WE FOUND IT!!!!!
I never thought it would be this easy to find a place in Los Angeles that I would WANT to live in. And we found it yesterday. Bluff Park/Bluff Heights near Belmont Heights, on the north side of Long Beach. We started off in Seal Beach, which was nice, but touristy. Then we drove north to Long Beach and John showed me the houses he looked at last week. Nice houses, but the main street of shops in Long Beach was too big for me and a little too "Marina District" for John, if you know San Francisco.
Before going back to Burbank we decided to look up a rental we'd seen on Craigslist that morning, and instantly fell in love when we got to it. The street that it's on, Vista, is beautiful. Wide enough with trees, and craftsman style homes. Even better, it is walking distance from either the beach or a terrific street of shops. But this is a neighborhood, it's not a big party street like the other big one in Long Beach. This is a place I could see myself living in. We went to a terrific coffee shop to the north of this area with Burbank Elementary across the street...how fitting is that.
The main street I loved was about four blocks south of the rental. It's south of Redondo on Broadway is a coffee house called the Library, a fantastic newsstand called the Newsstand, restaurants, a gourmet grocer--you'll know you've reached it when you see the Reno Room. An old school building that is not a bar. This hood has a feel of artsyism to it, don't think it doesn't.
So, now we're in trouble, as I knew we'd be if we started looking at places. Now, I want it. And it's a bit premature. But the upside is I finally found a 6x4 stretch of streets where I'd like to live in the LA area. I truly didn't think it'd exist and expected I'd be in a world of major league compromise with this move. Nope, now I want to be there and the BBE will have to be on the c-end.
Who's going to list the over/under on how long it'll take us to get there?
More on Bluff Heights.
posted by Jen Leo @ 11/27/2005 07:45:00 AM
2 Comments:
OK - even I fell in love with the house. Light and airy and happy. Glad you found a neighborhood - as I sure thought it would take longer. You mention a lot "I", so I want to know - did John love it just as much?
You'll have to ask him. I couldn't speak for him, that's why I used "I". I love it. I'll move there tomorow. As you know, he and I are different breeds in some regards. I'm more "feeling" and "connection" oriented, and he's more logical and practical. $2k for something that's not a freestanding house is a lot. We found a craftsman house for $579k that he was drooling over. I think we have to make a list of what is important to each of us, and also weigh in whether it's smart to move before or after the WSOP. I didn't list all of our considerations in the blog post, and don't think it's appropriate here, either.
John wants to spend more time down there first, anyway. So, we might go down there again later today.
One compromise I know I'll need to make whether we get a place down there, or up here, is staying put more. If it's that neighborhood, it's worth it and I'll want to. If it's Burbank, it'll be a compromise.
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