I know this wasn't your point (and I completely agree with what you're saying), but I actually find Santa Monica to be one of the easiest places to visit in LA,

I know this wasn't your point (and I completely agree with what you're saying), but I actually find Santa Monica to be one of the easiest places to visit in LA, because they have a bunch of reasonably cheap city-run parking garages. I've never had a major problem parking in Santa Monica, and if I did, I'd got there a lot less often.