Orange County is not luxurious (Santa Ana, Anaheim: appointed, real estate, apartments)

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I'm not sure if this book was written only about Orange County but in Fairfield County CT (wealthier than OC) the old money folks with tens of millions+ in the bank drive BMWs, Mercedes, etc. Granted they are the higher end models, but they do have 'em. Sure you see your Range Rovers and Maseratis and Rolls Royces but the vast majority of those upper class folks drive everyday luxury cars. The same can be said for the most affluent sections of Manhattan, Boston, Florida and Chicago.

Even up north in the Bay Area, where several counties are wealthier than Orange County, I dont think we have any area that is as known for materialism as much as the OC is.

Marin is immensly wealthy, but its not known as a parade of jimmy choos, neverending Ferraris and botox injections at 7-11. Although some people here are that way, its not as obvious.

Heck, even on our cul-de-sac in Tiburon where all our neighbors are quite rich(except me and my bf, we're nobodies)-most people drive nice cars, but not really exotic.

I myself drive a Prius and my BF drives a LR3. Not exactly hoity toity I passed that stage when I had to have the most expensive and trendiest of everything a while ago. Learning about the true finer things really changed my life for the better.

But ya know, this perception is not Orange County's fault, its the media's fault for sending this false image.

[Humanoid]

If upper class is based off what cars you drive or what you wear, well that is something I don't even want to get involved in.

I'm not sure how you translated "social class is about everything...." to "if upper class is based off what cars your drive or what you wear...". That isn't what I said at all, clothes and cars are just a small part of the issue. Far more important issues are education (and I'm not talking about degrees), what you enjoy, how you look at the world, how you raise your kids etc. But these aren't the issues the middle-class focus on because they aren't the things that can be easily mimicked. But regardless, you should be whoever you want to be.

I think we should make a "Bill Gates Class" for people that have a lot of money and wealth but are pretty laid back and down to earth

Bill Gates is in no sense "down to earth".

And please don't tell me you're that unenlightened and clueless about the "other half" if you are really under the assumption that "upper class' people don't drive Mercedes-Benz and BMW?

My comments are directed towards new models of these brands, as with all cars older models may be very valuable. The problem is that BMW and to a lesser degree Mercedes-Benz has started to market heavily to the middle-class markets and this ruins the appeal to the more upper-class markets. BMW has almost totally moved into a middle-class market, Mercedes-Benz is somewhere in the middle. Its very hard to brand a product to both the middle-class and the upper-class, we are talking about symbols of status and class here. Personally I feel that whenever a company tries to market their brand to multiple social classes it fails, the brand after awhile will go to one market or the other. That is why for example Toyota created Lexus etc.

Anyhow as far as cars go the issue is more complex than just brands, its particular models/years within those brands etc. But generally in today's world BMW's are middle-class cars and Mercedes-Benz are somewhere in the middle. Bentley's and Rolls-Royce due to the price are either purchased by "nouveau riche" or the upper-class.

I love the family oriented and more down-to-earth areas like Laguna Hills and Mission Hills...

I don't find these areas "down-to-earth", they are filled the same sort of debt-driven middle-class culture that parts of Newport beach are. MEW in the inland areas was just as high and foreclosure activity as far as I recall is higher in the inland areas.

Also, for the record I don't care for Newport beach, Laguna beach is rather nice though.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Even up north in the Bay Area, where several counties are wealthier than Orange County, I dont think we have any area that is as known for materialism as much as the OC is.

Marin is immensly wealthy, but its not known as a parade of jimmy choos, neverending Ferraris and botox injections at 7-11. Although some people here are that way, its not as obvious.

Heck, even on our cul-de-sac in Tiburon where all our neighbors are quite rich(except me and my bf, we're nobodies)-most people drive nice cars, but not really exotic.

I myself drive a Prius and my BF drives a LR3. Not exactly hoity toity I passed that stage when I had to have the most expensive and trendiest of everything a while ago. Learning about the true finer things really changed my life for the better.

But ya know, this perception is not Orange County's fault, its the media's fault for sending this false image.

