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depends on the area of Orange County you are in. The Anaheim/Orange/Santa Ana area has more crime then Mission Viejo/Rancho Santa Margarita/Aliso Viejo area.
I doubt you'll see many actors walking around in the OC, every once in a while, that would be more likely to happen in LA.
Living in the OC is expensive, depending on what part, I'd say $1200-1700 a month. Gas is also expensive and the traffic sucks. But, I love living there, California is beautiful!
I am a native Californian and it just boggles my mind that new people are still wanting to relocate here. It also cracks me up when people say they are moving here from pricey locations like Chicago or Boston. Don't get me wrong, I understand they are costly cities to live, but it won't be like anything you have ever seen if you move to CA. It is so out of control expensive here and for over $600, 000 you will be getting a crappy house in an ok neighborhood. I am trying my hardest to get out of here because I am tired of living paycheck to paycheck when we make over $90, 000 a year. It makes me sick and it is impossible to enjoy our great weather if you are house poor. Unless your husband will be getting a huge raise, you are going to be in for a real shock.....
What you fail to realize is that people may have actual REASONS to be moving. Like me, I'm moving to be closer to my family. While others are relocating for work and even other reasons.
I will admit that LA/CA is glamorized by the public, but it's not ALL horrible. OK so I don't live there - BUT 95% of my family lives there and they all love it. As do I, which is another reason why I'm moving.
If a person/family can afford housing in Orange County, they can survive quite well if they temper their other spending. Not everyone needs to drive a Mercedes, and not everyone needs to shop the glam shops at Fashion Island. If you have a moderate income, and if you want to raise a couple children, two parents will probably have to work, and disciplined spending habits and a realistic budget needs to be followed. If you are a credit card junkie and deficit spend to maintain your automobile, your wardrobe, and an active lifestyle, you probably won't last long.
If folks want to adopt the mythical lifestyle Tv has promulgated about Orange County, most people will go broke real soon. If people have huge financial resources they can lead what many perceive to be the good life. The real good life in this part of the USA is the terrific weather, the great diversity of activities and entertainment redily available, and the option of wearing shorts, T-shirts, and flip flops 90% of the time.
At newport coast, people will not give you a glance unless you're driving a mercedes. 'Down-to-earth' is not a term to be used in OC.
I'll be moving back home to NC for these reasons:
(1) don't want my 'future' children to be accustomed to the materialistic culture,
(2) buy a nice house with a yard and garden, and can actually enjoy peace in my backyard without hearing traffic,
(3) make more true friends,
(4) have my 'future' children learn true American values,
(5) have country radio stations in my car,
I love the landscapes and weather here, but I'm not paying $400K for a piece of crap.
It's seems to me you care a lot about appearance then you lead on.
"people will not give you a glance unless you're driving a mercedes" Why should you care about people looking at you? Seriously, is that your criteria for a good place to live? Then you went on and complain about not wanting to raise your "future" kids in a materialistic culture when you, yourself have that type of personality.
Maybe one day you'll get that mercedes so people can look at you, hopefully somewhere that's not in California.
