Hey my daughter lived in Hermosa Beach for a year which we loved - cute beach town and easy to walk. Cute shops and nice beach. Now she lives in Mar Vista just east of both Santa Monica and Venice. I would say Venice definitely has lots of hipster vibe places. Her favorite restaurant is Cafe Gratitude which is 100% vegan. The Abbot-Kinney area has fun shops and restaurants and some hotels near ocean. One has a rooftop bar which she has been too, but we didn't make on our visit. There is a huge difference between Venice and Santa Monica particularly along beach front. Santa Monica is much cleaner and more upscale, but I would not say Venice is unsafe - at least during the day with more than one person. She loves where she lives and regularly takes Uber to go to clubs downtown. She has friends who live in the Culver City area and they really like it. I know light rail goes from Santa Monica through Culver City to downtown. Have fun!