I've also seen similar materialism in Miami and Palm Beach, FL.

Here in CT, many CEOs and execs drive their 1995 meticulously maintained Mercedes or Volvos. The only folks who flaunt their wealth are the young folks who have made fortunes on Wall Street, mainly in their 20s and 30s. The flashiness of Orange County would be considered trashy here.

[awhyte82]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I'm not sure if this book was written only about Orange County but in Fairfield County CT (wealthier than OC) the old money folks with tens of millions+ in the bank drive BMWs, Mercedes, etc. Granted they are the higher end models, but they do have 'em. Sure you see your Range Rovers and Maseratis and Rolls Royces but the vast majority of those upper class folks drive everyday luxury cars. The same can be said for the most affluent sections of Manhattan, Boston, Florida and Chicago.

The thing I like about CT and much of New England is the ultra-wealthy are modest and people here live within their means. Friends of mine who live in Orange County are astounded at the foreclosure rate in OC, which shows that so many people are spending what they don't have.

speaking as someone who grew up in Fairfield county Connecticut and is now moving across the
country to Orange County I find this post very accurate. I get the impression that Flashy is getting
confused with Classy. Class is not driving a Bentley or Jaguar, class is buying a car that meets your
needs and that you like for the way it looks not because the price tag has more zero's than your
neighbors. Class is not spending your days spending a ton of money on shoes, purses and clothes
then deciding where would be the best place to show off your wealth, class is buying things that
you want or need , but remembering that enough is enough and things are things, they accesorise
the person not define the person, wearing a 6 carat necklace to the grocery store is flashy, not classy.
Everyone is guilty of being superficial at some point in their lives, I would be lying if I said that I've
never spent too much on a pair of earrings because they caught my eye but I can safely say that I have
never spent too much on anything just because it is a well known expensive brand. Humanoid, you
seem to have an issue with blurring the line between class and flash and I certainly hope that not
everyone on the coast of OC share your views or else we are going to be sorely out of place. We are
looking to move to the california beaches because of their beauty and the weather, not because they
are the place to be seen. If you think that being upper class is defined by the caliber of car you drive
or how old your money is you are sorely mistaken. it is very hipocritical of you to say "The idea that
social class is tied to money is frankly a rather middle-class idea." and then in the next breath say
"Upper class circles usually call folks like Bill Gates "nouveau rich" with the idea that although they have
wealth they have yet to be refined in the appropriate way." If you think people who spend more time
working with charities and donating billions to these charities are not 'refined in the proper way' you
need a reality check. To be honest with you your views as have been expressed are more low class than
upper class. You seem to be "flashy" and have no sense of self outside of your climb up the social ladder.
once you get high enough then the 'things' don't matter as much as what you do with them. to be honest
your opinions seem to be new money than those of the upper class folks that I have been associated with.

[5FLgirls]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I've also seen similar materialism in Miami and Palm Beach, FL.

Here in CT, many CEOs and execs drive their 1995 meticulously maintained Mercedes or Volvos. The only folks who flaunt their wealth are the young folks who have made fortunes on Wall Street, mainly in their 20s and 30s. The flashiness of Orange County would be considered trashy here.

I think it's also got to depend on the person too. The word you can use (and I hope I spell it right) is nouve-riche. I've lived in Miami and Palm Beach and there is a good mix of new ferraris and jaguars and 25 year old Mercedes. Old money is not flashy. However, you will never find a Palm Beach matriarch driving (or being driven in) a Honda Accord.

People place Orange County in the flashy/trashy column but I don't think that's necessarily true. When we first moved here, my husband commented that every other car he saw was a Mercedes. We joked that were going to have to get one to fit in. But after living here awhile I've realized that there's normal cars and people. My children attend a private school in south Orange County. There is a small group of stereotypical OC Moms (bleached blonde hair, perfect bodies and faces dressed in their tennis outfits or True Religion jeans, Jimmy Choo sandals and expensive car) but there are more "normal" SAHM moms driving minivans than anything else.

[ArnoldZ]

OC is not all luxurious in the same manner that Las Vegas is not all strip!

