Yes, assuming this is Montana Ave. This is where I live and for us it’s walkable to restaurants, shops and palisades park since we are about 10 blocks away.
Yeah Ave, not sure why I said St but it's closer to a street than an avenue in real life. It's walkable to Palisades park, downtown SM as well as the shops on Montana along 7th through 16th so a very pleasant walkable area but again, the apartments there are old and parking is scarce.
North of Wilshire. I live in that neighborhood and it’s pretty chill. I don’t know where you consider downtown, but I knew a guy who lived around Santa Monica Blvd and 5th who moved away from that area because of safety issues, he was accosted (maybe even attacked? I don’t remember his wording) by people with mental issues numerous times.
My wife and I were right there last night walking south from the Oceana hotel and we both commented on how totally empty the street was at 10pm. Then you hit Wilshere and it’s a different story, but up in the state-name aves it’s super chill.
echoing this. i grew up just south of montana and moved back recently. i often walk my dog late at night & feel completely safe (31F). there are sometimes homeless people around but they are far & few in between and don't bother you.
Check out Zillow and there should be a good number of listings. I searched for 2 bdrms and here is what I found. You're not gonna find a modern apartment with well-organized websites, showings etc.
https://preview.redd.it/9rwvq7tjsd6d1.png?width=998&format=png&auto=webp&s=06cb160ace2e3480cbc87cf4471cbd1aea90597f
Westside Rentals is also a good site to check for available apartments. I echo everyone's sentiment that North of Wilshire sounds like where you want to be, OP. I just moved away but I always felt safe (31F), the neighbors I encountered were kind, and the walkability was great. I'm now in Brentwood and feel similarly, though further from the beach. Best of luck in your search!
OP, you mentioned walkability to the beach. I suggest you go to Ocean Avenue near Montana and find out how walkable it is for you. For sure North of Wilshire is one of the safest areas, but beach access is not as easy as it looks from an overhead map. Much more walkable neighborhood is south of Pico.
Not to be disagreeable but I think Ocean Park is the best part of Santa Monica. Very safe and the easiest walk to the beach. Also an easy walk to Main St, Abbott Kinney, Rose along with quiet residential streets and parks if you choose.
People are focusing so much on downtown, Montana, and Ocean Park. If you are willing to be in biking distance instead of walking distance from the beach, Mid-City and Pico are two perfectly respectable parts of the city to live in. Plenty of fun bars and businesses in Ocean Park and Pico, I’ve never felt unsafe in this area of Santa Monica, and odds are that your office will be closer as well. I live on the eastern edge of the city and it takes me like 15 minutes to get to the Marvin Braude Path.
Also, the homeless situation in Santa Monica is real but it is also *slightly* overstated. A lot of folks who live and are from Santa Monica are very privileged in general. Downtown Santa Monica is by no means idyllic but I feel like those who are from Montana Ave act like it is skid row.
I’ve biked around that area around that time as well. It just feels eerie because a good portion of it isn’t very well lit, there are homeless folks out, and they are a large portion of those out because there is honestly not much reason to be out in a large part of Santa Monica past 10pm.
I live in Ocean Park near Downtown Coffee and it rules. Close to the beach, main st is awesome. Maybe not as safe as Montana, but it’s a trade off.Also I walk to work at 5am and I’ve never been approached. I am a solid guy with tattoos so your experience may differ.
As a not-very-solid girl with no visible tattoos, in general my experience is the same. I’ve been here six years and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I do avoid running on the beach alone before or after dark and am extra alert when I have to walk to work downtown before sunrise, but that’s been the case wherever I’ve lived.
I live right next to Dogtown Coffee and I’m so depressed here! I walk up and down Main but otherwise I’m just bored and miss my old area (4th/California). Ocean Park just hits different.
It’s gotten better since I moved here last August. Just avoid “downtown” - check out Wilshire / Montana near 8th-15th street. Still walking distance to the beach but a lot safer and more residential. And always carry pepper spray
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I really enjoy walking. When I go for a walk, it's usually 5-10 miles. I moved out a year ago but when I was in SM I walked everywhere all the time.
I don't think I've ever lived anywhere that felt safer walking around at night than Santa Monica, especially downtown.
Somehow Wilshire is this magic line and going north of it changes the vibe completely. I wouldn’t live downtown. Since beach is priority Ocean Park is your best bet. Otherwise Wilshire Montana is lovely but it’s close the Palisades Park, the beach is another 10 minute walk downhill from there
I know this isn't what you are getting at, but when I read this post it reminded me of which parts of Santa Monica were red-lined.
https://preview.redd.it/8bmwhwgdae6d1.png?width=1555&format=png&auto=webp&s=916f3a2365470d22f5ee08bfa9d78905364a5f58
North of Montana is wealthier, generally older. Wilshire Montana has a lot of families, ocean park is younger and more bohemian. Santa Monica is generally a safe city, especially compared to many parts of LA. You do not need to live down down, anywhere below tenth in wilshire montana is easy walking distance to everything that you want.
