Tara Riggi; Work, Life, and Community.

🎙️ Episode 2 – Worth the Drive
Featuring Tara Riggi – Real Estate Professional & Cal Heights Neighborhood Association
Buying a home isn’t just about property—it’s about people, neighborhoods, and the communities we build our lives in.
In this episode, we sit down with Tara Riggi, a Long Beach native, real estate professional, and President of the California Heights Neighborhood Association. From helping families navigate the housing market to working directly with residents to preserve and strengthen local neighborhoods, Tara shares what it really means to be involved in a community beyond just business.
We talk about what people often misunderstand about buying a home, what makes a neighborhood truly strong, and why being connected to your community matters more than ever.
This conversation is about more than real estate—it’s about the people and places that make a city feel like home.
🎧 Follow Worth the Drive for more conversations with the people behind the places shaping our communities

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

A lot of people live in cities but don't really understand what makes them work. A lot of people think it's local government or just natural. But the people that make communities work, the people who make neighborhoods work, are normal everyday people. They build the community streets. They don't rely on others, they do it themselves. If I were to think of the people who actually put people in communities, they would be real estate agents and realtors. People that literally find other humans' community. When you're buying a house, you're buying the neighborhood, you're buying the people, you're buying the restaurants, you're buying access to all of that stuff. And if it's a place that feels more than a neighborhood, it's a place that feels like community that makes a difference. Today, we're Tara Riggie, a uh pillar in the community here in Cal Heights in Long Beach. She truly builds community, means her actions and her ability to lead. Come on in, come on in.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

She's a beautiful thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Oh reliable.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, it's metal. Sorry, metal on metal. So these are just fun. I'm just gonna drive around and I'm just gonna talk. Okay. You do have roller poster seatbelts. They won't save you.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

That's fine. This car will save me. It's a it's a beast. She's a tank. She's a tank. She's a tank.

unknown 1:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Is your morning good?

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Morning's great.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

I got us boss waters. Why? Because they're Norwegian. And um I'm Norwegian.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Oh. Fabulous.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

And I want free water from Voss.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Are we gonna brought you by Voss Water?

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

So I wanna know about Tara Ricky.

unknown 2:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

But I want to know what no one else knows. I want to know your start.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Like my start.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Where did you come from?

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Um where did I come from?

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Were you you were born in Long Beach? Were you born outside of Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 2:46

I was actually born in New Jersey. Um Jersey? Yeah, my parents uh when they immigrated from Iran, right after the revolution, um, they moved to New Jersey, um, directly from Iran when they fled. And um they were there for five years. I was born there, but moved to Long Beach when I was two.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

So yeah, basically alive on Long Beach.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Basically, yeah, and I've been in Long Beach ever since.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yeah. And then you went to school here, Utah.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

I went to school here, yeah. What brought us to Long Beach was um my dad was in aviation and worked, uh, got a job with McDonnell Douglas during like the aviation boom in Long Beach. Oh, awesome. So um, that's what brought us here, and um, I went to the public schools here and went to Lowell, Rogers, Wilson, and then Wilson.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

All right, I'm gonna have to ask you to get out of the gun.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Listen, listen.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

There's a moth in here all of a sudden. Um well I can't judge you. We we were yeah, we represent Polly on this side of town. Just Long Beach very, very tight knit. So when it comes to tight knit and uh all that stuff, community has become huge uh in this fucking area here. Um you know, let's go back. You finished high school, and what did you want to do with your life?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

You know, I thought I actually wanted to get into broadcast journalism. That's what I well, not broadcast journalism. I wanted to get into journalism. I actually wanted to write for Rolling Stone magazine because that was like my dream growing up. Yeah. Ah, I didn't know that. Yeah, I've I've I love music. I just I love all kinds of music, and I loved writing growing up, so that was my dream. And I went to school, took journalism classes, and I realized I don't think this is for me.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Um what was it about journalism that was it for you?

SPEAKER_00 4:35

I don't know. I think it was I didn't want I realized that it was something I was really passionate about that I didn't I felt like if I made that my career, I would lose the passion like for music and for the artists and when it becomes work, it becomes less fun. Yeah. So I I I went to LBCC because I wasn't sure what I was gonna do, and um it was right here, and so I went to Long Beach City College, and that's when I um transferred to Long Beach State and actually decided to go in business because I thought, you know, I'll get a business degree, I'll go into marketing, and I wasn't really sure what I would do with that, but I figured that was kind of a safe choice to go into so many different fields.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Okay, so then what what steered you into being a small business owner? Um now are you a realtor? Are you a real estate agent?

