Good/Bad about living in Orange County (Santa Ana, Huntington Beach: apartment complex, good schools)

[HopDude]

Thanks MissionHome, that was an extremely generous amount of detail and information. Very much appreciated!

[EricJess123]

If you can offord it its great south county is great. And there are very Nice Cities in North County Too.

Good Cities:
-Coto De Caza-South County
-Ladera Ranch-South County
-La Mirada-North/Central County
-Los Alimtos-Central/ North County
-Laguna Hills-South County
-Laguna Niguel-South County
-Laguna Beach-South County
-Fountain Valley-Central County
-Villa Park- Canyon Area(Very Expensive For Being Inland)
-Anaheim Hills-Canyon Area (dont confuse anaheim for anheim hills Way diff)
-Orange- North-(Okay Area Good and Bad)
-West Garden Grove-West North County Possibly Central (Not Garden Grove)
-Sana Ana Heights-South County (Not SANTA ANA!!!!!! SAH is near the ocean)
-Cerritos- North County
- Seal Beach- North County
-Brea-North County
-Irvine-Cental/South County
-San Clement/Dana Point-South County
-San Juan Cap/Mission Viejo and El Toro- South County

Bad Cities:

-Signal Hill-Los Angeles/Orange County
-Bell Flower-Los Angeles/Orange County
-Parts of Lakewood-Borderline North County
-Long Beach-Los Angeles County Bay be confused for OC
-Garden Grove- Central County
-Santa Ana-Downtown Orange County(BADDD)
-Norwalk-Los Angeles/OC

All other cities that i didnt say are just Okay cities with Good and Bad

[antibes]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

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

If the Asian population would be only 30%, I would not come across 80% of them in every mall and outside activity in the OC. The city data must be old and outdated. The Asian population has escalated drastically just in recent years. The same with the persian population around the coastal areas.

[antibes]

Originally Posted by twnxn

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.

Exactly who has made any claims that a U.S. city has to be "white"? This is your imagination and claims.
The statement is simply a fact that the Asian population is booming in the O.C. and more noticeable lately. If you want to twist and turn it into some kind of judgement, it simply shows your own hidden biases.

[antibes]

Originally Posted by 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.

There are many plus points about living in CA, and the weather is the biggest plus so you may love it all for that reason alone. Weather is fantastic all year round! You will actually welcome the few weather changes that take place, being spoilt most of the year.
Some americans have told me there is a lot of racism against ethnic groups. I personally find the amercians extremely welcoming to any kinds of people and never, in all my years, have I come across any intentions to be racist or in any way target someone in a racial way, no matter what color or culture they come from. They may not understand other cultures, but they tend to just leave them to themselves and not waste time targeting anyone. At least this has been my experience in California.

Complete shallowness is 100%. Its the most exhausting part with this whole region. I seldom found any depth of thinking or interesting conversations every while in CA. Its all shallow, shallow, shallow. Don't forget they need to go on the Dr Phil show to even discuss their own feelings with their life partner for the first time... However, intimate details that would embarrass a European they have no problems announcing to all and sundry! Eventually, you will end up feeling emotionally lonely whether you know many people or not. In the beginning everything will be exciting and fun but it will wear thin. The chances of you connecting with anyone the same way as in the UK will be slim. The culture is so different in this way and I know many americans object to this statement, but they really don't know or understand what we compare with.

But, its better if you find it all out on your own!

[Abashi]

My grandparent(s) live in Orange County, so I have some experience here. As for good/bad


Good:

-Fairly multicultural and rich with diversity, different types of people to choose from when it comes to hanging out and having friends. There are plenty of Asians which means geeks, and there are also a fair amount of environmentalists due to its large beach community. If OC doesn't supply enough diversity, Los Angeles isn't far away.

-Its close to a lot of attraction such as Disney Land and Knotts Barry Farm. There are also a lot of coastal towns that would be fun for beach goers. Its near Los Angeles, so there is plenty to do there.