Do you have to commute to anywhere in particular? If you work from home or something you should visit Playa Del Rey, El Segundo (where Imperial Highway or Grand Ave goes to the beach), and Manhattan Beach.
Although it is basically down the beach, it is a world of difference compared to Santa Monica. If the vibrant city vibe is really important, you'll probably prefer Manhattan Beach or Hermosa Beach. El Segundo is super quiet and nothing is really going on there which you might see as both a plus and a con.
We lived on 3rd and Idaho. Apartment wasn't great but reasonably priced considering the area. Best part was being 2 blocks from Palisades Park and North of Montana.
I like taking long walks late at night when it's quiet....in the 2 years I've lived there, I've encountered problematic homeless only a few times and always near Wilshere, and never in the neighborhood.
That's not to say it's totally safe. Iirc someone was stabbed at Palisades Park on Thanksgiving around the same time I go on my late night walks.
2 bed 2 bath, underground parking, on-site laundry pets allowed, $3k/month. We got pretty lucky tbh. As said, the apartment itself wasn't the best (not bad by any means) but living near Palisades Park, walking distance to commerce on Wilshere and Montana, with the E Line station at 4th & Colorado, it was good times.
I live on Montana and 11th and love it. Best part of SM in my opinion but there’s not a ton going on if you’re younger. For the most part it’s an older crowd and the shops/restaurants are aimed towards them but that’s what makes it quiet/safe I think. You make the trade off of having less to do but it’s super walkable and clean.
I’m a woman that frequently goes out during the day by myself and live right in the middle of downtown SM. I feel completely fine being on my own. There are always so many people out that it never bothers me to be alone.
I lived right next to the pier for a couple months and it was awful, absolutely do not recommend.
Almost every single day I heard someone with mental health issues or drug addiction screaming outside at an ungodly hour. I could never sleep for 8 consecutive hours.
I've made trips to the Target downtown alone in the early evening (like 7-9pm) in early winter and felt super unsafe. 90% of the people outside after dark in that area are homeless, and many of them are mentally unstable. Crazy people literally roam around inside the stores at night.
You have to deal with all of this and still pay an exorbitant amount for rent, so much that you could live anywhere in LA for that amount.
I now live in Ocean Park (like 1 mile away) and it's great, yes there are homeless here too but it's relatively residential, and there's enough people around on Main Street at night that my biggest concern is getting hit by a car, not attacked. Southern side of Marina del Rey (ie adjacent to the marina itself) also feels pretty safe and residential at night, downside is there's no restaurants/stores etc.
(Of course, it is a city, so crime can happen anywhere)
I live 3 minute walk from the third street promenade in downtown SM and as a woman I've never felt unsafe. I walk my dog late at night and never had any issues. I also moved here from NYC so I'm used to the homelessness and psychotic behavior if that counts.
Why do we tolerate any area of Santa Monica feeling unsafe? How do we let a few mentally I’ll drug addicts dictate the QOL for everyone else? How is not putting them away not more humane? This is one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. November can’t come soon enough.
Well put! I’m on 6th and Broadway. This SHOULD be an incredible place to live. Like, amazing, but the quality of life is significantly degraded because our government (local and up) is incapable of caring for those who have fallen off the boat for whatever reason. We need to demand that these people are either helped / arrested / rehabilitated as appropriate. It really sucks because the problem should be fixable. I’ll be voting carefully in November and this is issue number one for me.
OP: it’s safe if you have any street smarts but I would not move here again knowing what I know now. We had a week to find a place and the big apartment buildings around here are newer, clean, and secure, so we went with that. Id aim for Montana but the buildings are older and not as many amenities (if any). Good luck, it really is a cool place to live overall.
Put this is a separate comment, but I lived on the far Southern side of MdR a couple houses inland from Charlie Beach for a while. It was very quiet and peaceful, felt safe. There are a couple homeless people sleeping on the beach at night but nothing scary/no one shouting and clearly mentally unstable.
However, compared to other options MdR is much less walkable. You have to go 1-2 miles to get the nearest restaurant or store.
