Buying a house in Long Beach is a good option if you’re looking for a place to settle down with beautiful weather all year, a wide range of people to meet, and a lively urban core. Long Beach, sometimes known as the “Aquatic Capital of America,” has a diverse population across many communities. If you’re a foodie, you can sample the many different cultures the city’s vast immigrant community represents. If you’d rather spend the day on the sand than the pool, Long Beach boasts plenty of beaches within easy driving distance of the downtown area.
Long Beach may be your ideal place to live, but you should know a few things before transitioning to this beachy haven.
1. Living in Long Beach Can Be Affordable
Why is Long Beach a nice place to live? Being a suburb of L.A., it offers all the benefits of city life without the high cost of living. While the median home price in Los Angeles is $496,300, the median home price in Long Beach is only $448,800. Plus, it’s simple to find beautiful neighborhoods to live in! Our favorites include Park Estates, Belmont Shore, and East Village.
2. Job Market and Local Economy
As a result of the city’s rapid economic development, Long Beach now offers a wide range of work opportunities in fields like education, aerospace, technology, healthcare, and business. Major companies in Long Beach include Boeing, Frontier Communications, Long Beach Transit, California State University-Long Beach, and the Long Beach Medical Center. Many government, environmental, and security jobs are near the Port of Long Beach. And if you want to work in technology, Long Beach is home to companies like Relativity Space, Zwift, and Momentum IoT.
3. Easy Commutes
You can get around the city in many ways, by land or by boat. It’s not just one of the most walkable cities in Southern California but also one of the most walkable places in the country. Long Beach is known for its bike-friendly paths, the BikeShare Program, and growing bike culture. It is also easy to get around on foot. Residents can also take the AquaBus or AquaLink. These water taxis travel over 100 square miles and stop at important places like the Aquarium of the Pacific, The Queen Mary, and Shoreline Village. Long Beach Transit buses can take you all over the city, so you can stop worrying about where to park and how much it costs to own a car. The Passport Bus is a free shuttle between many of Downtown Long Beach’s most important sites, stores, and restaurants.
4. Beautiful Scenery
One of the best things about living in Long Beach is going outside and enjoying the weather and scenery. Go to ShoreLine Aquatic Park and see the Lions Lighthouse or ride your bike on the trails there. There is a playground and a tennis court at Los Cerritos Park. Skateboard, BBQ, or walk your dog at Bixby Park. El Dorado East Regional Park has free archery classes, a 105-acre wildlife center, and places to fish and hunt. You can spend a day at Bluff Park looking at the Pacific Ocean and walking around the 13-acre park. At Rainbow Lagoon, you can have a picnic, go running, or take a swan boat to ride on. Play soccer or baseball with your family at Marina Vista Park.
5. Lots of Community Events
Those lucky enough to live in Long Beach have a lot of fun things to do nearby. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is the longest-running big street race in the United States. It is held every year in Downtown Long Beach. You can see famous jazz musicians like Sergio Mendes, Avery Sunshine, Robert Glasper, and Ledisi play live at the Long Beach Jazz Festival. The Long Beach Pirate Invasion brings over 1,000 pirates and mermaids to Shoreline Park to eat, drink, and witness sword fights to fantastic music. At the Long Beach Sea Festival, you can take your kids to the Grand Sand sculpture and compete in a fishing challenge. Go to the Long Beach Fish Festival to try some of the best fish in the area and learn new recipes from California cooks. Or, you could go to the Dragon Boat Festival in Long Beach, where the original dragon boat race began in southern China over 2,000 years ago.