"A great place to live" a Long Beach Travel Page by american_tourister

We loved living in Long Beach! It has everything that we wanted from the urban lifestyle aspect and is still small enough that we were not overwhelmed with sensory overload. We loved the mid size and beach city feel that it has. Most people who live here are passionate about the city and have no desire to live anywhere else in the Southland. Long Beach is surrounded by barriers that separate it from the rest of the LA area.

It has its own identity and lifestyle that is very different from LA or Orange County. It is tolerant, diverse, and has a good mix of heavy and light industry.

You can be anywhere in the Southland in a very short period of time. Hollywood is 45 minutes; San Diego 90 minutes, Mexico 2 hours, the desert 2 hours, Las Vegas 4 1/2 hours, Bear Mountain for skiing 2 hours. This beach is 5 blocks from my old house.

When we moved here it was considered the best bargain for beach city living. Alas the secret has been discovered and now the home prices here are getting as ridiculous as they are everywhere else in the Southland.

It is becoming more and more difficult to afford living here and we were pushed out by the cost of living here. We moved to Texas to escape state income tax, outrageous property tax, and to make sure that our children can grow up in a safe environment. Long Beach is terrific for adults but not the best place to raise kids.

Here is a list of famous people who were either born in Long Beach or who made it their home.

Dave & Phil Alvin - Musicians
Fatty Arbuckle - Silent film Comedian
Ruth Ashton Taylor - TV News
Denise Austin - Fitness Maven
Richard Bach - Writer
Theda Bara - Actress
Frank Black - Musician
Jackson Browne - Musician
Jeff Burroughs - Baseball Player
Sean Burroughs - Baseball Player
Jan Burke - Writer
Nicholas Cage - Actor
Richard & Karen Carpenter - Music
Chris Carter - X Files Author
Raymond Chandler - Writer
Wrong Way Corrigan - Pilot
Johnathan Davis - Musician
Bo Derek - Actress
Cameron Diaz - Actress
Snoop Dogg - Rapper
Donald Douglas - Aircraft Designer/Manufacturer
John Dykstra - Movies
Buddy Ebsen - Actor
Melissa Etheridge - Musician
Ron Fairly - Baseball Player
Tony Gwynn - Baseball Player
Van Heflin - Actor
John Lee Hooker - Musician
Marilyn Horne - Opera Singer
Thelma Houston - Disco Diva
Howard Hughes - Everything
Spike Jones - Movies
Paula Jones - Clinton's Babe
Sally Kellerman - Actress
DeForest Kelly - Bones on Star Trek
Billie Jean King - Tennis Player
Vicki Lawrence - TV
Bob Lemon - Baseball Player
Mike McReady - Musician
Camryn Manheim - Actress
Steve Martin - Comedian
Robert Mitchum - Actor
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Brad Nowell - Musician
Michelle Phillips - Music
Upton Sinclair - Writer
Steven Spielberg - Movies
Tiffani Amber Thiesen - Actress
Tiffany - Music
War - Music
John Wayne - THE MAN
Tiger Woods - Mr. Nike
TANNER THORN - OK, my kid. maybe he will be famous one day.
Anthony Zerbe - Actor