There are literally thousands of reasons why Long Beach is an amazing place to start or relocate a business. But we had to pick five (time constraints, you see).* Let’s get to it: 

Number 5 (yes, its a count down)
Long beach is walkable, bikeable, and generally just easy to get around. We are the 11th most walkable city and the 3rd most bikeable city in the US. In California, that ranking translates to 2nd and 2nd, right behind San Francisco in both cases. What makes for a better start to your work day than a non-traffic traumatised team? 

Number 4
Being part of a major metropolitan area is important to any business looking to grow and attract talent. In Long Beach, we are in LA County, but not in L.A. Don’t get us wrong, we love our big neighbor to the north, but as many metro residents will tell you, there is a big difference between living in L.A. and visiting L.A. In our opinion, we’ve got it just right. We live right next to the beach, have everything a big city has to offer and we have another big city just a train ride or short drive away. Did we mention its usually about 10-15 degrees cooler in Long Beach than it is in L.A.?

Number 3
Every good business leader knows that innovation, creativity and business outlook only improve in a diverse environment with a diverse team and LA Metro is one of the most diverse places on earth. In the United States, it is THE most diverse major metropolitan area. Awhile back, USA Today did a comparative study which broke down the stats and it turns out, Long Beach is a big reason why LA metro is number one on the diversity charts: Long Beach just happens to be the most diverse city in the US, contributing significantly to LA Metro’s ranking as the most diverse metro area. 

Number 2
Long Beach is probably the easiest city in the United States to get involved in civic and community affairs. We have a robust nonprofit community and our our community leaders, elected or not, are easier to talk to than a neighbor of ten years. Its like having a nearly 500k-person support network. We call it community. For startups and entrepreneurs, just about everywhere you turn there is someone, some organization or some institution, just waiting to help you get off the ground. For more information, see our previous post: Five Local Startup Resources You Might Not Know About.

Number 1
The number one reason Long Beach is such a great city to start or relocate your business is definitely WE Labs (forgive us for self-aggrandizing, but it's our blog and we can do what we want). WE are connected, innovative, supportive and hard working. WE are basically the best business thing to come along since the abacus. We are your ultimate resource and we like to share, just like this list you are currently reading. And this list.

Don’t want to take our word for it? Then drop us a line or, better, just swing by and check us out. You won’t be sorry.

*subject to change on whim, fancy, sound argument or for any other reason.

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Article by Lincoln Bauer, edited by Victoria McCoy