LB-the best kept secret in Southern California! (San Diego, Long Beach: rent, new home)

[Twinkle Toes]

Ximeno is one of those streets that is intersected by the "circle".

[artsyguy]

how much is it for a one bedroom apartment??

[Sassberto]

Long Beach is one of the best spots in LA.... real SoCal beach city steez. watch out for the "east side of the LBC" though... straight ghetto.

[thinboy]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

how much is it for a one bedroom apartment??

im wondering about that two?

and where where east side long beach actually??

[Paula Lynn]

The east side of Long Beach is the area near Cal State LB. It's very residential. I don't understand why Sassberto said it's ghetto. West and North LB as well as parts of downtown is where you want to stay away from. 1 bedrooms will run from $900 to $1150.

[Caliguy2007]

I used to live in Long Beach as a kid and I loved it,especially the mild weather :-)

[NormanF]

Originally Posted by Paula Lynn

The east side of Long Beach is the area near Cal State LB. It's very residential. I don't understand why Sassberto said it's ghetto. West and North LB as well as parts of downtown is where you want to stay away from. 1 bedrooms will run from $900 to $1150.

I live on the east side its beautiful and crime free and people here can still keep their doors unlocked and children can play on the streets. Just like they did in the old days. The tree lined streets are peaceful. I've lived here almost all my life and LB has two things going for it: location and size. Its perfectly located on the Pacific and catches cool sea breezes most of the year so the temperatures are very comfortable and it doesn't get too cold even in the winter. The humidity is bearable and it only gets hot a few times a year when the sea breezes are blocked by an inversion layer and the Santa Anas from the desert roar in. But its a dry heat and its usually over before you know it. Size - it has the advantage of both the feel of a small town with the convenience of living in a big city. Its big but it also feels small and even from the good parts of town, downtown is only 20 minutes drive via the 405 freeway. L.A is 45 minutes from Long Beach by car and San Diego is 2 hours on the other end. It has a lot going for it and I'd stay here if the housing costs weren't so prohibitive. People who discover this gem of a city fall in love with it soon enough.

[Sassberto]

I meant the south side of downtown which is east of the nice areas near the ocean... between about 4th street and PCH to about Cherry.. thats the "East Side"

It's a line from "Regulators"...

"Just hit the east side of the LBC on a mission tryin' to find Mr. Warren G"
"So I hitched a ride... on 21 and lewis"

Don't you know Snoop and Nate Dogg are from the LBC? ;-)

[dennismpat]

Originally Posted by GregJ

Is it my imagination or is Long Beach getting better than ever? I was born in the area and graduated from LBSU. We left 30 years ago to return to find my hometown looking better that it has since I was a kid! Of course we've been back hundreds of times to visit family, etc.

We're in east LB by the university. The houses are still well maintained and appreciating nicely and often occupied by the original owners, great sense of community pride, traffic congestion (at least on the east side) is no problem, schools are doing well, no graffiti or gangs, and the best part: downtown is looking great! Of course I don't have my head in the sand, the west side is still the pits and the north end is looking better but still far from where I'd want to call it home!

Loving Long Beach!

Hi, Greg:

You're sure you don't work for the Chamber of Commerce? Just kidding.

I actually live in the neighboring city of Lakewood, but have lived in the area my whole life. I did live up in Northern California (Sacramento) for almost a year back in the early 90s, and couldn't wait to leave (especially when the summer heat came on with a vengeance).

I agree that much has been done to improve the city, especially the downtown area, with the addition of the Aquarium of the Pacific and all the eateries in the immediate vicinity. I did work in downtown L.B. a long time ago on Ocean Blvd., and the one thing about that area I couldn't stand was the panhandlers. Some of them would get pretty aggressive if you didn't give them money! I work in Los Alamitos now and feel MUCH safer.

You're right about the parts of Long Beach which are desirable areas in which to live, and which ones to avoid. The eastern part of the city bordering O.C. seems to be the nicest and safest area. It's too bad, however, that the prices of homes are out of the reach of most working people, not to mention apartment rents, especially in the Belmont Shore neighborhood. The neighborhood I live in has houses that are 55 or so years old and less than 1,000 square feet, but the median price is about $550,000. Apartment rents for a 1-bedroom apartment in a halfway decent neighborhood average between $900-$1,100.

Regarding the gangs, if you go into the neighborhoods in the central and west sides of town, you'll find them! (Just hope they don't find you. ) Of course, in the eastern side of L.B. near O.C., there aren't any.

I don't know where you were living when you were away from Long Beach, but it certainly sounds from your post that you're very happy to be back home. As Dorothy said in the "Wizard of Oz", there's no place like home. Right?

[dennismpat]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

The BEST part of Long Beach is ... that's where Snoop Dog is from!!!!!

I understand that Snoop Dog's mom has (or had) a soul food restaurant somewhere in North Long Beach (either on Atlantic Avenue or Long Beach Blvd.). The reason I know that is because there was an article in the Press-Telegram on it a long time ago.