Tech Boom Boosts Real Estate at Venice Beach
If you could pursue your career anywhere in the world, wouldn’t you choose to live and work in Venice Beach? That seems to be the driving factor behind the recent influx of tech companies and their well-paid geeks moving to the area, pushing demand for Venice real estate through the roof, if you’ll pardon the pun.Snapchat is just one example of tech giants who are moving into this bohemian city, expanding from 14 employees to 200 in their block-size HQ as part of the new “Silicon Beach”.
For current Venice Beach homeowners and landlords, this can only be good news as a host of hip new pads have sprung up, regenerating the rundown neighborhood of derelict cottages and industrial buildingsinto desirable zipcodes in this oceanside district of Los Angeles.
Home to “the coolest block in America”, according to GQ magazine, Abbot Kinney Boulevard is the place to shop, dine and socialize. If you need any help, the magazine’s Style Bible is on sale in a number of smallerboutiques and eclectic stories inhabiting the 1920s architecturealong this unpretentious street. Trendsetting techies and their peers are dropping their cash on everything from surf boards to vintage Rolex watches in the understated shops and galleries such as Bazar, Jack Spade, Aviator Nation and Surfing Cowboys.
Venice Beach Entertainment
Venice, or Venice Beach as it is known, is a funky oceanfront city that still thinks, acts and feels like a laid-back hometown community. It was developed by Abbot Kinney as a beach resort in the early 1900s and continues to live-up to his visionas a place of amusement and pleasure. The original Venice Beach was known as the “Coney Island of the Pacific” with its amusement pier and miniature steam railway. A few of the original swamp-draining canals remain in the attractive Historic District which gave Venice its name. They are lined with delightful character properties, although most of the canals in this prime real estate area have been filled in and developed with condos and townhouses, all within sight and sound of the beach.
Far more than just a place to live, sleep and eat, Venice Beach offers a vibe and lifestyle all its own. Specialty shops, murals and galleries offer something for all budgets and tastes, and the same can be said for the restaurants. Take a seat at one of the sidewalk cafés and enjoy people-watching as you sip a chai tea or skinny latte. The range of cuisine is as cosmopolitan as the residents, with a host of restaurantsofferingItalian, German, Chinese, Indian, and even French-Japanese cuisine at historic Chaya on Navy Street.
Venice Beach Boardwalk
Whether you’re a newbie resident or a visitor to Venice, you need to have plenty of $1 bills in your pocket. The world-famous boardwalk is a Venice Beach institution and has developed into a sidewalk circus for performers, jugglers, musicians, break-dancers and mime artists who make the area the fun and happening place it is today. You’ll want to put your hand in your pocket and show your appreciation, making yourself an integral part of this lively laid-back oceanfrontcommunity.
This unique boardwalk stretches for one and a half miles along Venice’s beautiful sandy beach. It is lined with bazaars, pavement cafés, boutiques and stalls offering everything from temporary tattoos to one-of-a-kind crafts. The nearby bike path keep strolling couples and youngsters safe as cyclists, joggers, rollerbladers and skateboarders enjoy the boardwalk at their own individual pace.
LA’s Hippest Beach Scene
The soft white sands and clean water makeVenice Beach a prime area of recreation for the 16 million visitors and residents.One of the first projects that developer Abbot Kinney completed was the breakwater, an artificial barrier designed to protect the beach and pier. Inadvertently it created some of LA’s best surf spots. Taking surf lessons from a Venice Beach pro should be on every visitor’s bucket list, along with attending the improvised Drum Circle session that beats until sunset on weekends. While some beat drums and shakers, others dance, chant and sing. Like everywhere in Venice Beach, everyone does their own thing, and that’s OK.
Basketball is another Venice Beach characteristic, with public basketball courts attracting some of the best players and future NBA stars, making it a great spectator sport too. The Venice Beach Skateboard Park near Windward and Ocean Front Walk is one of several top skate parks in LA. It isconsidered the birthplace of progressive skateboarding in the 1970s and is immortalized in films such as “Dogtown and Z-Boys”.
Further along is “Muscle Beach”, an area of Venice known as a workout mecca where legendary strongmen such as Arnold Schwarzenegger once pumped iron. The areastill has many gyms and fitness studios in this top sports neighborhood.
All these attractions combine to make Venice Beach the sought-after community it is today, making it a top place to live, work and invest in sunny LA.