[denverian]

Originally Posted by awhyte82

speaking as someone who grew up in Fairfield county Connecticut and is now moving across the
country to Orange County I find this post very accurate. I get the impression that Flashy is getting
confused with Classy. Class is not driving a Bentley or Jaguar, class is buying a car that meets your
needs and that you like for the way it looks not because the price tag has more zero's than your
neighbors. Class is not spending your days spending a ton of money on shoes, purses and clothes
then deciding where would be the best place to show off your wealth, class is buying things that
you want or need , but remembering that enough is enough and things are things, they accesorise
the person not define the person, wearing a 6 carat necklace to the grocery store is flashy, not classy.
Everyone is guilty of being superficial at some point in their lives, I would be lying if I said that I've
never spent too much on a pair of earrings because they caught my eye but I can safely say that I have
never spent too much on anything just because it is a well known expensive brand. Humanoid, you
seem to have an issue with blurring the line between class and flash and I certainly hope that not
everyone on the coast of OC share your views or else we are going to be sorely out of place. We are
looking to move to the california beaches because of their beauty and the weather, not because they
are the place to be seen. If you think that being upper class is defined by the caliber of car you drive
or how old your money is you are sorely mistaken. it is very hipocritical of you to say "The idea that
social class is tied to money is frankly a rather middle-class idea." and then in the next breath say
"Upper class circles usually call folks like Bill Gates "nouveau rich" with the idea that although they have
wealth they have yet to be refined in the appropriate way." If you think people who spend more time
working with charities and donating billions to these charities are not 'refined in the proper way' you
need a reality check. To be honest with you your views as have been expressed are more low class than
upper class. You seem to be "flashy" and have no sense of self outside of your climb up the social ladder.
once you get high enough then the 'things' don't matter as much as what you do with them. to be honest
your opinions seem to be new money than those of the upper class folks that I have been associated with.

So very true. OC is very "new money" and it shows. I'm sorry but a 45 year old woman with a face lift, boob job, big, dyed hair, tons of makeup and 10 pounds of jewlry driving a jacked up F-350 with diamond-studded rims and backup cameras in the wheel wells is just trashy. And I've seen this sort of thing in OC! It seems like so many rich people in OC originated in a Kentucky trailer park!

[Justabystander]

Reading these posts, it reinforces what I don't miss about Orange County. While I live in an established, affluent Chicago suburb, with the average house sale exceeding a million dollars, I feel perfectly fine and accepted driving a Honda Accord and telling time with a Fossil watch. Maybe it is more of a understated existance, but it is an existance where people tend to value who you are, not what you wear or what you drive. Cars are probably the worst investment of cash on the planet, they depreciate at an incredible rate, and can be passe at any moment ( try selling your Cadillac Escalade in this market with $4.29 cent gas ! ). There is nothing luxurious, in my opinion, about Orange County living any more, since traffic, overcrowding, and life style issues have eroded what drew people there to begin with.

[fipster]

The five biggest cities in Orange Count are:
Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington, Irvine, and Garden Grove.
I don't know anyone who would say Santa Ana, Anaheim, or Garden Grove is flashy.
As for Huntington, the style/culture is more laid-back, casual than bling-bling.
Irvine does have some really new homes and nice cars, but that's it.

I love Orange County. I love the fact that it does not look ghetto like Long Beach or LA.

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by fipster

The five biggest cities in Orange Count are:
Santa Ana, Anaheim, Irvine, Huntington, Irvine, and Garden Grove.
I don't know anyone who would say Santa Ana, Anaheim, or Garden Grove is flashy.
As for Huntington, the style/culture is more laid-back, casual than bling-bling.
Irvine does have some really new homes and nice cars, but that's it.

I love Orange County. I love the fact that it does not look ghetto like Long Beach or LA.

This is the problem with referring to places as large as Orange County, LA, and Long Beach as singular locations. All three have nice looking and not so nice looking areas. All are large and if you say you live in one of those places the natural next question is "where". Manhattan beach is very different than West Covina. Belmont Shore is very different than north long beach. And Newport is very different than Irvine.