Good/Bad about living in Orange County (Los Angeles, San Diego: rental, condos)

[denverian]

Who cares how many Asian people live there? I'm not Asian, but that's something I felt was a plus in OC because I love Asian food, and enjoyed my Asian friends and exposure to their culture.

[twnxn]

Originally Posted by denverian

Who cares how many Asian people live there? I'm not Asian, but that's something I felt was a plus in OC because I love Asian food, and enjoyed my Asian friends and exposure to their culture.

Exactly. Why are people writing about places having so many Asians or Mexicans? The way some people are writing makes it sounds like having many Asians or Mexicans is a disease or a bad thing. I say the Asian and Latino population adds more flavor to OC.

[Justabystander]

Originally Posted by twnxn

Exactly. Why are people writing about places having so many Asians or Mexicans? The way some people are writing makes it sounds like having many Asians or Mexicans is a disease or a bad thing. I say the Asian and Latino population adds more flavor to OC.

Yes, If you want to put it in terms of flavor and you were to describe Orange County like a meal, while it was a hot dog and fries 20 plus years ago, it is now a big burrito with a side of spring rolls, extra glaze please and put some sour cream and extra zesty salsa on that burrito. Yum !

[Donn2390]

OMG..! There's a Mexican in my bedroom..! With the housing market so bad, I can't move, so I guess I'm stuck with her. I'm just gonna have to muddle through life and hope she doesn't cause me too many problems..... I wish I would have read this thread 25 years ago, before I married her..!

[Irvinedebs]

Originally Posted by antibes

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?

The asian population in Irvine in Orange County is about 80% percent, I have no idea where they are all coming from. It does look like Hong Kong, cant wait to move out of Calif this summer.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Irvinedebs

The asian population in Irvine in Orange County is about 80% percent, I have no idea where they are all coming from. It does look like Hong Kong, cant wait to move out of Calif this summer.

Its not even 30% Asian according to city-data.

[twnxn]

It is such a shame that here we are in 2008, in the 21st century, and we have people exaggerating the population of Asians in Irvine and Orange County (and from what I am reading into from some of the posts, that a city with a large Asian population is not a “real American city”). It is incorrect that Irvine’s population is 80% Asian or Orange County for that matter. Irvine’s Asian population is 35% Asian, which Irvine is 56% white. See Irvine city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder But, let’s just say if Irvine’s population is 80%. So what? Does that make the city less American because there are more Asians? Does a town have to be majority white to be a “real American city”? Are we assuming that Asians are not “real Americans?” I am an Irvine resident and Asian-American. I was born in the US and grew up in the United States. Am I a foreigner? Irvine is also hardly like Hong Kong. I’ve been to Asia and Hong Kong and I can tell you, Irvine is still very much an American city (to me even with several Asian shopping areas in the city; and the Asian shopping areas don’t even dominate the city). I personally like diversity and personally would like cities to be diverse. Granted, Irvine is probably not the most diverse city since it is largely white (which the US census also includes Persians as whites, since Persians are “Caucasians” just not European) and Asian. Yes, it would be nice if Irvine would also have more Latinos and African Americans.
But, my point again, an American city does necessarily mean it must be majority white. It can well be majority or largely Latino, Asian, African-American or white. But, of course, everybody is entitled to their own opinions and everybody is entitled to choose where they want to live. Afterall, this is America.

Okay, sorry for going and on about this. That is my rant of the day.

[A Blue Window]

Originally Posted by Irvinedebs

The asian population in Irvine in Orange County is about 80% percent, I have no idea where they are all coming from. It does look like Hong Kong, cant wait to move out of Calif this summer.

Really? You have a large Iranian population in Irvine too :P

Considering the bulk of this discussion dwells on an alleged culture of plastic babes and fast cars, the picture topic seems strangely bereft of them :S So most have a Mercedes-Benz but you don't have a camera, right?

[Donn2390]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Its not even 30% Asian according to city-data.

For once, we agree on something..! I knew we could be friends.....

[musaopiyo]

Hi there. My name is Musa and I'm about to complete a bachelor degree in Psychology. I have always wanted to live in SoCal but at the moment live in England. Once I'm done I plan to do a Master degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and hopefully after that start my own practice or join a group practice. I'm interested to know the type of pay that therapists in SoCal get and whether it is relative to living a modest life in the OC.

I've read some rather interesting posts, both good and bad about life in the OC. I'm used to dealing with pretentious people, though I know that this is not the general trend. I have to admit, rather guiltily, that my main motivation for wanting to move is the all round beautiful weather that the OC is infamous for. I live in England; I guess that speaks for itself but in all fairness I'm still not adjusted to the four season type weather plus it rains quite a lot ( have lived in England for 8 years; originally from Kenya).

Also, I'm looking to rent an apt. What are the typical price ranges?

I'm not too bothered about traffic, or smog, as for immigrants, well, your looking at one, but I don't see what the big fuss is all about...but then again I've never lived in California so I may just be naive about it.

Anyway, my main question is whether anyone knows on average how much therapists get paid, whether this will be enough to live a modest life in OC and whether marriage and family therapy is a job type that is readily available there.