treehugger liberal moving to Long Beach (Orange, Belmont: apartment, rent, neighborhoods)

[morphomercedes]

I'm planning on moving to Long Beach for the beginning of August. I'm wondering about living costs (rent, utilities, food) on an average budget (on a salary of approximately 50k/year). I'm also wondering if it'd be easy for a vegetarian, enviro-minded liberal to find like-minded others in the area. More importantly, is it at all possible to be car-less in LB? And finally, what areas/neighbourhoods would you recommend to live in based on this description.

Many thanks!

[BRinSM]

if you live and work and in Long Beach you could be carless, you'll just be stuck in long beach with long bus and/or train rides to get anywhere else you may need to go, unless you just rent a car for those occasions of course. all in all long beach is a pretty open minded city and has a very large gay (especially lesbian) population. i'm not sure of specific neighborhoods that might be more hippie-ish than the others, but anywhere near the beach should be a good fit for you. just make sure you have a bicycle and learn the local bus routes.

rents near the coast in long beach will probably run you between from $800-$1200 for a 1br apartment which should be relatively affordable on a $50k salary. utilities will be fairly cheap at the beach since the weather will be nice year round. food shouldn't be much more or less than where ever you are from.

[bhcompy]

areas to consider: Belmont Shore, Naples, East Arts District, Downtown, Bluff Park, Wrigley

fresh/organic food stores are located in the Long Beach Marina, which is on the border of Orange and LA counties just outside of Naples.

Rent numbers posted above are probably accurate

[Charles]

Originally Posted by morphomercedes

I'm also wondering if it'd be easy for a vegetarian, enviro-minded liberal to find like-minded others in the area.

Maybe you ought to get a hold of Jayne:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/orang...-liberals.html

[Paula Lynn]

I'm carless and have no problem with that aspect. I work 3 blocks away and there are 2 grocery stores; 1 is 2 blocks, the other is 3 blocks. I can take the bus to major malls and Target at 90 cents each way.

My electric bill varies during the seasons. Normally in the summer is runs around $12.00. January is the most expensive, for reasons I can't explain. This past January it was $65., but this month being February; it was $22.

For a one bedroom, expect to pay between $800-$1000. 2 Bedrooms will be higher.

Welcome to Long Beach. It's a great place to live.

[morphomercedes]

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful! I'm sure I'll come back with more questions in a little while.