Commuting from Irvine to Torrance...good/bad idea?

Reasonable commute? Well it's all relative, but personally I wouldn't want to do that commute. It is about 40 miles and in LA traffic that could easily turn into 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on the time of day your husband would be working. I would advise looking somewhere closer to Torrance. There are some terrific neighborhoods in Torrance and the beach cities nearby. Depending on what part of the UK you're coming from you may be surprised by the size and price of the homes here.

I used to live in Irvine area 30 years ago and there are two major slow downs in the high traffic commuter freeway, one near the Orange County airport and the other from Long Beach to LAX. According to an air pollution map published in the Los Angeles Times the Long Beach area is a high level pollution area. The Torrance are is a low level pollution area and enjoys an on shore sea breeze bringing in fresh air from the Pacific. There is a wide variety of housing options in the Torrance area and in my 27 years of selling there I have developed expertise in all of them. I have also developed new homes and remodeled many existing homes gaining a lot of technical knowledge beneficial in evaluating homes. The Torrance area benefits also from highly rated schools, low crime statistics and an abundance of parks, recreation and arts programs. The supply of housing in the area does not satisfy the demand so there is significant appreciation. LAX is close by and serves as a convenient gateway to the world. I can email you maps and statistics on air pollution, schools, crime and other important data that help paint a clear picture of the benefits of living in the Torrance area. You can access a convenient interactive map of up to date homes from the Multiple Listing Service on my website: www.southcalhomes.com
I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.
My best regards, Don Karasevicz (310)376-7621 (direct) (310)251-2593(text)[email protected]

If I know your reason for living in Irvine I most likely will convince you that you are better off
to consider living in one of the most sought after communities and neighborhoods in the Greater South Bay area and avoid the challenge of commuting to Irvine. Best wishes!

I honestly don't think so -- in the early 1980's, I used to commute from the Seal Beach area to Hawthorne, which is a little bit shorter distance than from Irving to Torrance and also does not have some major bottlenecks that exist South of Seal Beach towards the Irvine area. Traffic is even heavier now, and then it was usually an hour to get to work in the mornings and often an hour and a half home. It was quite grueling and is one of the reasons I moved to the South Bay in 1983. I've never regretted it -- the South Bay Area is lovely, with clean air, great weather, ocean breezes, lots of activities for everyone, great proximity to Los Angeles area cultural activities such as the symphony, theatre, concerts, sporting events, etc. Because we are fairly centrally located within Los Angeles county, one can go to the San Fernando valley or Disneyland just about as easily, and being near LAX means it will be easier to take trips back to the UK for visits. We have a wide variety of housing stock too. I truly don't think Irvine has ANYTHING better than we have in the South Bay/Palos Verdes area. I'd be happy to help you with your search -- my website is http://www.FabulousSouthBay.com.