SPEAKER_00 5:30

The all the big question. Um What are you? What who am I? Um so technically I'm a real estate agent, but I'm a realtor because I joined the National Associations of Realtors. So you can use the realtor designation if you've joined the board of realtors. So it's a little confusing. But so what brought you into real estate? Well, I got my degree and I was interviewing for jobs and I wasn't getting hired, and I just was getting frustrated. It was also at the end of the recession. You know, this was like 2012, 2013. You know, the economy still wasn't great. I was waiting tables at OpenSesame for many years. I worked there almost 10 years while I was in high school and in college. Oh wow. Um, and you know, I didn't really know what I was gonna do, and I kind of had hit a bottom where I thought I can't do this forever. I have to figure something out. And my dad actually sat me down and in his heavy accent, he goes, Dada, you know, I think you'll be a good real estate agent. And it was funny because a lot of my friends actually would, if they were moving to Long Beach or have friends moving to Long Beach, would always ask me, What are some neighborhoods that you think are your favorite or would be great if I wanted this or if I wanted this? And I was always the one they would go to. So it got me thinking, and I thought, yeah, why not? I'll I'll get my license and just go for it. And I'm I never look back. Honestly, like I I love I love what I do because I'm so proud of Long Beach, and I'm so proud to be from Long Beach that it I get to sell it every day. I get to sell the lifestyle here and talk about how much I love it and all the unique neighborhoods and why it's so great, and it's such a hidden gem, too, when you don't really know about Long Beach, especially if you're outside the area. And then you come here and you go, wow, you have a marina, you have historic neighborhoods, you have so much culture and diversity, and how large Long Beach is. People don't realize how big of a city we are.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

The fifth largest?

SPEAKER_00 7:43

The fifth largest, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

Largest in the state, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

You know, we have a port, we have an airport, we have, you know, the beach, we have so many things here.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Um but it doesn't feel like a big city.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

It really doesn't. It's what what's like Reno's uh slogan? We're like the we're like the biggest little city.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Yeah, because I mean when it comes to like what you do, and when it comes to Long Beach, and and you think you have to the nail on the head, you're not you're not really selling a house, you're selling the community around that house, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

And you're not selling you're selling the people to the people and to the and to the restaurants and to everything that's within walking distance. You're you're selling a lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

What is it about Cal Heights that makes it easy to sell a lifestyle to people here?

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Oh, I this neighborhood, it's so great. You know, I something about all the trees in this neighborhood, and I love historic homes. I love things with charm, things that have history and the sense of community here as well. There's so many things that this neighborhood offers. You know, you don't get the trees like this in a lot of the neighborhoods of Long Beach. You don't get the historic homes. We are actually the historic, the largest historic district in Long Beach. Um, but you also get this sense of like a neighborhood.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

But you can also walk to Atlantic and get coffee and get really great restaurants and have First Fridays in Bixby Nold where you have community and engagement and just people having fun. And your neighbors say hi to you, and you know, we get together for a block party every once in a while. It's it's it's such a unique pocket that you don't really know about it until you're here and you feel it. Um I the first day we moved into our house, um, all of my neighbors came over, brought me wine, brought me flowers. I was overly emotional that day. I was like, I love it here. This is so great.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Instantly welcomed in by the community.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Yeah, and it's it's that's really rare these days, you know. It almost has an old-fashioned kind of feel to it, and I think that's why.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Yeah, well, and it's great because like I see the same people every day. Like Lady Walking, her dog right now. I save her every day. And I drive by your house every day. It's uh it becomes it becomes more than just homes and concrete. It becomes us, it becomes part of us, which is really important in the community. And with your business, you've got to almost curate the community. Because I think a lot of people give real estate agents a bad rap, right? They are like, oh, they're in for the money, they're in for this, they're in but you literally get to choose your neighbors.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Yeah, it's it's really the best job because you're right, real estate agents do get a bad rap, but it's really interesting. Like for me, if I always come in at an approach where client first, right? Because, you know, I will always get the business if I put the client first, because it's a it's a it's a service-based job. You know, I we talk about where you want to be, what are your needs? What are what's important to you? What schools you want to go to? How do you see your life every day? And it's something new too. Every transaction is something new and something different. And as cheesy as this sounds, my favorite thing as a real estate agent, especially helping like first-time buyers, when I get to give them keys on closing day, and it's such a you see on their faces like a a wave of sometimes excitement, but also like, oh shit, I just bought a house, you know.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

People like Bob Barker on like a gate because it's like here, you get a house.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

You get a house, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Congratulations, you're Oprah.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

I'm Oprah, just making everybody.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

You get a house. Well, see, that's an exciting time because what you're doing, you're not, you're not only, like I say, giving them a house, you're giving them potential for their future. Maybe now they have that extra bedroom. Maybe then their family can grow. Maybe then uh they're in a neighborhood, we're like, that's a good school. Wait, kids go to school. You know, maybe you're giving the stability and making someone have a home gives them more, which is pretty incredible.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Well, and a home too is like there's so many emotions that go into a home. Um, so you're you're like finding someone's like lifelong memories, you know, especially in Cal Heights where I find so many of my neighbors have lived here 20, 30, 40 years. It's in there's not a lot of turnover in this neighborhood because people come here and they stay here because they realize how much how great it is. So it's I love that. It's that for me is a high to like be able to be a part of that experience and to be able to be a part of that milestone is like so gratifying, truly.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Um well, I mean, and just thinking about the community, you're you're you're not only in real estate, you help preserve this neighborhood. Can we talk a little bit about that? About how you and uh a whole bunch of people on the board help preserve this historic district here at Long Beach.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Yeah, I joined the um president of the California Heights Neighborhood Association, plug. Um, but yeah, I I joined the our board two years ago um because preservation is really important to me. It's important to this neighborhood, and I wanted to get involved. And we're such a great group because we're truly all volunteers, and we work to like advocate for the community. We work to bring more community engagement, we do the block parties, we have events where we can teach you how to learn more about the history of your home. And it's just it's so unique and it's a really great way to meet your neighbors and to get involved. And I really have a lot of fun with it too, but it's also a way to give back. And the block party really, when we brought that back a couple years ago, I feel like everyone was so appreciative of saying, hey, you know, thank you so much for doing this for us. It's especially after the pandemic, you know, to get people out of their houses and like back to, you know, enjoying your neighbors again is so great. I mean, you do that with your tree lighting. I mean, we're so thankful for that tree lighting every Christmas, every holiday season, because it's just such a great way to get all of us together.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Well, yeah, I can fully understand why you want to be a part of the historic society or the historic district is because it's your give back. It's your I need to do this for my community. And I mean, the same reason why we do the tree lighting, and we do that together, so I think that's important. Um when it comes to preserving the neighborhood, how important is that?

