Want laid back beachy town...but should I just stick to LA? (San Diego: homes, neighborhoods)

[Joy74]

Santa Cruz is a laid back beachy college town in the Bay Area. Other than that, try any of the Southern CA towns with the name "Beach" in it. Long Beach comes to mind.

[DocGoldstein]

Eh. I would skip Long Beach if you can swing it. No beach culture really compared to Santa Monica, or even Laguna Beach. It's so ghetto now days. I went on a Wednesday afternoon a few months ago, all the bathrooms on the beach were locked, and every bench there was a migrant worker sleeping. Sometimes they put their sheets directly on the sand to lay down and soak up rays. I even saw some drug paraphernalia in the sand.

Long Beach had its best days in the 70s and 80s. I remember when the Yardhouse and all of those shopping areas used to be a huge park. Kids used to fly kites, ride bikes, it was something beautiful. Now it's some concrete hangout for young teens, thuggy wannabes, with only a few decent restaurants in the area that aren't chains.

[merchie]

Wow! Thanks for ALL the great answers. I really appreciate it. FYI- I lived in San Diego before..I loved the weather and vibe but after spending a few years there I was itching to get out. I found it pretty bland, no real diversity anywhere I went. I ended up driving up to LA a lot of my weekends since I had friends there and because there were much more options when it came to the music and bar scenes. But honestly, I'd go back in a heartbeat over the east coast!

Thanks again! I am really hoping I get back to CA soon...my heart and soul really misses it.

[mayorhaggar]

Long Beach is alrightmod cut. There are a lot of ghetto people here but Belmont Shores is really nice, with a ton of local restaurants and shops, and really nice housing in the nearby area. Downtown has a lot going on and has a lot of new and older condo buildings nearby. The beaches are alright for sunbathing but definitely feel too industrial, they're not really maintained well compared with the beaches further up the coast or beaches in OC. Compared with the rest of the LA area Long Beach in general is pretty clean (definitely way cleaner than comparable areas in LA) and is actually pretty dense and walkable, and is definitely surprisingly bikeable. Generally it's a little out of the way but it's fairly convenient to jobs in western OC and nearby towns like Lakewood or downtown LA.

Again it's an ok town and pretty underrated and has kind of cheap rent, but its suitability mainly depends on whether it's convenient for getting to work. It's definitely more hip and urban than anywhere in OC, and it's cleaner and safer than a lot of parts of South Central or LA.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by legal_eagle

One word: Capitola. A beautiful little town just south of Santa Cruz. It's a slice of So Cal in NorCal.

I find it odd that people recommend Alameda, Emerville, and other locations on the SF Bay ... they are not really beach towns as they are not on the ocean.

True, but the OP was enthusing about Oakland.

[DocGoldstein]

Santa Monica has the urban vibe she's looking for. Long Beach does too, but it also has the crime problem Oakland has (though not as acute). Also Long Beach has filthy beaches IMO.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Pacifica, HMB ... even the City itself in the Outer Sunset / Outer Richmond.

Further afield - Stinson, Santa Cruz ...

[Radical347]

If you want legit beaches skip all of NorCal.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Radical347

If you want legit beaches skip all of NorCal.

Bandmate of mine poured a bunch of sand on his third-story balcony in Belmont. Instant beach.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Pacifica, HMB ... even the City itself in the Outer Sunset / Outer Richmond.

Further afield - Stinson, Santa Cruz ...

The OP said she didn't want freezing and foggy. And Stinson is too far a drive to get to work in any nearby city or town. It's a bit isolated.