Just 3 miles South of Los Angeles Airport (LAX), Manhattan Beach is the most upscale of the South Bay beach towns. Manhattan Beach faces the ocean with an urban beach and lots of volleyball nets, sandwiched between the surf and homes lining paved walkways for pedestrians and bicycles along the Coast.
Manhattan Beach is a very affluent beach town within commuting distance of Los Angeles and therefore it is one of the most expensive coastal towns in which to live in America, according to the most recent Fortune Magazine rankings.
A scenic 928-foot-long Manhattan Beach Pier is one of over 100 piers in California and is located at the end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing; during the winter, the waves can get as big as 12 feet (3.7 m).