SPEAKER_00 14:39

It's so important because there's these homes aren't built like this anymore, and it's so unique, and they've lasted a hundred years. And if we don't preserve this, if we don't hold on to this preservation, we'll lose it forever. And so it's there's not much of this left. You don't see the craftsmanship, you don't see the attention to detail in new construction anymore. No matter how much money you spend, you can't replicate these homes. They're so unique. And I love how each one is so different. Each one has its own story, there's so much history behind it, and I think that's why people gravitate towards historic neighborhoods because it's it's so unique and it's something, if not maintained, you'll lose it forever. Yeah, and I think that's really important to to hold on to. And we have so many historic neighborhoods in Long Beach, um, and each one is so different and so unique, has different types of architecture and different types of history, and what are some of what are some of the things that are that are affecting the historic district right now?

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Like what are what are the problems that we're facing as a historic district?

SPEAKER_00 15:54

I think um we don't have a lot of staff in our historic department at the city when it comes to making sure that we stay on top of the preservation. We're so backlogged, and there's not enough education as well. Um, you know, we at the board, we try to educate our neighbors, but I think we're lacking the education from the city as well to show how important preservation is and how important our historic neighborhoods are. Um, we've kind of lost that from from our city, and I think it's just because we don't have enough people excited about our preservation programs here at Long Beach and our historic neighborhoods.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

So the support's not there on a government level. Because a lot of people, I think, when they think about neighborhoods and they think about the city, they think it all is just taken care of.

unknown 16:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Like there are people voted in and it's gonna be taken care of, and all your needs are gonna be met. When that's not really the case, I found in neighborhoods the people are who take care of the neighborhoods. They're the ones that's gonna speak up for the neighborhood. And so the importance of having you in the neighborhood speaking up for it is paramount. Because if not you, ooh. Right. Um, and I think that falls on all of our shoulders, right? Like we're driving by a piece of property right now that is an issue of contention. Uh, whereas I know both of us understand that affordable housing is necessary and we need to be able to um house people, but at what cost, right? Right. Uh affordable housing, when I think of affordable housing, I don't think of two, three thousand dollars a month worth of rent.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

No, absolutely not. That's definitely not affordable.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

But that's considered affordable housing. So when you have affordable housing encroaching on a historic district, that affects everybody in the district. And it's not I mean as a small business owner, I definitely am like, yes, more people in the area, I can get more business. But there is a fine line when you take away from a community that is so important. What are your views on something like that?

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Yeah, I think for us in the community, you know, we we want to welcome all of our new neighbors, but I think it's important that if the city is going to purchase a parcel that is historic, that they make sure to maintain the architecture that's appropriate for the neighborhood. Because that's why we all bought into this neighborhood. That's why we moved into this neighborhood. You know, I knew that I had to follow a set of rules and guidelines, you know, in a historic district. I made that decision. But if the city is also going to make that decision, you know, we want them to follow that as well. And when you when you get a sense that they don't want to actually follow the rules that they implemented, you're like, well, wait a minute, you know, we want we want that that project to actually fit the fabric of our neighborhood because we want them to feel included, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:05

So give us a seat at the table.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Let us discuss this, let us talk about how it could affect the neighborhood and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

And and that's on a personal side, and that's on the community side. As a person in real estate, how does that affect you?

SPEAKER_00 19:23

I think it's the same thing because you know, my clients, when they move into neighborhoods, they move into different neighborhoods for different reasons, and they love the feel of the neighborhood. They love different characteristics or things that the neighborhood provides. Yeah. It's the same thing. And so my my clients and the residents in my community always want to feel like they have some input, that they have a seat at the table when it comes to what's happening in our community. I think if they feel more engaged and involved, you it's it's better all around, right? They feel like they have a sense of value, they have a sense of purpose in their neighborhoods, that they've, you know, have been a part of it.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Yeah, you're not only investing in the physical structure of the home you're buying, you're investing in the community. Yeah. Meaning you want to you're wanting to spend time there, you're wanting to spend your dollars there. Um is it hard to see? I mean, let's say throughout Long Beach, is it hard to find the happiness in or the community in each different neighborhood?

