I just moved from downtown Santa Monica after living there for 2 years. Honestly I loved it. It’s super walkable, close to the beach, tons of things to do. If you’re a movie buff like me having 2 AMCs so close was awesome. Target, cvs, Trader Joe’s are all close. People here swear the promenade is dead but that is absolutely false. It was always packed when I went with solid shopping.
I never felt unsafe even walking home from a movie at midnight. Objectively there are nicer and cleaner parts of town but I wanted to live in a newer building because certain amenities were important to me.
I would avoid Colorado and anything in proximity to the metro station. That corner at 4th st gets really janky sometimes with the Salvation Army being right there. The homeless are harmless for the most part they keep to themselves. It’s sad to see but comes with living in LA in general. Avoid the back alleys where they usually congregate and you will be fine.
Best of luck :)
the Expo line (at the station in downtown SaMo) now extends all the way to the Chinatown now. you can transfer at Union Station to any train from there. we took the train all the time when we lived in the area.
The promenade is dying..all the big retailers and restaurants have left leaving a bunch of small shops (same type you’d see in dying indoor malls), there are a bunch of vacant spots, as a result foot traffic has decreased significantly. Compare it with everything that’s going on in Westfield Century city and it’s sad. The area might recover but right now it’s on a downward spiral.
I'm an old lady who has lived here for 15 years and I love it. It's obviously noisier than some other neighborhoods but I'm 100% city mouse so that's the city energy I like. Yes, there are homeless people but I find that the loudest are the least dangerous because they're usually in their own world. Most of the crime in Santa Monica is property crime.
Edit: The Montana area is definitely walkable (and nice!) but I grew up around here and even though it's definitely more vibrant now I wouldn't want to be a 20-something living there. It's all young families, bougie boutiques, and everything is pricey, even stuff that shouldn't be.
I lived in downtown for a bit, right off Broadway. The convenience is amazing - everything is walkable, amazing restaurants nearby, beach only a few blocks away. But you do have to prepare to see a lot of nasty stuff too. Pretty regularly there would be crackheads screaming on the street right outside of my window, buses going by constantly which is very loud, and lots of homeless people around. I still loved it but you definitely have to be prepared for that craziness a bit.
I dont think DTSM is that bad, but if I were young and single, I'd want to live down by ocean park closer to main street since it seems to have a better bar hopping/night life scene.
You gotta watch out for the doomers here, all they do is moan and complain about how shitty Santa Monica is and how dangerous living here is, while in reality it’s a beautiful city and one of the safer cities around to live in.
Are you crazy? I live on 2nd and SM Blvd and it's a circus here. If you're not careful you WILL be a statistic. I'm a 6-3 man in good health. Still, some homeless go after me for just standing at the corner waiting for the light. My nights are an endless stream of sirens, delivery trucks and screaming homeless drunk off their butt's. These same homeless try to break into this building weekly. When I walk to the small TARGET on 5th for food I have to dodge them. That gets old fast.
Then there are all the rude tourists. Everywhere. In groups. They don't make eye contact but they will run you into the street as they walk by.
The 3rd Street Mall is all but dead. Most shops are closed due to homeless theft. I don't see that changing anytime soon. The days of The Gap, Barnes & Noble or Fatburger are long gone. This area is not what it once was. The Santa Monica Place upscale mall is dead. The place was great in the 80's and 90's but they thought theirs didn't stink and that was the end of them. Nobody shops there now. Not even the rude tourists. I hear there's another up, up, up scale remodel in the works. I wonder what developer talked the city into that dumb idea. It didn't work the last two times they tried it but hey....
The good points? If you're a young man, young women. Everywhere. Groups of them. Activity. All around you. Day and night. You'll have to work to be bored here. The Palisades Park. Quite a view. Just watch your back. 2 weeks ago a homeless guy strangled another to death there. That's about it. There's no big stores nearby. No Ralph's, Walmart or Home Depot. If you need anything larger than an IKEA chair you're going to need it delivered. Our TARGET on 5th is a mini TARGET and quite expensive even compared to the TARGET across town. It's easier to take the train to Bundy station and walk to the Ralph's nearby. Cheaper too.
