Moving near Irvine

[Parrotpaul]

There is no need to know Spanish in OC. Everyone pretty much speaks English.

Where in hell do you live that you need to know Spanish?

[jaykenealy3]

Originally Posted by JSuccess

I just moved here from Chicago 6 months ago. I lived in schaumburg for a while and in the south burbs in alsip (127th and pulaski). So I will give you my thoughts on how you can make it in the OC with what you stated. First, if you all are only making 20K in chicago then you can probably add about 10K - 12K in salary in terms of how much they will pay you in the OC because the salaries here are different then in Chicago. Upon getting here I found my field paid 30% more in salary here. I am also familiar with the Irvine area because I worked in that area and I am also moving there in the near future. That area is very expensive, it would be comparable to Scahumburg/Elk Grove Village or the far north suburbs. So with the income you are talking about, you could not live there. Also being that your credit is below par you will need to rent from somewhere like craigslist or a personal owner because the rental companies (Irvine Company) look at credit. I would not suggest that you try to live in Irvine because of the cost, you will either barely make rent or be out on the street within a few months. Also, if you can, sell your car and try to find one when you get out here. Places to live to consider would be Anaheim, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo or further south down I-5 from Irvine. But again, the rent is high out here, not like in Chicago so be prepared for that...you are looking at about 1500/mo (min). Also the ghettos out here are nothing like what you see in Chicago. When people say ghetto or hood out here they mean mexican and somewhat filthy but not like when you say hood in chicago where you are literally running for your life. Mexicans do take all the labor jobs and they will work for anything so your fiancee could really have a problem finding work. You really need to do your research on this move because UCI and IVC are good opportunities but moving to the OC is a financial shock for many people and one thing i noticed was that you really have to have money to be out here. Most people that I know are living check to check or way above their means and are one bad choice away from being in real trouble. The ones that I know that are making it are business owners or authors or some other type of business opportunity. So, I dont want to ramble but I brought my family out here 6 mos ago and we have two kids and me and my wife both work and are saving to move to irvine but we have had to really change our spending habits and so forth because the prices and lifestyle is way different then when we were in Chicago. hope that helps

JSuccess, thank you so much for the info! We live in Hickory Hills right now, near 95th and LaGrange, and it's nice to have a response from someone who moved from near here.
As for selling the car, we just bought an 07 Civic in March and still have 3 1/2 years to pay on it
I really am determined to make it out there! How are the neighborhoods of Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo? If I'm correct, Saddleback College is in Mission Viejo, so I would have an easier commute, but I was wondering how far my fiancee would have to drive to get to work. Are there jobs in that area?
Also, if anybody knows how hard it is to get into the UCI family housing, is there a waiting list I mean?

[MWJamesLDS]

This is straight off the website.
<LI class=QA_Answer id=A1>Graduate students with families can apply for housing in Palo Verde and Verano Place. Look below for information regarding the application process.

Undergraduate students with families and those who are 25 years of age or older can apply for housing in Verano Place, however, housing is not-guaranteed. More information is on the Non-Guaranteed student Web page. UC Irvine Student Housing - Graduate & Family Housing - Home

[lolo101010]

if you really want to move to irvine and you and your fiance are looking for a good job a place to look would be Albertsons distribution center. it is warehouse work operating forklifts and other things and it starts pay at $16 an hour. its really easy to get in they are always hiring. you get raises every 6 months and ive been there for 2 years and on my way to make 60 grand this year alone. theres dayshift from 6-230 and graveyard shifts. the address is 9300 toledo way,irvine,ca 92618. hope this helps.