2nd St, Wilmington

2nd Street spans from Downtown Long Beach to the PCH--running parallel to the east-west Pacific Coast that underlines Long Beach--and in that span comprises families of all ilk, single-family homes, and a charming variety of apartment buildings. Four-plexes are common here, as are apartment buildings grouped around a central open-air courtyard; Spanish adobe mixes with atomic '60s architecture in a typically West Coast fashion. Although the more urban west end of the street is somewhat taxed with the late-night sounds of bikers and frat dudes, it's still livable; the pricier east end is closer to both family beaches and a sprawling shopping avenue. One major drawback is that the entire length of it is a parking nightmare; I often walked a half-mile or more away from my apartment, particularly since I worked typical office hours; the streets often clear out at 10AM and fill back up by 5pm. Rabid parking police and frequent street-sweeping exacerbate what is one of the area's only major drawbacks.