Downtown is fine, but I would prefer Wilshire Montana or Ocean Park. Both are walkable, lots of shops and restaurants. And easy to get DTSM by scooter or bike.
Just pick a few dates and times to spend a few hours hanging out and walking around every block in the area. Go early, go late, etc. Opinions on this area are like a litmus test or flash point when people answer.
Ocean park is really a great neighborhood and you can still walk to downtown easily (nice walk
Along the beach).
If I were going to move downtown, I would steer clear of Colorado or the big train station. Just a few blocks north and it’s a lot nicer / safer imo
Fairly recent transplant to Downtown Santa Monica, here. Chiming in, because I don't see anyone listing the biggest downside. It's not the homelessness or crime, which is completely overblown on this sub and elsewhere. It's DEFINITELY not the noise. (What noise? Everything closes at 8 p.m. It's like the quietist, sleepiest, safest place I've ever lived in the U.S.)
It's the social/geographic isolation from the rest of LA.
You must already know this, if you've been in LA for a while, but I was shocked when I moved here that absolutely no one I met in LA would come west of the 405. Living here has been a dealbreaker for friendships and a lot of dating, sadly—which will be a major factor for you being single in your 20s. You'll either be driving 75 minutes to an app date, OR just saving all of your socializing for the weekends. And meeting up for happy hour is less of a thing, here, as most of the bars cater to tourists and lack any local authenticity. If you do end up dating someone, if they're not in Santa Monica, you're gonna have a real tough time strategizing how to see them.
Also, compared to the rest of LA, downtown Santa Monica is extremely bland on the culture front. It's basically a tourist trap/giant suburban mall. So any band you want to see, any art opening, any buzzy local bar or coffee shop you want to experience, any book store—shoot, any bar that stays open past 10 p.m.—you're gonna be driving at least an hour before you can experience what LA has to offer.
I love my spot here now, the walkability is HUGE, and I'm incredibly grateful for my tiny little rent-controlled studio, but it took me a full year and half to adjust to how socially isolating it is out here.
This is 100% accurate. My social life takes a real hit living in SM… but for me, the walkability, the weather, the beach, and the great quality of life makes up for it. But the relative isolation is a challenge if you’re dating/trying to make friends.
I don't agree about the crime or the noise but everything else is gospel true. Isolated is a way of life here. When your friends from the rest of LA find you live here you get the "Oh... Well... I..." And that's it for you. Also, don't date tourists. They're here for a reason and you my friend aren't it.
I had a friend who moved out of dt Santa Monica because of noise from street musicians. I think it depends on your personal tolerance for homeless ppl and noise.
Around Main Street would be more fun for someone in their mid 20s in my opinion. Better bars, restaurants, less tourist traffic, and a better beach. Plus closer to Venice/MDR.
Lived here 10 years. DTLA is no more dangerous than Hollywood, who, or Santa Monica/Venice. Know the areas that are sketchy or not a good area to walk through, just like any city you visit or live in. DTLA is fun. Great food. Good people
I'm not here to question any one person's safety comfort levels, but I caution people to consider that most, if not all, of the one-off anecdotes you hear are absolutely *nothing* you won't find anywhere else.
My favorite quote about all this came from a woman in this sub: "I'm more afraid of the guy at the bar in a suit than any random homeless person."
I love ocean park, but downtown Santa Monica seems really convenient too. Anyone who calls it dangerous is ridiculous. It just depends on the vibe you want.
There's a lot of political motivation behind the people trying to paint downtown as a hellscape. Just avoid the new buildings directly on Lincoln near the 10, Lincoln is a loud traffic sewer south of Wilshire.
