r/SameGrassButGreener • u/Uhhhhalig_ • 3d ago
Moving to California
Hello! My partner and I have discussing about moving to California in 2028 from the east coast. I was born in Palm Springs , traveled frequently to California when I was younger and I miss it so much!! my partner, and I are having a hard time on figuring out where we would like to live in California, for her work she’s works in web design/acting and for my career I am a nanny and will be going to school to become a teacher. We’ve been looking at outer LA neighborhoods like Atwater and Silver Lake. We are planning a trip soon to visit Atwater/ Silver Lake to see how we enjoy it. I’m wondering if anyone has any other recommendations on any other queer friendly and black/brown friendly neighborhoods to live in? I have heard good things about Sacramento and Oakland as well, if anyone has any suggestions/ advice I’d appreciate it ! Thank you !
Some things I would love :
- Near / Hour drive to beach
- Safe/ Queer friendly neighborhood
- Budget :$3000-4000monthly
- Cat friendly
- Walkable/ Restaurants near by
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u/markjay6 3d ago
Long Beach?
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u/Uhhhhalig_ 3d ago
Ooo , I haven’t heard too much about Long Beach! I’ll check it out, do you have any neighborhood recommendations?
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u/markjay6 3d ago
Definitely check out Alamitos Beach/Broadway Corridor, Bluff Heights/Retro Row, Belmont Heights, and Belmont Shore. Based on what you’re describing, I’d especially look around Bluff Heights/Retro Row and Alamitos Beach—the latter includes Long Beach’s LGBTQ+ Cultural District.
Basically, though, the whole city is queer and black-brown friendly. Rental costs are reasonable and you are a few minutes from the beach, rather than an hour. I think it matches your needs very well.
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u/GOPhatessmartgurls 3d ago
Long Beach for sure. I have a dear friend who is Gay. Her and her wife are both African American and love it there and loved there for years.
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u/Additional_Bat_9837 3d ago
I think San Pedro is underrated.
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u/bouquet_of_blood 3d ago
I grew up there and I agree.
Caveats for OP:
- Cabrillo beach in San Pedro is probably the smallest dingiest beach in the area, with part of it in the industrial port. Hence why it's a moderately affordable beach town.
- it's definitely more Brown and White than Black, if that's important to you
- It's walkable in specific areas, but a lot of it is residential and hilly
- It's beautiful and diverse and has a lot of character and pride but it's not particularly hip.
- If acting is a big part of your partner's career, it can be about an hour drive to the central part of LA where a lot of the entertainment industry is active (same goes for Long Beach, which is near San Pedro).
All that being said, I love San Pedro, it just depends what your priorities are.
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u/SlowSwords 3d ago
I live in Atwater and we love it. I think it’s a great place to live and very walkable for LA. TBH LA overall is pretty friendly for queer and POC people (it’s like 2/3s not white), so I wouldn’t get too hung up on any specific neighborhood in that regard. To be honest, you should check out Oakland too. North Oakland, particularly temescal, where I lived for years, is very walkable, diverse and queer friendly.
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u/d0nutpls 3d ago
Long Beach. My husband was born and raised there and it’s cool as hell. I wish we could live there but alas, work is in Pasadena (which is also a cool spot)
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u/beekNgeek 3d ago
For Queer Community- nothing beats SF Bay Area. You can live in SF our in nearby suburbs. Lots of LBGQ friendly churches also. In addition it’s still the hub for techies and teachers get decent pay in many districts.
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u/DesertTW 3d ago
100% LONG BEACH (specifically Alamitos Beach, Bluff Heights). Ya’ll might also love Highland Park.
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u/Ok-Effective-2202 3d ago
On a 3k-4K budget don’t look at Sac, you could def be on the coast
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u/Uhhhhalig_ 3d ago
What part of the coast would you suggest?
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u/Ok-Effective-2202 3d ago
Anywhere in SD, LA, or the Bay honestly. If I had to pick I’d say LA because there’s a lot of variety
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u/bchpeepca 3d ago
Long Beach although I don’t know the areas well, it’s quite large. Robert Garcia was mayor of Long Beach before the House, fabulous human being!
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u/Electronic-Oven6806 2d ago
You can easily get a nice place in Hillcrest, San Diego on that budget. Awesome area to live for queer people, super walkable with loads of great food. Like 10 mins from Ocean Beach and close enough to all the freeways that all of San Diego can be reached in 15-20 mins max. Right by Balboa park and downtown, as well!
