Summer in Los Angeles: How to Spend It Like a Local

Summer on the Westside is one of the best reasons to call Los Angeles home. Whether you’ve just moved into a new neighborhood or you’ve been here twenty years, this is the season the city shows off. A few of my favorite ways to spend it.

Beach mornings in Santa Monica and Venice. Go early. Grab coffee on Abbot Kinney, walk the sand before the crowds arrive, and you’ll understand why people pay a premium to live within walking distance of it.

Golden-hour hikes in Temescal and Franklin Canyon. Two of the best city-to-ocean views in Los Angeles, and both are far less crowded at the end of the day than at noon. Temescal in particular is one of the reasons Pacific Palisades holds its value the way it does.

Al fresco dining in Brentwood and the Palisades. The patios are unbeatable this time of year. Brentwood Country Mart on a summer evening is a reminder that the Westside still has genuine neighborhood life, not just real estate.

A night at the Hollywood Bowl. A quintessential Los Angeles summer tradition, and worth the traffic. Pack a picnic, go early, and make an evening of it.

Rooftop and outdoor screenings across the city. Outdoor film season is one of the more distinctly LA things you can do, and it’s worth building a weekend around.

Every pocket of this city has its own summer rhythm. That’s not incidental to what a home here is worth — it’s the whole point. When clients ask me about a neighborhood, we talk about schools and comps, but we also talk about what a Tuesday evening in July actually feels like there.

Thinking about buying or selling on the Westside this season? Let’s talk.