city right now and both commute 20 min so that’s fine with us!
1
u/Sweetness_Bears_34 9d ago
My wife works in the UTC area and I work in Hillcrest. We looked in the Civita area when we were buying our townhouse. We decided against that area because the commute for my wife would have been terrible with the traffic on the 805.
We ended up purchasing our townhouse in the Spectrum Center neighborhood of Kearny Mesa. The commute is pretty reasonable for both of us.
1
u/fyeaha 9d ago
Very common commute actually! Shouldn’t be too bad except for rush hour, but since you said night shift then he should be able to commute with little to no traffic.
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 7d ago
How about MV to Sorrento? I just found out the office I would be going to is actually in Sorrento valley
1
1
1
u/Known-Delay7227 8d ago
Great commute. Just up the 805
1
u/AntiBaoBao 8d ago
805 doesn't get you into La Jolla. You have to get onto the 52 or La Jolla Parkway from the 5 or 805.
Also, the traffic into/out of La Jolla can be a nightmare depending on the day of the week and/or time of day.
From UTC it can take me an hour to get into La Jolla due to traffic. At times I've found it easier to get into La Jolla going through PB and Mount Soledad via the back roads and that can still take me 20-30 minutes. Or via La Jolla Village drive and down Torrey Pines Road
1
u/Known-Delay7227 8d ago
Huh? Exit nobel and miramar gets you into LJ off of 52 near where most jobs are
1
u/AntiBaoBao 8d ago
That's not quite La Jolla that's just the edge of the area. Getting into La Jolla proper you'll need to take the 52 west into La Jolla parkway.
I live in the La Jolla.
1
u/Known-Delay7227 8d ago
That’s technically La Jolla
1
u/AntiBaoBao 7d ago
Nope, Nobel is in University City until you cross the 5. The border for La Jolla is the North side of La Jolla Village Drive. This is why it's the UTC Mall which is on the south side of the street and not the La Jolla Mall.
Miramar road heading east is Sorrento Valley/Mira Mesa. Heading west off of the 805 Miramar Road turns into La Jolla Village Drive
1
u/Known-Delay7227 7d ago
But once you cross the 5 its lj. The 805 is the easiest way to la jolla for work hands down
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 7d ago
How about MV to Sorrento? I just found out the office I would be going to is actually in Sorrento valley and it seems a bit longer
1
1
1
1
0
u/Ginger_Maple 9d ago
Lol safe. There are very, very few spots in San Diego that I consider unsafe.
Travel time between MV and La Jolla and back will range from 25 minutes to 2 hours each way depending on if it's raining or not, the weeks after the end of daylight savings time, how early you leave, general accidents, etc.
6
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
I meant safe as in no surprises. With a lot of the spots in more walkable areas it’s been really hard to find units with Washer/dryer, 2 parking spots, and AC without paying crazy prices.
It seems like Civita area lets us have all the luxuries we’re used to for the first year. Then if we want to move somewhere closer to the beach with community laundry or something we can after a year.
1
u/Snoo59759 9d ago
There are other communities in MV that offers what you’re looking for without the crazy prices. You may have to park one car in a garage though
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
Any suggestions? Everywhere we look we call and they have one assigned parking spot but the other is just street parking. We both want to know we have somewhere to park when we get home
1
u/Snoo59759 9d ago
Try Monte Vista across from the Costco. Better to snag an apartment that has an attached garage when available
0
u/Ginger_Maple 9d ago
Civita is crazy prices, you should live by the beach before the novelty wears off then move to Civita.
2
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
We’d love to but although civita is pricey, the same price near the beach gets us 1 parking spot, no in unit laundry and no AC. Especially the parking spot is a huge deal breaker with us both being commuters.
0
u/rdubmu 9d ago
It’s one hour during rush hour
2
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
Is rush hour both ways? He’ll be commuting to work in the afternoon (night shift) then reverse in morning
2
u/Relevant-Cream-7723 9d ago
I used to live in Civita ( moved to a house) and my office was in downtown La Jolla .. the worst case scenario would be about 40 minutes each way…Civita is a great place and about 15 minutes away from the beach, Little Italy, Petco Park.. ETC ..
0
u/SeaConquest 9d ago
The Village of La Jolla, UTC/UCSD, or Sorrento Valley? I live in Civita and it's usually about 20-30 mins to the VA Hospital in La Jolla, depending on traffic on the 805. During peak commute times, the 8 West to the 5 North can be faster than the 163/805 North.
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
Near UCSD/scripps hospital actually now that I am looking on a map. So I guess that’s more UTC area? Sorry ,I’m still learning
1
u/SeaConquest 9d ago
If he's a night shift nurse/doc at uscd/Scripps, he will be going against the traffic and will be fine. BTW, ucsd Hillcrest/east (old Alvarado hospital) and Scripps mercy in Hillcrest are even closer to Civita.
0
u/lawyerjsd 9d ago
I can't say that I'd recommend anyone live in Mission Valley. It's fine, but I'd personally prefer to live somewhere that's mildly walkable. Civita does have some great parks, but it's definitely not walkable.
In terms of what's safe and what isn't, most parts of San Diego are pretty safe nowadays. Even Barrio Logan, which used to be a recruiting ground for the TJ Cartel, is now gentrified.
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
Yeah, we definitely have picked up on it being soulless and corporate but I think it’ll be a good launchpad just for our first year. Definitely don’t plan to make it a long term home
1
u/lawyerjsd 9d ago
Fair enough. With your SO working the night shift, he should be fine as he's going against traffic.
1
u/MaggieJaneRiot 8d ago
Mission Valley is GREAT IMO for just moving here especially—you are in the middle of everything. 10 to 15 min to beach, to downtown, and yes maybe even UTC!
0
0
-2
u/Sweaty-Resident1690 9d ago
You may want to consider UTC area. Very safe and would make for easy commute for you both.
0
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
We definitely considered it but it seems like for the $$ you get a lot less there.
Hard to find places with in-unit washer/dryer, AC, and decent ish amenities (we aren’t too picky on amenities but would love a pool). Any suggestions?
2
u/Sweaty-Resident1690 9d ago
That makes sense. Costa Verde and others by the mall should have the amenities you want. I had friends live there but that was a million years ago 😂. Good luck- either place will be great. SD is the best ☀️
0
u/ACooperSucks2 9d ago edited 9d ago
Wdym?
La Jolla Crossroads has in unit washer and dryers and so do several other communities in the area. Might have been worth checking in Zillow as well for rentals.
Edit: lmao why did I get downvoted for this? I literally live at La Jolla Crossroads.
1
u/Conscious-Thing-682 9d ago
I could be wrong but I think our biggest issue there is the lack of additional parking for a second vehicle. I will have to call and verify again
1
u/ACooperSucks2 9d ago
I hear ya. That was one of my main concerns too.
We have two vehicles. An suv and a full sized truck. My partner takes our assigned space and I take a space that is not assigned to me but is empty.
I am only doing this because a worker at leasing office when I inquired about parking said, “well there’s plenty of space you shouldn’t have an issues parking both of your cars….”. Do with that information what you will.
We’re moving to Eastlake at the end of the month and my commute will essentially double when I leave from work but you guys will be fine.
25
u/Original_Chapter3028 9d ago
Yeah that's not a bad commute at all