Relocating to Long Beach (Belmont, Seal Beach: condos, home, neighborhood)

[HBINDC]

My partner and I are thinking of relocating and retiring in a city with a warmer climate than our current home of Washington DC. We cannot retire for three years, so we plan to take some time to check out a number of places around the country. One city that appeals to us is Long Beach. We have two main areas of concerns:

1: Affordability. We can afford up to about $575,000. We would be looking for a 2 bedroom condo with about 1,200 square feet, pretty much in move in condition. Would it be doable for us? (I know that nobody knows what prices will be like in 3 years...use today's prices as a yardstick).

2: Location. We currently live in a neighborhood close to downtown DC. We would like to stay in a built up area where many things are accessible by walking and/or easy public transit. We love to walk around DC. From what I can tell, doenwtown Long Beach is pretty walkable with a good amount of amenties. True??? We would like to be near the basics (e.g. supermarket/drug store/doctors). We have a car and would have one in LB, but we would be happy keeping its use to a minimum. (Now one of us uses it for work, but other than that, we use it about once every 10 days or so). Is this possible in LB? What about having no car at all?

We plan to visit LB in the near future to check it out.

[BRinSM]

I'm not sure downtown LB would be ideal for a retired couple. However, there are other parts of LB that would suit your needs, mainly Belmont Shore/Heights, Naples Island, and anywhere else around the Alamitos Bay area. There are many condos in the area and many amenities within walking distance. $575,000 will buy you a nice condo in that area at todays prices. In three years, that amount might even buy you a nice little house. There is also a nice shuttle system in LB that will take you all over the coastal portion of the city, including the aquarium, Queen Mary, and downtown area. You should also look into the nearby cities of Seal Beach and Sunset Beach.

[bhcompy]

i agree with the above poster.

a note on seal beach: rather than being urban like downtown LB its a quaint beach town, it should have some condo property in your price range, and it is entirely walkable.

the only thing downtown has that none of the other areas have is access to metro light rail. other than that, pretty much the whole beachfront from downtown to huntington beach is walkable.

[streetscenes]

There are some newer (and older) high rise condos in downtown Long Beach along Ocean Boulevard if that is your thing. There are the iconic International Tower and Villa Riviera plus some new full service buildings a little further west. A 2BR under $600,000 should be doable.

[NaplesRes]

visit downtown, Belmont shore and Naples. One of these will suit you very well but you should visit to personally decide which is right for you.