SPEAKER_00 20:33

No, I think that's what's so great about Long Beach is you know, each neighborhood is so different and so neat unique. And I meet so many different neighbors like throughout all of our different neighborhoods and communities, and they're excited and proud about what their neighborhood gives to them, right? But I think they they're looking to make sure that their government is also, their local government is also supporting that. And I think that's maybe where we're lacking, is that they're not supporting the people that have been here forever, who have invested in Long Beach, who raise their kids in Long Beach, who send their schools to Long Beach, you know, especially our public schools. Um I think we need to get back to the basics in that. And I think that's what's important, and we need to we can't forget that going forward because that's what brought us here, that's what kept us here.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Yeah. And when you change the community within your neighborhood, or you change the aesthetic, you change the whole reason why you came in. And in turn, I think people might leave.

unknown 21:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

So if they're not not having their needs met, then people might leave. I mean, one reason that would make me want to move is a jackarant, but people must. It's too interrupt.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

They do look really beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

They do, but your car is ruined.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Your car is completely ruined.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

And your street is stained for life.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Yes. Absolutely. And they track into the house.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's it's your dog's feet is stained.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

It's a mess.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

So let's go back to real estate. What are some things that people would not know about the real estate market here in Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Hmm. Things that they don't know about the real estate market. Um, how many different neighborhoods and different lifestyles are in Long Beach? You can have so if you want to live by the beach, if you want to live in downtown Long Beach, if you want to live in a suburb, if you want to live in a historic neighborhood, you have your choose all. You have so many options here. Whereas a lot of other neighborhoods, you don't, you don't get, you don't get that. You really can choose your own adventure of where you want to be in Long Beach.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Okay, so if I'm a college student, we're we're we're and I'm just getting out of college, I'm ready to start my career. Where am I moving?

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Well, if you're a college student, you're probably gonna want, you're younger, you want to live next to things that you can walk to, right? So maybe you'll want um a condo to start out like somewhere further south. Maybe you want to live in downtown Long Beach because you can walk to things, you can get to the beach, you can get on public transportation.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

Close to the scene.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

Yeah, close to the scene.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Okay, I've moved along in life and I'm half I have a dog and it's me, and I'm married. Where am I living in Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Well, so it depends. If you want, you know, um something that you maybe you plan on having a family and you want a yard. Honestly, Cal Heights is a really great neighborhood. That's why we moved up here. We wanted more lot, we wanted a bigger backyard for our dog. We had just, you know, we had just been married, and I wanted something with charm. So I decided, you know, what was best for us was to come to California Heights because we could get the sense of the neighborhood feel and have more space, but I can still have the walkability that I really liked when I was younger.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Yeah, on Atlantic, you county. Yeah, walk down there and you got everything you need.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

That's that's perfect.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

We get the best of both worlds in this neighborhood. It's kind of great.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

We do. So there's a lot of things happening in Long Beach. Long Beach has moving and shaking, and um I feel it's becoming more and more popular. We're getting all the aerospace coming into Long Beach, which is spectacular. That's creating more jobs.

SPEAKER_02 24:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:20

They're starting to call us Space Beach, which I kind of like. We went from aerospace or from airplanes with MacArthur Douglas, and that's what kind of you know got us going after the oil boom, and now we're going into space. In 2028, the Olympic Games are coming to Long Beach. Now, when all these people pile into Long Beach, because everyone thinks there's a Los Angeles games because so many events are happening in Long Beach, so many things are happening in Long Beach. With the games coming, and you have all these other people coming into our little little giant city, what are some things you're excited for these people to see about Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 25:02

I think I'm excited to see I'm excited for people to see what it's really like here because if you meet people that have never been to Long Beach, they might have different, you know, misconceptions of what it's like here.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

With so much drama in the LBC.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Yeah, they just assume, oh, Long Beach. I don't know, it's kind of weird. Like, are you LA? We're like, no, we're not LA, we're Long Beach. And if you ever meet anyone from Long Beach, they'll tell you we're not LA, we're Long Beach. We're not Orange County, we're not Orange County, but we're kind of like a mix of both. We have this like beach culture of Orange County, but we have this great like diversity of Los Angeles, but we're our own thing here, right? I'm really excited for people to come and actually explore how great our our neighborhood is, how how great our communities are, how different they are, um, and how large it is. I think people don't realize how big our city is. Um, and I think also really experiencing like how unique we are, I think is gonna be really cool. People are gonna be, I'm I can't wait for people to go, wow, it's really, it's really great here, actually, and it's affordable.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

Well, they do say when an Olympic Games happens in a city, people get to see the city, and a lot of people will move to that city because they see the great things that come with that city. On a business standpoint, the Olympic Games should cause a surge in business. What are you doing as a small business owner to prepare for such a huge event?

SPEAKER_00 26:31

You know, I yes, I really want to make sure that, you know, myself included, but also like our small businesses in Long Beach that really have been struggling since the pandemic, like I want to see this as an opportunity for them to, you know, make their businesses thrive. So whether we have events in our business corridors where we can really showcase how cool our restaurants are, how great our shopping is, right? Um, I think that's so important. And making sure we have different events that help support them, right? That help give them the advertising and the capability to really thrive during that, during the Olympic Games. I think that's really important because, you know, people will get more of a sense of how great our small businesses are here, and that can continue after the Olympics, right? Yeah. Um you know, I just I I really want to make sure that we could use the Olympics as an opportunity to support all of our small businesses here because they they really need they really need our help, and what better way, you know, to use that?

