Santa Monica

Santa Monica is a lovely community west of downtown Los Angeles. The famous Santa Monica Pier is home to the Pacific Park amusement park, historic Looff Hippodrome Carousel and Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. Next to the pier is Muscle Beach, an outdoor gym established in the 1930s.

Santa Monica offers an environment of unparalleled natural beauty. The city is home to a mix of residential communities, commercial districts, and recreational venues. Recently named by National Geographic as one of the Top "10 Beach Cities in the World" and by TIME as one of the "Best Places to Live", Santa Monica features three miles of Pacific beaches and the Santa Monica Pier. With a residential population of approximately 93,000, total population increases to an estimated 250,000 during the day with tourists, shoppers, and employees. Tourism attracts over 8 million visitors annually.

The highly-rated Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District serves both Santa Monica and Malibu residents. Santa Monica College (SMC), one of the state's top two-year community colleges, serves over 30,000 full-time and part-time students on several campuses and offers more than 90 fields of study. Santa Monica's strong education institutions are complemented by the 5-star rated Santa Monica Public Library system.

Marina del Rey

The coastal community of Marina del Rey, California, is located in the center of Los Angeles’ Westside between Venice Beach and Playa del Rey, 4 miles north of Los Angeles International Airport. It is considered one of the “Silicon Beach neighborhoods”, home to more than 500 technology companies.

Shopping opportunities are extensive, including the Fisherman's Village, a waterfront mall and commercial boat anchorage, the Waterside, Marina del Rey Mall, an open-air mall with upscale chain stores & services, health food eateries & a supermarket, and the Villa Marina Marketplace Mall, another open-air mall featuring well-known chain retailers, restaurants, a supermarket & movie theater.

Public safety services are provided by the Los Angeles Police Department. Utilities are provided by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, AT&T Telephone, Frontier Cable, and Southern California Gas Company. Public education is provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Playa Vista

Playa Vista is a neighborhood located in the Westside of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States, north of LAX. Prior to the development of Playa Vista, the area was the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft Companyfrom 1941 to 1985, and was the site of the construction of the Hughes H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose” aircraft.

The area began development in 2002 as a planned community with residential, commercial, and retail components. The community has become a choice address for businesses in technology, media and entertainment and, along with Santa Monica and Venice, has become known as Silicon Beach. – Source Wikipedia

Playa del Rey

Marina del Rey’s southern neighbor, Playa del Rey is a small, quiet community with a broad, low-key beach and a smattering of cafes, taverns, and boutiques nearby.

The stretch of sand is technically part of Dockweiler State Beach, but this section is comparatively sleepy, perfect for those days when you want nothing but the sound of crashing waves to lull you into a midday nap in the sunshine.

Playa del Rey is easily accessible from the Marina via the Marvin Braude Coastal Bike Trail.

 

Venice Beach

On Santa Monica’s south side, Venice Beach was developed as a beach resort that paid homage to its Italian namesake with canals, piazzas, pedestrian bridges, a lagoon, and a colonnaded business district.

Venice is known for events on its boardwalk, where mimes, jugglers, musicians, and street performers of all kinds inhabit an ever-changing and unforgettable bohemian subculture.

Stop by the outdoor weight room at Muscle Beach Gym, once the home turf of bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who later went on to become California’s governor.

On Venice’s south side, boho-chic Abbot Kinney Boulevard contains a mile-long stretch of high-end restaurants, posh galleries, and edgy boutiques selling furnishings and fashions.