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Long Beach south of 7th street, and east of Redondo Ave is safe for the most part.
Oh please, "for the most part"? That are is totally safe unless you go jogging at night butt-naked with $100 Bills covering your private parts!
I never really felt in the other so-called bad parts during the day. There are some parts you wouldn't want to even park your car or walk around but I do not see anyone relocating from somewhere to show any interest in those small pocket areas on the West side.
no lol, im not thinking "straight outta' Compton" or anything like that.. if anything, im thinking the opposite. I haven't lived within Detroit city limits in a few years, I've pretty much always been in the 'burbs, but definitely far from the "cushy" ones. Haha. Most of the cities i've lived in.. break ins are frequent, cars being stolen aren't uncommon, there isnt really a "gang" issue but drug users/dealers are obvious and there are a few murders a year.. that being said, i dont feel any less safe here than i think i really would any where else (WORST parts of detroit obviously, but i have no need to go there, most ppl outside the immediate area dont even realize they exist, the news doesnt bother mentioning them any more). I read the way my area is described on the Detroit forums, and i have to laugh.. its described as a warzone basically, and thats so far from the day to day reality.. so im just curious if other areas get that same blown outta proportion reputation on here, or if its legit, like NOT SAFE. The more i read, the more intrigued I am.. I'm going to try to get out that way soon and check it out for myself... thanks for the feedback though!
Well... after doing some homework and checking out the CD data, some youtube videos, Google streetviews, etc. I have a lot more confidence in a potential move to Cali, or at least out of the Detroit metro area. The crime stats in my lil suburb (pop. 25k) are HORRENDOUS compared to LB, which is a huge city. I guess i really was overly optimistic about the situation where I live! LB's crime index rating is 338, compared to 795 where i live, which is still considerably safer than 1026 IN Detroit! (Compton, which yes my midwestern naivete told me would be the worst, only rated at 511, and LA as a whole only 285..) obviously i know to take these numbers with a huge grain of salt... but for comparison's sake the numbers are eye opening for sure!
on another topic.. does anyone know of any socal colleges (community or university) with logistics/supply chain management programs? I'm surprised that I'm not finding many with the proximity to two MAJOR ports...
I used to live in Chicago, and lived in downtown Long Beach until a few months ago. Compared with cities like Chicago and San Francisco, Long Beach is a walk in the park. There's a lot of homeless people and trashy people around downtown but generally they won't bother you. There's definitely a lot of crappy neighborhoods but there's no reason to live in them. Live in Belmont Shores if you can afford it and want to be there, it's pretty amazing--very nice housing and a ton of retail on 2nd street, but it is expensive and very hard to park in. Downtown is walkable but less vibrant and has an up and coming feel--there's a lot of new and old condos with middle class and upper class people, but there's also a lot of crummy housing with poorer people mixed in, so it's a strange demographic mix. Alamitos Shore/Bluff Park is another good option in between downtown and Belmont Shores.
Anyway I think the question for living in downtown LBC is how comfortable you are being in an urban environment. If you're used to it, then again it's a walk in the park. If you're a sheltered suburbanite who's never seen a junkie or a homeless person (for all I know you grew up in a cushy suburb of Detroit) then you will probably be freaked out.
Mayorhaggar nailed it. I have no doubt that you will fall in love with Long Beach!!!!!
That crummy housing in downtown you refer to I call afforadable. I've lived in downtown Long Beach for more than 35 years and think the mix of incomes and housing we have makes it more interesting, rather than strange. I can't stand living in a neighborhood that's bland and homogenized. Poor people don't have a disease, they aren't contagious.
Also, there are far more homeless people in Long Beach than people would ever know. You see, most homeless people aren't pushing their belongings around in a shopping cart. They aren't filthy and screaming psychos. Many of them bathe and wear clean clothes when they can. And very few of them ever bother anyone or even ask for money.
Well, I just thought I had to say that. I really like living downtown. I think it's safe, since no one has ever bothered me and I can walk to so many places. And we have those two bike lanes on 3rd and Broadway now if that's what people like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mayorhaggar
I used to live in Chicago, and lived in downtown Long Beach until a few months ago. Compared with cities like Chicago and San Francisco, Long Beach is a walk in the park. There's a lot of homeless people and trashy people around downtown but generally they won't bother you. There's definitely a lot of crappy neighborhoods but there's no reason to live in them. Live in Belmont Shores if you can afford it and want to be there, it's pretty amazing--very nice housing and a ton of retail on 2nd street, but it is expensive and very hard to park in. Downtown is walkable but less vibrant and has an up and coming feel--there's a lot of new and old condos with middle class and upper class people, but there's also a lot of crummy housing with poorer people mixed in, so it's a strange demographic mix. Alamitos Shore/Bluff Park is another good option in between downtown and Belmont Shores.
