Long Beach - Best Neighborhood for Walking

One of the most appealing draws to living in Long Beach CA is the walkability of many of our local neighborhoods. Well, somebody finally decided to start ranking walkable neighborhoods across the country. Walk Score has ranked 2,508 neighborhoods in 40 of the largest US cities to help buyers find walkable communities to live in.

Long Beach California has been ranked as the 8th Most Walkable Neighborhood!

1. San Francisco
2. New York
3. Boston
4. Chicago
5. Philadelphia
6. Seattle
7. Washington D.C.
8. Long Beach
9. Los Angeles
10. Portland
11. Denver
12. Baltimore

see the rest here...

Long Beach Neighborhood Walk Scores:

52% of Long Beach has a Walk Score of 70 or above.

85% of Long Beach has a Walk Score of at least 50.

15% of Long Beach lives in a Car Dependent Neighborhood.

What do these scores mean?

Here are some general guidelines to how these rankings work:

• 90-100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
• 70-89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
• 50-69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
• 25-49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
• 0-24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

How It Doesn't Work: Known Issues with Walk Score

Walk Score admits that Walk Score is just an approximation of walkability. There are a number of important factors that contribute to walkability which are not part of their algorithm:

• Public transit: Good public transit is important for walkable neighborhoods.
• Street width and block length: Narrow streets slow down traffic. Short blocks provide more routes to the same destination and make it easier to take a direct route.
• Street design: Sidewalks and safe crossings are essential to walkability. Appropriate automobile speeds, trees, and other features also help.
• Safety from crime and crashes: How much crime is in the neighborhood? How many traffic accidents are there? Are streets well-lit?
• Pedestrian-friendly community design: Are buildings close to the sidewalk with parking in back? Are destinations clustered together?
• Topography: Hills can make walking difficult, especially if you're carrying groceries.
• Freeways and bodies of water: Freeways can divide neighborhoods. Swimming is harder than walking.
• Weather: In some places it's just too hot or cold to walk regularly.

More information on how the walk score is determined can be found here.

When seeking walkable Long Beach neighborhoods nobody knows the areas better than your Long Beach Realtor. Search Long Beach Homes for sale and consult your Realtor to find out which Long Beach neighborhoods best suit your specific needs.

Posted on July 26, 2008 12:09:00 by Laurie.Manny

Long Beach Mortgage Rates Report: July 22, 2008

We may have seen the worst in the run up in mortgage rates

Mortgage rates in Long Beach for July 22, 2008.  Loan amounts up to $417,000:

3/1 ARM              5.750%

5/1 ARM              5.875%

7/1 ARM              6.250%

10/1 ARM            6.500%

30 Yr Fixed          6.500%

Read more »

Posted on July 25, 2008 22:30:04 by Laurie.Manny

Long Beach Home and Income Property Tax Pending

Long Beach Home and Income Property Tax Pending

Just in from the Pacific West Board of Realtors:

The Long Beach City Council will consider placing a Parcel Tax on the November 2008 ballot this Tuesday, July 22nd at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall.

Guide to Long Beach City Government

The proposed Parcel Tax is $120 annually per residential parcel and $120 annually per unit for apartment buildings.

We encourage you to attend this council meeting if possible.

City of Long Beach
333 W. Ocean Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90802
Tel: (562) 570-6555

Why is this important to you?

If you are the owner of a single family home this will cost you an extra $120 per year. Not a lot by anybodys standards and won't exactly break the bank.

If you are the owner of apartment buildings this parcel tax will be per unit. Own a lot of units? OUCH! This breaks down to about $10 per month per apartment.

If you are a renter, plan on having that included in your next rent increase!

Posted on July 21, 2008 02:58:44 by Laurie.Manny

Space Saving Ideas for your Long Beach Homes

Small Living Space Soutions for Long Beach Homes

Space Savers or Hidden Secrets?

Down here at the beach we trade square footage for beach living and ocean breezes.  But what do we do with all of our stuff?  Lifetime collections of photos, books and other treasured belongings, that we are just not prepared to part with, need a place in our new homes as well. 

Small spaces are a challenge when we downsize our lives.  Creative use of our space without feeling cluttered and oppressive becomes a mission.  Creative Home Engineering, a Tempe Arizona company specializing in hidden passageways may have solved some of these issues. 

What a great way to expand space, furnish our homes and create hidden storage spaces!  When your square footage is limited every found space becomes critical.  Living in small spaces certainly has its challenges and rewards.  A small mess in a large home is a huge mess in small space.  One needs to be a neat freak in small spaces.  Creative Home Engineering is providing several wonderful solutions. 

Have you been wondering where to hide a safe in your home?  Take an unsightly hall closet and convert it to a hidden safe and a wonderfully elegent storage cabinet. 

Looking for a safe and discrete hiding place for those things that should never be found by others?  Lovely and elegant built in's hide your most private possessions very nicely.

While we have many larger homes in Long Beach, many of the homes here are of the smaller cottage genre.  Small living space ideas are in demand, we are pleased to be able to provide some solutions. 

Read also: 

Small Living Space Solutions for Long Beach Homes

Posted on July 15, 2008 00:48:03 by Laurie.Manny

Long Beach Mortgage Rates Report - July 14, 2008

Mortgage rates in Long Beach, California  for July 14, 2008.  Loan amounts up to $417,000:

3/1 ARM              5.125%
5/1 ARM              5.250%

7/1 ARM              5.625%

10/1 ARM            5.750%

30 Yr Fixed          6.000%

Read more »

Posted on July 14, 2008 12:47:37 by Laurie.Manny