Best places to live in California?

I am planning on attending university in California in the next year and was wondering which area's and Universities would be the best. Also I am looking for an area with beaches, shopping and good night life. I was considering CSULB and CSULB, but I have heard some bad things about Long Beach. What would be the top 5 California states people would recommend? sorry i meant to say i was deciding between CSULA and CSULB and wanted opinions on them! thanks

Public Comments

1. We live in Riverside, CA....and it sucks. (my husband goes to UCR).
2. If you want all THAT, you better have some money in the bank!! But, San Diego ROCKS
3. yea i have family in L.A. and i was born there. Long Beach is not %100 bad but there is gang activity there, i wouldnt move there by choice...try malibu or santa monica, those are decent areas near the beach. i used to live in san fernando valley which is a part of LA county, it wasnt too bad but its not real close to the beach. if ur looking to live further out go to santa barbra, expensive but nice...oh yea but......San Diego is better than the L.A. area, that would be my first choice
4. I think Santa Cruz would be my favorite. Near the ocean, close to Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Santa Barbara is also very nice. San Diego is also. San Luis Obispo is a very pretty little town, it might be very comfortable. Is that five? I would also rate Berkeley high. Berkely, the town not the campus, is old and dirty but has a lot of character. Interesting architecture. Also I love the Bay Area. The best night life too, if that's important to you.
5. fresno ,ca - fresno state university is a good skool
6. I lived in Long Beach for 10 years and it is fine. Its just a little urban but if your fine with that its great. You should know which areas are good though since there are some really bad ares too. Just try to live near Belmont Shores or anywhere close to that. Anywhere above PCH is testy so it depends exactly where. When you go to school, you can ask people there and they can help you. Belmont Shores is a lot of fun though, beach and sun and lots of college kids.
7. of the cal states, CSULB is one of the best. Long Beach itself is a huge city, and there are bad parts of it, but there are also nice parts and CSULB is in the nice part. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
8. SAN DIEGO is the best place in california best beaches great shopping great schools.
9. Long Beach has almost 500,000 people living in it. Do you think we are all gang bangers? The houses in my neighborhood (Bluff Park) start at $850,000 and go up from there. Along the coast it is very pretty and there are some beautiful old homes and apartment buildings dating from the early 1900's to the 1950's. Steven Spielberg went to CSULB and look what kind of career he's had.
10. UCSB is right on the beach. You won't want to leave. http://www.ucsb.edu/
11. I would agree that UCSB is probably the best school close to the beach. It's right ON the beach. It should be your top choice if you have the gades to get in and the money to pay for it. (I'm guessing by your choice of words that you aren't from California, and probably not in the US, either. Canada, maybe? In any case, Long Beach is a good school. Any reason why you typed it twice? Are you thinking twice about it? UCLA is a very good University, and pretty close to the beaches. Despite the fact that the San Diegans lurk in this forum and never seem to have anything positive to post (other than touting SD), I would say you should also consider San Diego State. Good luck!
12. UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, SDSU, and CSULB would be the best schools to look at. UCLA though is very hard to get into and expensive to live around. CSULB is a good school and everyone that I know that went to that school loved and it some still live in the area. LB is a big city with nice and bad parts. UCSB is right on the beach and is one of CA's biggest party schools. Good shopping and nightlife but it's not a big city like LA or SD. UCSD is next to the ocean too and in La Jolla, one of the most scenic beach towns in CA. And it's just up the road from Pacific Beach, which is the best beach community in CA for young people; great nightlife and great vibe and atmosphere. Plus if you are not 21 yet you can go down to Tijuana and drink at the clubs there; there's always party buses leaving from campus down to the border on weekends. SDSU is about 15 minutes from the beach and a close to downtown SD's nightlife. SD is great for college I think, I came here to go to UCSD and stayed after graduating. I wouldn't consider schools in Northern CA is you want a good beach scene. UC Santa Cruz is by the beach but the ocean in Northern CA is always too cold and dangerous to swim in anytime of the year, water temps never exceed 60 up there. San Diego is the best place for the beach, it has some of the nicest and cleanest beaches in SoCal and has the warmest water on the west coast, usually low 70's in summer. The water in LA is a little cooler and in Santa Barbara it's even cooler.
13. The most selective of the UCs are UCLA and Berkley. UCLA is awesome and has a great location. so i would check that out if i were you. I've herd mixed reviews about Berkley... But if you have the grades i would go for it. I would suggest UCSB also. Santa Barbara is a really cool town. ucsb is right on the beach and if your at all interested in marine biology you should check that out. If i were you i would go out and by the Fiske Guide to colleges it can be helpful. On another note you should probably consider what you want to major in when you picking a college. i mean i agree that other stuff is really important but you should consider what school would best support your major.
14. I would recommend you the following: Calstate Long Beach USC UCLA San Diego State University Layola Marymount