NYC to LONG BEACH ? (Los Angeles, San Diego: best cities, for sale, rental)

[NY2Cali]

We are a very urban, and not so easily entertained mid 30-ish couple currently residing in Manhattan NYC - looking for a change of life, jobs, weather etc. We LOVE the city but just want a change. Besides you Cali folks don't really know what expensive is. Try living here!! Anyway, I've read some good things on this post about Long Beach but nearly every other local thread seems to 'diss' long beach as a crime ridden dumpy and very gay place. My wife and I are used to diverse - 'gritty with character' type neighborhoods as nearly all of NYC is like this. We love the diversity of the city, great shops, AWESOME food, and just the general 'buzz' of city life. We don't mind toning it down a bit to live in a better climate and near a beach, but we really don't want a sleepy suburbian cookie cutter type existance either.

Reading about long beach made me think of a little in terms of : 'NYC by the sea' but perhaps this is a pipedream? I think our household income will be northwards of 120K-ish assuming we can find decent jobs...me in outside sales, and her in graphic design and will likely need to rent for a good while and live small to save up for a home purchase.

Since we always wanted to live in SoHo NYC but could never afford it we are intrigued at the thought of the 'lofts' that are going up for sale in Long Beach...any info on this - prices, rental info, etc would be appreciated! Also, how is the dinning, nightlife, and general ambiance of Long Beach - (the good areas of course - not interested in living near any gangs). How does LB compare with say....Santa Monica area?

Since I'll be in sales and likelly need to travel around the entire LA area greatly... how accesible to the inland would I be and what traffic issues might I face? (I know traffic in LA in general is terrible - but again I'm used to taking a minimum of 40mins just to leave the 0.7 mile wide Manhattan! - so, I'm hoping LA is better!) Would you even reccomend a sales guy to live in the LB area - or live more inland?
Considering what I've told you about us where would you suggest we look for housing?
Any NYC'ers here that know the LB area well and can give a comparisson?

THANKS!!!

[WINNIEK]

I assure Long Beach is not the NYC by the sea.A commute from Long Beach to Los Angeles can take anywhere from 25 minutes to two hours depending on what part of Los Angeles and what time of day you will be leaving.Commuting from Long Beach to LA is not something that I want to do.

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Long Beach is a suburban city. Even the downtown is spreadout decently. LB more like CT than NYC. They are starting to build density developments and do already have a few highrise residences, but nothing even close to NYC, or even half Hartford, CT. Prices on lofts run from about 300k(studio)-3 million(penthouse). East LB will be nothing like NYC. You will find more sketchballs in LB than you did in NY-that's without a doubt. Needless to say Long Beach is diverse and has great parts too.

There is more poverty in LB compared to Santa Monica. The household income is lower, and there is a high amount of car thefts. The air in Long Beach is actually worse than Santa Monica-due to the Ports on Terminal Island.... ewww. Regulations are starting soon though, and skies should be cleaner for the future.

This is a car culture world. I actually had my car once break down in Long Beach. It was no fun. It happened on a weekend- so there was limited bus service. I had to walk across almost the entire city. It wasn't very pleasant- Cars were flying by. LB has much less congestion here than SM.

Traffic will be horrible in a sales job. The LA area is the absolutely worst city in this nation to relocate for a mobile sales position. If you decide--I hope that you have extremely long patience.

[danni88]

I have lived in LB for two years now and I agree with the above post that it is not a ny by the sea. There is a high poverty level and also a high cambodian population. In general I do not find the city very safe either. I go to the university there and there has been four attacks on capus within three weeks of eachother...I do not reccomend it. I am moving in the summer.

[dougnaie]

I have lived in LB my entire life, and while there are certainly a lot of things to commend it, the same could be said to the negative. It has parts that are very pretty and for the most part safe, and then there is the rest (bulk) of the city. If you are fortunate to live near the beach, it is a great place, but the farther in you go, the more diverse it becomes. While this, in and of it self it not a problem, it seems that with the added diversity has come problems that the city government seems incapable of handling such as crime, pollution, density and traffic to name a few. I realize that these are problems that you are familiar with, coming from NY, but I am just pointing out that while LB used to be know as Iowa By The Sea, that name has less relevance today. The areas that are supposed to be up and coming, such as Pine Avenue and Shoreline Village, which are close to where all the new lofts are going in that I think you are referring to have been up and coming for so long that it appears that their time may be past, particularly Pine Avenue. I do not know ANYONE that goes there - we all head farther towards OC. Crime is the main reason that we avoid that area entirely. That and the fact that there is nothing there to do other than eat - no shops of any interest...nothing! Santa Monica may be able to provide access to more entertainment, and is possibly better from a commute standpoint. My husband drives to downtown LA every day, and it takes him from 1-2 hours each way depending on traffic. For this and other reasons, we are seriously consider relocating to CT. I would love to recommend LB to you without reservation, as it really is a great spot in many ways, but over all, based on what you seem to be looking for I would not be doing you any favors. I wish it were different.

