A question about a few different cities in LA + Santa Barbara (Los Angeles: neighborhoods, theater)

[Dmj9891]

I recently visited Venice and Santa Monica and loved it (unfortunately it was for an interview for a job I did not get, so only 1 day there). I love the beach with the mountains in the background, specifically Santa Monica Pier.

I am a 30 year old single female who's looking for marketing/sales jobs. I'm from NYC. I want a place with things to do but I don't want to be mostly surrounded by families or college kids. I want to be around millennials with careers. I definitely want to see nature, like mountains in the background. (I get some of the towns are geographically farther from the beach, but day to day I would love to see mountains!)

I am looking up job opportunities in various areas so I was wondering if any of these towns are great or terrible ideas:

-Pasadena
-Culver City
-Westlake Village
-Woodland Hills
-Encino
-El Segundo

Santa Barbara is beautiful, I visited there once, but didn't think there was much to do. Is that true?

[Sydney123]

A lot is going to depend on your budget...

[Astral_Weeks]

Originally Posted by Dmj9891

I recently visited Venice and Santa Monica and loved it (unfortunately it was for an interview for a job I did not get, so only 1 day there). I love the beach with the mountains in the background, specifically Santa Monica Pier.

I am a 30 year old single female who's looking for marketing/sales jobs. I'm from NYC. I want a place with things to do but I don't want to be mostly surrounded by families or college kids. I want to be around millennials with careers. I definitely want to see nature, like mountains in the background. (I get some of the towns are geographically farther from the beach, but day to day I would love to see mountains!)

I am looking up job opportunities in various areas so I was wondering if any of these towns are great or terrible ideas:

-Pasadena
-Culver City
-Westlake Village
-Woodland Hills
-Encino
-El Segundo

A housing budget would be very helpful.

That said, of the criteria you mentioned I'd say the following:

-Pasadena: Yes
-Culver City: Yes
-Westlake Village: No, very suburban, family oriented, etc.. Don't even think about it.
-Woodland Hills: No, generally suburban, family oriented, though not as much as Westlake Village
-Encino: Same as Woodland Hills
-El Segundo: Relatively quiet westside city but definitely surrounded by other areas with lots of millennials with professional careers.

Places and or cities I'd add to your list for having concentrations of young people with careers and a large concentration of amenities/things to do:

-West Hollywood (a separate city) and Hollywood (a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles);
-Miracle Mile/Fairfax District (two adjacent neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles);
-Downtown Los Angeles (part of City of LA): though perhaps too urban and removed from nature for what you are looking for;
-Playa Vista/Venice (two adjacent neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles);
-Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach (two separate cities);
-Palms district (a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles);

Originally Posted by Dmj9891

Santa Barbara is beautiful, I visited there once, but didn't think there was much to do. Is that true?

S.B. is beautiful but has a high concentration of college students and older rich people. Also, it has a small population with very limited professional job opportunities.

[Social Democrat]

You should also check out Los Feliz. It's adjacent to Griffith Park, the Greek Theater, Hollywood Lake and close to Warner Brothers and Disney Studios.

[LoveMeSomeSFVHouses]

Agree with taking off Westlake Village, Woodland Hills, and Encino if you don't want suburban. But if you need the better affordability that the valley provides, alternatives would be Sherman Oaks and Studio City which can still be suburban but have a lot more nightlife. I have to be careful because of my job in the way I phrase this and discussing demographics... so hopefully you can read between the lines when I say I'm a Millenial professional over here and I feel at home.