12:00am | How we spend our free time and extra money are key facets to American society and culture. It not only helps build economy, but partaking in the parks, recreation, and businesses of a city helps foster the culture that defines it. So help us hone the definition of the attractions and destinations that make Long Beach Long Beach.
1. Best Bike Shop
Long Beach is determined to become the most bike friendly city in the world — and so far, it hasn’t failed us. Bike enthusiasts, ranging from the casual to the professional, have opened up shop to help us with our two-wheel needs. Which one is perched at the top?
2. Best Long Beach Park
Let’s be honest: nothing beats free and we have 130 parks that are continually free to roam. So cough it up, folks: where is the coolest park in LB?
3. Best Barber Shop
Long Beach’s vintage culture obsession is not to be taken lightly for some: cruise down Retro Row and you’ll get a hint of the serious greasers, punkers, Mods, and leather boys who take their hair quite seriously. So where are the clippers held with the best precision?
4. Best Thrift Store
In adherence to our previous mention of a vintage culture obsession within the city, the thrift obsession is quite on par. Long Beach hosts and boasts some of the best thrift shopping around — but where is the best place you feel you always find a treasure?
5. Best First Date Spot
It’s always important to impress the one you’re chasing… And, of course, seemingly look more sophisticated than you actually are. If you were trying to impress that special someone for the first time (or trying to make the fiftieth time just feel like the first), where would you take that person by the hand to?
6. Best Family Outing
Family is a term that can be defined in any way — whether its with your children or with your nephews or with your neighbors, everyone always enjoys days that span across all ages despite their own. What is the coolest place to bring everyone for fun?
7. Best Interior Design Store
This city is home to a more than a handful of creatives and a lot of ’em are collectors and designers that make your home range from the classic craftsmen to high-end 50s modern. What store — be it a thrift or design shop, interior decorator or framer — is the best place to have that centerpiece that everyone mentions when they walk through your door?
8. Best Place to Sing Karaoke
Whether it’s someone who insisted the judges just got it wrong on American Idol or just a free spirit self-expressing, karaoke is truly its own subculture. Where is the ultimo place to let those vocal cords loose?
9. Best Ink Shop
The art of tattooing, like any form of bodily expression, is pertinent for some and is becoming one of the largest forms of self-expression. Long Beach is home to some of the most talented inksters and we want you to tell us where they call home.
10. Best Local Market
Our host of markets — ranging from farmer’s to major chains to Ma’n’Pop shops — span themselves throughout the city. Where is the one that gives you the experience you always want to come back to and the ingredients to make your meal at home outstanding?
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