Smokeybailey

saschaduran

I saw your response to me this past week about Long Beach/Belmont area. That is actually the area we are looking at! Our friends used to live downtown at a loft. They loved it in some ways, but did say it was dangerous at night to walk around. So I am leaning towards Belmont Shore or Seal Beach, where our friends now live. It is really important to me to move to an area where I can pretty much walk and ride my bike to the beach and local restaurants. I am craving that lifestyle. My husband really loves Seal Beach. It seems so quiet and quaint and safe. Pretty much the least trendy place I have seen in Southern California, but I am finding that charming for a change. Belmont seems really cute, and busier. What do you think of Seal Beach as opposed to the Belmont Shores/Long Beach?

smokeybailey

Sascha....I live downtown and I LOVE it.  We think that Belmont and Seal Beaches are little too OC for us.  DT is much more diverse.  I have NEVER felt unsafe and we stroll around all the time.  I go to the market and ATM at night.  I also work in DT so I walk to work.However, I have quite a few friends that live in Belmont and they like it very much.  I prefer Belmont to Seal Beach because it's closer to me.  (Check the tax rates too if you are thinking about buying at all.  OC may be higher.)  I lived in Seal Beach for 1 month so I don't have a lot of say about it and I really do not care for Orange County at all.I love long beach.  We have Downtown, the East Village (artsy, eclectic restaruants, etc.), Shoreline Village, Belmont, Naples, all very close together.  Lots to do every night if you wanted to.  Tons of farmer's markets.  Cool little exhibits and things to see.  This Thursday we are doing a Polynesian Party at the Aquarium of the Pacific (walking distance) and this past weekend we saw Purple Rain at the Art Theatre (not walking distance at 1 am but only 1.6 miles!).  OH, and we have the LB airport which is the EASIEST frickin' airport EVER and Jet Blue flies to Vegas twice a day.  :)Anyway, want MORE info?  Email me at Oored13oO at aol dot com (or ping me via AIM).  Also, you might page Christine_Diane on the Getting In Shape board.  I think she lives in Belmont.I hope that helps you!

saschaduran

Thanks! That is all really good info. I didn't get the OC vibe from Seal Beach, but then again, I am comparing it to Huntington and Newport. And I do not like Huntington too much. Seal Beach almost seems a little too quiet though. I love the idea of farmer's markets and restaurants and neighborhood feel. There is no neighborhood feel in Vegas. Just a bunch of subdivisions that all look alike. We saw an ad for an amazing unit in the circle building on Ocean in LB. I heard there are tons of small doggies there, and I love the Long Beach dog beach. Thanks again for the info! I'm sure I will email you with more questions.

smokeybailey

I can see that building from my window at work.  Those high rises are cool locations too on Ocean.  Not too far to walk to any place!  The dog beach is great.  I live in a building that is filled with dogs of all sizes.Seal Beach is less OC than NB or HB but it's still a little too much for me.  I think Belmont is a little OC!  Ping me if you want more info.  I am headed home for the night...I have a beach bike ride ahead of me!

saschaduran

Jealous! Thanks:)