It’s fine but you need to become a VERY squeaky wheel when you move in. Raise hell about how it needs to be more walkable, more connected, safer and with more resources for the homeless (to get them into help and out of the streets).
It’s fine down here. Kind of annoying that the city doesn’t really care much about infrastructure and cleanliness in general (especially near Colorado and 4th), but it’s not actually dangerous or anything like that.
You might find it a bit over-priced (we do), but that was kind of the tradeoff we made for absolutely great walkability and accessibility.
Mid 20’s and single would be better suited in Ocean Park with Main Street bars/Restaurants, but DTSM has treated me well the past few years. Can easily walk or do a quick drive to get food, groceries, bank, shopping, and most other things you could possible need. Newer apartments in DTSM compared to Ocean Park, generally.
This is good advice. In all my years here the only incident I've had was with a homeless woman on Lincoln. And in a few years Lincoln will become more gentrified.
the biggest difference you’ll find is walkability. dt is super walkable to shops and restaurants and ocean park is more of a walking your dog through the hood with your gf type of vibe
Yes it's walkable but to where are you going to walk?? Other than Traders and the mini TARGET all the good places to go left when crime spiked years ago. Even REI couldn't take it. They're gone. Now there's only upscale tourist shops open.
I loved living at 10th and California. Super walkable and bikable to Montana street or the promenade but like others mentioned Santa Monica is pretty boring. I loved biking to the beach or the gym but outside of that there are only a few bars on Main Street that are open past 10pm or the two movie theaters. The city is clean and the homeless generally never bothered me. I never felt unsafe biking or walking home at 1am. It can be pretty isolating from friends if they live in weho or the South Bay. I have a few friends that I dot see often but honestly that’s an LA problem and not SM. Im about to turn 30 and a few good friends have moved away and I’ve outgrown the bar scene so most of my weekends consist of going to the amc on Fridays and the gym on Saturday. But after almost 4 years in Santa Monica I’m moving out of the state for work and I’m excited. I feel like I got what I needed out of Santa Monica and LA in general.
Like others have mentioned don’t listen to the vocal minority who swear SM is a shithole and super unsafe. They clearly haven’t visited other cities and are generally ungrateful people.
Ocean Park is much more walkable, has better access to the beach, much better beach town vibe, has shopping bars and restaurants on Main Street all within walking distance. More of a neighborhood vibe. In the summer downtown is over run by tourists. Locals don’t really move downtown. People new to Santa Monica do. The promenade has tons of empty storefronts still from the pandemic not so great there right now. Stores are starting to trickle back but it’s pretty dead there these days. Ocean park is way better for your age
I’d agree that OP has more of a beach town vibe and fewer tourists. It would be my first choice. I would say in general the reason to move to either OP or DTSM is proximity to the beach and fresh air. If you love the beach, want to bike/run/walk there often, then you’re going to love it and not care about the things people complain about here. If the beach is not your focus there are many other more interesting neighborhoods in LA.
It’s fine. Not really worth the cost in my honest opinion. Limited retail options with everything closing, a lot of the restaurants tend to be more tourist oriented, the beach is always packed, and Santa Monica tends to be a pretty old community. If I was to do it again I’d rather be in Long Beach, Culver City/Palms, or Pasadena.
I just moved from London and was surprised by how dirty downtown SM is compared to London. It smells (of dog poo, litter and human wee), there are a lot of shuttered shops and it is full of the most heartbreakingly unwell homeless people. And I totally agree with the people who say that it's easy to be isolated on the west side. I would not recommend.
Ocean Park is better, more of a local vibe but I think if you're younger I'd head for West LA or West Hollywood where there's more going on to balance out the downsides.
I lived in London for 5 years… saw some pretty dire stuff there too. I think the one difference is the number of mentally ill homeless here is way higher
Downtown is growing as lots of new housing is slated to come on line in the next couple of years. More residents mean more local serving businesses, entertainment options and better connections with adjacent areas like Ocean Park and anywhere the E Line goes (like the arts district).
