Living in Del Rey, Los Angeles

Del Rey sits in a genuine gap on the map — tucked between Culver City and the beach, close enough to Silicon Beach offices for an easy commute without carrying the name recognition, or the rent, of Venice or Playa Vista next door, older apartment buildings and small houses making up most of the housing stock. The neighborhood is mostly quiet residential streets, with fewer restaurants and shops clustered into any one strip, and the pace stays noticeably calmer than the beach-adjacent neighborhoods surrounding it on every side of the map at almost every hour.

Getting around means a car for virtually everything — no rail line reaches Del Rey, so the lower profile comes with the same car-dependent catch as much of the rest of the Westside. Daily errands and the commute itself both typically depend on a car from the first mile, even on the shortest trips.

Westside and beach proximity without Venice or Playa Vista's price tag is what Del Rey offers, a lower-key block a short drive from the sand, less flashy than its neighbors and comfortable being exactly that.