Advantages & Disadvantages of Moving to Long Beach

You consider moving to Long Beach?

Make sure to check out all the pros and cons of living in Long Beach first so that you are able to make a profound decision and can avoid common mistakes in this regard!

Living in Long Beach – Overview

Advantages of Living in Long Beach

1. People in Long Beach are friendly
2. Easy to socialize in Long Beach
3. Long Beach is a multicultural city
4. Good schools and universities to choose from
5. Long Beach is directly located at the coast
6. Beautiful nature surrounding Long Beach
7. Proximity to L.A. makes the city attractive
8. Traffic is not as of a big deal as in L.A.
9. Property prices are lower than in L.A.
10. You can make good money in Long Beach
11. Long Beach is not too far away from the mountains
12. You can go surfing or swimming during lunch break
13. You can meet people from all over the world
14. You can try delicious foods
15. Decent nightlife in Long Beach
16. People are pretty relaxed in Long Beach
17. Good weather makes living in Long Beach attractive
18. Cozy winters
19. You can spend lots of time outdoors
20. You find most things for daily life nearby
21. People are welcome from all parts of the world
22. Decent hospitals and doctors
23. Long Beach is a pet-friendly city
24. People in Long Beach often live a healthy life

People in Long Beach are friendly

One reason to move to Long Beach is that people are pretty friendly and will be open to helping you out anytime you need help in various different ways.

For instance, if you get lost, people will give you directions on how to get back on track and you can count on the support of most of the general public in general.

Easy to socialize in Long Beach

Since people are pretty supportive and outgoing, Long Beach is also a great city to socialize.

In fact, if you are an open person yourself, you will find many new friends within weeks or even days and can really grow your social circle pretty quickly.

Long Beach is a multicultural city

Another advantage of living in Long Beach is that this city is a pretty multicultural place and you can meet many people from different countries who can tell you many interesting stories and by talking to those people, you can really grow in character and can see the world from a different perspective so that you become more mature and tolerant yourself in the long run.

Good schools and universities to choose from

Long Beach is also a great place to live since there are many good schools and colleges to choose from and you can therefore make sure that your kids get the best education possible.

Long Beach is directly located at the coast

Another upside to living in Long Beach is that the city is directly located at the beautiful coast.

Thus, it will only take you a few minutes to get to the beach where you can enjoy a nice day with your loved ones or just relax from your stressful daily life alone.

Beautiful nature surrounding Long Beach

Not only does Long Beach have great beaches, but you will also find beautiful nature surrounding the city.

In fact, nature reserves and national parks are not that far away and Long Beach is therefore a great place to live for you if you love forests, beaches and other natural places.

Proximity to L.A. makes the city attractive

While Long Beach is a nice city to live in, it is also decently located and not too far from Los Angeles.

In turn, if you want to have world-class entertainment or watch your favorite sports teams, you can just drive to L.A. within one hour and can enjoy all those nice things on a regular basis.

Traffic is not as of a big deal as in L.A.

While traffic in Los Angeles has become a serious problem, it is still not that bad in Long Beach and you will therefore not have to spend lots of time in traffic jams compared to other major cities in the US.

Property prices are lower than in L.A.

Even though property prices in Long Beach have increased significantly over the past years, living in Long Beach is still much more affordable compared to living in Los Angeles since property prices and rents are still lower.

Thus, you don’t have to spend as much money on housing as in other major cities in the US and can rather spend more of your disposable money on other nice things.

You can make good money in Long Beach

Long Beach also has many good jobs to offer, at least if you are highly qualified and have skills needed in the job market right now.

In such a case, you can make good money in this region and will be able to afford a decent lifestyle.

Long Beach is not too far away from the mountains

Another upside to living in Long Beach is that the city is not too far from the mountains.

This means that you can go hiking and even skiing by driving for just a few hours and you can therefore make many nice day trips with your family.

You can go surfing or swimming during lunch break

Since Long Beach is directly located at the coast, you can go surfing and swimming even during lunch break or also before and after work.

Consequently, you can live a pretty relaxed lifestyle and can really enjoy life to its fullest at this beautiful place.

You can meet people from all over the world

Another benefit of living in Long Beach is that you can meet people from all over the world.

In fact, many tourists and students visit Long Beach and you can therefore make many international connections and make many new friends from all parts of the world in the long run.

You can try delicious foods

Since Long Beach is a culturally diverse place, you will also have many different foods to choose from and this will give you inspiration for your own cooking routine and you can therefore improve your own cooking skills quite a lot in the long run.

Decent nightlife in Long Beach

Another advantage of moving to Long Beach is that the city has decent nightlife to offer.

Even though you will not have the same selection of bars and clubs to choose from as in L.A. or in other major cities, you will still have a decent variety of restaurants and other locations to hang out in.

People are pretty relaxed in Long Beach

Long Beach is also a great city to move to if you search for a place where people are laid-back and you just don’t want to have to deal with all the stress as in many bigger cities in the US but rather want to have a relaxed life.

Good weather makes living in Long Beach attractive

Another upside to moving to Long Beach is that the city has great weather to offer and you can enjoy sunny and hot summers at the beach without having to worry about rain that much.

Cozy winters

Not only will you have great summers, but you will also have cozy winters and while people in many other cities have to deal with snow, you will be able to hang out outdoors without having to wear a heavy jacket most of the time in Long Beach.