What the other replies say are true except that we call it “Living behind the Orange Curtain”. As posted by “mybellegirls” who lived in Irvine I would not recommend that city now. They have had a lot of write up’s in the paper lately and in the next 10 years or so the population of Irvine is going up over 60% in that city alone. They are building on a former Marine base. Because so many more people are working in Irvine they figure that more people will move to the city and then they will be taking the side streets instead of the freeway’s therefore not causing more congestion on the Freeway’s (405/5)??? Who thinks this stuff up? I live in North OC and had a job in Irvine, and I learned how to take the back streets because I just couldn’t take the freeways anymore. I would try to live as close as you can to work. Our school system here in Yorba Linda (a republican city) is really good & that was one of the reasons we moved to the city 14 years ago but still don’t have any kids. I didn’t want to work full time for part time pay which is what would happen if I had to pay for day care. The other thing not mentioned was the smog, nothing like that brown haze hovering on the horizon. Now with that all that said, I am a native Californian and I do love my state but…my husband and I have decided to do “The California Cash Out”. We are moving to Charlotte, NC where my husband’s brother’s family lives and buying a home outright with a minimum of an acre of property. My husband lost his job due to a company buyout (for the second time) and that was pretty much the last straw. We didn’t want to say “what if” in 10 or 15 years so we decided to go for it. I agree with everything RedNC said. There are a lot of “Real Housewives In Orange County” which I am proud to say I am not a part of. Well my only suggestion is to take another vacation to the area you are looking at and take a dry run of that commute in the morning and evening. Will it be worth it every day? Hope everything works out in your favor. Also check out the city web pages for city info/stats. Good luck
I live in Irvine now and have been here for 20 years it is a horrible overpriced city, I am moving to the Phoenix area this summer. Irvine has become way overpopulated the side streets are bumber to bumber every morning, 405 freeway bumper to bumper 7 days a week. The city is going down hill, they are building apartment complexes in industrial zones, there is one asian center after another here. Cant wait to get out of here
I live in Irvine now and have been here for 20 years it is a horrible overpriced city, I am moving to the Phoenix area this summer. Irvine has become way overpopulated the side streets are bumber to bumber every morning, 405 freeway bumper to bumper 7 days a week. The city is going down hill, they are building apartment complexes in industrial zones, there is one asian center after another here. Cant wait to get out of here
To each to their own. I don't like traffic and things being overly priced. But, for some, the increased Asian shopping is a convenience and adds a little more flavor. I hope everybody does not feel the same as you do about the Asian shopping centers in Irvine. I happen to be Asian-American.
I also forgot to add that the fact that Irvine has several Asian shopping areas more accurately reflects Irvine’s demographics. Irvine is nearly 1/3 Asian. But, at the same time, I don’t want Irvine to become like a Monterey Park and become predominately Asian. I like diversity. Heck, if I lived in a town that had all generic shops that catered to “mainstream white America” only, I would die of boredom. Again, to each to their own. But, if you are going to live in Irvine (which is predominately a combination of whites, Asians, and Persians), you have to learn to live with people from these backgrounds.
I'm a midwest transplant(michigan), and I've lived in Orange County for a total of approx 4 years (moved away and came back) So here's my "grounded" perspective.
I see a lot of negative opinions, but people are trying to generalize things too much. here's my take:
1. Stop basing your opinions on shows like "THE OC" Hint: it's not even filmed in orange county.
2. There do tend to be some selfish, self absorbed people in southern california. There are those "plastic people" who strive to pretend to be something they are truly not, and overextend themselves (e.g, making 2k/month and driving an $700/month beamer-see that a lot). there are those who DO actually believe that looking like a movie star will get them everything they want in life, who haven't figured out there are limits to how far looks will get you, and that ultimately no worthwhile person cares what house you live in or what house you drive. That's their problem.
BUT
That is not everyone, and not even the majority. it's small percentage of the overall population who skew people's perceptions. FACT: a lot of people are transplants who bring thier values from where they grew up. FACT: There ARE decent people in OC. You just have to look for them.
3. Cost. It's expensive to live here, and ultimately the differential in cost of living won't be enough if you make a lateral career move. Unless you get a promotion, expect to reduce you standard of living when it comes to housing. If you make 50K in another state, you will make 55K here but housing will be double what you are used to.
BUT: ask yourself what you value- why are you moving here? Is it necessity, or is it the nice weather, the thriving economy and better job opportunities, and the fact you never have to see snow again if you don't wish to? If you value this, then you must pay the premium. Ask yourself how badly you want to be able to run on the beach every morning, watch the sun set on the ocean every weekend, or live in the safest city in the country?
digression: when I moved here, I was paying $500/month rent in the midwest- my new rent in cali: $1100/month. let me tell you, my income certainly didn't double. In fact, it didn't go up enough to even offset the difference in rent. But that's the price you pay. The american dream doesn't get handed to you on a platter, you get off your butt and get it, or stay where you are- it's that simple.
