Long Beach - E. Ocean Blvd / Good area? (Seal Beach, August: apartments, to rent)

[Puddy4LyF]

Hi guys,

I've been reading the Long Beach post and have looked at crime maps and all seems to point to the right direction, but I just wanted confirmation. If you take E. Ocean Blvd all the way to the the very end where it's a narrow peninsula, is this a beautiful area? The house I'm looking at is 8 blocks from the very end of the peninsula.

If I'm not lucky enough to get this house, I've read form you guys that you want to stay south of 7th and east of Redondo... what if you're AT 7th and Redondo? Is this more safe or less safe? I wish I had a buffer zone but I can't beat the rent.

The third place I'm looking at if the previous two go bad is on Linden Avenue between E. 5th and Melrose -- what type of problems would I be getting into here?

Thanks to everyone for the advice. (I give good rep for advice.)

[dougnaie]

The Penninsula is a beautiful place to live. Hard to park, particularly in the summer as you can imagine, but I would have no reservations about recommending it to anyone as a location. 7th and Redondo is a no, for sure. There is a reason the rent is good. This is, of course, my opinion. As far as the last, I would stay away from downtown. However, I do know others that would say differently. Speaking as an LB resident for 43 years, though, I think I am pretty confident in my assessment. Long Beach CAN be a great place to live, but you need to make wise choices. Good Luck!

[Paula Lynn]

I disagree to a point about 7th & Redondo. There are some very nice communities there, but the draw back is noise and alot of traffic.

[Puddy4LyF]

What is the weather like on the peninsula? I'm an east coast guy and am used to the coasts getting battered by storms. I assume it's different there, but what could I expect on the beach weather wise in Long Beach?

Also... is it safe to swim there on the beach? I know Long Beach has a huge port and I can only imagine the type of sewage or pollution. Is it a place you lay out on and look at it but don't go in?

[raisun]

I grew up just on the other side of the breakwater there in Seal Beach, and we always swam in the ocean there...so I would think there shouldnt be a problem at the peninsula in terms of swimming (though I honestly dont remember going over to the penisula for the beach). Our favorite thing to do was to rent a kayak and go around naples and look at all the homes.

Its been awhile since I lived up there (Im in Newport now), but I recall the weather being similar especially in the summer: morning low clouds, some fog which breaks up to sun later in the day. The weather is a lot more temperate by the ocean than it is inland...and even in the summer my girlfriend would need a sweater at night on the beack.

Hope that helps.

[dougnaie]

Weather in LB in general is great. Coming from the east coast (where I am moving, BTW), you will not find any weather even remotely similar to what you are used to. Most days are just...nice. Not to hot, not to cold, most often sunny. Certainly no storms like the east. Being along the shore will not mean that you will be hit with high winds or anything like that. Sometimes it can be warm in late August or early September, but again, always tolerable. Wearing shorts and flipflops in the middle of winter is highly possible and maybe even probable. I did not even own a coat until last year - never needed one.

As far as the "safety" of the water, that is a mixed bag. As you say, the port contributes to the poor water, but in addition you have to remember that the LA River dumps right into our ocean. This means that a lot of run off from other cities ends up on our beaches. We have also suffered from several beach closures along the penninsula this summer due to sewage spills, Hardly the best. That said, I think the water on the ocean side of the penninsula is fine - nice, even - and the lifeguards will let you know if you are not supposed to go into the water on the bayside for whatever reason. I would not really ponder getting in the water from Shoreline Village to past the pier, but as always, this is my opinion.

With regard to my earlier comment about 7th and Redondo, I think that my perspective comes from living here so long and seeing the area change. I remember how it used to be and in seeing the changes would not recommend it. That is not in any way to suggest that it is not livable, only that it would not be MY choice.

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by Puddy4LyF

What is the weather like on the peninsula? I'm an east coast guy and am used to the coasts getting battered by storms. I assume it's different there, but what could I expect on the beach weather wise in Long Beach?

Also... is it safe to swim there on the beach? I know Long Beach has a huge port and I can only imagine the type of sewage or pollution. Is it a place you lay out on and look at it but don't go in?

Generally speaking from the pier on east (this includes the Peninsula) it is clean water and many people swim. West of the pier you get problems from the LA River. Alamitos Bay (other side of the Peninsula) is very popular for swimming, etc. as well.

[anaisnun]

I thought I'd add that 7th is a very busy street, I wouldn't want to live there myself, even at Redondo.
Someone already answered about the peninsula, so I'll take Linden.
IMHO the Linden Ave place downtown would be a decent place to live. I live downtown just a hop and a skip from Linden and living in downtown Long Beach is really no different than living in downtown Portland (I've done both), populated with the same drunks and homeless people and sometimes petty crime, but that's in every big city.
I as a woman feel pretty safe walking around Linden and 3rd or 4th at night, now 5th may be different, I don't know. All apartments in this downtown area have heavy iron security gates anyway in case someone decided to be an idiot. But everyone in the east village/downtown neighborhood are the friendliest neighbors I've seen on the entire west coast, I really enjoy living here, there is an incredible sense of community. I feel pretty secure in this neighborhood.
I can get to good restaurants, bars, galleries, museums, the beach, catch the boat to Catalina, and shop for most of my needs all on foot.

For your best bet, 4th street is the highest number street to look for a place.