Working in Santa Monica, where to live? (Los Angeles, Vista: fit in, rentals)

[noxless]

Hey guys,

I'm a recent graduate from the east coast who just got a job out in LA. I'm not too familiar with the west side so I could really use some advice. I'll be working on the beach in Santa Monica and I'm not sure where to land living wise. Is living in Westwood too far away? I'll be working long hours so I won't deal with the typical 9-5 traffic. I also like going out in my free time and on weekends, so I don't want to be too far away from those things (plan to probably go out in Santa Monica and Hollywood areas pretty evenly, which is why Westwood seemed liked a good in-between in terms of taking cabs to both areas). Definitely want to live in a busy area that's as city-like as possible. Let me know if you have any advice!

[dragonfly9to5]

Congratulations on your job! As far as housing goes, it has gotten pretty expensive to live in Santa Monica and Venice ($1800 single, $2900 two bedroom and $4K - $6K House) but there is living at the beach vibe. A bit further inland - you could find a great apt in Mar Vista, Palms (less desireable....cheaper), Culver City (nice downtown)..and Brentwood and Westwood are perhaps the nicest, more upscale, but jammed parking . The last two are close to UCLA and a lot different housing options are available. There are cool spots to eat and find entertainment all throughout the westside. THere is a lot of traffic at night heading into the westside for nite spots...and angling for parking, so you are smart to cab it.

Commuting to the west side has become (has always been?) trafficky. So be prepared for a lengthier time commuting in the morning.

I would suggest you look on Westside Rentals....and Craigslist for pricing.

[JeffSanDimas]

Westwood to Santa Monica wouldn't be bad, at all, you can take Wilshire or the 10 and maybe it will take anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes depending on where in Santa Monica you are going. If you're not traveling at Rush Hour it could be even less.

If you can afford Westwood, you can afford a nicer area however. That's not to say that Westwood is a bad area, it's safe and centrally located. But it has significantly declined from its heyday and there are a lot of empty storefronts and not much going on for those not involved in the UCLA or "Persian" lifestyles.

Culver City is nice, a wee bit yuppy but that's most of the West Side these days. Palms is nice, and cheaper but its a bit cheesy and the people who live here in my experience kind of fit into the archetype of "A bro named Brock and his bleach blonde girlfriend Amber".

If you can find something, the nicest part of the west side is Brentwood. It's definitely safe, classy and well located.

If you want to be close to work, on the beach and in a more "alt" scene then try Venice which is pricey but no moreso than the nicer areas of the west side. Mar Vista, Marina Del Rey and Playa Vista are also fine but they have that same "bro factor" that I dislike, and also Google is building a campus there so I don't know how that will affect the area, but likely it will get pricier and bro-ier.

Santa Monica has some rent controlled gems, but if you cannot find one of those then IMO it isn't worth it to live there when you can pay for 1/3 less for something comparable in Venice and be just as close to all the "cool stuff".


Westchester is also very nice, but it's quiet and probably the only West Side area I would recommend to a family (unless they were rich, then Brentwood or Pacific Palisades.)


Good luck.

[N610DL]

I'd consider Palms since it's close to downtown Culver City and will soon have 2 new Metro stations opening up. You can get a nice 1 br for 1400-1600 a month.

[StreetLegal]

Originally Posted by JeffSanDimas

If you can find something, the nicest part of the west side is Brentwood. It's definitely safe, classy and well located.

Brentwood is nice but it is BORING, especially for the OP who is a recent college grad.

I agree that Palms, Culver City, Venice and Westwood are all worth the OP looking into.

[JeffSanDimas]

Originally Posted by StreetLegal

Brentwood is nice but it is BORING, especially for the OP who is a recent college grad.

I agree that Palms, Culver City, Venice and Westwood are all worth the OP looking into.

Brentwood is pretty much adjacent to Westwood, just classier, cleaner and nicer. It has access to all sorts of amenities in Westwood and more eastwards towards the Sunset Strip and Hollywood and even into Silverlake which is where the actual fun stuff is.


To each their own, but I would rather live somewhere clean, safe, and boring that's accessible to nicer areas. In Los Angeles, very few areas compare to Brentwood and those areas are the Hollywood Hills, Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, and the part of Beverly Hills that is 90211 and 90212. Brentwood is by far the least expensive of these locations.


For a Santa Monica commute, of those areas you listed it would be, IMO:

Venice
Culver City except for the portion known as Fox Hills which has held on to some ghetto/seediness
Palms
Westwood
Fox Hills, Culver City


OP, if you want to be in Culver City, stay as north and west as you can. The most desirable area is west of Sony, east of Sepulveda (city line) and north of CC High School. However it's still okay until you get to Jefferson. It's nice over here, quiet and safe with good access to the surrounding areas. Anything further south is adjacent to less desireable areas like Ladera Heights.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by JeffSanDimas

Brentwood is pretty much adjacent to Westwood, just classier, cleaner and nicer. It has access to all sorts of amenities in Westwood and more eastwards towards the Sunset Strip and Hollywood and even into Silverlake which is where the actual fun stuff is.


To each their own, but I would rather live somewhere clean, safe, and boring that's accessible to nicer areas. In Los Angeles, very few areas compare to Brentwood and those areas are the Hollywood Hills, Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, and the part of Beverly Hills that is 90211 and 90212. Brentwood is by far the least expensive of these locations.


For a Santa Monica commute, of those areas you listed it would be, IMO:

Venice
Culver City except for the portion known as Fox Hills which has held on to some ghetto/seediness
Palms
Westwood
Fox Hills, Culver City


OP, if you want to be in Culver City, stay as north and west as you can. The most desirable area is west of Sony, east of Sepulveda (city line) and north of CC High School. However it's still okay until you get to Jefferson. It's nice over here, quiet and safe with good access to the surrounding areas. Anything further south is adjacent to less desireable areas like Ladera Heights.

You're over exaggerating. Westwood is perfectly fine and nice for a young professional. Brentwood is nicer, but there's nothing to do in the neighborhood. And most likely not in the OP's budget. Stop making it seem like the OP's life will be drastically different if he doesn't live in your cookie cutter corner of boogie. Ridiculous.

[noxless]

Haha thanks for the differing opinions everyone, super helpful. I may try Westwood then because I'm definitely looking to be able to walk outside my door and get food/ coffee/ generally walk around the neighborhood and see people on weekends.

Would the bus from Westwood to santa monica be terrible at 8 am?

[iama30something]

Originally Posted by noxless

Haha thanks for the differing opinions everyone, super helpful. I may try Westwood then because I'm definitely looking to be able to walk outside my door and get food/ coffee/ generally walk around the neighborhood and see people on weekends.

Would the bus from Westwood to santa monica be terrible at 8 am?

Probably no longer than 20 min, depending on your stop in SM, but the real question is: who in LA takes the bus?

[saybanana]

Westwood is fine for what you are looking for. In between distance of Hollywood nightlife area and Santa Monica where youll be working. Also has that busy city feel most of the time. Nights and weekend feel more dead compared to when the daytime weekdays when many tens of thousands workers are there. It just leaves mostly locals and some visitors on weekends which is nice. Lots of frequent public transit options to get into Santa Monica whether it be Metro Bus or SM Big Blue Bus. Traffic within a 1/4 mile of the 405 entrances/exits are really bad. At 8am, it is bad, but once you get past Bundy towards Santa Monica it flows normally.