SPEAKER_01 27:40

Oh yeah. Well, just the spotlight on all of us would be paramount if it's something like that.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:47

But you, as someone in real estate, shining a spotlight on a community like this, um, should be a huge benefit, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:57

Yeah, you know, what I really thought would be interesting was because we do a historic home tour every two years. And I thought it would be really cool if a lot of our historic neighborhoods decided to do a home tour during the Olympics to show the residents that come here like all of our different neighborhoods. I think that'd be a really great thing to weave in as a way for people to see like how unique and how diverse Long Beach is. That's something that we've talked about when I've met with other historic leaders on how we can really show how can we show off our city, right? With so much preservation and so much history here. I think doing some home tours during the Olympics would be a really great way to show it off.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

I think it would be too.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

I mean, without getting too political, you mentioned diversity. Um that's what makes the city great is how many different people we live we have living here. And the great thing here also is the food. Because we have the people that actually make the food make the food. Yes. So having the Olympics come here and having all the people from different countries, different nationalities, different uh dietary like all of that stuff they can find here in Long Beach. We have the largest Cambodian population besides Cambodia here in Long Beach. And if you haven't had Cambodian, Cambodian food, you're you're missing out. Oh, it's delicious. Especially if you like spice, it's phenomenal. So the diversity of Long Beach is kind of what makes it. But when you're thinking about just diversity in business. Are there little neighborhoods that you find um cater to the people that are completely diverse? Are there neighborhoods that you find are more pockets of conservativeness and pockets of liberalism? Are there things when you meet with a client, you have to go, okay, this person's uh political views line this way, that means their neighborhood's gonna be this way. Is there that type of political diversity in Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 29:58

You know, there yes, we I think we have so many different wavelengths on the political spectrum. But I find that what's makes us so unique here in Long Beach is that we all live together. We're all kind of a big melting pot in whatever neighborhood I go in. So I have clients that are conservative, that live in diverse areas. I I mean, I have clients that are on more on the liberal side that live in more conservative areas. So it I think that's what makes this so unique is that we truly are a melting pot in every single neighborhood in Long Beach. And I think that's what makes this so great because we truly are all together in this.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

And we can talk to each other.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

It's not so much that we're just like, I'm this way, you're that way. We actually can communicate and talk to each other. It's we're in a microcosm.

SPEAKER_00 30:50

We really are, yeah. And and that's what I really love is that, you know, I can have conversations with my neighbors, and you know, maybe we don't align on certain things, but we'll, what's the old saying? We'll break bread together, have a beer, have a glass of wine, and we're willing to talk to each other. And I I I think that's so important. Again, it's like getting back to the basics, and as long as you're a good person and you do good things and you respect people, like I will I will love and respect you, right?

SPEAKER_02 31:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:19

And I I I crave that. And I'm also proud that like we are a city that does that, you know?

SPEAKER_01 31:25

Yeah, well, I'm proud that we're people that do that. There's something about people in Long Beach. Like, like you said earlier, we're not LA, we're not Morris County. There's something about people in Long Beach. We'll talk things out. We don't have to have issues. I think we're brave enough to be like, hey, you think that way, I think this way. Let's have a conversation. Maybe meet in the middle.

SPEAKER_02 31:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Or look, I I totally think you're wrong. I know you're gonna live. I respect the way you're gonna live. Your way, I'm gonna live mine. And so it's really crucial, it's really important that way.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Um, that being said, we've been driving around for quite a while now. And I've seen your name hundreds of times. There you are, right there.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

Oh, hey.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

So this next step that you're taking into, I don't want to say politics because it's not really politics. You're you're stepping into another community forum where you there you are again. Where you can actually help your community even more. It's like you're you're upgrading, right? You're saying, I helped my neighborhood, now I want to help my city. Something as because I would never do it. I would never be in the political office at all. I just I I think I'd get myself in trouble. One. Uh two, it takes a lot of courage and a lot of time. What you're attempting to do to help your community is important. But do you see their possible repercussions in your business?

SPEAKER_00 32:55

Yeah, you know, um, it's a it's a risk I was willing to take, you know, because I will continue to work, of course, when I'm elected. But I, yes, it it it will put it, you know, it could put a damper on my business because it will take a lot of time. Um, but I continue I'm committed to doing both, but it's so important to me. It's actually really important to be in my business as well, because I want people that come here to be really proud and to stay here, right? Yeah. And for me, I'm so passionate about Long Beach. I want, I I continue, I plan to be here for the rest of my life. And I want people to be as excited about that, about this as me. And so, yes, I think I've thought about it, but you know, for me, it was this was just too important not to do it. And I thought, why not?

SPEAKER_01 33:50

Let's well, it also goes back to preserving neighborhoods, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:54

It does, it really does, yeah, because I want to preserve the neighborhoods and the communities here that that make me love it so much, right? And my neighbors as well, who tell me how much they love Long Beach. I want to do it for them too, not just myself. It's really for my neighbors who who call me and talk to me and tell me, you know, what how can we do better? How could we improve, you know, looking to the future. Um, I want to preserve Long Beach. I want to keep it how how we love it so much. Um, I want to keep Long Beach, Long Beach.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

You want to keep the diversity, you want to keep the culture, you want to keep the houses, you want to keep the historic part.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:37

You also want to kind of aid in the growth?

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Yeah, I think, you know, we can we can grow as a city. We just have to do it the right way. You know, I think we've lost sight of how we can effectively do housing, how we can effectively, you know, grow our businesses here. Um we just need to make sure that we're we're doing it the right way, you know, and we're also planning the right way and we're spending effectively and we're not being wasteful. Um because as things get to be so much more expensive, we can't keep taking a toll on our residents who here who who continue to pay and to pay and to pay. Our taxes are really high here. Um, but we want to make sure that we're providing for those costs that we pay for because it's expensive to live here now.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

Support our community that's existing while offering opportunities for others to come in.

