Chicago to So Cal (Irvine NP area or Hermosa Manhattan area ) (Manhattan Beach: to rent, condo)

[DSChicago]

Hello ,

I am 28 in the financial futures commodities industry . I own a 1 bedroom condo here is chicago . I want to move out to So call by August . My delema is I have 2 job offers one in Irvine and One in mahattan Beach . Both are commision only so I believe I can make about the same in either one . I want to know which will be a better place to live for my age range . I want to be close to the beach . Still need night life and active people around me . I plan on renting a room for the least amount of commitment until I get settled . Can anyone help with suggestions are more information or link to find more information . Anything would help thank you !!!!!

[Charles]

You can be happy in either place. MB is very beachy, expensive, DINKS, dense, older, perfect weather (gloomy in June though), fun, lots of "action", mostly white.
Irvine is newer, bigger mix of families and master planned communities, safe, not as "wild", pretty, a little warmer in summer, also fairly affluent but of an older family demographic, less dense, Asians and whites.

Will you have to drive for your job? This is a important question. If so, to where and how often?

[DSChicago]

yes , I will have to drive unless you have other suggestions . I live in the city in chicago and dont use a car for anything but i know that is not the case for that area. The one Job is in Elsegundo . I know i spelled that wrong and the other is about 5 miles inland in Irvine . I am def willing to live as close to wrok as possible to avoid traffic as much as possible . It would be a M-F job but being in Pacific time the hours would be about 5 am to 2 pm so its off peak traffic hours but i dont know if that matters

[Charles]

I work in El Segundo and Manhattan Beach is adjacent to El Segundo. If that is the extent of your commute you could almost ride a bike so no traffic problems there.

So, the comments I wrote above stand. It's all a matter of what environment you want.

[DSChicago]

Great Thank you for your time

[BRinSM]

if you take either job in irvine, i would live in newport beach. the commute will still be very reasonable. however, manhattan beach is one of my favorite places in the world. the beaches are great, the homes are amazaing and there are plenty of nightlife options in the city itself as well as neighboring hermosa beach. the south bay area of LA is a great area albeit quite expensive, definitely moreso than irvine and even a bit more than newport i would venture to say.

[DynamoLA]

If you are single and want nightlife, I would definitely recommend Manhattan Beach over Irvine.

[DSChicago]

Yes I am single , thank you again . I think I would try to rent a room at first so I hope that is an option in either area

[luckodeirish]

I agree with the others, working in El Segundo and living in MB would be ideal for a young buck like yourself.

[bhcompy]

Irvine and some of the surrounding areas kind of remind me of Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg. Very manicured and upscalish(homestyles and lot sizes are different mind you). Might give you a bit of an idea what you're looking at.