Advice on commuting to Bellflower (Los Angeles, Long Beach: school, pros and cons, living in)

[Trish94]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the suggestions for communities near or close to the Bellflower area. I would love some further advice.

1. What would the commute to Bellflower be like:

West of the city: Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, etc.
East of the City: Cerritos, Aretesia
South of the City, Lakewood, Long Beach, Seal Beach

2. What would you say are the pros and cons of living in these communities, i.e. Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Cerritos, Aretesia, etc?

(I personally would like someplace that is quiet but close to parks, places to eat, museums, etc. I currently live in Arlington/Cambridge area in Massachusetts and would like a similar community if one exists in CA). Thanks!!

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by Trish94

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the suggestions for communities near or close to the Bellflower area. I would love some further advice.

1. What would the commute to Bellflower be like:

West of the city: Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, etc. <------Far and not a fun drive, albeit a reverse commute. Likely 30-45 minutes per day
East of the City: Cerritos, Aretesia <----Cerritos is no issue, nice area for the most part. Artesia is meh.
South of the City, Lakewood, Long Beach, Seal Beach<------All are good. Lakewood is closest

2. What would you say are the pros and cons of living in these communities, i.e. Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Cerritos, Aretesia, etc?

(I personally would like someplace that is quiet but close to parks, places to eat, museums, etc. I currently live in Arlington/Cambridge area in Massachusetts and would like a similar community if one exists in CA). Thanks!!

All the above are located next to places to eat...theres places to eat everywhere.

Lakewood has the most parks of the above. 1950's build for the entire city. Nice suburb with trees and parks everywhere. Ok if you want to go for a walk or jog in the evening. I'll note that if you look on a map, the biggest park is Candlewood with Lakewood on one side and LB on the other side of the park.

Seal Beach has sort of a sleepy beachside downtown...quaint would be a good word....tourist trap would be another LOL.

Long Beach is mixed and Belmont Shore is the nicest place to live with a lively downtown. Ok waterfront, nice park where Colorado Lagoon is. But its crowded and you might have a 30 minute commute to Bellflower. Downtown LB is further but is like a typical downtown. Its nice enough with lots to do and nice high rises.

Cerritos is ok with shopping malls and stuff. Lots of SFR, and mostly known because Whitney HS is the #1 academic school in the state. Not particularly a place for single people wanting to have fun.

Manhattan and Redondo Beach are great, but a bit landlocked from freeways. Also more expensive than Seal or LB as you get closer to the water, which is where the best stuff happens.

Museums tend to be more an LA thing and I really wouldn't worry about being close to that. LA is what it is and a 30-60 minute drive on the weekend gets you to all the good museums...Getty Center in Brentwood, several art museums in the downtown area, Huntington Library in Pasadena, etc. We even have the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda and the Reagan Library in Simi Valley

[bhcompy]

Long Beach does have an art district with museums. Nothing special, but they're there. There's also museums in driving distance like Muzeo in Anaheim

[Chatteress]

Originally Posted by Trish94

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the suggestions for communities near or close to the Bellflower area. I would love some further advice.

1. What would the commute to Bellflower be like:

West of the city: Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, etc.
East of the City: Cerritos, Aretesia
South of the City, Lakewood, Long Beach, Seal Beach

2. What would you say are the pros and cons of living in these communities, i.e. Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Cerritos, Aretesia, etc?

(I personally would like someplace that is quiet but close to parks, places to eat, museums, etc. I currently live in Arlington/Cambridge area in Massachusetts and would like a similar community if one exists in CA). Thanks!!

I just wanted to comment that the commute from Manhattan & Redondo Beaches (South Bay) would be a much longer commute. Lakewood, Cerritos and parts of Long Beach are extremely close to Bellflower so you will be able to avoid the crowded freeway system altogether by taking surface streets.

[Dennis P]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

All the above are located next to places to eat...theres places to eat everywhere.

Lakewood has the most parks of the above. 1950's build for the entire city. Nice suburb with trees and parks everywhere. Ok if you want to go for a walk or jog in the evening. I'll note that if you look on a map, the biggest park is Candlewood with Lakewood on one side and LB on the other side of the park.

Seal Beach has sort of a sleepy beachside downtown...quaint would be a good word....tourist trap would be another LOL.

Long Beach is mixed and Belmont Shore is the nicest place to live with a lively downtown. Ok waterfront, nice park where Colorado Lagoon is. But its crowded and you might have a 30 minute commute to Bellflower. Downtown LB is further but is like a typical downtown. Its nice enough with lots to do and nice high rises.

Cerritos is ok with shopping malls and stuff. Lots of SFR, and mostly known because Whitney HS is the #1 academic school in the state. Not particularly a place for single people wanting to have fun.

Manhattan and Redondo Beach are great, but a bit landlocked from freeways. Also more expensive than Seal or LB as you get closer to the water, which is where the best stuff happens.

Museums tend to be more an LA thing and I really wouldn't worry about being close to that. LA is what it is and a 30-60 minute drive on the weekend gets you to all the good museums...Getty Center in Brentwood, several art museums in the downtown area, Huntington Library in Pasadena, etc. We even have the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda and the Reagan Library in Simi Valley

^^^What he said. Couldn't have said it better. Reps to you!

[Trish94]

Finally what would the commute be like from the Mid-Wilshire are or Silver Springs to Bellflower? Any pros and cons to living in these communities?

[Dennis P]

Originally Posted by Trish94

Finally what would the commute be like from the Mid-Wilshire are or Silver Springs to Bellflower? Any pros and cons to living in these communities?

If you're talking about Mid-Wilshire district in Los Angeles to Bellflower, you'll be going against traffic in the mornings and again in the afternoons and the drive would probably average between 45-60 minutes under ideal conditions, or it could even be less than 45.

Not sure about Silver Springs in SoCal. I thought that was in Maryland, 3,000 miles away?