[NY2Cali]

dougnai-- thanks so much for the insight. Besides Santa Monica do you have any other favorite LA / OC spots that you'd consider living in?
thanks

[dougnaie]

Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, and Redondo Beach are nice, if a bit bland. Venice is eclectic, but I believe the surrounding area is not the best. It is hard to describe to someone else what I see, because the way you view things may be different than I do. In my opinion, most of the places suggested to you here and on the LA board all have merit, but the detractions of each are only measurable by you and your wife. I wish you luck. CA can be a great place to live if you are up to the challenge. What's the worst thing that can happen? Come out and try it for a while. If you don't like it you can always go home...lucky for you. I am home wether I like it or not! : )

[WINNIEK]

I'm not sure that gritty with character exist her in LA.Venice might be a option.What is your price range for a rental?

[Cattknap]

I have lived in Long Beach for almost 30 years....look at the Naples area of Long Beach and Belmont Short - you will love it in either place....and you can walk from Naples (an island with bridges) to Belmont shore in just a few minutes - great neighborhood bistros, shops and services - very beachy hometown chic and within a few blocks of the beach. Homes are all custom and different styles from Cape Cod to Craftsman to Spanish Revival - crowded and popular and real pedestrian community filled with people who walk their dogs and people watch.

We live in east Long Beach (close to Orange County) which is much cheaper, filled with subdivisions built in the 1950's - 1970's. A 935 foot fixer-upper house goes for about $525,000 to $550,000.....and it is the safest place to live in Long Beach (District 5)....you can buy very nice remodeled, upgraded homes with 1500 to 2,000 square feet for between $650,000 to over a million.....but in Naples and the "Shore" you will pay considerably more (from mansions to quaint beachy bungalows, they are all expensive because of the desirable location).

Another great place to look that is right next door to Long Beach is Seal Beach - darling city with a wonderful main street that leads right to the ocean and a big pier...surfing, good restaurants and shopping - a shorts and t-shirt kind of place....expect to pay between $300,00 for a rundown condo not remotely close to the beach or a million dollars for a 1,400 square foot house near the beach....homes on the beach are multiple millions of dollars......wonderful marinas and views and the start of miles and miles of fabulous beach cities and wonderful beaches in Orange County. Lots of local activities and a real sense of community among the locals.

[LBCH_tmf]

Long Beach is not New York by the Ocean. But, it has one of the best cities near the ocean in Southern California. It is a diverse city with areas for everyone--suburban areas for families and those of us who like it less congested and the Marina, Belmont Shore, and downtown areas for those who prefer restaurants and entertainment options right around the corner. If you are looking for an urban lifestyle, southern California is not going to be your cup of tea. But, you just might find that you don't like urban city living as much as you think you do. I've lived in Princeton, New Jersey and had friends who grew up in New York and thought they loved it--until they moved somewhere more livable. It is not bad to drive around Long Beach and you can easily live in one area of the city and enjoy the attributes of another.

You don't say where you would be working and I'm assuming you don't really know yet. That is a critical issue in the L.A. area. Some of what has been posted is misleading. There are reasons not to like Long Beach, which are pretty much the same reasons not to like anywhere in the L.A. area.--cost of living, traffic, smog, and crime. But, hey, you're coming from New York. I've lived here four years and I do like it. I started in Palos Verdes (beautiful place), which is a difficult commute to nearly anywhere. Couldn't afford a place there and picked Long Beach to purchase a home over all the South Bay cities and Santa Monica and am glad that I did.

Suggesting Santa Monica over Long Beach because of commuting ease was off base. Obviously, that person assumed you meant commuting to L.A. But, you didn't say where your sales commute locations would be. It's true that Santa Monica is closer to west L.A. but traffic and parking are much worse in Santa Monica and the entire west L.A. region. Expect gridlock anywhere north of 105. And, it may surprise you to find out that downtown L.A. is not the center of activity. Even west L.A. isn't unless you're going to be in the entertainment industry. Activity really is spread out over the entire metro area. For the more urban lifestyle you describe, Santa Monica is best if you will be working north of the airport in the coastal area. Long Beach is best if you're going to work south of the airport. Long Beach is also the most convenient place to commute from if you want to hit all the major areas: west L.A., Pasadena, South Bay, and Orange County. Going inland is mostly self contained bedroom communities. People moved east to be able to afford housing and the commute pattern is strongly west in the morning, east in the evening. But Long Beach has good access to the Inland Empire as well if your calls send you that way. If you can pick a a more local sales region and won't need to commute all over, you might want to consider Pasadena or even San Diego. They're more self contained cities that won't have you traveling all over the region to seek the entertainment you want. The L.A. area has tons of entertainment but you will soon find that you will only care about what is within a 15 mile radius because you will not appreciate the 1-2 hour commute that can easily happen with any freeway gridlock situation. I used to explore all over including west L.A. region. I now just prefer to seek out Long Beach venues. I doubt you would care for Orange County cities although they're all a great place to live. They are really suburban havens with less character than you describe that you're seeking.

Hope this helped rather than just confused you.