What should you know about Long Beach, California

1. Geography

Long Beach, located less than 23 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles, is the third largest city in Southern California.

The city has a total area of 51.437 square miles, of which 50.293 square miles is land, and 1.144 square miles (2.22%) is water.

1. a Climate

The climate of Long Beach has been classified as Mediterranean with semi-arid climate characteristics. On average, there are 287 sunny days per year in the area. The July high is around 82 degrees, while the January low is 46. Temperatures tent to be higher inland, than those register along the coast.

Heat waves are more tolerable in this area because the heat and humidity don't coincide very often.The amount of moisture is also less than in other coastal cities, due to the lack of west to east airflow that is blocked by the Palos Verdes hills (with 1,200 ft.)

In the summer season, fog develops overnight blanketing the area in the mornings, until it slowly clears up by the afternoon.

Long Beach gets 14 inches of rain per year, and most rainfall occurs during the winter months. Storms bring heavy rainfall occasionally.

2. Economy

In the past, oil extraction created a boom, and the community was a Navy town for many years. Nowadays, the economic base has changed and other companies have established their headquarters in the city, including: Epson America, Inc., Pioneer Electronics, a Medicaid management healthcare program, Health Care Property Investors, SCAN Health Plan.

A part of Toyota makes steering columns and catalytic converters in the city. Boeing is still one of largest private employer in Long Beach, as well as these other companies and institutions: Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, City of Long Beach, California State University, Long Beach; VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach City College, California State University, Long Beach Foundation, St. Mary Medical Center, Molina Healthcare, California State University, Denso, Epson, and Gulfstream.

Other interesting facts we found in the official website of the City include:

Nationally, Long Beach has been named a Top 10 Social Media City two years in a row.
The Port of Long Beach moves more than $150 billion a year in trade.
The Long Beach Airport Area Complex supports 43,000 jobs.

Long Beach Green Business Association promotes a buy local program as well as a green business program. Their main goal is to create economic growth for the community.

3. Education

Public schools

Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) serves most of the community of Long Beach. There are also other school districts that serve sections of the city:

ABC Unified School District.
Paramount Unified School District.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Private schools

Multiple private schools (approximately 25) serve the residents of Long Beach. Two of them offer distance learning programs for adults:

Accelerated Christian Academy - K-12 and Adult Learners (online distance learning).

Parkridge Private School - K-12 and Adults (online distance learning).

Higher Education

California State University, one of the largest universities in California in terms of enrollment, has a brach in Long Beach.

DeVry University, Long Beach offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in various career fields.

Long Beach City College, a community college, has two separate campuses: the Liberal Arts Campus located on Lakewood Village (the residential area), and the Pacific Coast Campus located in Central Long Beach.

Pacific Coast University School of Law is a private non-profit accredited law school.

3.a Library

The Long Beach Public Library operates 12 libraries in the City, including the main library.

One of the multiple programs and services offered by the library system is the Long Beach Public Library's Career Online High School (COHS) program, which offers a scholarship to earn an accredited high school diploma and a career certificate online for free.

Students have up to 18 months to complete the program and they are paired with an online academic coach for guidance.

According to the library's website, applicants must meet the following requirements to be considered for the program:

Be 19 years or older.
Live in the City of Long Beach.

Have a library account in good standing.

4. Government

The City Council functions as the legislative body that represents the citizens of Long Beach, and it is formed by 9 members who are elected for a term of four years.

The mayor and city council appoint members of the charter mandated commissions and all other commissions and committees, and also appoints the city manager and the city clerk.

Other members that represent the City are: the city attorney, the city prosecutor and the city auditor, who are elected as well for four-year terms.

5. Infrastructure

5.a Transportation

Bus

Long Beach Transit has 34 bus routes to take passengers everywhere in Long Beach, Lakewood and Signal Hill. Four LBT routes travel to and from the Long Beach Airport, and connect with the Metro light rail service to Los Angeles, El Segundo and Norwalk. The service provides connections to these neighboring cities: Carson, Compton, Paramount, Bellflower, Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and Norwalk.

Long Beach Transit buses run seven days a week, and all of them are wheelchair accessible.

Light rail

The Metro Blue Line runs between the Downtown Long Beach Station, and the 7th Street/Metro Center Station in Downtown Los Angeles.

From the 7th Street/Metro Center Station, transit users can make connections to multiple points of interest along the Los Angeles Metro Rail network, including: Hollywood, Union Station, Pasadena, East LA, Universal Studios, Chinatown, and many other places.

From Union Station in downtown L.A., passengers can access the regional Metrolink rail system to visit cities and towns in Southern California, and also to access Amtrak trains.

Bike paths

The city has over 60 miles of Class 1 bike paths, as well as several Class 2 (painted lanes on roadway) and Class 3 paths (connecting bike routes with shared use of road with cars).

Highways

Numerous freeways run through Long Beach connecting the city with Orange County and the greater Los Angeles.

Port

Port of Long Beach serves shipping between USA and the Pacific Rim. According to Wikipedia.com, the combined operations of the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles are the busiest in the USA.

5.b Utilities

Long Beach Gas & Oil Department (LBGO) provides service to approximately 500,000 residents and businesses in the cities of Long Beach and Signal Hill.

The City of Long Beach provides a purple recycling cart to all residents of single family homes or small apartment complexes (up to 10 units). Recyclables are collected each week on the same day as garbage.

Long Beach Water Department supplies water and sewer services to the community.

6. Point of Interest

If are moving to Long Beach and have a dog, there is a special place to take it: "Rosie's Dog Beach", situated in Belmont Shore between Roycroft and Argonne avenues, is a legal off-leash area on the beach for dogs. It is the only authorized off-leash beach section in all of Los Angeles County. The 3-acre area is open every day, all day.

Aquarium of the Pacific displays over 11,000 animals in more than 50 exhibits. The Aquarium offers multiple educational programs for people of all ages.

Our Long Beach moving company recommends visiting and exploring, El Dorado Nature Center which is an oasis of natural habitat, located between the San Gabriel River and the 605 Freeway. Perfect for enjoying nature in a quite environment.

Rainbow Harbor & Marina Rainbow Harbor, located between Shoreline Village and the Aquarium of the Pacific, feature 87 slips for recreational boaters and commercial operators.

The harbor area boasts twelve, 150 foot docks from where, residents and visitors enjoy activities such as: sports fishing, whale watching, harbor cruises, dinner cruises, private charter boat, rental boats, personal watercraft rentals and much more.

Located next to the Rainbow Harbor / Rainbow Marine, the Shoreline Village and the Pike Outlet stores offer a wide selection of shopping, dining and entertainment options.

Rancho Los Alamitos, twice listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes traces of the sacred Tongva village of Povuu’ngna; an adobe-core ranch house and four acres of lush historic gardens.

Rancho Los Cerritos, a 4.7-acre (19,000 m2) historical site, features adobe buildings date from the 1880s. The site also includes a California history research library. The Museum opens from Wednesday to Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

Besides the big malls, many neighborhoods in the community provide retail centers for diverse shopping opportunities.

Experience exciting and informative guided tours aboard of the RMS Queen Mary, a 1936 Art Deco ocean liner permanently docked at Long Beach. You can also stay overnight in one of the “regular” rooms, and even on the first-class staterooms and suites!

As the official website said: “the Queen Mary's history is full of action, adventure, romance and paranormal activity...”

So if you are ready to jump aboard and enjoy all the amenities that this community offers, please CONTACT our Long Beach movers.

We are prepared to provide the assistance that fits your needs and priorities.

6 Reasons to Move to Long Beach, CA