Marina Del Rey vs Santa Monica 2024 (Lincoln, Empire: for sale, apartments, renting)

[vdy1985]

Dear City Data,

I'm looking for a second home in coastal SoCal. I live inland and have flexibility to work from home.

We are a family of 4 (husband/wife late 30s, and children in elementary school). We enjoy coastal living. We also would like to be in an area with a decent amount of amenities such as restaurants and bars and shopping. We enjoy being near the water and beach days.

I excluded Venice because it just seems a bit too lively and a little bit weird. I do enjoy Venice a lot and like to visit, but don't think I would like to live right there. We also excluded OC, because I rather be close to the rest of LA for entertainment.

Santa Monica seems like a sweet spot but sometimes a bit overrun with tourists.

Marina del Rey on the other hand seems slightly removed from the craziness but close enough to both Venice and Santa Monica and Abbot Kinney street seems pretty lively. It may be a bit quiet overall however.

I've seen old threads about comparing these two but they are over a decade old. I'm assuming MDR has grown up a bit and am curious what people feel about it these days vs Santa Monica.

Thank you in advance.

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by vdy1985

Marina Del Rey vs Santa Monica 2024

I excluded Venice because it just seems a bit too lively and a little bit weird. I do enjoy Venice a lot and like to visit, but don't think I would like to live right there.

Santa Monica seems like a sweet spot but sometimes a bit overrun with tourists.

Marina del Rey on the other hand seems slightly removed from the craziness but close enough to both Venice and Santa Monica and Abbot Kinney street seems pretty lively. It may be a bit quiet overall however.

Are you definitely looking to buy? Currently, according to Zillow, there are only 6 homes for sale in MDR and they range from $3.2M to $9M so not sure if this is in your budget.

Santa Monica is definitely the "sweet spot" as you say as it really does have it all. Also, I am there almost every day and I can assure you it is NOT "overrun with tourists". Sure the pier itself is a touristy spot, but most people you'll run into are LA locals.

Abbot Kinney is definitely not "quiet" by any means. I actually prefer Montana village on Montana between Lincoln and 17th street (north Santa Monica). Its a bit quieter than Abbot Kinney and slightly more upscale and there are better elementary schools for your kids. Both Montana Village and Abbot Kinney (which is really Venice) both have boutique stores, high end shops and good restaurants, Montana is 1000 times safer but Abbot Kinney will have more areas for nightlife (bars/live music).

[vdy1985]

Originally Posted by Kings Gambit

Are you definitely looking to buy? Currently, according to Zillow, there are only 6 homes for sale in MDR and they range from $3.2M to $9M so not sure if this is in your budget.

Santa Monica is definitely the "sweet spot" as you say as it really does have it all. Also, I am there almost every day and I can assure you it is NOT "overrun with tourists". Sure the pier itself is a touristy spot, but most people you'll run into are LA locals.

Abbot Kinney is definitely not "quiet" by any means. I actually prefer Montana village on Montana between Lincoln and 17th street (north Santa Monica). Its a bit quieter than Abbot Kinney and slightly more upscale and there are better elementary schools for your kids. Both Montana Village and Abbot Kinney (which is really Venice) both have boutique stores, high end shops and good restaurants, Montana is 1000 times safer but Abbot Kinney will have more areas for nightlife (bars/live music).

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. This would be a second home. We are in the Inland Empire and often spend time more coastal. Kids would continue to stay in current school but I would use it more often when they are off and on weekends, summers, breaks etc.

I'm looking at the high rise condos not SFH. I understand Abbot Kinney is not quiet, and technically Venice, but walking distance from parts of MDR. Also I like to not live exactly there, and slightly removed is preferable. I will expand my search to SaMo as well and see where I can get a better deal, just was off put by tourists during summers and holidays. The homeless situation was a bit of a turn off and it seems more prevalent there... but who am I kidding, its everywhere now a days sadly.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by vdy1985

I excluded Venice because it just seems a bit too lively and a little bit weird. I do enjoy Venice a lot and like to visit, but don't think I would like to live right there.

No, you don't want to live in Venice, especially with kids. Both Marina del Rey and Santa Monica have a lot to do, and your family would most likely enjoy either of them.

[njbiodude]

Originally Posted by vdy1985

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. This would be a second home. We are in the Inland Empire and often spend time more coastal. Kids would continue to stay in current school but I would use it more often when they are off and on weekends, summers, breaks etc.

I'm looking at the high rise condos not SFH. I understand Abbot Kinney is not quiet, and technically Venice, but walking distance from parts of MDR. Also I like to not live exactly there, and slightly removed is preferable. I will expand my search to SaMo as well and see where I can get a better deal, just was off put by tourists during summers and holidays. The homeless situation was a bit of a turn off and it seems more prevalent there... but who am I kidding, its everywhere now a days sadly.

What’s your budget? There’s some 2 bedroom condos that start at 750-900k but you’re typically getting less than 1200 square feet.

Do you need to be walking distance to the beach? Finding parking can be impossible at times.

[skyway31]

Santa Monica appears to be more expensive, and probably not for reasons that increase the quality of your life. Of course, it is a much larger and more varied area than MDR. As someone who's stuck renting apartments to live in thes kinds of areas, MDR has better options as far as I can tell.

[Kings Gambit]

Originally Posted by skyway31

Santa Monica appears to be more expensive, and probably not for reasons that increase the quality of your life. Of course, it is a much larger and more varied area than MDR. As someone who's stuck renting apartments to live in thes kinds of areas, MDR has better options as far as I can tell.

Santa Monica is more expensive not because of "quality of life". Its just an overall more desirable area. Beaches are much nicer in SM compared to MDR. There is more shopping, restaurants, entertainment, walkable areas in SM. MDR is not as walkable, doesnt have as many amenities/entertainment options as SM. It can get really crowded/traffic in MDR as Lincoln is really the only main road to get you there.

MDR is great if you have a boat slip and are living on your boat, or if you enjoy the sounds of frogs during certain time of year at the Ballona wetlands.

There is a reason why Santa Monica housing and apartments are way more expensive than MDR, its just a more desirable area.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by Kings Gambit

Santa Monica is more expensive not because of "quality of life". Its just an overall more desirable area. Beaches are much nicer in SM compared to MDR. There is more shopping, restaurants, entertainment, walkable areas in SM. MDR is not as walkable, doesnt have as many amenities/entertainment options as SM. It can get really crowded/traffic in MDR as Lincoln is really the only main road to get you there.

MDR is great if you have a boat slip and are living on your boat, or if you enjoy the sounds of frogs during certain time of year at the Ballona wetlands.

There is a reason why Santa Monica housing and apartments are way more expensive than MDR, its just a more desirable area.

I suppose I'm speaking in terms of the quality of houses/apartments. And SM has more of the problems associated with denser urban areas. Crowds, traffic jams, crazy people walking around, riff raff coming from the Expo line, etc. But, sure, I grant that it is also easy to make the case SM is nicer.

[Kimmy Scott]

Marina del Rey sounds like a chill vibe, close enough to the action but not right smack in the middle of it. Santa Monica can get a bit touristy, true. MDR seems like it strikes a balance, especially with Abbot Kinney nearby for some liveliness.