SPEAKER_00 35:35

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 35:35

Well, because there is going to be growth, especially with space beach and all that. There's gonna be a lot more people looking for homes, and we want to be able to provide that, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:45

Yeah, on two standpoint.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

We want to provide that for people and for your business. Yeah, just selling those things your business. So I like that. I like that you're not selling yourself out by just promoting your business because I think a lot of people, when they're looking for self, they're like, sell more houses because there's gonna be more houses. Almost a greedy standpoint. Yeah, whereas I don't see that in you. What what makes you different from people that are all about selling properties to make the money, making the money, make the money? What's the difference between you and that type of real estate person?

SPEAKER_00 36:24

I'm truly a referral-based agent. So I don't do any marketing, really rarely, when it comes to my business. It's all referrals. It's my past clients, um, it's word of mouth. And I've been really successful on having a successful business because of that. And I think it speaks to how I conduct my business, where you know, it's client first, what their needs are. You know, I my clients could call me at 10 p.m. if they're upset or stressed about something or have questions. You know, I realist it happens 24-7. So I take calls on the weekends. If I have to travel somewhere, I work on every vacation that we go on. My husband has a photo album of me, of every vacation we've been on. I'm on the phone, I'm on the computer, and he's like, tar's working again and on my wedding day, you know. Um and it's to me, I think I'm so blessed that I can have a career that and still do that with a margarita in my hand. But um, that's part of the job. And I think that's what sets me apart, is that I, you know, I'm committed to like being there for my clients and like representing my clients from start to finish and even afterwards, right? And I think that's what sets me apart is because I'm willing to do the work. And, you know, real estate also it's it can be in a very emotional process, whether you're buying or selling films and making sure that my clients feel like we're in this together, right? I'm here to hold your hand and to help you walk, walk you through this very complicated, very emotional process. But I want to make it easy for them and make it feel like fun for them and you know, they have a pleasant experience. Oh, absolutely. It's it's truly the biggest investment of 98% of my clients.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

Well, it is especially in the city of Long Beach in LA County. I mean, let's shock some of our uh our drivers that are listening right now, and maybe Alabama or Arkansas. What's the the last home you sold? What was the number?

SPEAKER_00 38:34

Last home I sold was 1.6 million.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

1.6 million dollars.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

How many bedrooms?

SPEAKER_00 38:42

It was three-bedroom, two-bath with a bonus little office.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Boy, would it deal. Like, I mean, for us living here, we know, hey, that's great.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

It's wild. It's so wild.

SPEAKER_01 38:54

In other places in this country, median home prices are $350,000.

SPEAKER_00 38:59

Oh, yeah. My my uh my father-in-law, he's from his family's from Michigan, and hit my husband's grandfather, when we told him what we bought our house for, he almost had a heart attack. He's like, You bought it for what? For how many square feet?

SPEAKER_01 39:16

It's kind of unbelievable, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

But as we drive down this street that's lined with palm trees on a perfect day, what is it, 74 today?

SPEAKER_00 39:26

Oh, yeah. You you can't beat this weather, and especially Long Beach, because it's Orange County, you get more overcasts. LA, you get hotter, hotter weather. We truly have the best weather here in Long Beach. It's the perfect climate. It's like this almost every single day of the year.

SPEAKER_01 39:44

So we pay for our weather.

SPEAKER_00 39:45

We pay for the weather.

SPEAKER_01 39:46

Pay for the weather, and um, we work a lot harder. I mean, I think people think Californians were just laying on the beach and then you know, which we do. Don't get me wrong. Well, not me, I'm very fair of skin, so I don't lay on the beach unless I'm wearing a full swimsuit and shirt. Yeah, I look like I'm from the 1940s. Um But I think the thrive in people in this state is uh not as appreciated as it as it should be. Um you were saying earlier you're working on all your vacations. There's a picture of you working. Whereas I think that's all small business owners, right? But my favorite phrase is I quit a 40-hour week job so I can work a hundred.

unknown 40:31

Right?

SPEAKER_00 40:32

It may be more.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

It may be more, but you're working for yourself, so the drive is different. What drives you as a small business owner, as a person, as a community leader? What drives you?

SPEAKER_00 40:47

I think it's just making sure that I'm doing the best that I can, you know, and and for me, it's what drives me is making making my clients happy and satisfied and just stoked to work with me, making my community proud that I'm there to represent them. And then also just making myself like it gives me a sense of purpose, you know. It gives me a sense my own value. I feel valued when I'm able to help my clients provide for my community and like really be proud of Long Beach because it goes hand in hand. I do real estate at Long Beach because I'm I I sell Long Beach because I love it here so much, and I provide for my community because I love Long Beach so much, and it it goes all hand in hand together. I think it just gives me gives me gives me purpose.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

So what I'm getting is you're a people pleaser.

SPEAKER_00 41:43

I think I'm a people pleaser. Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

Yeah, people pleaser. Hey, don't get me wrong. I think most small business owners are people pleasers.

SPEAKER_00 41:50

Umpacking some stuff here.

SPEAKER_01 41:53

Yes, yes, we're getting deep. But if you were to think internally, what do you do it for? Like internally for you, what do you what drives you to do what you do every day? What gets you up in the morning?

