LA is huge as you know, Pasadena and Glendale are both far from USC with Traffic it could take as much as 1:30 hour
, but it also depends on the time of day no traffic (which is unlikely) 30 min, in my opinion it would be a pain. I don't know about your budget but Santa Monica is close enough and the prices are somewhat better than most places around USC (Beverly Hills, westwood, ...) , Valley is a little farther but the prices are much better than West LA (where USC is). USC is in Downtown LA so I don't think you want to live too close to the school either (not too safe
) so the 5 min walk thing I am not sure about, Downtown LA is not the best place, not horrible, after all it's like 10 min from Beverly Hills, but still with someone who is married and has a child is better not to live next to the school. I have a lot of friends who commute from Valley to USC daily and they are ok with it, Valley has good prices compare to other places around LA.