Pasadena or Long Beach to live?

[abrown17]

Originally Posted by Sorcerer68

Boy did you ever miss something. LB rolls up it's sidewalks early. The two places are very different. At the core of Pasadena is Old Pas which is a thriving, walkable urban village. I like Pasadena a lot better. There's more to do and it's a lot prettier. It's also much closer to everything else. Did you hang out in Old Pas on a Friday or Saturday night? I like the Queen Mary in LB. I don't go to the beach there because there are much nicer, cleaner beaches. They have a great bike path. You can also get cheap housing deals if you look. Downtown LB has a lot of missing teeth but has really come a long way. It's had some overambitious growth and is suffering some growing pains. Belmont Shore is more established and there are some fun things to do there...but it's still pretty small and sleepy in comparison. The area has gorgeous homes and great yard sales. My biggest complaint about LB is that it's F A R from L.A....and LB is not L.A. In medium traffic it takes well over an hour to get to Hollywood. I've averaged about 80 minutes.

Decison here boils down to weather, proximity and vibe.

Wait a minute, Long Beach is sleepy? Does anyone else agree with that assesment? Given the size difference, I would have thought LB has way more to do than Pasadena...

[tired of being inside]

Originally Posted by abrown17

Wait a minute, Long Beach is sleepy? Does anyone else agree with that assesment? Given the size difference, I would have thought LB has way more to do than Pasadena...

No, I don't agree. I live in downtown LB and there is action throughout the night. The problem is, much of it is steet folks yelling at building walls. But truly, Pine Ave is alive well into the night at least Thursday through the whole weekend. There also are a lot of funky little areas, especially along Broadway. As Sorcerer68 notes, there are a lot of missing teeth, so to speak. You can't go all the way from trendy Pine to trendy Belmont Shores without running through some really grimey areas. But it is one of the most walkable cities I've seen in So Cal. You really should check both cities out but if you come to LB, I recommend staying below 4th St (I live on 4th in a new loft condo building which straddles up and coming, trendy and crappy neighborhoods) and east of Cedar St. The areas near CSULB are the big parks are nice but VERY SUBURBAN. It depends on what you like, there is a lot of diversity here.

[jessemh431]

i didn't know that there was a bad area b/w DT LB and BS. What would you consider the boundaries? I alwasy thought the whole stretch along the beach was good. Are the Villa Riviera condos considered the bad area?

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

i didn't know that there was a bad area b/w DT LB and BS. What would you consider the boundaries? I alwasy thought the whole stretch along the beach was good. Are the Villa Riviera condos considered the bad area?

I agree. Pine to Belmont Shore is pretty nice the entire way.

[JesusisLord]

Where you will commute to is crucial information! A long commute=major regrets on location!

[tired of being inside]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

i didn't know that there was a bad area b/w DT LB and BS. What would you consider the boundaries? I alwasy thought the whole stretch along the beach was good. Are the Villa Riviera condos considered the bad area?

Nowhere along Ocean Blvd could be considered bad, this is true. I meant more like taking Broadway form Pine to Belmont, you are likely to encounter so seedier, grimier areas. But I don't think I could honestly say anything south of 4th is bad. Above that, however, you can find some rougher parts...

[demere]

Interestingly enough, those are the only 2 cities in So Cal I really like. Both cities have a lot of culture and activities in my opinion. Pick the one that will be closer to where you work.

[TheRealAngelion]

Originally Posted by tired of being inside

You can't go all the way from trendy Pine to trendy Belmont Shores without running through some really grimey areas.

If you stay on Ocean Blvd. you can.

[chanel1202]

Originally Posted by OutOfSoCal

Pasadena- hotter closer to LA. May want ot look at South Pasadena also. IMO better community, police and cleaner

LB near water, cooler some good ares some bad areas neighboring cities Not as good IMO. The Aquarium rocks as does the pier area for eating and out of town visitors

What does IMO mean/stand for? Thanks.

[prim2007]

IMO stands for "in my opinion". As a 30-something professional, I found Old Pasadena to have more of the upscale, trendy vibe I was looking and I needed a decent commute to downtown L.A. but I think you'll find better prices (rental or buying) in Long Beach.