30 sthg single female professional offered job in Newport Beach, where to live? (San Diego: home, taxi)

[MissingSunshine31]

Apologies in advance if similar threads exist but there are a few specific questions I have that I'm hoping SoCal folks can help with.

- Where is the best place to live to commute to Newport Beach? Im a young single black woman and would love to live in an area that has a good mix of people....preferably artsy, live music venues, with loads of local coffee shops, maybe a farmers market and close to the beach (i guess everywhere is somewhat close to the beach). I was thinking Long Beach but that may be too long a commute. The most I would like to drive is 1 hour.

- Would love to live in an area that has a great community feel, and neighbors talk to each other. I am very socialable and love meeting new people so would like to live in a community that is welcoming to newcomers.

- a city that is walkable, as i would prefer not to have to drive everywhere on weekends.

- Any suggestions on a church are also welcome as I am a Christian and will be looking for a church.

I have lived in NYC and London in my 20's and i am now done with the hustle and bustle and looking to slow down my pace but not all the way down and I thought Long Beach would be a great choice.


Thanks for all your help.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Long Beach is not a bad choice, and it certainly has everything you're talking about here (depending on which part you live in), but Newport Beach does too for the most part. If it's a matter of affordability, Long Beach might be the better option.

[Coldjensens]

Laguna BEach, maybe balboa villiage i Newport Beachor Old Town Orange are your best bets.

Those are you most walkable towns in OC. You reportedly can encounter prejudice in Newport Beach/ Balboa. It is less likely in Laguna which is very liberal, or in Old Town which is more middle class and mixed races (not a lot of AA descent people anywhere in OC).

As mentioned above Long Beach could be a decent option, but it is a long drive.

As to Churches, you will probably end up liking the mega churches. They wrok hard to make themselves popular. For a homey church, try the First United Methodist Church in Orange. The methodist CHurch on the bBalboa Peninsula is tiny but fairly welcoming. Both are more traditional worship. THere are soo many churches of different types we could spend 38 pages just discussing them. What type fo church do you like/ Denomination, style, traditioanl or contemporary? You can find everythign from very traditiaional small churches, to mega churches with larger memberships than my home town, or place where they howl or bark like dogs during the service. There are Friends churches (Quakers), B'Hai, Calvary Chapel, every traidtional denomination and style you can find elsewhere, and some completely unique places. What are you looking for?

Saying I am christain aand want a Church is almost like saying I am human and I want to find a place to eat. OC is a big place and one of the best things about it is you have tons of options fgor almost everything.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by MissingSunshine31

I was thinking Long Beach but that may be too long a commute. The most I would like to drive is 1 hour.

Originally Posted by Joe Van Fossen

Long Beach is not a bad choice, and it certainly has everything you're talking about here (depending on which part you live in), but Newport Beach does too for the most part. If it's a matter of affordability, Long Beach might be the better option.

Long Beach has some cool newer areas, definitely starting to become a place to look at.

However, for commuting to OC, Long Beach is a skip. People do it, but its hellish, IMO.

Long Beach to Newport via 405, as you're guessing, is a terrible commute. Its normally 45-60 minutes, from the 22 to SNA airport - and its solid bumper to bumper traffic the entire way. Its slightly better going home.

Give or take 2 hours a day commuting? For what? There are cool places to live here in Orange County.

[MissingSunshine31]

Thanks for your replies. The main reason i thought of long beach is bc it is a bit more diverse than OC and is cheaper.
I am used to evangelical/pentecostal churches and not particularly fond of megachurches (dont like the lost in the crowd atmosphere) but finding a church will come after i figure out where to live.

One hour commute is nothing to me. Im used to one hour trips on trains to work, i would rather do that in the comfort of my car.

Thanks again.

[1200RT]

Not to be rude, but an hour by train is not even close to the same thing as commuting an hour in bumper to bumper Southern Cal traffic. I used to live in Northern NJ (Bergen Co.) and commuted by train into the city via NJ Transit and Path. Not even close.


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[pacific2]

I have to agree that travel by train is not as taxing as by car. There is no comparison in terms of the way the trip can tire you. The actual train ride itself is no probem.

At one point, I lived in a small historic river village of about 7,000 in Westchester County, NY and sometimes took the train into the city. That leg of the trip was relaxing and easy-peasy, but I didn't do it on a daily basis because the logistics of getting to the train station very early, finding a nearby parking spot, arriving at Grand Central, and then taking a subway to my office, were a time consuming PIA.

Reverse the wash-rinse-spin dry cycle for a soul-sucking PM train commute back home in the evening.

I moved to Manhattan and once I did, I found that even crowded subway rides to work were less stressful than driving. So, I left my car at home whenever possible.

There are few, if any, good mass transit options here in SoCal and even driving daily to work for 25-30 minutes sucks too much energy out of you.

I'm self-employed and have a ridiculously long commute into San Diego County. Yes, the long drive is voluntary and due to complicated reasons, but for now, I have to stick with it. The traffic is light, but it's still a drive and the experience is quite different from being a passenger.

In sum, I suggest that the OP live as close to her job as possible. It's just not fun dealing with bumper-to-bumper traffic, tail-gaters (SoCal has a lot of these) and plenty of really stupid drivers.

[Coldjensens]

Pacific2 is correct. Commuting by train is pleasant. By car is miserable (expecially in SO Cal. and leaves you exhauster, drained, and usually angry. In Southern California in particular, your quality of life is directly tied to how short your commute is.

When you train, you can relax, read, meet new people, work, read, surf the internet. . . . IN a car you cna focus intently get stressed out, get angry, get more stressed out. I am an easy going person. In some States I enjoy a nice drive, listening to the radio, etc. In Southern California a long commute leaves me wiped out. I need fifteen minutes to half an hour to re-compse before I can efficiently begin work.

[MissingSunshine31]

I guess everyone's experience is different but commuting one hour on a train/subway packed in like sardines is not really relaxing for me, but I completely agree that bumper to bumper traffic everyday during rush hour would drive me nuts. So I may need to rethink ideal location to live if commuting to Newport Beach.

It seems like the consensus is to live as close as possible to work.

Thanks for all your feedback. In the coming weeks I will take a trip out to the OC and try to see exactly what the traffic is like during rush hour.

Would driving down PCH also be a pain?

[Leonard64]

Originally Posted by MissingSunshine31

I guess everyone's experience is different but commuting one hour on a train/subway packed in like sardines is not really relaxing for me, but I completely agree that bumper to bumper traffic everyday during rush hour would drive me nuts. So I may need to rethink ideal location to live if commuting to Newport Beach.

It seems like the consensus is to live as close as possible to work.

Thanks for all your feedback. In the coming weeks I will take a trip out to the OC and try to see exactly what the traffic is like during rush hour.

Would driving down PCH also be a pain?

Yes, lots of traffic and stop lights