Los Angeles Relocation Guide - Antevia

Santa Monica is a coastal city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. Itborders Santa Monica Bay (part of the Pacific Ocean) on the west, Pacific Palisades andBrentwood on the north, West Los Angeles and Mar Vista on the east, and Venice on thesouth. As of the late 2004 census, the city had a population of 96,500, although, an early2006 estimate has the city at 103,255 people. Santa Monica is named for Saint Monica ofHippo because it was first visited by Spaniards on her feast day. In the skateboard andsurfing communities Santa Monica's Ocean Park neighborhood and adjacent parts ofVenice are sometimes called Dogtown.Because of its agreeable weather, Santa Monica had become a famed resort town by theearly 20th century. The city has experienced a boom since the late 1980s through therevitalization of its downtown core, significant job growth, and increased tourism.Santa Monica is known for its progressive politics, including policies that address theneeds of renters, consumers, and the homeless. Residents of the city are among thelargest contributors in the nation to Democratic Party candidates. The city was wellknown for its strict rent control ordinance, which had been enacted in 1978 and waspartially overridden by state law in 1999. Santa Monica is sometimes called the"Homeless Capital of the West" due to the presence of the third largest homelesspopulation in Los Angeles County (after Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood), alarge number of whom are teenaged runaways; satirist Harry Shearer calls it "The homeof the homeless."HistorySanta Monica Beach, 1908.Main article: History of Santa Monica, California