Incorporated in 1897, located on the Pacific Coast about 20 miles south of downtown the City of Long Beach is the fifth largest city in the state of California, boasting a population of 466,718 in 2006.  It is often described as a series of strong, diverse, interwoven smaller neighborhoods within a large city. 

 Some quick real estate market comparison for week ending June 3, 2008:

The City of Long Beach is known for its award winning seamless education at all levels, including the Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College, and California State University Long Beach.  The educational institutions have had a great success in implementing cutting edge educational programs and its collective excellence in these areas had earned national prestige.  Serving the California Heights neighborhood are Longfellow Elementary, Hughes Middle, and Polytechnic High Schools.

Due to Long Beach’s central location and proximity to the freeway systems, the wealth of cultural, social, recreational, business and philanthropic activities that both Los Angeles and Orange counties offer, are all within easy access.

Enjoying the ideal Southern California climate, Long Beach has 6.5 miles of beaches covering 541 acres, 468 acres of navigable waterways, two marinas, 35 miles of bike paths, 88 parks covering 2,235 acres and 5 golf courses.

The Long Beach Museum of Art, Museum of Latin American Art, International City Theater, Long Beach Playhouse and Musical Theatre West, and the Long Beach Performing Art Center are just a few of the art programs adding to the quality of life in Long Beach.  The Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, a Monterey style adobe built in 1844, is a public museum open for tours, programs, and events.

Education

The Long Beach Unified School District has earned a reputation as one of America's finest school systems, winning several awards as a national model of excellence. The school district, which serves nearly 90,000 students in 95 public schools, has won the prestigious Board Prize for Urban Education, which recognizes America's best urban school system for increasing student achievement. Long Beach is also home to several colleges including California State University, Long Beach, the second largest campus in the CSU system and third largest university in California and Long Beach City College, which is a community college with two campuses.

Recreation

Famous for its beaches, Long Beach Marina has California's greatest locations for boat slip mooring. Long Beach is on the coast and near by Catalina Island. Generally, sailing conditions are perfect year round, and this is why Long Beach is home to the Congressional Cup, Transpac and Olympic trial races. Long Beach also has the Shoreline Pedestrian Bike path along the ocean for those who enjoy a scenic bicycle ride. The Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine manages over 90 parks covering over 3,100 acres throughout the city and has been recognized for outstanding management practices and programs. Among the parks is the 815-acre El Dorado Regional Park, which features fishing lakes, an archery range, youth campground, bike trails, and picnic areas.

Features

A distinguishing Long Beach landmark is the RMS Queen Mary, a 1936 art deco ocean liner which is permanently docked at Long Beach. The liner is twice the size of the RMS Titanic and is famous for its speed and beautiful wood paneling. While the Port of Long Beach is one of the largest shipping ports in the world, with the development of high-technology and aerospace industries Long Beach has developed quickly over the years. According to USA Today in 2000, Long Beach is the most ethnically diverse large city in the United States.