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I've never been to Tampa but I would say LBC is somewhat similar to Ft. Lauderdale
Or St Petersburg. Long Beach skyline seems a lot like St Pete believe it or not and for way of life it could be also if Long Beach has ever been known for retirees. St Pete has bohemian areas and retirees, black community or that's what it defined by. Long Beach maybe the same?
To me these are comparable, both similar in size, similiar weather, near the beach, near much larger cities(miami even though 4 hours away, los angeles, right around the corner, and have similiar architecture (imo), both are close to entertainment destinations ( anaheim, ca, orlando,fl), and many things to do within the city.
Compare and contrast the two.
Better Weather: Long Beach, no contest.
Better beaches: Long Beach. Technically, the City of Tampa has no real beaches.
diversity: Long Beach is easily one of the most diverse, integrated major cities in the entire nation.
food: Long Beach due to the immense diversity of the general populace, not to mention people in Long Beach, generally speaking, have more refined tastes than people in Tampa.
cost of living: Tampa, but you get what you pay for--higher crime, lower wages, worse non-wage benefits, a more service-oriented economy, much less desirable weather and topography, a less educated and cultured populace, fewer amenities and services, a narrower scope of recreational opportunities, etc.
crime: Tampa. In Florida cities, violent crime is fair game even in the more desirable areas because, after all, desirable neighborhoods are never more than a stone's throw away from dangerous areas. University/Tampa Palms is a good illustration of this point. Not to mention many people in the Tampa Bay area own firearms and prefer to "shoot first".
history: Long Beach. Tampa's history has been marred by disease, abandonment, slavery, warfare, segregation, disastrous storms, etc.
shopping: Tampa. There's very little shopping in and around Long Beach, unless you count 2nd Street. My only complaint of the area. However, there's more and better shopping 20 minutes away in Orange County (South Coast, Fashion Island, Irvine Spectrum, etc.) than on the entire Gulf Coast of Florida.
nightlife: Long Beach. There's something for everyone in this city, including, but not limited to college kids, the late 20's/30's crowd, LGBT folks, older adults, yuppies, hippies, bros, beach bums, blacks, Hispanics--you name it, Long Beach's got it.
better looking women: Women in coastal California are much more attractive, overall, than women in Florida, especially Tampa. In better physical shape and more stylish, too.
things to do: Long Beach, no contest. The breadth of cultural and recreational opportunities of any city in California smokes that of any city in Florida.
air quality: Tampa. Long Beach has some of the worst air quality in the entire nation because it's home to the second busiest container port in the nation after its neighbor, the Port of Los Angeles.
traffic: Probably Long Beach. Like most cities in Florida, Tampa's layout is very suburban with 6-8-lane arterial thoroughfares and synchronized traffic signals all over the city.
down to earth people: People are friendlier and more gregarious in Southern California than in Florida. They're also a lot less transient and shady, too.
My responses in bold.
Overall, Long Beach is more urban, cosmopolitan, safer, diverse, integrated, cultured, and educated than Tampa with a more diversified economy, much more comfortable weather, better scenery, and prettier architecture. Just a much nicer place to live than Tampa, overall.
Overall, Long Beach is more urban(usually it means more traffic), cosmopolitan (more crowded), safer (says who? Statistics?), diverse(subjective), integrated (to what?), cultured(subjective), and educated (cities go to school too?) than Tampa with a more diversified economy(not true), much more comfortable weather(COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE), better scenery(depends who you ask), and prettier architecture (if you say so, I like container cranes too). Just a much nicer place to live than Tampa, overall (especially if you factor in the fact that LB is more polluted with some of the worse air quality in the nation, which you said so..).
This comparison is pointless if you insist on removing Long Beach from its metro context. For instance, professional sports was previously used as a criteria. Problem is, the distance from Tampa to Tropicana Field is the same as Long Beach to Staples Center. Or to Anaheim Stadium & Honda Center in the opposition direction. I suppose even I would prefer Tampa over Long Beach knowing I could never leave Long Beach city limits, but as that’s as realistic me as picking Tampa Metro over Los Angeles Metro.
To me these are comparable, both similar in size, similiar weather, near the beach, near much larger cities(miami even though 4 hours away, los angeles, right around the corner, and have similiar architecture (imo), both are close to entertainment destinations ( anaheim, ca, orlando,fl), and many things to do within the city.
Compare and contrast the two.
Better Weather : Long Beach
Better beaches, Long Beach
diversity Long Beach
food Long Beach
cost of living Tampa
crime Tampa
history Long Beach
shopping Long Beach
nightlife Long Beach
better looking women Ahahaaa Long Beach den Calu girls
things to do Long Beach
air quality Tampa
traffic Tampa
down to earth people
Overall, Long Beach is more urban, cosmopolitan, safer, diverse, integrated, cultured, and educated than Tampa with a more diversified economy, much more comfortable weather, better scenery, and prettier architecture. Just a much nicer place to live than Tampa, overall.
Weather: Long Beach
Beaches: Tampa
Diversity: Long Beach
Food: Tampa
Cost of Living: Tampa
Crime: Long Beach
History: Tampa
Shopping: Long Beach
Nightlife: Long Beach
Women: Tampa
Things to do: Tampa
Traffic: Long Beach
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