The sprawling and intimidating Los Angeles, American capital of cinema and movie stars, is actually made up of neighborhoods and small towns with their own identities.
Among them, the neighborhood of the stars in Beverly Hills and Malibu, the stunning ocean views from Manhattan Beach and Pacific Palisades, and a life in the heart of the action in Venice Beach and Santa Monica.
Beverly Hills
A global center of movie stars from the 20s, Beverly Hills has built a reputation as a luxurious and privileged life, where tranquility is infused with the daily meetings with star-struck tour buses. This part of the "Golden Triangle" that accompanies Bel Air and Holmby Hills, is known all over the world for Rodeo Drive, the street filled with chic boutiques, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the Greystone Mansion seen in many movies, and the famous Beverly Hills Hotel.
In its most remote streets, ultra-modern individual properties, gigantic mansions hidden behind high gates and residential areas with manicured gardens border the immaculate streets, lined by palm trees as thin as their inhabitants. Beverly Hills is also proud of its school, the Beverly Hills High School, which has hosted studious students since 1928.
Beverly Hill is for you if ...
- You are looking for a neighborhood where the land is worth more than gold
- To you, happiness in a few words is: "luxury, calm, and palm trees"
- 9.0.2.1.0 are your favorite set of digits
Malibu
Also, (more?) known than Beverly Hills, Malibu is equally a destination of choice for movie stars and celebrities that live along its 27 miles ocean shore, but also in the hills that kiss the deep blue sky. The magnificent properties, often modern and spacious, are hidden in the slopes or oceanfront along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH for locals).
The surfing capital of the United States attracts both tourists and locals to its beautiful sandy beaches, often accessed by small, steep and secret paths. In the city, students in primary and secondary public schools are delighted to search for them after class, like the youth of the excellent Pepperdine University, which recognizes the least hard-working students by … their tan.
Head Malibu’s direction if ...
- You want to live in a small town that has everything at large
- Like tranquility close to major access roads, and
- Grab your board every morning, and not the one to iron
Pacific Palisades
The city perched east of Los Angeles dominates Santa Monica in the east is bordered by Malibu to the west, also bordering the ocean to the south. You will like Pacific Palisades for its strictly residential side, with large villas and smaller private homes (because it’s generally very old), modern condos and apartments, which overlook quiet and spotless streets. Here, everything is tranquil.
The city center, The Village, is generally frequented by foot traffic and lined with delicious restaurants and charming shops. Around Via Mesa and Huntington Palisades, neighborhoods have impressive views of the Pacific Ocean, and The North Village, where the narrow streets hide individual houses of charm. Children are included in the Los Angeles Unified School District, but may also equally include one of the public schools in the city, or one of the great private institutions, the Lycée Français of Los Angeles, which has a campus in Pacific Palisades.
You will enjoy living in Pacific Palisades if ...
- You like the calm, and
- You like the fresh air
- You like the calm, after some fresh air
Manhattan Beach
It was a field of sand dunes just a few years ago, now Manhattan Beach has become a neighborhood where the price per square meter is one of the highest in the entire United States. Its superb beach attracts both locals and tourists, and its center, "Downtown Manhattan Beach," has blossomed with restaurants, designer boutiques, as well as big-brands stores.
Manhattan Beach also loves children, integrating some of the most excellent schools in the city, including the very (very) impressive high school Mira Costa High School (in the top 1% of high schools in the country), Grandview Elementary and Meadows Elementary. The Manhattan Beach Unified School District is an addition to the top 6 of the best American school districts.
Manhattan Beach is for you if ...
- You like investing in the right place, 5 years before everyone else
- You are a child of the sea
- You love to feel like you’re on vacation all year round
Venice Beach - Santa Monica
Canals, European-style architecture, Venice Beach looks very similar to its Italian cousin, Venice, from which it derives its name. This area has hosted many artists whose inspiration was sometimes (often) powered by “obscure” substances and is now a city besieged by tourists, but mostly by celebrities and eccentric bohemians, settling in sublime houses with eclectic styles along the riveting canals. Its boardwalk stretched alongside the ocean, is known around the world just as well as a beach that’s always packed with surfers.
Stationed at the far end of the boardwalk, lies Santa Monica, a particularly unique neighbor of Venice. In a most meticulous style, its streets are lined with small buildings where many offices are installed, as well as its own alleyways and wisdom that contrast with a more bohemian style of Venice. A neighborhood that exploded in the late 80s now attracts families who place their children in one of the many public and private schools offered, and young professionals, drawn by its proximity to the sea and its economic dynamism.
- Choose Venice if Santa Monica is too wise for you
- Choose Santa Monica if Venice is too hectic for you
- Choose Venice or Santa Monica if you want to live in Los Angeles, without living in Los Angeles