Location, location, location!
We stumbled on this area when looking for colleges for my daughter and fell in love immediately. I love it here for so many reasons - it's what I call "a big small town."
I like the small streets of Belmont Shore where I live, the beach city vibe, easy for walking or biking. The canals of Naples are a must see (on other side of bay and across from Peninsula) and little Seal Beach next door has a beautiful beach for swimming and surfing and a Main St. of it’s own.
The people are friendly and it's a relaxed place to be but for those who want action there's plenty. There's the beach and bay for swimming and other water activities and local attractions like Aquarium of the Pacific, the Laugh Factory, and the Queen Mary and Catalina a 40 minute boat ride away. Disneyland is just a 30 minutes drive on the freeway (that’s with no traffic).
You have the Performing Arts and Convention Centers and various sporting events hosted here like beach volleyball and the Long Beach Grand Prix, and other sporting and music events at larger venues around LA. There’s even an 18 hole El Dorado golf course and Catalina is just a 40 minute boat ride away. In September there’s the Classic Car show on 2nd St and there are various planned activities on the beach during summer, like a Polynesian Festival, boat races and movie nights on the beach.
There are great restaurants everywhere, Pine Ave/downtown, Shoreline Village, Alamitos Bay and in my neighborhood on 2nd St.
Many more SoCal attractions include Hollywood Bowl, Universal Studios