Where to live in Long Beach area? (Torrance, Orange: apartment, rental)

[cacain119]

We were told VERY short notice that we are moving to Long Beach with my job. We have no idea as to where to start looking and everywhere we mention everyone says will be terrible locations due to traffic.

What areas would you suggest? What areas are considered reverse traffic? Rent range is anywhere from 2000-2800 for a 2/2 (wide range, I know). We love the views of Rancho Palos Verdes but really would like to be accessible to shops, restaurants, bars, etc. We're married but still mid 20s and like to go out from time to time.

[TurcoLoco]

Commute from Rancho Palos Verdes to LB will not be too bad but LB is kind of big so where exactly will you be working at?

Have you considered living in LB to have minimal commute? You should not have trouble finding a decent rental within your price range in LB, probably not in RPV either.

[cacain119]

My work is actually located on the runway of the Long Beach airport.

We've heard a lot of negative things about LB in general (being a little shady, crime, BAD pollution, etc.), so we were thinking about sticking away from living directly in LB. Any thoughts on those comments?

[wsflco]

Try Lakewood, no commute to speak of.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by cacain119

My work is actually located on the runway of the Long Beach airport.

We've heard a lot of negative things about LB in general (being a little shady, crime, BAD pollution, etc.), so we were thinking about sticking away from living directly in LB. Any thoughts on those comments?

Unless you grew up in a palace somewhere, you should be fine in East/South LB, Belmont Shores/Heights/CSULB area is plenty nice. Do not believe everything you hear. If you ask people in LB about Lakewood, they will tell you Lakewood is ghetto, full of gangs, etc. which is not true either.

If possible, rent some place short term initially then check out the rental properties in areas I mentioned. LB has some really beautiful areas, you might be pleasantly surprised.

[Chowhound]

South and east LB are generally the better areas... Lakewood, as someone said is good too....

[JohnG72]

Originally Posted by TurcoLoco

Unless you grew up in a palace somewhere, you should be fine in East/South LB, Belmont Shores/Heights/CSULB area is plenty nice. Do not believe everything you hear. If you ask people in LB about Lakewood, they will tell you Lakewood is ghetto, full of gangs, etc. which is not true either.

If possible, rent some place short term initially then check out the rental properties in areas I mentioned. LB has some really beautiful areas, you might be pleasantly surprised.

The bolded part is hillarious, though I've also heard that.

Most of Lakewood is about as close to looking like something you'd see in Leave It To Beaver as there is in LA County.

Just to get an idea what you are looking at OP, the following is in the part of Long Beach just south of Lakewood:

Beautiful upgraded 3 bedroom 2 bath

That generally is the area near Connant and Bellflower Bl. Of course, RE lie a LOT and you would def want to verify since they don't list an address. You'd literally be a five minute drive from work if in fact the house is in the location stated.

Or you could live by the beach in Belmont Shores which is an amazing and interesting neighborhood. Maybe a 15-20 minute drive to work(if that).

165 Glendora - PRIME BELMONT SHORE LOCATION!

Note that much of Belmont Shores has severe parking issues so a second car will be a problem.

And as pointed out, all the areas in between those two are great also.

[2Easy]

I like the Bixby/Virginia Country Club/Bixby Knolls area on the west side of Long Beach. It's pretty quiet with lots of families. Aside from that commuting from the South Bay isn't bad. And it's not quite as far away from the rest of LA as Long Beach is.

[Dennis P]

I live in Lakewood, so of course I will give this city a hearty recommendation. It's also a short drive to the Long Beach Airport.

Eastern areas of Long Beach bordering Los Alamitos (ZIP codes 90815 and 90808) are also nicer areas and a close drive to the airport. The Belmont Shore and Belmont Heights neighborhoods are also ideal for people in their 20s. About the only downside is the lack of parking and how crowded it can get during the summer. The neighborhood surrounding Cal State Long Beach is also nice and has a youthful vibe about it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[mayorhaggar]

Belmont Shores is definitely really nice, lots of cute old Mediterranean-style houses mixed in with some McMansions and a fair number of apartment buildings. 2nd Street there has a ton of very lively bars and restaurants, but it is very hard to park there so try to get an apartment with a parking space.

The area near CSULB is definitely nice, like the area just west of the campus. Also the LB airport is pretty close to western Orange County, so you could live somewhere like Seal Beach. Bixby Knolls in NW Long Beach is also definitely nice as someone said.

Lakewood I don't know much about but what I've seen was a bit run down looking and not as nice looking as the nice parts of Long Beach. I'm sure it has some nicer parts that I didn't see.

Another option would be the condos in and near downtown Long Beach, there are quite a few, and there is a lot of stuff going on. The condos are often really new and look nice but honestly downtown LB attracts a lot of homeless people and poor people, so you have to have a high tolerance for stuff like that. I don't mind it but if you are used to sheltered suburban living you might be uncomfortable.

The towns on Palos Verdes are definitely pretty and the shoreline is scenic but it's very expensive and pretty remote.

Somewhere like Torrance would be another option, but the commute would be fairly rough, and it's not that different from closer areas in western Orange County.