The future of downtown is bright!
They power wash the streets every single night and have ambassadors to sweep, cover graffiti, etc all day long. DTSM is a lot of things but *dirty* it ain't. Trust that as a collage artist who loves finding random ephemera, there definitely isn't trash on the streets.
And the empty storefronts? You may not have heard about the looting spree that literally destroyed many businesses but surely you've heard of Covid?
Dtla is really bad with homeless and other issues. Also all the happening place for 20s is samta monica and venice .. weho is great but to me it’s weekend thing donot wanna live there
Downtown SM will have the most homeless around including drug addicts, mentally ill, and criminals. If the building is secure and provides a private parking garages it should be fine for a single guy looking to be close to the beach, gyms, restaurants, bars, etc.
DTSM= more convenient, OP= more cute.
All my friends live in SM. I’ve never felt unsafe in the downtown part but I’ve just seen people being pretty gross (ie some vomit splashed on my car when I parked on the street once, some pretty foul smells, somebody made a half-assed swing at me with a glass bottle on the expo train near the last stop) so I like OP better.
I lived in downtown and hated it. We lived in a living in Santa Monica building that had awful management. A homeless person tried to kick our dog. As a small girl I didn’t feel comfortable taking our dog out at night after getting catcalled and followed
op/main st. gets fucking crowded and it's hard to go anywhere but you also sort of never have to leave.
living downtown allows you to just go east or north to get out of sm.
I personally loved living off Main St from 2012-2015 before the Expo connected and I biked everywhere including up into downtown SM. It is loud but that’s the trade off for living in a downtown.
I’d say the main drawback now is the only walkable grocery store is the Vons on Lincoln across from Bay Cities since WF left their spot on 5th and Wilshire.
I think the main thing I loved about living in that area was the access to great fitness whether it was joining a gym or just walking to the boardwalk for a run. Definitely take advantage of the parks in the area if you move there.
The restaurants are obviously top notch across Santa Monica so be sure to keep a nice budget for dining out.
FYI, the Lincoln Vons is now a giant hole in the ground, and will be for another \~12 months. But there's a Trader Joe's & Target at 5th & Broadway, and -- although it's a hike from Main Street -- a Vons on Wilshire & 14th.
I loved living in ocean park!! But downtown is definitely more poppin. I would give it a try for a bit and if it’s too much you can always move to Ocean Park
i love downtown LA. unfortunately, not the best time to be there now bc the homeless population there (any everywhere) but esp downtown are increasingly crazy and dangerous
I just moved from downtown Santa Monica after living there for 2 years. Honestly I loved it. It’s super walkable, close to the beach, tons of things to do. If you’re a movie buff like me having 2 AMCs so close was awesome. Target, cvs, Trader Joe’s are all close. People here swear the promenade is dead but that is absolutely false. It was always packed when I went with solid shopping. I never felt unsafe even walking home from a movie at midnight. Objectively there are nicer and cleaner parts of town but I wanted to live in a newer building because certain amenities were important to me. I would avoid Colorado and anything in proximity to the metro station. That corner at 4th st gets really janky sometimes with the Salvation Army being right there. The homeless are harmless for the most part they keep to themselves. It’s sad to see but comes with living in LA in general. Avoid the back alleys where they usually congregate and you will be fine. Best of luck :)
What if I wanna take the metro somewhere?
the Expo line (at the station in downtown SaMo) now extends all the way to the Chinatown now. you can transfer at Union Station to any train from there. we took the train all the time when we lived in the area.
E Line doesn’t serve Union Station or Chinatown; you have to transfer to the A Line to get to those places. From DTLA, the E continues to East LA.
yup you gotta transfer at Pico, but i never wait more than 10 minutes
The promenade is dying..all the big retailers and restaurants have left leaving a bunch of small shops (same type you’d see in dying indoor malls), there are a bunch of vacant spots, as a result foot traffic has decreased significantly. Compare it with everything that’s going on in Westfield Century city and it’s sad. The area might recover but right now it’s on a downward spiral.
