Meet Grant

Hello Reader,

Llewellyn Bixby came to CA in 1851.

I grew up in Long Beach, a 5th generation California resident, with two older brothers, Mark and Brett.  I lived in a tract home built during the 60′s boom with a father who was an appraiser and real estate developer, and a mother who took care of her three boys, but gave her third a longer leash (I don’t advise this).  Since I like a good story, and mine is a little boring, let me tell you my family story.  It has bearing on who I am today, and why I do what I do.

My forefathers came to California during the Gold Rush and quickly realized their livelihoods would center around feeding and clothing our state’s growing population, rather than striking it rich in the mines and rivers of the Sierras.  They were probably bad panners.  So, in a bold move, they returned to Maine, recruited more family, then drove sheep from Illinois to Southern California.  Think horse and buggy, Little House on the Prairie.

The next step was to lease–and eventually buy– ranchland up and down the state.  After sheep came cattle, then milk & cheese, then sugar beets, then Belgian migrant farmers, then oranges with James Irvine, then draught, hoof & mouth disease…and so on and so forth.  With the population growth in Southern California booming after statehood, pressures (and opportunities) to develop land soon arose.  Commercial and residential development became the focus.  As WWII passed, the housing boom drove our entire economy.  Eventually, the old rancho properties (Los Alamitos and Los Cerritos) became National Historic Landmarks and are now not-for-profits owned by the City of Long Beach.

Courtyard gates at Rancho Los Cerritos, Long Beach

Since childhood, I’ve been immersed in the real estate business through my family association with Bixby Land Company.  That interest led me to a degree in Urban Studies from Stanford University.  Ultimately I landed here in Newport Beach, where I live with my wife, Heidi, and two great kids, a devilish dog, two cool cats, and Fishy Fishy.  As a family we love to travel and share a sense of adventure.

I created BixbyBlog to combine my passion for writing with my business passion, Bixby Residential.  I help discerning buyers and sellers invest in the residential real estate of their dreams in Newport Beach and coastal Orange County.  In my “free time” I hang out with my family, surf with friends, serve as Vice President of  the U.S. Sailing Center, and fall asleep reading.  The latter, I hope, doesn’t happen to you here.

Enjoy BixbyBlog!

Grant Bixby