okay what about those orange county men? (Irvine, Lake Forest: environment, transplants)

[buttacup79]

Okay, so looking to move to orange county from new york (yes, a big culture change!). I am a 29 year old single female, so am interested in what the orange county men are like, particulary south county? I have seen threads about the orange county women, and i know that there are all kinds of people wherever you go, but also some stereotypes of the typical person in areas do exist. (Im from nyc, and can vouch for that, especially in the outer boroughs of ny!)

Anyway, would like to prepare myself for the whole dating thing again. Here are my questions?

What's a typical orange county man like...not a transplant
Where do you go to meet them, besides bars...?
Is it only about looks, or does it go beyond that, i think of myself as good looking, but (again, not meaning to be stereotypical, as i know there are many types of people out there..) I dont have any plastic surgery, dont drive an expensive car, am thin, and intelligent (am an analyst at a bank)?
Any east coast vs west coast differences?
Dating, can be tough anywhere, but how is the scene out there, i would find that suburbs might be easier to find someone looking to settle, hopefully ?

Thank you so much! I apologize for going off stereotypes, and mean no harm, just trying to get a well rounded perspective, thats all.

[bhcompy]

it honestly depends.. if you're looking in your age group or above you should be fine, but there is a higher degree of snobbery(meaning they want the status symbol car, wife, etc) in south county so your mileage may vary.

really the places you choose to look for singles will determine what you find.. if you want a beach bum, go hang out at a dive bar near the beach. if you want a stock broker, go hang out at the yard house. orange county is very diverse, and eventhough south county is a little less so you should have no problem finding a place that puts you in touch with the type of person you are looking for

[slove1106]

Depends on what you're looking for. (Like you didn't expect that huh? )

What age group do you date? If you date at your age group or a little older, then you'll find that a majority still do the partying/drinking/clubbing thing.

Personally, I don't do any of that, so I'm usually in an environment of people usually older than I am. I'm 26 and my bf is 39. I'm glad, because we both don't do that young scene anymore. I tend to notice that whatever we DO do, I don't see that many young people doing it. So I'm assuming they're mostly partying or clubbing it up. Don't get me wrong, I do have friends my age (27-30) and yeah, pretty much, that's what they're doing. Clubs, bars, hanging out...

As far as settling, I also think that's an age dependant thing, not a geographical thing. Since most of the men I see are still at a young stage (even well into their 30s) I think a lot don't really want to settle down. Don't get me wrong, I know lots of married couples in their 20s and 30s... But as far as the actual single ones, they may be single for a reason. lol.

Like the previous poster said, OC's diverse so you'll find every type of person here. From snowboarders and surfers, clubbers and partyiers, intellectuals and successful, to even drag queens and trannies. It's a mini-Hollywood.

And last but not least... Gotta bring up the whole "keeping up with the Joneses" thing I'm sure you've heard about. I think the previous poster mentioned it. Yep... SNOBS. Superficial, materialistic, and INSECURE are the people of OC (actually, I think all of California). Everyone must have the latest Prada purse, the newest SUV, or the GREATEST CHILD on the street! Everyone struggles to be the best here so you'll be finding some "macho" men attitudes. Don't worry, I said some, not all. lol. Even if they're not all "in your face" with it, you can tell since they try to dress the best, have a new SUV, and try to look rich, but when you go out to dinner, they're broke.

[buttacup79]

Thanks for all the insight so far! I would be looking to date a guy in their mid 20s to mid 30s.

I dont really do the bar/club scene that much anymore, so am looking for other activities...it is funny because wherever i go, usually is older people or couples....Currently, where I work is all older people as well.

I have a dog, and would love to meet a fellow dog lover.

So what about the looks and smarts factor? Again, mixed bag, but a general point of view is fine...tall, short, better looking than other states, smart, dumb? For example, I live in NYC, the guys tend to be on the shorter side, dress nice, average looks, smart for the most part.

[fipster]

There are three groups in Orange County - Whites, Hispanics, and Asians.

Most White men are married by the age of 30. For those who are single, they definitely go to the bars... a lot.