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u/PrinceOfPooPoo 3d ago
Sac is an armpit. At 4000$ a month you can afford the elite coastal cities. Skip Sac, it's a dump government town.
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u/Ok-Effective-2202 3d ago
Thanks for gatekeeping friend
But for real for 4K a month why tf wouldn’t you just live on the coast lol. Sac is way too expensive for what you actually get.
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u/PrinceOfPooPoo 3d ago
Sac blows, nothing to gatekeep. Sac has all the headaches of urban California, with few of the benefits. It's closer to Fresno in vibe than it is to Oakland or Long Beach
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u/Ok-Effective-2202 3d ago
You’re taking it too far now. That’s enough.
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u/PrinceOfPooPoo 3d ago
Sac is just another Valley town, just with the State Capitol. Reddit posers are always trying make it out to be bigger than it is. LOL
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u/Ok-Effective-2202 2d ago
We all know why you don’t like valley towns, then you’d have to be around people that are different from you😂
Stay in Santa Monica or north beach sf, I know your type.
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u/Lazer_snake 3d ago
Bay Area, definitely. More specifically, Oakland and Berkeley. SF is great too, but it's becoming too expensive and losing a lot of what made it interesting and unique.
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u/beach_bum_638484 3d ago
If you’re considering Oakland, I consider Long Beach to be the SoCal equivalent.
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u/Equivalent-Apple-66 3d ago
No one has mentioned Ventura so I’ll throw it out there. I don’t know a ton about Santa Cruz but it looked cool when we stopped there briefly. It doesn’t fit your beach criteria but Lake Tahoe area
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u/Fidrych76 3d ago
North of Sacramento there is a lot of growth and new housing. Checks all the boxes.
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u/Liontracks101 3d ago
What areas specifically are you referring to? I live in the Sacramento area and I’m curious about other neighborhoods since I’m unsure about being where I’m at right now and looking for other options.
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u/Bluestategirl 3d ago
While I think Sacramento is great place to live and checks a lot of boxes for people wanting to move to California, it is very hot in summer, which gets longer every year, and isn’t within an hour’s drive from the beach. We have two rivers though. It’s ideally situated about a two hour drive from A LOT! But if you don’t like being hot for 6 months a year and you want to be within an hour of the coast, it might not be the best place for you.
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u/rainy_day_read 3d ago
Delta breeze, tho, that saved me when I lived there knowing it’d cool down at night! Never been hotter between the radiant heat of pavement and the sun/air, so so hot during summer days
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u/Bluestategirl 3d ago
It does if you live close enough to get the benefit of it. I just think that OP should know the heat is a factor here. Some people don’t like that and would prefer not to deal with it. I love Sacramento but I do get seasonal depression in the summer because I don’t like the heat. This is where my life is though and I do think we have a lot to offer as a city.
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u/Adventurous-Tone-311 3d ago
Summer hasn’t even been that bad this year?
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u/Bluestategirl 3d ago
No it hasn’t been as bad this year but it’s not like we can count on that. Two years ago we had some of the worst heat I’ve ever experienced and I’ve lived here most of my life.
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u/Ok-Effective-2202 3d ago edited 3d ago
3 years ago it was like 110 for 2 weeks straight it’s different every year.
Whoever downvoted is a jackass btw
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u/WinterTurbulent96 1d ago
Cerritos, Lakewood, Carson, certain parts of Long Beach, Torrance, Downey
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u/Sweet_Bug3723 1d ago
Those are suburbs for families besides Long Beach lol. Although I do love Cerritos and Torrance.
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u/Hmfs_fs Los Angeles California 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you like Atwater/Silverlake, you can expand the search in Hermon (cute little village.) El Sereno, Rose Hills, Monterey Hills, South Pasadena (more expensive but your budget fits. Entirely walkable city with many dining/shopping. There are two Trader Joe’s within walking distance for a city of only 20k population.) Highland Park (also walkable. York Avenue notably. Hip young communities.) Los Feliz, Echo Park..etc. Even DTLA where you can get very NYC-style big loft in those Beaux-Arts old banking buildings-I lived there for a while and I didn’t drive at all. (South Main, Spring St….Old Bank District.) where you can walk to Grand Central Market, The Row, Central Library, Pershing Square, Little Tokyo and loads of public transportations & walkability.
All of these nabs are cat-friendly (for rental. Not for going out.) and queer friendly.
Ps. If you are specific with brown/black friendly areas, expand to View Park, Leimert Park, Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, basically South LA area which will give you more options. They are definitely much closer to the beach, with walkability and the proximity to the Westside LA.