Any signs of a housing bubble in OC, specifically Irvine? (San Diego: houses, job market)

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by Finper

Yes Dec Jan will be brown on the hills. There will be green on grass and trees though. Lots of places now have desert landscape and that doesn't turn brown either. Ca is not Florida so it doesn’t rain nearly that much. We’ve had long droughts with barely rain and years with lots. So far this fall not much rain at all.

Combine that factoid with the Santa Ana's drying out everything so fires are well fueled and spread. That's how we get those phenomenal occasional mudslides. Bad fire season and the occasional match-up with a severe rain (think: El Nino) season and Bam! You got mudslides!

California weather, in general, has some predictable cycles. That's why every year the news is filled with either Storm Watch 2000! or Mudslide 2000! or Fires 2000! However, Finper is right, it is usually dry and brown almost 90% of the time. Even when it rains, it is more of a sprinkling or a mist more than real solid, hours-long raindrops. Just enough to wet the roads so everyone slips around a lot. Pop-up summer-time thundershowers are very rare.

Do not be surprised to "enjoy" 75-degree and sunny weather on Thanksgiving and Christmas more years than not. That's why when it gets overcast for a couple days and there's .000025 inches of rain coming down, every woman breaks out her jeans, boots, and fur-lined jackets. No other times of the year to sport them.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

Combine that factoid with the Santa Ana's drying out everything so fires are well fueled and spread. That's how we get those phenomenal occasional mudslides. Bad fire season and the occasional match-up with a severe rain (think: El Nino) season and Bam! You got mudslides!

California weather, in general, has some predictable cycles. That's why every year the news is filled with either Storm Watch 2000! or Mudslide 2000! or Fires 2000! However, Finper is right, it is usually dry and brown almost 90% of the time. Even when it rains, it is more of a sprinkling or a mist more than real solid, hours-long raindrops. Just enough to wet the roads so everyone slips around a lot. Pop-up summer-time thundershowers are very rare.

Do not be surprised to "enjoy" 75-degree and sunny weather on Thanksgiving and Christmas more years than not. That's why when it gets overcast for a couple days and there's .000025 inches of rain coming down, every woman breaks out her jeans, boots, and fur-lined jackets. No other times of the year to sport them.

Thank you very much!


I guess I'll still have to deal with natural disasters if I move there too. Hurricanes aren't too bad, it's just a mess to clean up outside because it looked like it snowed but with leaves instead and small branches.


lol that's funny about the weather. Coming from Florida, 75 is pretty cold to us, but in a good way. It's been mid-high 80s every day now and today is finally 75 degrees right now and I'm wearing jeans, t-shirt and a light jacket. While I like warm weather, even hot weather... mid-low 70s is really nice too. When I lived in San Francisco, it always depressed me seeing the forecasts all around the country during the summer and as I geared up for the wind, fog and chilly weather.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Finper

Yes Dec Jan will be brown on the hills. There will be green on grass and trees though. Lots of places now have desert landscape and that doesn't turn brown either. Ca is not Florida so it doesn’t rain nearly that much. We’ve had long droughts with barely rain and years with lots. So far this fall not much rain at all.

Thanks again


Okay good to know. Yeah there is definitely not a water shortage here or it doesn't feel like it anyways. When it rains here it comes down so hard, it even forms mini-floods in my yard, but the ground here is very porous, so as soon as it stops, the water is no more. It's actually pretty therapeutic when it pours down hard. The part that sucks is afterwards the humidity goes x5.

[NewbieHere]

Your money goes farther in Laguna Niguel, but not a lot of Asian restaurants there, Irvine has more. But I did see a lot of Asians in Laguna Niguel. In fact they often comes to Irvine’s farmers market to buy Asian Vegetables, they hit my car once. That’s how I know. International driver’s License.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Thanks again


Okay good to know. Yeah there is definitely not a water shortage here or it doesn't feel like it anyways. When it rains here it comes down so hard, it even forms mini-floods in my yard, but the ground here is very porous, so as soon as it stops, the water is no more. It's actually pretty therapeutic when it pours down hard. The part that sucks is afterwards the humidity goes x5.