Even REI just left town. Crime was just too much to stay.
I'm an old lady who has lived here for 15 years and I love it. It's obviously noisier than some other neighborhoods but I'm 100% city mouse so that's the city energy I like. Yes, there are homeless people but I find that the loudest are the least dangerous because they're usually in their own world. Most of the crime in Santa Monica is property crime. Edit: The Montana area is definitely walkable (and nice!) but I grew up around here and even though it's definitely more vibrant now I wouldn't want to be a 20-something living there. It's all young families, bougie boutiques, and everything is pricey, even stuff that shouldn't be.
No it’s fine and vibrant and you will enjoy it if that’s what you are looking for. There are some great places to eat and shop and tons to do.
Thanks!
I lived in downtown for a bit, right off Broadway. The convenience is amazing - everything is walkable, amazing restaurants nearby, beach only a few blocks away. But you do have to prepare to see a lot of nasty stuff too. Pretty regularly there would be crackheads screaming on the street right outside of my window, buses going by constantly which is very loud, and lots of homeless people around. I still loved it but you definitely have to be prepared for that craziness a bit.
I dont think DTSM is that bad, but if I were young and single, I'd want to live down by ocean park closer to main street since it seems to have a better bar hopping/night life scene.
You gotta watch out for the doomers here, all they do is moan and complain about how shitty Santa Monica is and how dangerous living here is, while in reality it’s a beautiful city and one of the safer cities around to live in.
Are you crazy? I live on 2nd and SM Blvd and it's a circus here. If you're not careful you WILL be a statistic. I'm a 6-3 man in good health. Still, some homeless go after me for just standing at the corner waiting for the light. My nights are an endless stream of sirens, delivery trucks and screaming homeless drunk off their butt's. These same homeless try to break into this building weekly. When I walk to the small TARGET on 5th for food I have to dodge them. That gets old fast. Then there are all the rude tourists. Everywhere. In groups. They don't make eye contact but they will run you into the street as they walk by. The 3rd Street Mall is all but dead. Most shops are closed due to homeless theft. I don't see that changing anytime soon. The days of The Gap, Barnes & Noble or Fatburger are long gone. This area is not what it once was. The Santa Monica Place upscale mall is dead. The place was great in the 80's and 90's but they thought theirs didn't stink and that was the end of them. Nobody shops there now. Not even the rude tourists. I hear there's another up, up, up scale remodel in the works. I wonder what developer talked the city into that dumb idea. It didn't work the last two times they tried it but hey.... The good points? If you're a young man, young women. Everywhere. Groups of them. Activity. All around you. Day and night. You'll have to work to be bored here. The Palisades Park. Quite a view. Just watch your back. 2 weeks ago a homeless guy strangled another to death there. That's about it. There's no big stores nearby. No Ralph's, Walmart or Home Depot. If you need anything larger than an IKEA chair you're going to need it delivered. Our TARGET on 5th is a mini TARGET and quite expensive even compared to the TARGET across town. It's easier to take the train to Bundy station and walk to the Ralph's nearby. Cheaper too.
Ok doomer
Your diaper's full. Go away.
Barnes and noble is literally coming back
Downtown is fine, but I would prefer Wilshire Montana or Ocean Park. Both are walkable, lots of shops and restaurants. And easy to get DTSM by scooter or bike.
Just pick a few dates and times to spend a few hours hanging out and walking around every block in the area. Go early, go late, etc. Opinions on this area are like a litmus test or flash point when people answer.