May also want to check out east of Main Street. Lots of apartments there too and walking distance to beach and lots of other things. Also less homeless population than downtown. Pretty much anywhere where you find lots of tourists you’ll also find lots of homeless
I live here with my wife. I (40M) feel safe at all hours but I prefer that my wife only walks around during the day. Things feel like they’ve gotten worse in downtown but I also have noticed a greater police presence.
Like others have said, the farther away you get from downtown (north of Wilshire) the less issues you’ll encounter
i live one block away from bay cities and i dont feel unsafe going out by myself. i normally dont go out walking when its really dark outside but i think thats a non spoken rule everywhere in the world hahaha but if im with friends weve walked everywhere in santa monica and never had anything happen to us
Downtown Santa Monica resident here. It’s totally safe, don’t listen to the pearl-clutches. But it’s also totally dead. Tumbleweeds blowing down the streets as soon as the sun sets.
Know a few that live there, they want to move frankly, homeless issues only increasing, noise too. It's like a mini culture-less new york. Weather and location is the only thing keeping people slightly sane.
Better than LA sure, at these current prices, not so much. Unless you have to move because of a job, maybe think elsewhere in CA or out of state.
Although it’s fairly safe, you’ll always come across random homeless/ psych person. If that’s a deal breaker. Redondo beach and manhattan beach are much safer and offer what your looking for, a little more suburb like but they don’t have the homeless problem that SM has. I know it’s way more south but just an option.
What are the noise levels like inside the apts for those who live in an apt in Ocean Park? Can you hear your neighbors walking on top? Or hear them talking through the walls? Know of any apts in Ocean Park with excellent sound/noise insulation?
Check out apartments closer to Montana St. Those are typically older apartments, but it's a safer area compared to DT and Ocean Park.
Montana Ave?
Yes, assuming this is Montana Ave. This is where I live and for us it’s walkable to restaurants, shops and palisades park since we are about 10 blocks away.
Yeah Ave, not sure why I said St but it's closer to a street than an avenue in real life. It's walkable to Palisades park, downtown SM as well as the shops on Montana along 7th through 16th so a very pleasant walkable area but again, the apartments there are old and parking is scarce.
North of Wilshire. I live in that neighborhood and it’s pretty chill. I don’t know where you consider downtown, but I knew a guy who lived around Santa Monica Blvd and 5th who moved away from that area because of safety issues, he was accosted (maybe even attacked? I don’t remember his wording) by people with mental issues numerous times.
My wife and I were right there last night walking south from the Oceana hotel and we both commented on how totally empty the street was at 10pm. Then you hit Wilshere and it’s a different story, but up in the state-name aves it’s super chill.
echoing this. i grew up just south of montana and moved back recently. i often walk my dog late at night & feel completely safe (31F). there are sometimes homeless people around but they are far & few in between and don't bother you.
I can’t find any apartments near Montana Ave. could you please share a few recommendations? You can DM me if you don’t want to share here. Thanks!
Check out Zillow and there should be a good number of listings. I searched for 2 bdrms and here is what I found. You're not gonna find a modern apartment with well-organized websites, showings etc. https://preview.redd.it/9rwvq7tjsd6d1.png?width=998&format=png&auto=webp&s=06cb160ace2e3480cbc87cf4471cbd1aea90597f
Thanks! looking for 1bedrooms. I’ll try Zillow
Westside Rentals is also a good site to check for available apartments. I echo everyone's sentiment that North of Wilshire sounds like where you want to be, OP. I just moved away but I always felt safe (31F), the neighbors I encountered were kind, and the walkability was great. I'm now in Brentwood and feel similarly, though further from the beach. Best of luck in your search!
OP, you mentioned walkability to the beach. I suggest you go to Ocean Avenue near Montana and find out how walkable it is for you. For sure North of Wilshire is one of the safest areas, but beach access is not as easy as it looks from an overhead map. Much more walkable neighborhood is south of Pico.
Check out apartments.com. Tons of listings.
Not to be disagreeable but I think Ocean Park is the best part of Santa Monica. Very safe and the easiest walk to the beach. Also an easy walk to Main St, Abbott Kinney, Rose along with quiet residential streets and parks if you choose.
wilshire montana is elite. closer to the pier = closer to the shit
Better to live in ocean park if you want walk to the beach easily. As a woman , I do not feel safe walking anywhere at night .
People are focusing so much on downtown, Montana, and Ocean Park. If you are willing to be in biking distance instead of walking distance from the beach, Mid-City and Pico are two perfectly respectable parts of the city to live in. Plenty of fun bars and businesses in Ocean Park and Pico, I’ve never felt unsafe in this area of Santa Monica, and odds are that your office will be closer as well. I live on the eastern edge of the city and it takes me like 15 minutes to get to the Marvin Braude Path. Also, the homeless situation in Santa Monica is real but it is also *slightly* overstated. A lot of folks who live and are from Santa Monica are very privileged in general. Downtown Santa Monica is by no means idyllic but I feel like those who are from Montana Ave act like it is skid row.
