Santa Monica or West Hollywood (Los Angeles, Torrance: lease, loft, house)

[Hana Hau]

Aloha!
My husband and I are originally from Seattle, lived in Oklahoma for a year, and are now relocating to the Los Angeles area. We've found two places we'd really like to live. Both are exactly what we are looking for, however one is in Santa Monica, and one is in West Hollywood. The Santa Monica place is a bit smaller, but has a nice yard and is close to the beach. The West Hollywood place is beautiful, within walking distance to stores and restaurants. We can't decide!

Here are some things to think about. I am a surfer and love the beach, however we are a one car family (I have a bike). My husband will work in Hollywood, and I've heard the commute from SM is horrible. I'll have to walk or bike to most places since I don't have a car. I feel like SM is better for bikers....but Weho also has plenty of things so close by. My husband is worried that living in SM we will be too isolated from "the scene." The only people we know in the area live in Torrance and Silverlake. I worry that Weho is too busy for my tastes. (We are both 30, no kids, but dogs). Any advice or help in picking a place would be great! THANKS!

[BRinSM]

both places are very "busy" and santa monica is definitely more bicycle friendly as you mentioned. WH is also much, much closer to hollywood, but SM isn't too bad of a drive (30-45 minutes with traffic). luckily, the SM to hollywood commute is a reverse commute, the other direction would be terrible. if you really want the LA scene, WH would be a better option. SM is nice, but isn't quite as trendy/hipster as the inland portions of LA. I prefer living on the westside, but also enjoy visits to the other parts of town to visit family/friends a couple of times a week.

[kkii9]

I agree with BRinSm, the commute from SM to Hollywood in the morning is not too bad since traffic is flowing the other direction, however as the question is often asked in LA "how long does it take to get x" the answer is "depends what time." WeHo is pretty convenient for the young and active. I have a friend who moved out there from New York so he didn't have a drivers license. 2 yrs later, he still doesn't have one, he gets by with just walking and taking the occasional cab. To me, this is mind blowing to live in LA without a car, but I it works where he is since most basic needs are within walking distance. Both SM and WeHo are pretty active, but I think being 30, no kids, no dogs, you would enjoy it. Surfing and biking might be your deal maker and take you to SM.

[fatmancomics]

If your husband is the only one working I would live in West Hollywood so he can be closer to work. You can always surf on the days that he is not working.

Honestly, it cracks me up when inplants want to live close to "the scene" as that changes from year to year and, when "the scene" moves all you're left with is the cons of whatever area you moved into which usually includes the high rent. Being a local, I always lived where I could afford and drove to "the scene" just like I now live in the SF valley and my wife and I drive to whatever our "scene" is on that particular weekend.

[Ghostgecko]

Weekend being the key word, prior post...After living in several different cities, the one thing I don't like about LA, is going anywhere more than a few miles is just nil if you go between the hours of 1500 and 2000, or 3pm-8pm for you non-mil types...you just can't do crap if you have a reasonably busy life! And finding parking when you get there makes it even more frustrating.

I've never lived in a place before where just going grocery shopping, to a store to buy a few things, or to the beach can be such a long, stressful haul that to the point that when you get there, you're no longer in the mood to enjoy it. So I spend my time at work or home mostly, and then school. But as you can probably tell, I've not much free time! So to each person it could be different. If you HAVE an evening to drive, park and go somewhere, it's not that bad I guess.

I think that if you live and work close as possible together, life is easier to tolerate out here. Even though I live only 2 miles from the beach and work, and it's still W of the 405 and along Santa Monica Blvd...it can take up to 30 minutes, sometimes longer to get to work because of the local traffic...welcome!

[fatmancomics]

Originally Posted by Ghostgecko

Weekend being the key word, prior post...After living in several different cities, the one thing I don't like about LA, is going anywhere more than a few miles is just nil if you go between the hours of 1500 and 2000, or 3pm-8pm for you non-mil types...you just can't do crap if you have a reasonably busy life! And finding parking when you get there makes it even more frustrating.

I've never lived in a place before where just going grocery shopping, to a store to buy a few things, or to the beach can be such a long, stressful haul that to the point that when you get there, you're no longer in the mood to enjoy it. So I spend my time at work or home mostly, and then school. But as you can probably tell, I've not much free time! So to each person it could be different. If you HAVE an evening to drive, park and go somewhere, it's not that bad I guess.

I think that if you live and work close as possible together, life is easier to tolerate out here. Even though I live only 2 miles from the beach and work, and it's still W of the 405 and along Santa Monica Blvd...it can take up to 30 minutes, sometimes longer to get to work because of the local traffic...welcome!