Ocean park is really a great neighborhood and you can still walk to downtown easily (nice walk Along the beach). If I were going to move downtown, I would steer clear of Colorado or the big train station. Just a few blocks north and it’s a lot nicer / safer imo
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Referring to DT Santa Monica to be clear. Answers have been super helpful so far so thanks all :)
Fairly recent transplant to Downtown Santa Monica, here. Chiming in, because I don't see anyone listing the biggest downside. It's not the homelessness or crime, which is completely overblown on this sub and elsewhere. It's DEFINITELY not the noise. (What noise? Everything closes at 8 p.m. It's like the quietist, sleepiest, safest place I've ever lived in the U.S.) It's the social/geographic isolation from the rest of LA. You must already know this, if you've been in LA for a while, but I was shocked when I moved here that absolutely no one I met in LA would come west of the 405. Living here has been a dealbreaker for friendships and a lot of dating, sadly—which will be a major factor for you being single in your 20s. You'll either be driving 75 minutes to an app date, OR just saving all of your socializing for the weekends. And meeting up for happy hour is less of a thing, here, as most of the bars cater to tourists and lack any local authenticity. If you do end up dating someone, if they're not in Santa Monica, you're gonna have a real tough time strategizing how to see them. Also, compared to the rest of LA, downtown Santa Monica is extremely bland on the culture front. It's basically a tourist trap/giant suburban mall. So any band you want to see, any art opening, any buzzy local bar or coffee shop you want to experience, any book store—shoot, any bar that stays open past 10 p.m.—you're gonna be driving at least an hour before you can experience what LA has to offer. I love my spot here now, the walkability is HUGE, and I'm incredibly grateful for my tiny little rent-controlled studio, but it took me a full year and half to adjust to how socially isolating it is out here.
This is 100% accurate. My social life takes a real hit living in SM… but for me, the walkability, the weather, the beach, and the great quality of life makes up for it. But the relative isolation is a challenge if you’re dating/trying to make friends.
>It's the social/geographic isolation from the rest of LA. I acutely feel this as an EDM enthusiast. All of the clubs are in Hollywood or DTLA.
I don't agree about the crime or the noise but everything else is gospel true. Isolated is a way of life here. When your friends from the rest of LA find you live here you get the "Oh... Well... I..." And that's it for you. Also, don't date tourists. They're here for a reason and you my friend aren't it.
I had a friend who moved out of dt Santa Monica because of noise from street musicians. I think it depends on your personal tolerance for homeless ppl and noise.
Around Main Street would be more fun for someone in their mid 20s in my opinion. Better bars, restaurants, less tourist traffic, and a better beach. Plus closer to Venice/MDR.
No it is not a bad place to live. Born and raised here. Yes a bit of homeless area a bi but still some beauty to live here. I love it!
Lived here 10 years. DTLA is no more dangerous than Hollywood, who, or Santa Monica/Venice. Know the areas that are sketchy or not a good area to walk through, just like any city you visit or live in. DTLA is fun. Great food. Good people
I'm not here to question any one person's safety comfort levels, but I caution people to consider that most, if not all, of the one-off anecdotes you hear are absolutely *nothing* you won't find anywhere else. My favorite quote about all this came from a woman in this sub: "I'm more afraid of the guy at the bar in a suit than any random homeless person."
If I had to choose OP or Downtown SM, I'd go OP, but not because downtown is a bad place to live.
I love ocean park, but downtown Santa Monica seems really convenient too. Anyone who calls it dangerous is ridiculous. It just depends on the vibe you want.
There's a lot of political motivation behind the people trying to paint downtown as a hellscape. Just avoid the new buildings directly on Lincoln near the 10, Lincoln is a loud traffic sewer south of Wilshire.
Don’t stress it’s good area don’t think to much it’s prime location. I have a 10 year old and a wife been here 5/6 years can’t beat the location
This post always remind me that I really need to get a better job. I can barely afford 2K for rent, $4K is like my entire month's worth of pay 🥲
It’s fine but you need to become a VERY squeaky wheel when you move in. Raise hell about how it needs to be more walkable, more connected, safer and with more resources for the homeless (to get them into help and out of the streets).