You can spend lots of time outdoors

Due to the nice weather, people in Long Beach can spend lots of time outdoors in general and this can help you stay physically and mentally healthy in the long run.

You find most things for daily life nearby

Since Long Beach is a big city and has decent infrastructure, you will find everything you need for daily life at almost every corner and this means that you don’t have to drive to other cities to find what you are looking for but can rather get all you need within a few miles.

People are welcome from all parts of the world

Since Long Beach is a tolerant city, people from all over the world are welcome and it doesn’t matter from what country you come from as long as you are friendly and kind and also know how to behave.

Decent hospitals and doctors

Another benefit of moving to Long Beach is that you will have decent medical infrastructure and in case you get sick, you will find many doctors and hospitals where you can get the best medical treatment.

Long Beach is a pet-friendly city

Living in Long Beach is also great if you have pets since there are many pet owners and other like-minded people and if you walk down the streets, you will find many other people going for a walk with their dogs and you will always have someone to chat with.

People in Long Beach often live a healthy life

People in Long Beach also often live a pretty healthy lifestyle.

In turn, if you are surrounded by people who live healthily, chances are that you will also live healthier yourself and you can therefore minimize your risk of suffering from serious health issues in the long run.

As you can see, there are many reasons to move to Long Beach.

However, it is still not all upside and we should also talk about all the downsides that come along with it in the following chapter so that you get a better idea of what life in Long Beach really looks like and whether you still want to move to this place or rather want to live in a different city instead.

Disadvantages of Living in Long Beach

1. Relatively poor public transport in Long Beach
2. Long Beach is not a bike-friendly city
3. Property prices are already pretty high
4. Rents have increased significantly over the past years
5. Overall living costs are pretty high
6. Not as many good bars and clubs to choose from as in L.A.
7. Increasing gap between the poor and the rich
8. Average person struggles to make a living in Long Beach
9. Crime rates in Long Beach are relatively high
10. Long Beach is vulnerable to natural disasters
11. Water scarcity may become a serious problem

Relatively poor public transport in Long Beach

One problem with living in Long Beach is that public transport is rather limited and also pretty unreliable.

Consequently, you often need a car and should not just rely on public transport to get from A to B, especially if you have important meetings and don’t want to be late.

Long Beach is not a bike-friendly city

While Long Beach invests some money to make the city bike-friendly, there are still not that many bike lanes and you will also not feel safe going by bike in many districts.

Thus, you should rather rely on your car to get around and if you love to go by bike, you may rather want to move to San Francisco or other bike-friendly cities instead.

Property prices are already pretty high

While property prices are still lower compared to other major cities like LA., they are still pretty high and you have to make good money to be able to afford to buy a home in this region.

Rents have increased significantly over the past years

Not only property prices are pretty high, but also rents in Long Beach have increased significantly over the past years and chances are that this trend will continue in the future.

In turn, you will have to spend a high fraction of your disposable income on housing and may not have enough left to live a comfortable life.

Overall living costs are pretty high

Another downside to living in Long Beach is that overall living costs are pretty high.

If you go out to a restaurant or a bar, you will pay much more than in the average city in the US and if you don’t make good money from your job, you will simply not be able to afford many nice things in Long Beach.

Not as many good bars and clubs to choose from as in L.A.

While Long Beach offers decent nightlife, you will still not be able to choose among as many bars and clubs as in L.A. and you may therefore get bored with the nightlife of the city sooner or later.

Increasing gap between the poor and the rich

You will also experience an increasing gap between the poor and the rich in Long Beach and while a small minority of rich people can afford many nice things, many poor people are no longer able to pay rent anymore and may end up homeless in the streets in the long run.

Average person struggles to make a living in Long Beach

Not only poor people struggle to make a living in Long Beach, but also the average person has a hard time paying rent and other expenses for daily life and if this trend continues, many people may have to leave the Long Beach area and may have to move to a cheaper place.

Crime rates in Long Beach are relatively high

Another downside to moving to Long Beach is that the city has pretty high crime rates and it is rather unsafe to get around, especially at nighttime where many incidents have happened in the past.

Long Beach is vulnerable to natural disasters

You should also be aware that Long Beach may be vulnerable to wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters, similar to San José and other major cities on the West coast and those natural disasters can really take away everything you have, including your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Water scarcity may become a serious problem

Another problem with moving to Long Beach is that water scarcity has become a serious issue and may become even worse in the future due to global warming.

If the city runs out of drinking water, quality of life would drop significantly in the whole region.

Top 10 Moving To Long Beach Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Move To Long Beach?

Now that you know all the advantages and disadvantages of living in Long Beach, it is on you to decide whether you still want to move to Long Beach or rather want to live in a different city instead.

Alternative Cities To Live In

If you don’t want to move to Long Beach anymore, you should also have a look at the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Los Angeles

Advantages and disadvantages of living in San Diego

Advantages and disadvantages of living in San José

Advantages and disadvantages of living in San Francisco

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Fresno

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Sacramento

Sources

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/longbeachcitycalifornia

About the author

This site is about living, moving and traveling to various parts of our fascinating planet.

My name is Andreas and when I was younger, I traveled the world and learned a lot about different cultures and countries.

Thus, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can benefit from them and avoid common mistakes in this regard.

In my articles, you will find everything you need to find the best location for a happy and successful life.