Well, like I and others said before, it depends on where you live and what you do for fun. Driving down Sunset to go clubbing was always a pain in the butt but only once you got to Sunset because so many people were there just to cruise. Once you paid the outrageous fee for parking and walk the strip, it's all gravy.

As far as everyday things like grocery shopping on the weekdays, there are more and more "commons" type buildings being built nowadays that have retail at the floor level in different areas like downtown LA, North Hollywood, West Hollywood, etc. When I lived in mid Wilshire I never thought I'd see the day when a Ralphs would be built near FIDM for example but it's there now to service the needs of all those trendy loft owners and leasees.

Me? I live in the SF Valley so there are grocery stores very nearby and I don't have to worry about congested traffic near my house on the weekdays.

[uptown_urbanist]

I'd go with West Hollywood. SM to Hollywood might be a reverse commute, but that only gets you so far in LA traffic. Both places are good for people without cars, so no worries there. Since it sounds like you like both places you might as well make life much easier and go with the much easier commute time.

[polican]

I live in West Hollywood and work in Santa Monica.
And yes, the commute from SM to WeHo is a reverse commute, but not by much. The problem with Weho is that if you look at the street layout, all east-west traffic has to squeeze through on 2 streets because of the Hollywood hills: Sunset Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. One broken down bus or one traffic accident and you have gridlock for miles. Now I can't complain because I ride a motorcycle, so na-na na-na-na to all of you suckers stuck in your cars But gridlock in the neighborhood can get bad.

My wife and I are both in our early 30s and we absolutely love WeHo. Because it is centrally located and exciting and vibrant enough to feel like you live in a big city, and still quiet and safe enough to feel like a suburban neighborhood. Someone said how he just drives to “the scene” and is ok with it, but why drive and deal with parking traffic and cops, when you can walk or pay a $5 cab to any hotspot, bar, or restaurant? Yes, we walk to the sunset strip (but you only do that once or twice before you find much better places, i can start a whole other thread about that). And on a weekend night you actually have pedestrians in Weho, as compared to SM where not a single person walking on the street is to be found (drive through Santa Monica at 9pm on a Tuesday. Ghost town) We definitely don’t party much anymore but you cant beat being able to walk to any bar or lounge on Saturday night for a drink without even thinking about car keys.

My neighbor is a surfing fanatic, and it takes him about 20-30 minutes to get to the water (but not in Santa Monica!). Going to the beach on a Saturday afternoon can take up to an hour, but surfers usually go to surf in the early morning when conditions are best.

I would say bicycling is better in SM than Weho, mostly because of less congested street traffic and the lack of hills. My wife huffs and puffs on her fixed gear beach cruiser through our neighborhood while i'm changing gears on my mountain bike. Even going north from Beverly Blvd up to Sunset looks flat but is in fact about 100ft in elevation gain. But we did spend all of last Saturday on our bicycles starting with a sidewalk coffee shop and ending at the hardware store checking out plants.

Runyon Canyon Park is my wife’s favorite place in LA, because of the fact that there are sometimes more dogs than people enjoying the park. WeHo has many happy poochies running around.

We live on a very quiet block between Santa Monica blvd and Fountain Ave, and even with the occasional LAPD chopper overhead we still go to sleep with the sound of crickets. But then again we are lucky because we rent a 2br duplex with a yard in WeHo.

I’m sorry for sounding like an advertisement but I’m just saying why I love where I live. My wife and I moved here from NYC 3 years ago and we couldn't be happier...Weho is also more centrally located. Your friends in Silverlake might as well live in another state if you live in Santa Monica.

In my opinion, the only thing SM has over Weho is the beach. And it's one of the worst beaches in LA. Seriously. No real surfer surfs there, and dont mention that horrendous tourist trap they call a pier.

Good luck with your decision making, no matter where you choose you will be happy, it's Southern California!!


oh and plus 1 to urbanist. There's nothing more valuable in life in LA than a short commute time!

[californio sur]

I would pick Santa Monica. The beach trumps the Sunset Strip.

[matt345]

Originally Posted by polican

And on a weekend night you actually have pedestrians in Weho, as compared to SM where not a single person walking on the street is to be found

I'm confused, are we thinking of the same Santa Monica? With Downtown SM, Ocean Park/Main Street, the Montana Ave area, and a very visible bicycle community, Santa Monica has one of the most consistently active pedestrian scenes in all of Southern California.