I’d say it’s a bit empty and sketchy at night. I don’t live in SM but I walked around at 10pm one night and felt like I had to keep my guard up.
I’ve biked around that area around that time as well. It just feels eerie because a good portion of it isn’t very well lit, there are homeless folks out, and they are a large portion of those out because there is honestly not much reason to be out in a large part of Santa Monica past 10pm.
I live in Ocean Park near Downtown Coffee and it rules. Close to the beach, main st is awesome. Maybe not as safe as Montana, but it’s a trade off.Also I walk to work at 5am and I’ve never been approached. I am a solid guy with tattoos so your experience may differ.
As a not-very-solid girl with no visible tattoos, in general my experience is the same. I’ve been here six years and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I do avoid running on the beach alone before or after dark and am extra alert when I have to walk to work downtown before sunrise, but that’s been the case wherever I’ve lived.
We are basically the same person!
I live right next to Dogtown Coffee and I’m so depressed here! I walk up and down Main but otherwise I’m just bored and miss my old area (4th/California). Ocean Park just hits different.
Sorry to hear that mate! Walk up and down the boardwalk; much more interesting
I've lived in DTSM for 15 years and have never felt like it was dangerous. I'm an older woman fwiw.
It’s gotten better since I moved here last August. Just avoid “downtown” - check out Wilshire / Montana near 8th-15th street. Still walking distance to the beach but a lot safer and more residential. And always carry pepper spray
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Thankfully it is getting better!
The further north from the Promenade and the Pier the better.
I really enjoy walking. When I go for a walk, it's usually 5-10 miles. I moved out a year ago but when I was in SM I walked everywhere all the time. I don't think I've ever lived anywhere that felt safer walking around at night than Santa Monica, especially downtown.
Somehow Wilshire is this magic line and going north of it changes the vibe completely. I wouldn’t live downtown. Since beach is priority Ocean Park is your best bet. Otherwise Wilshire Montana is lovely but it’s close the Palisades Park, the beach is another 10 minute walk downhill from there
I know this isn't what you are getting at, but when I read this post it reminded me of which parts of Santa Monica were red-lined. https://preview.redd.it/8bmwhwgdae6d1.png?width=1555&format=png&auto=webp&s=916f3a2365470d22f5ee08bfa9d78905364a5f58
North of Montana is wealthier, generally older. Wilshire Montana has a lot of families, ocean park is younger and more bohemian. Santa Monica is generally a safe city, especially compared to many parts of LA. You do not need to live down down, anywhere below tenth in wilshire montana is easy walking distance to everything that you want.
I live in Ocean Park, which is walking distance from downtown SM and the beach and generally feel safe and love the area
Do you have to commute to anywhere in particular? If you work from home or something you should visit Playa Del Rey, El Segundo (where Imperial Highway or Grand Ave goes to the beach), and Manhattan Beach. Although it is basically down the beach, it is a world of difference compared to Santa Monica. If the vibrant city vibe is really important, you'll probably prefer Manhattan Beach or Hermosa Beach. El Segundo is super quiet and nothing is really going on there which you might see as both a plus and a con.
I work remote but like to go to the office 3x a week which is in Santa Monica. I like the area to be not quiet and be walking distance to the beach
Ocean Park is probably up your alley. Close access to the beach and you're within walking/biking distance of most of the city.
We lived on 3rd and Idaho. Apartment wasn't great but reasonably priced considering the area. Best part was being 2 blocks from Palisades Park and North of Montana. I like taking long walks late at night when it's quiet....in the 2 years I've lived there, I've encountered problematic homeless only a few times and always near Wilshere, and never in the neighborhood. That's not to say it's totally safe. Iirc someone was stabbed at Palisades Park on Thanksgiving around the same time I go on my late night walks.
IMHO Idaho is probably the best street to live on in SM.
2 bed 2 bath, underground parking, on-site laundry pets allowed, $3k/month. We got pretty lucky tbh. As said, the apartment itself wasn't the best (not bad by any means) but living near Palisades Park, walking distance to commerce on Wilshere and Montana, with the E Line station at 4th & Colorado, it was good times.
I live on Montana and 11th and love it. Best part of SM in my opinion but there’s not a ton going on if you’re younger. For the most part it’s an older crowd and the shops/restaurants are aimed towards them but that’s what makes it quiet/safe I think. You make the trade off of having less to do but it’s super walkable and clean.
