Santa Monica/Venice vs Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach/Redondo Beach: Which do you prefer to live in?

[Tex?Il?]

Funny posts.

Its not high on my list for either of them, but . . .

I rarely get to the South Bay beach cities. There's really no reason to for me. I wouldn't be interested in living there. It has the high cost of living and the congestion of desirable coastal LA, but its hard to get anywhere else. I guess if you live for the beach, and being by the beach, and not interested in going elsewhere in greater LA - sure.

Now on the other hand . . . the PV peninsula/San Pedro is different. LOVE visiting there. Its like a piece of the NorCal coast with its sea cliffs and tide pools.

Santa Monica and Venice definitely have more to do, and appeal to a wider range of people, and are better for visiting. Theres the obvious iconic touristy stuff to do there, that you pretty much only go to with out of town guests. But I especially like Main Street Santa Monica(like the Victorian) and Venice (my favorite is the Del Monte Speakesy, they have good music there, and its just a cool place). SM/Venice are also closer to other major centers of LA, a lot more central to a lot more centers of employment, etc. (The South Bay however, seems to be heavier on the aerospace companies).


Personally? My favorite beach community in LA county is . . . Playa Del Rey. Definitely laid back beach town. Has the great benefit of feeling a little isolated (being surrounded by the protected by Ballona, the last tidal wetlands in LA), yet you got the Marina freeway and Lincoln to take you elsewhere. Close to Dockweiler for beach bonfires, and the places itself does have a couple decent places to eat and drink too.

[vincent from norcal]

El Segundo is much less pretentious and more family oriented, also inland Redondo beach and the westernmost parts of Torrance. The other places have too many oversized homes on crowded lots and no children.

[agnt.starling]

Originally Posted by vincent from norcal

El Segundo is much less pretentious and more family oriented, also inland Redondo beach and the westernmost parts of Torrance. The other places have too many oversized homes on crowded lots and no children.

Vincent, this is why I moved & love El Segundo! To me it's a little bit of a sleepy town, but yet not rolled up at night like there's a curfew. It's just little bit slow paced, definitely family oriented, night life can be thriving if your up for it and people there are so friendly and polite. I agree some parts of Redondo & Torrance (away from the saturated parts closer to the beach) are much nicer! Of course I get comments about the unusual set up of neighborhood being that it's industrial, commercial and residential all in one area. Statements including "Why would one want to live by the Refinery? And the views? The Hazardous Waste plant, and finally, the noise of both Refinery and LAX" It's not that bad, believe me, when you've lived all over with what you can afford and finally make it to where you can live in a nice area, those are minor points. Or I could go back to living in a congested part of a college town, with lots of other renters from all over, most of whom are noisy, inconsiderate and the added bonus of alley dwellers going through trash cans all hours of day/night (excluding the people going through quietly seeking supplemental $$, it's the "others"). I'll take the humming of the refinery any day.

But if I was a lot younger, I'd take Santa Monica any day. If I had the means, Malibu, but then I'd wake up and realize it was all a dream

[jessemh431]

Can I choose just one part of Santa Monica? I love the Main Street area. Much less touristy and congested than the rest of Santa Monica. More local bars and restaurants and stores. Downtown SM is just all chain stores and restaurants. Nothing unique about. Traffic is horrendous. Parking is horrendous. Housing is plain and boring. Main Street has more unique apartments, stores, restaurants. Traffic is somewhat better. Parking is actually possible without selling your first born.

After that it would be the Marina/Venice border. I love the bars and restaurants at the end of Washington. Local places. Unique apartments/homes. Easy bike access on the bike path to everything SM has to offer, and an easy ride to the South Bay for a weekend day.

Venice itself comes next. But the part more around Rose and Abbott Kinney. I can handle the hipsterness there after leaving SF for that exact reason. The hipster vibe there is much more relaxed than in SF. But the uniqueness of Abbott Kinney in terms of the people, stores, restaurants, and housing are enticing. I love the older bungalow and craftsmen homes there.

Hermosa comes next. I'm in that demographic you're all talking about so I have fun there. Cheaper rents than Manhattan and more catered to my age group. Parking isn't as bad. Less McMansions.

Manhattan next. Really nice downtown and great beach! I actually like the amount of nice cars there because I don't find the people there pretentious. I guess it's another side effect of moving home after 4 years in SF. Nobody I've met here is ever pretentious compared to SF pretentiousness so that doesn't bother me. But yes, I can't stand McMansions that should fit in in Riverside being built on lots half the size next to cute beach bungalows.

DT SM comes this far down because it's so bland and boring and not unique. Plenty of cities have those same stores and restaurants, but for much less money and way better traffic. Too many tourists. Rents are too high. The only place I've experienced any pretentiousness than can come close to SF. The North of Montana crowd is the worst.

Redondo is basically Torrance which is my worst nightmare. I hate suburbs with a passion. Hence why El Segundo ties with Redondo for last place. Too suburban and family oriented. And though not horribly Republican/conservative, it definitely is much more so than all the communities surrounding it.

I have South Bay cities so low because they have horrible access to the rest of LA. All the culture and nightlife and international/cosmopolitan vibes of the real LA are too far. I mean places like DTLA, Ktown, WeHo, Melrose, Venice, SM, Fairfax, BH, etc. That entire stretch from DTLA to SM is the real cultural and international heart of the Southland. MB, HB, and RB are much too far removed from all that for me.