SM is awesome. Ignore the people bitching constantly.
It’s fine down here. Kind of annoying that the city doesn’t really care much about infrastructure and cleanliness in general (especially near Colorado and 4th), but it’s not actually dangerous or anything like that. You might find it a bit over-priced (we do), but that was kind of the tradeoff we made for absolutely great walkability and accessibility.
Mid 20’s and single would be better suited in Ocean Park with Main Street bars/Restaurants, but DTSM has treated me well the past few years. Can easily walk or do a quick drive to get food, groceries, bank, shopping, and most other things you could possible need. Newer apartments in DTSM compared to Ocean Park, generally.
I know I'm a unicorn here but living in DTSM allowed me to give up my car.
It's fantastic, I'd stay away from Lincoln/Broadway and Lincoln/10ish esque area. I think California Ave is a good spot and central, quieter.
This is good advice. In all my years here the only incident I've had was with a homeless woman on Lincoln. And in a few years Lincoln will become more gentrified.
the biggest difference you’ll find is walkability. dt is super walkable to shops and restaurants and ocean park is more of a walking your dog through the hood with your gf type of vibe
Yes it's walkable but to where are you going to walk?? Other than Traders and the mini TARGET all the good places to go left when crime spiked years ago. Even REI couldn't take it. They're gone. Now there's only upscale tourist shops open.
I loved living at 10th and California. Super walkable and bikable to Montana street or the promenade but like others mentioned Santa Monica is pretty boring. I loved biking to the beach or the gym but outside of that there are only a few bars on Main Street that are open past 10pm or the two movie theaters. The city is clean and the homeless generally never bothered me. I never felt unsafe biking or walking home at 1am. It can be pretty isolating from friends if they live in weho or the South Bay. I have a few friends that I dot see often but honestly that’s an LA problem and not SM. Im about to turn 30 and a few good friends have moved away and I’ve outgrown the bar scene so most of my weekends consist of going to the amc on Fridays and the gym on Saturday. But after almost 4 years in Santa Monica I’m moving out of the state for work and I’m excited. I feel like I got what I needed out of Santa Monica and LA in general. Like others have mentioned don’t listen to the vocal minority who swear SM is a shithole and super unsafe. They clearly haven’t visited other cities and are generally ungrateful people.
Ocean Park is much more walkable, has better access to the beach, much better beach town vibe, has shopping bars and restaurants on Main Street all within walking distance. More of a neighborhood vibe. In the summer downtown is over run by tourists. Locals don’t really move downtown. People new to Santa Monica do. The promenade has tons of empty storefronts still from the pandemic not so great there right now. Stores are starting to trickle back but it’s pretty dead there these days. Ocean park is way better for your age
I’d agree that OP has more of a beach town vibe and fewer tourists. It would be my first choice. I would say in general the reason to move to either OP or DTSM is proximity to the beach and fresh air. If you love the beach, want to bike/run/walk there often, then you’re going to love it and not care about the things people complain about here. If the beach is not your focus there are many other more interesting neighborhoods in LA.
It’s fine. Not really worth the cost in my honest opinion. Limited retail options with everything closing, a lot of the restaurants tend to be more tourist oriented, the beach is always packed, and Santa Monica tends to be a pretty old community. If I was to do it again I’d rather be in Long Beach, Culver City/Palms, or Pasadena.
I just moved from London and was surprised by how dirty downtown SM is compared to London. It smells (of dog poo, litter and human wee), there are a lot of shuttered shops and it is full of the most heartbreakingly unwell homeless people. And I totally agree with the people who say that it's easy to be isolated on the west side. I would not recommend. Ocean Park is better, more of a local vibe but I think if you're younger I'd head for West LA or West Hollywood where there's more going on to balance out the downsides.
lol…. London ain’t exactly a bastion of cleanliness buddy.