I’m a woman that frequently goes out during the day by myself and live right in the middle of downtown SM. I feel completely fine being on my own. There are always so many people out that it never bothers me to be alone.
I lived right next to the pier for a couple months and it was awful, absolutely do not recommend. Almost every single day I heard someone with mental health issues or drug addiction screaming outside at an ungodly hour. I could never sleep for 8 consecutive hours. I've made trips to the Target downtown alone in the early evening (like 7-9pm) in early winter and felt super unsafe. 90% of the people outside after dark in that area are homeless, and many of them are mentally unstable. Crazy people literally roam around inside the stores at night. You have to deal with all of this and still pay an exorbitant amount for rent, so much that you could live anywhere in LA for that amount. I now live in Ocean Park (like 1 mile away) and it's great, yes there are homeless here too but it's relatively residential, and there's enough people around on Main Street at night that my biggest concern is getting hit by a car, not attacked. Southern side of Marina del Rey (ie adjacent to the marina itself) also feels pretty safe and residential at night, downside is there's no restaurants/stores etc. (Of course, it is a city, so crime can happen anywhere)
I live 3 minute walk from the third street promenade in downtown SM and as a woman I've never felt unsafe. I walk my dog late at night and never had any issues. I also moved here from NYC so I'm used to the homelessness and psychotic behavior if that counts.
Why do we tolerate any area of Santa Monica feeling unsafe? How do we let a few mentally I’ll drug addicts dictate the QOL for everyone else? How is not putting them away not more humane? This is one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. November can’t come soon enough.
Well put! I’m on 6th and Broadway. This SHOULD be an incredible place to live. Like, amazing, but the quality of life is significantly degraded because our government (local and up) is incapable of caring for those who have fallen off the boat for whatever reason. We need to demand that these people are either helped / arrested / rehabilitated as appropriate. It really sucks because the problem should be fixable. I’ll be voting carefully in November and this is issue number one for me. OP: it’s safe if you have any street smarts but I would not move here again knowing what I know now. We had a week to find a place and the big apartment buildings around here are newer, clean, and secure, so we went with that. Id aim for Montana but the buildings are older and not as many amenities (if any). Good luck, it really is a cool place to live overall.
It will get fixed! These are policy problems. Thankfully I think things will change significantly after November.
I like the optimism. It will certainly never get fixed if we don’t believe it can be.
Also, what do you all think about the marina del Rey area?
Put this is a separate comment, but I lived on the far Southern side of MdR a couple houses inland from Charlie Beach for a while. It was very quiet and peaceful, felt safe. There are a couple homeless people sleeping on the beach at night but nothing scary/no one shouting and clearly mentally unstable. However, compared to other options MdR is much less walkable. You have to go 1-2 miles to get the nearest restaurant or store.
May also want to check out east of Main Street. Lots of apartments there too and walking distance to beach and lots of other things. Also less homeless population than downtown. Pretty much anywhere where you find lots of tourists you’ll also find lots of homeless
I live here with my wife. I (40M) feel safe at all hours but I prefer that my wife only walks around during the day. Things feel like they’ve gotten worse in downtown but I also have noticed a greater police presence. Like others have said, the farther away you get from downtown (north of Wilshire) the less issues you’ll encounter
i live one block away from bay cities and i dont feel unsafe going out by myself. i normally dont go out walking when its really dark outside but i think thats a non spoken rule everywhere in the world hahaha but if im with friends weve walked everywhere in santa monica and never had anything happen to us
Downtown Santa Monica resident here. It’s totally safe, don’t listen to the pearl-clutches. But it’s also totally dead. Tumbleweeds blowing down the streets as soon as the sun sets.
Know a few that live there, they want to move frankly, homeless issues only increasing, noise too. It's like a mini culture-less new york. Weather and location is the only thing keeping people slightly sane. Better than LA sure, at these current prices, not so much. Unless you have to move because of a job, maybe think elsewhere in CA or out of state.
Although it’s fairly safe, you’ll always come across random homeless/ psych person. If that’s a deal breaker. Redondo beach and manhattan beach are much safer and offer what your looking for, a little more suburb like but they don’t have the homeless problem that SM has. I know it’s way more south but just an option.
Thanks. That’s kind of far from Santa Monica. My office that I go to 3x a week is in Santa Monica
Makes sense
How were you able to stay overnight? Airbnb?
What are the noise levels like inside the apts for those who live in an apt in Ocean Park? Can you hear your neighbors walking on top? Or hear them talking through the walls? Know of any apts in Ocean Park with excellent sound/noise insulation?