For single Hispanics, they don't care about much in a women other than if you're down for some "fun".

As for Asians, they tend to live with their parents until 30. They're very mature in terms of careers, but not so much in dating/living.

If you are 29, you can probably date up to 39. An average guy in his 30's should have a decent job. But guys don't care about what job you have. They just want you to look good, be low maintenance, and have an easy going personality.

If you are planning to date younger, they just want you to look HOT. But I'm pretty sure that if you take them out to dinner and a movie and pay, they'll be majorly IMPRESSED.

[NYGiant_Fan]

You could go to an Angels baseball game, a Ducks hockey game or to a gym to meet men. 24HR fitness has many clubs in OC as does LA fitness. Fitness is pretty big out here...

[flo2900]

Dress nice, smell good, be modest and you`ll stand out among black widow type Calif women......sorry had to vent!

[slove1106]

Originally Posted by buttacup79

So what about the looks and smarts factor? Again, mixed bag, but a general point of view is fine...tall, short, better looking than other states, smart, dumb? For example, I live in NYC, the guys tend to be on the shorter side, dress nice, average looks, smart for the most part.

Looks... well. Good! Lotta hot people here. But we've all heard the rumors that if they're hot, they're probably shallow... lol. So yeah, that's about the gist of it... Lotta good looking people but you know how that goes... I'm not even going into it, cuz I'm sure you already know. (Not all though)

Smarts... Well, can't say. I know some smart people, and by golly there sure are lots who are an apple short of a bunch. So... depending where you go, you'll find both.

Don't see too many short people (I'm 5'7"... and a woman by the way) and being my height they tend to be around mine or taller. (Maybe unless you go to some midget bar I don't know about )

And same goes with dress attire. Depends where you go. Go to the beach there's hot guys in board shorts... Go to a club, slacks/pants and button up/collars... But on a day to day thing I mostly see jeans and a button up or t-shirt. Like I said a post before... can't be totally out of place or you'll get the looks from the superficial ones.

Can't really compare any of these to different states cuz I've really only been to CA, NV, AZ, and MI... I assume it's about the same. (Haven't been to the south... now that's probably where I can start comparing... but they're all the same to me lol)

[buttacup79]

Wow! These all are great answers! Since I live in NYC, it seems that there is alot of the same thing here as well, so I would be used to it.

Is alot of south orange county transplants?

I am thinking about working in Irvine..If anyone works over there, is there a wide variety of ages and i am assuming people do the happy hours there? It seems that I work with alot of older people currently in nyc, which doesnt help meeting a guy at work...

[slove1106]

Originally Posted by buttacup79

Wow! These all are great answers! Since I live in NYC, it seems that there is alot of the same thing here as well, so I would be used to it.

Is alot of south orange county transplants?

I am thinking about working in Irvine..If anyone works over there, is there a wide variety of ages and i am assuming people do the happy hours there? It seems that I work with alot of older people currently in nyc, which doesnt help meeting a guy at work...

I lived in Irvine for about 5 years, then moved to Lake Forest (next door) about 7 years ago. And yes, you'll get a very wide variety of ages there. Not only at work, but anywhere you go. What industry are you in?

I'm in Admin and right now, everyone I work with is 40-55... But that's in an office of 6 people. (Including me, I'm only 26 though)

When I worked in an office of 100, I was the youngest then (I was 19 when I started) and the next youngest would've been my friend who was 25 at the time... and the rest varied widely all the way up to past retirement age.

As far as fitting in, I DOUBT that you'll have a problem. I think it's probably the same here since you're from NY. (You do know WE Californias think YOU guys over there are the snobby and rude ones right??? So NYers and Californians should get along GREAT!) You know I'm just kidding.

As far as transplants, I can't tell ya since I haven't met any. Most of the people I know are transplanting OUT of CA... (Can't imagine why you're coming in...? lol) But over all, it's a NICE place to live. Just a little too busy and big for me. (I'm one of the ones moving out lol)

Oh, and yes, happy hours... We used to have happy hour at my old work at noon for our lunch break.