Moving to Santa Monica next week, suggestions ?

Get to know Montana Avenue between Lincoln BLvd and about 17th Street. Best places to eat here are Father's Office (gastro pub, famous for burgers) and Blue Plate (breakfast).

On Main Street, Circle Bar is probably the best bar in town. At least it's the only one I like. The King's Head is a decent English Pub by the Promenade.

For a regular barber Tel's on Pico and about 24th Street is the place to go. (Ask for Randy.) If you prefer an expensive salon I'd go somewhere on Montana but I can't give you a specific place.

For groceries there's a co-op on Broadway and around 11th(?) for a real hippie Santa Monica vibe. Most people go to Whole Foods.

In general the Promenade is for tourists. Stick to Main St, Montana Ave, and Abbot Kinney in Venice for shopping.

Best pizza is at NY&C on Wilshire or Abbot's on Abbot Kinney.

For exercise, a local to thing to do is to hit "the stairs" which are between Santa Monica and the Palisades. Ask around when you get here.

For good rotisserie chicken try the Brentwood Country Mart on 26th and San Vicente.

Angelinos use Yelp and craigslist a lot. Both should be useful to someone new. I can be of more help if you tell me more of your interests and which neighborhood you're moving to.

We can live beside the ocean
Leave the fire behind
Swim out past the breakers
Watch the world die

*Bay Cities Italian Deli. Get the Godmother sandwhich. *Montana Ave is great. My favorite is R+D kitchen. There's a good skincare store there around 12th and Montana I believe???? other nice places in there. *Farmer's Markets on the 3rd Street Promenade on Wednesday and Saturday Morning (until about 2pm). Wednesday is better than Saturday. *Sunday has a nice farmer's market on Main Street near Ocean Park with food booths and live music. Urth Cafe in that area is great too. *Gym- not sure. I'm a member of spectrum but their other locations are much better than the Santa Monica location. Maybe Equinox if you're near the promenade. *I like drinking at the Viceroy hotel lounge. Very cool, upscale vibe. Expensive though. *Father's office is great too. Burgers. Gets crowded. *I get my hair cut at Floyd's Barbershop. Its kind of a no frills place with some rock and roll vibe but they cut my hair fine. *The new Santa Monica Place mall is impressive. Nice new nordstroms, bloomingdales and a few other assorted stores. Fred Segal is the other high end shopping. *Nearby Brentwood Country Mart is good too (although I disagree about the Reddi-Chick chicken, I find it rather bland and dry...I usually eat at Frida when I'm there). I like the Monocle Store and they have a James Perse store. *Santa Monica Seafoods if you love fresh fish. They have sandwhiches there and there's a nice cafe next door, Huckleberry. *The Whole foods on 23rd and Wilshire is a nice one. Actually when I think about it the one in nearby Venice is better. *they are nazis about smoking too. *Arnold Schwartzenegger goes to mass at St. Monica's on Sunday. forget which mass though. if you want to see that.

Well, Ian from Shop the Finest has his shop near there.

There's an Umami Burger at the Fred Segal, which is nice to shop at for streetwear.

Father's Office has nice brews on tap, and the burger is okay.

For weekend brunches if you want to stare at local women, head over to Le Grande Orange.

Andrew's Cheese Shop on Montana is great for cheese and sandwiches.

Good coffee at Cafe Luxxe.

Awesome late night weekend fare and beer at The Yard, as well as lots of women. Most head over to Chloe after as well.

Good brunch and dinner at Anisette, or go big at Melisse.

Other places of food interest are Rustic Canyon and Huckleberry. If you're into the "health" thing, there's Jack & Jill's and even a raw vegan place.

And there's the usual Whole Foods, but also the great Santa Monica Seafood (which you can also eat at).

For the gym, you can always run along the beach or Ocean when the weather is nice, but there's also a 24 Hour Sport there which is okay, but blows on early weekend mornings since the people who work there never open it up on time. There's also an Equinox.

Lots of stuff in Santa Monica... just wander around and you'll find some stuff.

Urth cafe has the best coffee on main Copa d Oro has awesome drinks. Drinks are mixed any way you want with any fresh fruit you want. The bartenders here literally will spend a good 5 minutes making the exact drink you want. The place gets busy buts is really fun. Its on the corner of 2nd street. Here is the yelp link http://www.yelp.com/biz/copa-d-oro-santa-monica Go to the farmers market on 3rd and Arizona on Saturdays. It is AMAZING!!!

Chinois On Main used to be my favorite restaurant in LA. The bar at Shutters is very nice.

santa monica is a nice little city. very political. kind of berkeley by the sea (without the restaurants, unfortunately). all of the above are good recommendations. it sounds like you're more interested in the social scene than fine dining anyway. and of that, there is plenty.

There are lots of gay bars in Santa Monica

The Fred Segal in Santa Monica is much bigger and better than the better known one on Melrose. IIRC, the summer sale is sometime in October.

wow lucky guy

Damn this is a definitive SM list right here. I also frequent all these places. Tel's Barber Shop is especially awesome. I just want to add Tacos Por Favor and Bay Cities Italian Deli.

Is DC-3 still around?

Well I live in Santa Monica.

The stairs people run are on 4th Street, one block north of San Vicente. The scene is like an outdoor gym.

A great low-key restaurant, but which does have the Westside vibe, is A Votre Sante at 26th and San Vicente, right next to the Brentwood Country Mart. Very healthy fare, but not strictly vegan or vegetarian.

Vic at Esquire Barber shop on 10th and Montana gives great haircuts for $16.

Best cleaners anywhere is Brown's Cleaners, at 12th and Montana. Absolutely top-notch work, but not cheap.

+1 for Santa Monica seafood, at 10th and Wilshire. I shop and eat there weekly.

Good pizza joint is Dagwoods, at 8th and Wilshire.

+1 for Father's Office. I would say the best burger in town. However, it's a little crazy: you may not alter any dish in any way on the limited menu.

+1 for Bay Cities Italian Deli on Lincoln.

+1 for the twice-a-week open-air Santa Monica Farmers' Market.

The Promenade is for tourists. However, the mall at the south end has been redone in a big way; Tiffany is moving in.

My recommendation for Mexican food is El Tarasco, in Venice.

I go to the Whole Foods at 23rd and Wilshire all the time; the prepared foods are great. However, the prepared foods section at the one on Lincoln Blvd. in Venice is mind-blowing.

If you are coming from Canada, then you probably don't know about In-N-Out burger. Great stuff; the only fast-food burger I'll eat these days. Beef is fresh, never frozen, and everything is cooked to order. A So. Cal. legend.

And finally, go to the Hollywood Bowl. Unbelievably cool, with great music. With out a doubt one of the best things to do in Los Angeles.

I had a ton 'o fun here: http://www.harvelles.com/