SPEAKER_00 42:10

I think it just gets I get excited. I get excited about every day is something new. And I get to experience something new every single day. I get to meet new people every single day. Um, I get to see new different homes every single day. I life to me is all about experiences. How many experiences can we get on this planet, you know, in our lifetime? And I get to have a new experience almost every single day. I I think that's really why I do it, because it's just something different. I get it's like I wake up and have a completely new day every single day of my life. And I don't know, it's it's thrilling. Is that cheesy?

SPEAKER_01 42:56

No, it's it's life keeping life exciting, I think, is paramount. Otherwise, it's boring, right?

SPEAKER_02 43:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:03

So what makes Long Beach work to drive? Why are you driving in the Long Beach?

SPEAKER_00 43:11

You know, because Long Beach has this feeling, it's hard to explain, but it's something about it, you don't know it until you're here. And it gives you this like excitement of how unique we are, how great everyone is here, how loving we are as a community, how much fun we have here in Long Beach. Like we're pretty badass, you know, when you talk from people about people that are from Long Beach or move to Long Beach, you know, you become a Long Beach resident, and it just it's there's this like aura about us that again, we're not Orange County, we're not LA. We're Long Beach. And that to me is what makes us so cool. And I think. When my clients come here and from another city and they want to move to Long Beach, they get excited because they go, Wow, I came to visit a friend here and we fell in love with it so much. We want to stay and grow our family here. That to me is like the coolest thing because now they get to have the life experiences that I had growing up here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:24

So what makes your real estate company work the drive over other real estate companies?

SPEAKER_00 44:32

Well, you'll know I'll work every single day for you. Every single day. But I think for me, like what sets me apart is, you know, I'm always going to have your best interest in mind, and I'm always going to go the extra mile. I'm a full service realtor, you know, morning to night. I curate each transaction based on my clients' needs, wants, and I'm I'm willing to do the work to go the extra mile. And I think that's that's so important to really have like, I become almost your family member during each transaction. I almost get sad when we close because I spend so much time with someone in a 30 to 40 day transaction. And then like, all right, well, it's great talking to you every day. Bye. Here are your keys. But then again, it's not even just we don't end at closing. You know, I help you find cool restaurants to go to. I help you find contractors if you need work done to your house. Like it's you become my friend after a real estate transaction.

SPEAKER_01 45:34

Do you have clients call you after the fact?

SPEAKER_00 45:36

Oh, absolutely. All my clients turn into my friends and my neighbors, and we have wine and we hang out. I they invite me to their kids' birthdays. You know, it's they become a part of my community. It's like you said, I get to choose my neighbors. And it's awesome because I just keep adding more friends into my life.

SPEAKER_01 45:56

You curate your neighborhood. I really do.

SPEAKER_00 45:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

That's that's pretty selfish, really.

SPEAKER_00 46:00

It really is. I'm doing it all.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

It's all self-serving. Okay. That being said, with everything we talked about, what makes Tara be worth the drive to the voting?

SPEAKER_00 46:14

You know, for I I think for me, I'm just you get this is me at full face value. I will always be real with you. I will always be honest with you. I will always go the extra mile. Um, and I'm not gonna bullshit you, sell you on anything, you know. I'm just going to be me. I will be me true, what's the saying? True thick and thin.

SPEAKER_02 46:41

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:42

I'm, you know, you learn American idioms like from your parents, but because my parents obviously aren't from here. So for example, like my dad will say, like, you know, when the shit hits the fan or the ceiling, the dad is the fan. He goes, well, eventually you'll hit the ceiling. Um, but yes. So um, yeah, I just think for me, like, I will always be real with you, I will always be honest with you, and I will always do the work.

SPEAKER_02 47:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:08

And I think that's what we need in local government is someone who's gonna fight for you, who's gonna advocate. Yeah, call call things out when they need to be called out, and like actually be a real representative.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Yeah, I had to bring that up because we've drive, we've just drove past a house and had three of your designs in the front yard. It's like you can't escape you, Tara. You're they're everywhere. Invaded my life consistently and constantly. You spoke a little bit about culture. How much does your culture create you?

SPEAKER_00 47:41

Well, you know, I'm Persian. My Persian culture, we're all about giving. We're always about we want to feed you, we want to entertain you, we want to make sure you're happy. That's such a big thing in our culture. You go to any Persian household, Persian moms, Persian dads are always wanting to give back constantly. And so I think maybe that's why I'm such a people pleaser, because Persians are so such people pleasers. Like we truly just want to make others happy. And we want to invite people into our homes and into our culture, and we're such loving people, and we're loud, and we talk with our hands, and and we just have we love to have fun too. We love having fun. It's such a big part of our culture. We love to dance, we love to sing, and I think I bring that into my career, into my my, you know, my board position, into this campaign. It's it's just who I am.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

I do have to say, I've never been to your house without you offering me something. I'm always people, and even when I say no, it's another at least the second half.

SPEAKER_00 48:41

Yeah. I think it's just, yeah, it's innate in me.

SPEAKER_01 48:44

It's my well, I don't even I don't even like the phrase people pleaser. Because I think we all have that. You you you look for others' needs and wants before you look for your own. And I think that's paramount in small business. We look for our clients' needs more than our own. We will be available to them, and I think that's what makes us great small business owners. Um I think that's something we don't get from big business.

SPEAKER_00 49:16

No, we really don't. And I think too, if it's such a great, I think, tool to to to really strive for as a human being, if we can all just be a little bit selfless, how great of a society we could be, right? I think if we if we just have a little bit of that in all of us, like how how that can really change our world, right?

unknown 49:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:45

Now I'm going macro.

