"Westsiiiiiide!" a Santa Monica Travel Page by giampiero6

Santa Monica, part of the greater metro area is a small city that lies on the Westside along the coast between Venice and Malibu. It's a pretty leisurely and upscale kind of place and I highly recommend that anyone coming to stay in LA stay in Santa Monica if you can afford it. It's not only cool and relatively smog free in summer, but pleasant in the winter and features some nice pedestrian areas that are a boon in car addicted LA.

I have lived and worked in many various parts of LA, but I would never want to live more than a stones' throw from the ocean again. Yes, Santa Monica is relatively expensive, but I am happy to spend a little more on housing to be here and save a little in other areas. It's worth it. The cool air, fresh breeze, ocean walks, nice casual spots to hang out make it such that venturing to other areas (my friend says East of Lincoln Blvd. ) seems like a hassle.

If you visit LA, I HIGHLY recommend that you stay on the Westside in Santa Monica, Venice, Marina, Malibu etc. I get very irritated if I have to go inland too much except for occasional outings. I mean let's face it, Hollywood sucks, most of LA is ugly and unimpressive and the only reason to come here is to hang out at the beach, relax, see freaks etc. Thus, why hang anywhere else. There's the beach, plenty of places to go eat and drink. Trust me on this!