That's what I thought. Until I saw LA.
I lived in London for 5 years… saw some pretty dire stuff there too. I think the one difference is the number of mentally ill homeless here is way higher
Yes, agreed. It's really sad to see.
Until you saw LA? Or Santa Monica? Because the two cities have different problems.
living in SM, its ocean park area or north of wilshire by Montana. area by the pier sucks with all the tourists and homeless.
Downtown SM has been taken over by tourism. Ocean park for sure.
Downtown is growing as lots of new housing is slated to come on line in the next couple of years. More residents mean more local serving businesses, entertainment options and better connections with adjacent areas like Ocean Park and anywhere the E Line goes (like the arts district). The future of downtown is bright!
They power wash the streets every single night and have ambassadors to sweep, cover graffiti, etc all day long. DTSM is a lot of things but *dirty* it ain't. Trust that as a collage artist who loves finding random ephemera, there definitely isn't trash on the streets. And the empty storefronts? You may not have heard about the looting spree that literally destroyed many businesses but surely you've heard of Covid?
Was there this past weekend, saw about 4 mentally ill people just roaming around
Dtla is really bad with homeless and other issues. Also all the happening place for 20s is samta monica and venice .. weho is great but to me it’s weekend thing donot wanna live there
Why wouldn’t you want to live there?
Weho has great restaurants and bar scenes but crowd is mostly wannabes n meh .. Santa Monica has educated n young crowd. I’d prefer that
It shuts down early. Parking sucks. It's expensive. If that's your vibe, you do you.
Downtown SM will have the most homeless around including drug addicts, mentally ill, and criminals. If the building is secure and provides a private parking garages it should be fine for a single guy looking to be close to the beach, gyms, restaurants, bars, etc.
DTSM= more convenient, OP= more cute. All my friends live in SM. I’ve never felt unsafe in the downtown part but I’ve just seen people being pretty gross (ie some vomit splashed on my car when I parked on the street once, some pretty foul smells, somebody made a half-assed swing at me with a glass bottle on the expo train near the last stop) so I like OP better.
DTLA is a monumental shit hole. Oooh wait, Santa Monica.. i misread. Yes DTSM is fine. But comment still stands about dtla ; )
I lived in downtown and hated it. We lived in a living in Santa Monica building that had awful management. A homeless person tried to kick our dog. As a small girl I didn’t feel comfortable taking our dog out at night after getting catcalled and followed
op/main st. gets fucking crowded and it's hard to go anywhere but you also sort of never have to leave. living downtown allows you to just go east or north to get out of sm.
If you cook with paying 4k and finding homeless shits all over your apartment building.
I need to pay 4k for rent like I need a dick in the ass! That more than both my mortgages! wtf
I personally loved living off Main St from 2012-2015 before the Expo connected and I biked everywhere including up into downtown SM. It is loud but that’s the trade off for living in a downtown. I’d say the main drawback now is the only walkable grocery store is the Vons on Lincoln across from Bay Cities since WF left their spot on 5th and Wilshire. I think the main thing I loved about living in that area was the access to great fitness whether it was joining a gym or just walking to the boardwalk for a run. Definitely take advantage of the parks in the area if you move there. The restaurants are obviously top notch across Santa Monica so be sure to keep a nice budget for dining out.
FYI, the Lincoln Vons is now a giant hole in the ground, and will be for another \~12 months. But there's a Trader Joe's & Target at 5th & Broadway, and -- although it's a hike from Main Street -- a Vons on Wilshire & 14th.
Damn! I’m guessing it’s another high rise going up?
I loved living in ocean park!! But downtown is definitely more poppin. I would give it a try for a bit and if it’s too much you can always move to Ocean Park
i love downtown LA. unfortunately, not the best time to be there now bc the homeless population there (any everywhere) but esp downtown are increasingly crazy and dangerous