Strange as where I live now in Volusia County when it rains 90% of the time it feels less humid. Once in a while it will feel humid after a rain and usually inland like Orlando though It did feel that way where I live a couple of times this year. Usually our rain cools things nicely. Maybe you lived in So FL?


CA used to be greener as I grew up in SoCal and have lived there for 55 years. Even the freeways had green growth which ended when they started to not have enough water and rates went up. last year when i was there, even a lot of businesses quit watering their planters and lawns, as did a huge number of homeowners for years now. Brown all over the place but not everywhere.

[NewbieHere]

The last few years was the worst, but it’s ok to water your lawn now.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by NewbieHere

Your money goes farther in Laguna Niguel, but not a lot of Asian restaurants there, Irvine has more. But I did see a lot of Asians in Laguna Niguel. In fact they often comes to Irvine’s farmers market to buy Asian Vegetables, they hit my car once. That’s how I know. International driver’s License.

Thank you! That's fine, Laguna Niguel is close enough anyways. I'll take a look at listings there as well and drive around the area when I come visit.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Strange as where I live now in Volusia County when it rains 90% of the time it feels less humid. Once in a while it will feel humid after a rain and usually inland like Orlando though It did feel that way where I live a couple of times this year. Usually our rain cools things nicely. Maybe you lived in So FL?


CA used to be greener as I grew up in SoCal and have lived there for 55 years. Even the freeways had green growth which ended when they started to not have enough water and rates went up. last year when i was there, even a lot of businesses quit watering their planters and lawns, as did a huge number of homeowners for years now. Brown all over the place but not everywhere.

I live in Orlando now, but have also lived in Boca Raton too. Well right now, the weather is cooler, so the rain doesn't do it here, but during the summer months it does. Yeah that's the downside to droughts or rain deprived areas. I used to live in Australia too and during that time there was a really bad drought where you could only hose water your lawn.

[Finper]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I live in Orlando now, but have also lived in Boca Raton too. Well right now, the weather is cooler, so the rain doesn't do it here, but during the summer months it does. Yeah that's the downside to droughts or rain deprived areas. I used to live in Australia too and during that time there was a really bad drought where you could only hose water your lawn.

During the worst drought here we could only water 2 days a week and then the water companies raised our rates because they weren't getting enough money in They also had a rebate program where the state would give you money if you'd rip out your lawn and plant succulents instead but it turned out to only be huge lawns. Now all new builds have to have only succulents and native Ca fauna no more grass allowed. Which is fine with me. I find grass very boring.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Are there any other areas you'd recommend to search anywhere from Orange County to San Diego? Thanks!

I think the area in San Diego most similar to Irvine is Carmel Valley. This is the area east of Del Mar. It has excellent schools and a large percentage of asians.

https://school-ratings.com/school_de...560114686.html

The authentic asian food in San Diego is primarily found in the Kearny Mesa area. There is a Mitsuwa Marketplace, an Hmart and a couple of 99 Ranch Markets. There are many authentic restaurants along Convoy St. The City Heights neighborhood also many Vietnamese restaurants.

San Diego has more interesting neighborhoods compared to Orange County like Hillcrest, North Park, the Gaslamp Quarter and La Jolla Village. It also has easily accessible outdoor activity such as hiking in Mission Trails Regional Park.

There is enough asian food in San Diego for most people but it does not compare with the incredible offerings of the LA/OC area. Monterey Park, Alhambra and San Gabriel are incredible for Chinese food. Rowland Heights also has a concentration of authentic Chinese restaurants. LA has Koreatown and Garden Grove also has many Korean restaurants. LA has Little Tokyo and Thai Town. There is a Little Cambodia in Long Beach and a Little India in Artesia. Little Saigon in Westminster is the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam.

I have lived in both places. I like Orange County for the great variety of food choices. I like San Diego for the more relaxed vibe and less jammed traffic.