Long Beach: Wrigley area, good or bad??? (Los Angeles, Santa Monica: apartments, rentals)

[Lord Lionheart]

I did a search and found very limited information on this area of Long Beach.
We are a European couple with two kids 4 & 2, living in Santa Monica and have been in the States 2 decades.
We have been looking to buy in the Wrigley area as it is somewhat affordable and has been on the upswing before the recent bubble/crash.
Got a LB police report which shows a couple of residential burglaries a month and an assault or 2, which doesn't exactly seem like Beirut??
So Wrigley, yes or no. And reasons behind your opinions please.
Also how are the local Long Beach schools?

[bhcompy]

wrigley is mostly redeveloped.. newer shopping centers and such, which generally helps the property values.. go spend some time there since you're local. drive around the neighborhood and such and see how you like it

[xyzxyz]

I have lived in Los Angeles for 15 years and have been to Long Beach a handful of time over the years, most recently just today. My observation of Long Beach is that it is gang-owned and -operated. There are some really great areas along the water, but the further east you go it just becomes a gang-infested rat hole.

[Lord Lionheart]

Originally Posted by xyzxyz

I have lived in Los Angeles for 15 years and have been to Long Beach a handful of time over the years, most recently just today. My observation of Long Beach is that it is gang-owned and -operated. There are some really great areas along the water, but the further east you go it just becomes a gang-infested rat hole.

Do you have any sources or data such as crime statistics to back up your opinion? As I said my research for this area shows 1 or 2 residential burglaries a month. The few searches for this area on this site say it's a no go area but based on what specifically??

[Lord Lionheart]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

wrigley is mostly redeveloped.. newer shopping centers and such, which generally helps the property values.. go spend some time there since you're local. drive around the neighborhood and such and see how you like it

I have spent some time driving around the area over a few years. Over by the 710/river seems fine, while the area around Cedar seems apartments and so-so. Homes are going for $400K and up, even after the bubble. Just trying to get some feedback from people who actually know and/or live in the Wrigley neighborhood

[bhcompy]

i dont live there.. i live nearby. ive worked extensively in the area, so i couldnt tell you about how safe or comfortable you'd be at night. sorry

[Chowhound]

Originally Posted by xyzxyz

I have lived in Los Angeles for 15 years and have been to Long Beach a handful of time over the years, most recently just today. My observation of Long Beach is that it is gang-owned and -operated. There are some really great areas along the water, but the further east you go it just becomes a gang-infested rat hole.

This is an incorrect posting. In Long Beach the further east and /or south you go the better it generally gets. The northern parts get a little rough.

[calipoppy]

Long Beach has several really great areas: Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights, Naples, Bixby Knolls and even downtown LBC(in the highrise condos)

Chowhound is correct in saying that the Northern parts of the city are very rough and scary but you would probably never have a real reason to venture into those parts of the city.

I have never lived in LB but I worked there for about 2 years and loved it!

[gavini]

I have lived in Wrigley for almost five years. it is a very nice and friendly neighborhood with a lot of character and historic homes built in the 20s.

the South east portion of the neighborhood has a lot of apartments and some gang issues, fortunately those dont spill over into the rest of the neighborhood. we got a home alarm system when we first moved in but when the two year contract expired we did not renew it, we never felt like we needed it.

the elementary school north of willow is highly regarded, lafayette south of willow is over crowded and has a very high percentage of ESL students.

there are a number of active resident groups in the area including The Wrigley Association and Wrigley is Going Green that do events, tree plantings, speakers, clean ups and other things.

Wrigley is also home of the annual Daisy Ave, Christmas Tree Lane Parade.

the further you get from PCH, usually the more expensive it will be.

The LA river boosts some park space and a nice running/biking trail.

veterans park in wrigley is a large park with basketball, playgrounds, soccer, tennis and more.

the blue line train stops at the shopping center at willow and LB Blvd which i take to downtown la for work each day, the ride takes 37 minutes and costs $1.25 each way.

there are some seedy and dumpy dive bars in the area but also a nice place on willow called Puka Bar, great Thai food on Paciifc, good mexican at PCH and Pine, a new vietnamese place on pacific which is really good and Buono's on willow which is some of the best pizza you will find in so-cal.

feel free to email me with any questions you might have.

[Sierra56]

Long Beach School District is very good. Our children attend now. Wrigley as I understand it is close to PCH and sometimes you read in the Press Telegram that prostitutes do business in the vicinity, on streets in parts of Wrigley. If the area you like looks maintained and has mostly home owners vs. rentals, then that is a factor to consider. I have lived in the LB/Lakewood area for 25 years and we like it. I would rather live here than Santa Monica only because it seems less city somehow.