3. Racism: I'm not saying it doesn't exist in california, but tell me where else in the country besides NY you have this much diversity and such racial harmony? I'm white and my wife is Asian. Anyone from the midwest knows how well THAT goes over with the hicks in the midwest and south?. I've NEVER had a racial issue here. If it exists, it's not widespread. IMHO.
4. You get what you pay for. The real estate market IS the highest in the country, but you get what you pay for. You couldn't pay me to live in NY, yet for higher prices than OC, you get bad weather, angry people, and the crowds. It's calfornia with bad weather. Not appealng. At least here you feel like you're getting your money's worth, but it depends again, on your priorities. Once you get a foothold in the real estate market, your property will appreciate realatively fast in comparison to the rest of the country, and you can upgrade. Right now the market's in a slump, so the next year is the perfect time to buy if you're able to. The prices will eventually recover, but right now is the time to get in.
5. To that idiot who relates looks to employability. Get a clue. I'm all for eating healthy, exercise, and living a long life, but unless you work at a gym or you're an actor/model, no one will make that kind of a shallow decision- and if they did, HR would have a field day. "hey, he can't operate a computer or add simple numbers, but since he has rock hard abs, he's in." I'm sure there are those out there who share this opinion, but any relatively intelligent person will laught at that perspective. But thanks for the laugh.
6. Someone talked about the "personal space bubble". I can relate. In the midwest having a house with a huge backyard (1 acre+) is very common and affordable. You NEVER have trouble finding a parking space, and the busiest freeway traffic would never compare to the 405 on a sunday night at 3am. to give you an example, my 35 mile comute in the midwest took 25 minutes(I know, I know)If you are claustrophobic, this will require an adjustment. It's crowded, ,there's less space in general, so you'll be shrinking that bubble considerably. It took me a while to figure out my agitation level was due to this, but one I identified it, I was able to cope. It just takes time, like most new things.
So to sum up:
PROS: weather, beaches, super clean, safety, cultural attractions, economic opportunities
Cons: expensive, crowded, some shallow people, illegal immigrant issues
I've known people who've moved here from the midwest and left because they didn't like it, or couldn't cope. I've stayed because in spite of all it's shortcomings, it's an extremely pleasant place to live, and because for me the business opportunities are plentiful, being that I'm in Information Technology.
Bottom line is this all comes down to you: what you want in life, and what you're willing to sacrifice to get it. If having a huge house is more important than not having to ever feel your fingers go numb again from scraping ice of of your windshield, then OC is not for you. Orange County is ultimately only what you make of it.
TO QUOTE: "SOCAL IS WHERE MY MIND STATES, BUT IT'S NOT MY STATE OF MIND-I'M NOT AS ULGY-SAD AS YOU"
Rents are going up constantly in the OC. A friend pays $1400 for a (small) 2 bedroom flat in Huntington Beach. Now they are raising the rents on her again (new ownership) with $200 more a month...
Laguna Beach, at least $1100 for a room or a studio. Hard to find even at that rate. Another friend of mine rented a tiny room for $900 a month and was "thrilled at the deal" (!).
Lately the asian population is simply bursting in the seams. I've never seen it like this before, except perhaps in Hong Kong (LOL!). Its becoming difficult to know that one has landed in the USA nowadays! What's the asian population in OC now? 50-65% at least?
Lately the asian population is simply bursting in the seams. I've never seen it like this before, except perhaps in Hong Kong (LOL!). Its becoming difficult to know that one has landed in the USA nowadays! What's the asian population in OC now? 50-65% at least?
You might get that impression if you only frequent Westminster, Fullerton, or Irvine. In reality, I'd be surprised if the Asian population of the whole county was more than 15-20%. There's probably more Mexicans in Santa Ana alone than Asians in the whole county.
Lately the asian population is simply bursting in the seams. I've never seen it like this before, except perhaps in Hong Kong (LOL!). Its becoming difficult to know that one has landed in the USA nowadays! What's the asian population in OC now? 50-65% at least?
I don't think there is a single city in Orange County that is 50 to 65% Asian, not even Westminster (which the US Census lists as 38% Asian). Irvine is around 29% Asian.
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