You’ll never cook again

Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade might be about as close to New York City living as Los Angeles offers. Where else can you hang out on your fire escape (OK, balcony deck) over the local deli (OK, they probably serve more salads than pastrami sandwiches) and be entertained by street performers?

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What it’s about

Can you imagine being able to live in Greater Los Angeles without a car? Here you just might be able to swing it, plus the Pacific is three blocks away. Cabbage Palm trees sway in the salty onshore breeze while seagulls circle overhead, surveying the sidewalks below for their next meal. There’s the distinctive hiss the Big Blue Bus makes when it stops and the music made by street performers on the Third Street Promenade.

The Promenade has more than 200 shops and 100 restaurants. Some eateries double as nightclubs after the sun sets. At the farmers’ market, on Arizona between 4th and 2nd streets, one can find fresh flowers and organic produce every Wednesday and Saturday.

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Insiders’ view

Morgan Raskin found that moving into the Promenade Gateway complex made his transition from walking-city Boston to drive-everywhere L.A. a little easier. The 26-year-old, who works for a company setting up charitable online auctions, moved here with his girlfriend in April 2005. He likes living in the complex above the Broadway Deli and other shops. He can walk the eight blocks to work and less than two for a meal. “There are few places where you can go downstairs and have restaurants at your feet instead of the cliche of going in your car.”

Raskin’s neighbors are mostly young professionals; it is a diverse and transient community. “Every time my girlfriend and I hop in the elevator, there’s someone new,” he says.

Most newcomers are following jobs and have no plans to stay permanently. “I don’t think this is the last stop for anybody,” Raskin says. Many buildings in the vicinity of the Promenade offer month-to-month options in case plans change.

Raskin recalls a limo driver telling him the Promenade used to be a scary place until the 1980s, when it became the outdoor shopping area it is today.

Only recently have residential buildings become available.

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Housing stock

The area encompassing the Promenade is known as the Bayside District -- 7th Street to Ocean Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard to Colorado Avenue. There are a handful of apartment buildings in the district to choose from.

A sampling:

At Archstone Santa Monica -- a five-story Mediterranean villa-style luxury apartment building at 425 Broadway -- there is a heated rooftop pool and spa, a fitness center, laundry facilities and a dry-cleaning service, an HDTV screening room with stadium seating, pet-friendly units, gated entry and an underground parking garage. Studios rent from $1,750 to $1,875 monthly, and one-bedroom, one-bathroom units range from $1,900 to $2,450, depending on location within the building and the view. None of the lower-end units is currently available. Studios cover about 350 square feet, and one-bedroom floor plans are 550 to 600 square feet. Some apartments are furnished, and all have Berber carpet, cable and are Internet-ready. Select apartments have crown molding, fireplaces and a washer and dryer.

The Promenade Gateway, at 1453 3rd St., has a brick facade and balconies lined with planters and trees. One-bedroom, 800-square-foot apartments on the first floor start at $1,500. Take the elevator up one floor and two-bedroom apartments start at $2,500 for about 1,600 square feet. There is a washer and dryer in each unit, hardwood floors, a gated garage, storage room, balconies and a rooftop patio.

The modern design of the Breeze Suites, at 609 Broadway, juxtaposes two crimson uprights with corrugated metal and peach-colored stucco. Juliano’s Raw, a vegan, raw-foods restaurant with outdoor patio seating, occupies the first floor. Above it, the Breeze has studio units and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments leasing from about $1,200 to $2,500. Tenants can choose among three furnishing packages.

UCLA graduate student Gerard Miquel, says he enjoys living at the Breeze because of its location. “I am close to everything. There are barbecues on the roof and utilities are included.”

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Good news, bad news

The Santa Monica Place is practically “high-fiveable” from your balcony, and so are the neighbors. But with a young, hip, working crowd, they are sure to extend an invitation for weekend get-togethers.

Although downtown Santa Monica is a relatively safe, aesthetically pleasing part of Greater Los Angeles, homeless people are not few or far between. Residents say they have become accustomed to cardboard signs and change-filled coffee cups -- still, street people have been known to rattle off 12 bars of the blues on an old acoustic guitar or make a rose out of a palm frond.

What else can you get for a dollar these days?

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Sources: Downtownsm.com, Archstoneapartments.com, Breezesuites.com.