-Very few military. They are down in San Diego, former bases such as El Toro shut down, and high rent makes them not want to come here. I don't like the military very much since I'm more of a "peace type".


Bad:

-Its in SoCal, meaning hot dry weather and very superficial people.

-It votes Republican, luckily its hard to notice since the area is not very political. The conservative atmosphere largely phased out after the large influx of Asians, poor people, and Hispanics; alongside the removal of its military bases.

-Its very expensive, more expensive than San Diego, but overall less attractive and harder to live in. Everywhere is developed, so its crowded and there aren't very many natural areas left.

-Its too business oriented, its overly consumerist from what I hear, and also from what I hear the local colleges tend to be oriented more towards business and managing money.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by antibes

If the Asian population would be only 30%, I would not come across 80% of them in every mall and outside activity in the OC. The city data must be old and outdated. The Asian population has escalated drastically just in recent years. The same with the persian population around the coastal areas.

There's no way 80% of the people you come across in Irvine are Asian unless you're hanging out exclusively in 99 Ranch shopping centers.

[Texasturkey]

Originally Posted by Win

OC has some good and bad qualities. I found it to be boring because everyone looks and acts the same there. That is to say, most the women are blonde and everyone likes to act like they have more money than they do. I found it to be boring for the most part ... not sure on how the schools rank though, sorry!

Orange County (OC) is not the "Orange Wall" or "Whiter than White" anymore. Not since the 70's and early 80's. No, not all women are blonde. They are also burnette and red head. OC has a lot of Asians and some Blacks too, as well as Hispanics. South OC is mostly White and Asian.

Yes, I have heard especially in South OC, that everyone is trying to keep up with each other. Always comparing. Most of the people that live there, can't afford to. But, they are struggling to keep up apperances and look wealthy. Uneducated people living in rented condos with blue collar jobs. The barely live check to check so their children can go to decent schools. There is no middle class anymore. There is the wannabe rich and lower income. Not much in between.

[Texasturkey]

Originally Posted by Jaguar27

I can honestly say, from years of personal experience, a Married couple with no Kids needs to earn a total of approximately $120-150K PA to live comfortably in areas such as Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Irvine etc.
A decent Appartment will cost $1800 pm+, if you're not prepared to pay that much then be prepared to have many units Populated by multi Familes, 8 Residents in one Apt! Be prepared to have shopping Carts abandoned in your Complex and unruly Kids/Residents etc etc. You'll also find that if you arrive home after 5pm you'll have nowhere to Park your Car...

You'll have NO chance of buying a House in these areas on a joint income of $150K, it's just not possible unless you have $500K as a down payment.
If you live in one of the above areas make sure your job is only a 5-15 mile commute, or start work at 5am otherwise the commute will kill you eventually...driving anywhere at most times of the Day is a miserable experience...and expensive, your Car will be idling most of the time...

I've lived in OC for 18 years now, it used to be fantastic but things have changed so much, there are just too many People here now...plus, Rents are rising currently by 5.9% pa, so, calculate how much an $1800 apt will cost in, say, 5 years...forget saving for a down payment on a House...

The weather is nice though ;-) Problem is, we never get to enjoy it, we're too tired after working excessive hours every week....

My parents were landlords. There are only so many occupants allowed per square feet. They had a rental and no more than 6 people could live in a single family residence with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. That is by law. In an apartment building or condo, it will be regulated and enforced by the property manager. If someone with less desirable status wants to rent their small single family residence to 20 people, who is to stop them?

[antibes]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

There's no way 80% of the people you come across in Irvine are Asian unless you're hanging out exclusively in 99 Ranch shopping centers.

Try Huntington Beach, Newport (Fashion Island) and anything else nearby, South Coast Plaza and surrounding. There's a huge asian population boom in these areas, no doubt. Someone else mentioned Irvine.
I have never seen such dramatic changes in population growth in such a short time.

Besides, the statistics simply cannot be accurate. If you're driving to LA, or are in LA, every second driver next to you is asian. Hardly makes the low percentage in the statistics realistic.