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Long Beach has the second busiest port in the nation, and blows Tampa away in density and diversity. The crime rate is noticeably lower as well. Long Beach finished 11th among walkable U.S. cities, Tampa did not crack the top 50.
Yes, and those are just a few things that LB beats Tampa in. What I was saying is, Tampa has things that LB doesn't have do to where LB is. Tampa has it's own pro sports teams. Very nice museums, theme-parks, multiple tourist districts, it's own trolley system, etc, etc. LB is a beast though.
I will admit that part of what drives me to say Long Beach offers more than Tampa is because of Long Beach's proximity to all the stuff you have access to in greater Los Angeles. The amount of stuff is mind-boggling. Within Long Beach on its own, though, the argument could be made that Tampa offers more. I'd definitely rather live in Long Beach though given its better location. Also, Long Beach offers a lot as well... it's not like we're talking about a cowtown here.
Yes, and those are just a few things that LB beats Tampa in. What I was saying is, Tampa has things that LB doesn't have do to where LB is. Tampa has it's own pro sports teams. Very nice museums, theme-parks, multiple tourist districts, it's own trolley system, etc, etc. LB is a beast though.
I will admit that part of what drives me to say Long Beach offers more than Tampa is because of Long Beach's proximity to all the stuff you have access to in greater Los Angeles. The amount of stuff is mind-boggling. Within Long Beach on its own, though, the argument could be made that Tampa offers more. I'd definitely rather live in Long Beach though given its better location. Also, Long Beach offers a lot as well... it's not like we're talking about a cowtown here.
Yes, Long Beach has plenty to do in it's own right. It's far from a Cowtown. It's larger than Miami even, has it's own international airport, has one of the most diverse populations in the US, museums, cool neighborhoods etc, etc.
I've never been to Tampa but I would say LBC is somewhat similar to Ft. Lauderdale
Haha, that's exactly what I've been saying for a WHILE. LBC reminds me more of FTL than anything else. Both of them being large cities in the shadows of their larger more popular neighbors(Miami and Los Angeles).
Haha, that's exactly what I've been saying for a WHILE. LBC reminds me more of FTL than anything else. Both of them being large cities in the shadows of their larger more popular neighbors(Miami and Los Angeles).
I also thought of Long Beach as being Los Angeles' version of Fort Lauderdale. A large city in its own right (large enough to have an international airport that is a viable alternative to the one in the main city), both boasting major seaports, but overshadowed by the main city to the point that it isn't viewed as a true "twin city" (i.e. St. Paul, Fort Worth, Oakland, St. Petersburg).
Difference being Fort Lauderdale IMO is more of a vacation destination than Long Beach. And is the beach in Long Beach a major attaction? I get the feeling from SoCal locals that places like Santa Monica and Huntington Beach are more popular beach destinations than Long Beach.
I also thought of Long Beach as being Los Angeles' version of Fort Lauderdale. A large city in its own right (large enough to have an international airport that is a viable alternative to the one in the main city), both boasting major seaports, but overshadowed by the main city to the point that it isn't viewed as a true "twin city" (i.e. St. Paul, Fort Worth, Oakland, St. Petersburg).
Difference being Fort Lauderdale IMO is more of a vacation destination than Long Beach. And is the beach in Long Beach a major attaction? I get the feeling from SoCal locals that places like Santa Monica and Huntington Beach are more popular beach destinations than Long Beach.
I'll just say this: I have lived in LA, Orange and San Diego Counties all my life. I had driven Ocean Blvd in Long Beach hundreds, maybe thousands of times. I was not positive there was a sandy beach below those bluffs until after l moved to Long Beach, about 2 blocks away. So, to answer your question, no, not so much.
The beach sits inside the port, receives bilge from the cargo ships and runoff from the LA river, which is trapped inside the breakwater, which limits the ocean tidal and wave activity. So the flotsam gets trapped. The water quality has improved since the 1970’s, but I would never go in above my waist. It is a fairly pretty beach, and the strand makes for a nice bike ride to either downtown LB, or to Belmont Shore. Seal and Huntington Beaches to the South are cleaner, even though they get a lot of mess via long-shore drift. Torrance Beach to the north is a about as clean a beach as there is in LA County, and is beautiful and really mellow.
Local groups, from real estate interests to Surf-Rider Foundation, have been pressing for the removal of the breakwater, which originally had been constructed to prevents Japanese submarines from entering LA/LB harbor in WWII. The Army Corp was slated to study the impact of the removal, but that was tabled last year because of budgetary pressure. Its amazing we could quarry all that rock, engineer and construct the thing so quickly back then, but it is taking us generations to undo it. Its says a lot about our society, but I digress.
Anyway, I love Long Beach, but that’s where the Fort Lauderdale thing falls apart.
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