Anyway I think the question for living in downtown LBC is how comfortable you are being in an urban environment. If you're used to it, then again it's a walk in the park. If you're a sheltered suburbanite who's never seen a junkie or a homeless person (for all I know you grew up in a cushy suburb of Detroit) then you will probably be freaked out.
no lol, im not thinking "straight outta' Compton" or anything like that.. if anything, im thinking the opposite. I haven't lived within Detroit city limits in a few years, I've pretty much always been in the 'burbs, but definitely far from the "cushy" ones. Haha. Most of the cities i've lived in.. break ins are frequent, cars being stolen aren't uncommon, there isnt really a "gang" issue but drug users/dealers are obvious and there are a few murders a year.. that being said, i dont feel any less safe here than i think i really would any where else (WORST parts of detroit obviously, but i have no need to go there, most ppl outside the immediate area dont even realize they exist, the news doesnt bother mentioning them any more). I read the way my area is described on the Detroit forums, and i have to laugh.. its described as a warzone basically, and thats so far from the day to day reality.. so im just curious if other areas get that same blown outta proportion reputation on here, or if its legit, like NOT SAFE. The more i read, the more intrigued I am.. I'm going to try to get out that way soon and check it out for myself... thanks for the feedback though!
I live in Long Beach near one of the "bad areas." I am sitting in my apartment in the "bad area" right now (Near Anaheim and Atlantic Ave).
Here are the issues:
1) A LOT of people (usually White) assume if there are Black people around, that it must AUTOMATICALLY be a bad neighborhood. There are a lot of working class Black communities in LBC with no crime issues especially between downtown and Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Pine.
2) There are a lot of bums/transients everywhere because a lot of people are fake liberals who champion homelessness but don't live anywhere near where the bums congregate. Actually, there aren't a lot of bums in Belmont Shore because it is a wealthier White area with a lot of police protection. The further away from Belmont, the less the police seem to care about transients - however - there are a lot of excellent areas not by the waterfronts.
3) The one thing I can't stand is all the loitering by the transients and young Black/Latino kids. They generally don't DO anything to anyone, but they are annoying as hell. They make noise, smoke weed, drink and stand around in the public areas downtown. Again, it's not a gun battle every 30 seconds. It's just some folks (usually White) get freaked out whenever they see a Black kid on a corner making noise with his/her friends. They are annoying, but generally harmless.
4) I find that if you complain to the police or city council enough times, things will happen (I got my alleyway cleaned up of junkies and illegal dumpers over the last year or so).
5) There's issues with parking depending on where you live.
6) I also wouldn't live north of Bixby Knolls, but again, it's not like it used to be. The real issues are with Latino gangs who have moved in, most of the Black gangs are small or extinct because of murder, jail or relocation to the desert areas. There's a sizable illegal immigrant population from Asia and Mexico and they do create problems, but not in the way you might think. The problem with illegals in SoCal, especially in LBC, is that they are so scared of the authorities, that they don't report crime or negative situations to the police. Where I live, I have at least three illegal families on either side of my neighborhood and they are always scuttling about, trying to get the least amount of attention possible. As I said, there used to be a junkie/transient problem in my back alley way, but with me calling the police ALL of the time, the bums started to move on. I spoke to a cop and he told me I was the only one in the area reporting the problem. Avoid heavy immigrant areas, not Black American ones.
Long beach is unique with scattered pockets of "ghetto" . Belmont shore is a great beach community (I rent there) north LB has bixby knolls, California heights . You can find something in Belmont shore on your budget and it's great for single young people. We rent a large 2 bedroom condo for 1600
I lived near 6th and Magnolia for 3 years as a grad student at LB state and never had any problems. I'd echo the statement above to stay east of Redondo or south of 7th street and you should be ok. I had to park on the street which sucked and having people ask you for money every day is sometimes scary but usually just annoying. I do know some people who got mugged downtown so it's still not that safe.
DT LB is very strange tons of homeless and old junker cars on the street but you also see a lot of new MB,BMW parked next to the homeless and old cars. I also would run at night time (late past midnight sometimes) I had to be careful not to step on some of the homeless sleeping on the sidewalks. But I'm a 6' 220lb male if I was a smaller female I would only live there if I could get on-site parking.
That crummy housing in downtown you refer to I call afforadable. I've lived in downtown Long Beach for more than 35 years and think the mix of incomes and housing we have makes it more interesting, rather than strange. I can't stand living in a neighborhood that's bland and homogenized. Poor people don't have a disease, they aren't contagious.
Well even the nice housing in downtown is pretty affordable. I definitely like downtown LBC especially because you can walk everywhere (a godsend to me cuz I didn't have a car) but I just can't ask anyone to ignore the social problems there. Really there's just a lot of visible social issues but there's not all that much crime or any sort of real feeling of dangerous sketchiness like I've seen in nastier bigger cities like parts of Chicago or SF or Oakland or LA. And there's a lot of nice thriving restaurants and shops. It's definitely not a ghetto at all, it just has a few ghetto aspects about it which aren't a big deal but, again, will make sheltered OC suburbanites flip their wigs.
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I miss Long Beach!
