They chose Long Beach, CA in case anyone is just skimming Lemmy. According to another article, one of the main reasons was to attract engineering talent.
Rivian is based just 25 miles south in Irvine and there's Fisker in LA. Tesla and Lucid have a presence in the Bay area, so could be a play to lure those who want to relocate south as well.
They're engineers. They're going to be well-compensated. They can afford to live anywhere. That's why they live or want to live in Long Beach, and why Ford is going there to attract them. You act like no one lives in Long Beach.
Not all engineers are the same. If you're the kind of "top talent" that Ford is trying to recruit, you're probably well-compensated and can live wherever you want.
Or you're just willing to accept living on scraps for some reason, like most Californians. Don't know why they do it exactly, but the point is that they do. That's why CA is "Silicon Valley" and it's precisely WHY the prices are so high.