SPEAKER_01 49:46

But no, I think I think that's important. I also think even if we're going to be a more micro, it's it's even when people talk to us. Um you hear something that's maybe negative, but it's it's it's not towards us, it's towards something bigger. And I think when someone takes something personally, um, like a complaint about the airport, or a complaint about the streets, or a complaint about um housing. I think if you take it personal, you're totally devaluing the common itself. Or if someone has a problem with housing coming into a historic district, maybe we need to find the common ground. Because I know everyone knows we need housing.

SPEAKER_02 50:27

Right.

SPEAKER_01 50:27

It's just how we do it. So I think as someone who won't take it personal, I want to find a common ground and find a solution, that's the way things get done. And I think that's how we run our businesses, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:41

Yeah, I think it's it's about quality of life. You know, people want good quality of life, whether it's in their personal lives, it's in their business, it's in their homes, it's in their communities, and making sure that we respect the quality of life for everyone, whether it's someone who needs the help with affordable housing, whether it's the communities that are here, whether it's our historic neighborhoods, whether it's our small businesses, it's it's these things that affect us every single day. I think that's why local government is so important to be involved and engaged, because it's the things that affect us every day. Our streets, our, you know, our spending, our our engagement, like those are those our housing crisis, like these are things that affect us every single day.

SPEAKER_01 51:29

Yeah. Yeah. And it affects our neighbors.

SPEAKER_00 51:32

It does, yes.

SPEAKER_01 51:33

Affects our elderly population.

SPEAKER_00 51:35

It affects our schools, our kids, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

Um so microdecisions make huge waves in a community like this.

SPEAKER_00 51:43

Yeah, they really do.

SPEAKER_01 51:45

So we spent a little bit of time, we talked about you, we talked about your community, we talked about everything you're doing in the community. Give me a shout out of give me your the ones that just come to the top of your head. Business is in Long Beach, everyone should go and drive to.

SPEAKER_00 52:01

Okay. Number one, salute juice in Long Beach. Best full press juice in Long Beach. She's a great business owner, she's a very good friend of mine. Oh my goodness. Uma mercato. Oh my goodness. Um, amazing Italian bakery in Bixpinols, amazing food, great people that work there. Um, also, uh I have four. Can I do four?

SPEAKER_02 52:31

Yeah, we need to do four. Okay. Allow it.

SPEAKER_00 52:33

The attic in one uh the attic restaurant in Long Beach. Yep. Um amazing, amazing California meat, southern food. Oh my god, it's so good.

SPEAKER_01 52:44

We are Southern California.

SPEAKER_00 52:46

We we are, that's very true. Uh Steve, who owns it, is a great guy. Just it's all about giving back to the community. Um and Feat Studios, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 52:56

A little self-self-plugged there. A little self-plugged there. Self-plugged there. I like that. I like that.

SPEAKER_00 53:01

But honestly, like I do want to give you credit because you do give you give back to our neighborhood so much. And and I'm not even just saying this to blow smoke around. Like, I'm truly saying this because you give so so much to our community. You help our board out when we have to talk about our preservation and our and our projects and what we advocate for. And I I just we we love you here so much.

SPEAKER_01 53:26

But that's why we support businesses like this, right? This is why we support Salute. This is why we support The Attic, Non Marcado, Faith Studios. Because it's not just the business they provide, it's not just what they provide, but it's it's what they provide for our community. Yes. Right? It's not just the services they offer, it's what they do overall for all of us, right? And I could say the same about you. You could just sell real estate, you would be happy. Actually, you just sold that house. Right? You you could be happy just selling, but you want more. You want to give back. And I think that's important about small business that you're not gonna get out of a target, out of a Walmart. Right. You're not gonna get that out of those huge corporations where you get that out of us. And so that's 100% why I support small business in every way I can, every form I can. So I'll support you. And uh just another change is doing podcast number three today with the owner of salute, Angela. So, what I want to do is we're gonna pull over here because we're gonna be safe. Right in front of Hate Studios, we're gonna pull over. Is I'm gonna get my phone and I'm gonna have you ask Angela questions.

SPEAKER_02 54:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 54:43

And when Angela's on later today for our next podcast, I want you. I'm gonna show her this, and then you get to ask her a question.

SPEAKER_00 54:55

Angela. What gets you out of bed every morning?

SPEAKER_01 54:59

Oh, Angela, why does it suck to suck? So we'll make sure to play those up. Well, Torah, thank you so much for being on. I think a lot of people learned a lot about Long Beach. I think a lot of people learned a lot about you and your company and how you conduct business. But more importantly, I think a lot of people learned a lot about our community and how important it is for us to contribute to the community because without business owners like you and community leaders like you, our community will disappear. It'll become something that we don't recognize. And there's something about the community walking down the street saying somebody know because they stay in the community because all their needs are met. That is really, really important. And without people like you, that'll go away. We won't recognize our community. We won't have our historic streetlights, we won't have our historic neighborhoods because they will go the way of the dinosaur. So I think Tariggy's worth the drive because of who she is as a person and what she accomplishes in her community. Uh I hope you all found this episode worth the drive, and I hope to see you all at our next episode with Angela of Salute.

SPEAKER_02 56:15

Woohoo!

SPEAKER_01 56:16

Thanks for being on.

SPEAKER_02 56:17

Thank you.