I would recommend Rainbow Air, 2825 E. Spring Street, Long Beach California CA 90806. Phone is 562-424-0119. Run by an English Guy and American Partner. Excellent service, Good Instructors, Good clean aeroplanes, well maintained. LGB is a good airfield, with Class B Airspace, and good traffic environment. Lots of good destinations for your "Lightie" such as Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Chino (Man the air museum is awesome) and San Diego. A trip into John Wayne Orange County (SNA) is also an interesting experience in a Light twin....
By the way, M H Is NOT representative of Americans that I know......
Happy New Year, and Tailwinds!