LOOKING December 2015 (summer 2015 is BOOKED)

My husband and I purchased our 1952 home in Sunkist Park Culver City just three years ago and have spent most of our time since then trying to restore it to its mid-century glory. Nearly all of our furnishings are from the 1950s and 1960s. We have two bedrooms and two bathrooms and are situated on a quiet street in Culver City, just four miles from the beach. To get to the beach in about 20 minutes, you can simply hop on one of our four beach cruisers and pedal your way down Ballona Creek Bike Path.

Our home also features a very relaxing backyard complete with a saltwater pool and spa, a fire pit, and many different seating areas. It's lovely to spend the morning having your coffee on the back porch while listening to some jazz music on our outdoor speakers. Or barbecuing and eating lunch at our picnic table under a vintage aluminum umbrella; you'll feel a little bit like you've been transported to a backyard barbecue where Frank Sinatra might just show up and make everyone a highball.

About the location

Obviously, there's loads to do in Los Angeles, but Culver City is special in its own right. Culver City is the original Hollywood. Most of the silent films were made here and some rather famous "talkies" as well. "King Kong," "Gone with the Wind," and many others were made here, but the most famous was "The Wizard of Oz." In fact, the Culver Hotel - still a great place for happy hour - put up all of the munchkins during the filming of "The Wizard of Oz." Today, there are still a number of studios here but the largest is Sony Pictures.

Downtown Culver City is experiencing quite a revival these past few years, which means there are many, many great eateries in the downtown area. If you like to walk, as my husband and I do, it's an easy, flat, and lovely 45 minute walk (5-10 minute drive) to the downtown area from our home. The best part is stopping along the way and making a bit of a pub crawl out of it. Along the way, you'll also walk right past Sony Pictures and can stop into the Backstage Bar for a cool drink like a local.

We are also only a 20 minute bike ride along Ballona Creek bike path to the sand if you'd like to spend the day at the beach. We can give loads of recommendations in that area as well. For instance, Marina del Rey is a fun spot to have brunch on the weekend or take the water taxi around the marina for just $1. Once you've reached the sand you can ride your bike as far north as Malibu or as far south as Redondo Beach with plenty of pit stop options for food and drink along the way.

In our immediate area, within about a 5 minute walk, we have two great dive bars, an amazing Egyptian eatery and a great independent coffee house. A 10 minute walk will get you to grocery stores, more eateries, and other shopping.

If you have a car, we are just far enough away from the freeway not to be bothered by it, but close enough to it to be there in 5 minutes. We are also only about 10 minutes away from LAX, without traffic of course.

If you are going without a car, a 5 minute walk will get you to the bus stop, which can take you into downtown Culver City or to the metro train if you'd like to go downtown, to hollywood, the main train station, or just about anywhere. My husband and I often take the train to Universal Studios because we find it far less stressful than driving and because we can get off in Downtown LA for dinner before heading home.

Conditions of exchange

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