COMMENT BY
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Lakewood, CA
COMMENT
Long Beach area jobs
I have to agree with many of the positive comments others have posted regarding Long Beach. For a coastal Southern California, it's relatively reasonably priced in terms of housing. Lots of things to see and do in the city, lots of diverse neighborhoods, each with its own character. As one person stated, there are good and bad areas of town---it seems that the nicer, safer neighborhoods are in the eastern part of the city, near Orange County. Lots of ethnic diversity adds to the unique character of Long Beach.
However, my one big complaint about Long Beach is in the area of decent-paying, skilled jobs. There used to be a lot of good job offerings in the area, but it seems many of the companies doing business in Long Beach are moving to Orange County cities, such as Costa Mesa and Irvine. As a result, lots of Long Beach-area residents have to commute long distances for work in horribly gridlocked traffic, especially the 405 going south. (Been there, done that!) Fortunately for me, I was able to find a job close to home, but the downside is that it doesn't pay as well as my last job in Irvine. With Boeing closing down its last aircraft assembly plant, that many more people in this area will be out of a job, and may be forced to look out of the area for something with comparable pay and benefits.
This can be an enjoyable place to live if one weighs all the positive and negative aspects, and makes decisions accordingly.