Orange County is not luxurious (Santa Ana, Irvine: sales, foreclosures, mortgage)

[cabolissa]

Originally Posted by rickca

There is no way Southern California will ever be as inexpensive as Austin, Tx.. why does everyone always mention Austin like its some comparable place to California? Its just some obscure college town and anyone who's anyone in the state in which it is located (Texas) most likely lives in either Dallas or Houston and not Austin.. why not compare Dallas or Houston.

Austin is beautiful with many hills and lakes. Dallas is huge and Houston has a totally different vibe. Austin still has a "small town feel" that I remember we used to have in CA suburbs.

Besides, I'd welcome the idea of living with Californians again! Since they've all moved out of CA, we've got more transplants here than natives!

[Jon_2007]

you know ive been reading some post's in this thread and i find it funny that mostly everything said in here is in your own opinions, saying most of orange county is middle class has zero statistics behind it at all, ALOT of orange county is upper class compared to the middle. Maybe you dont live in the same area(s) as i do in orange county, because i disagree with that statment. maybe if you made more then 100K it would open the doors to "different" parts of town, and you would most likely change your "opinion"

lol I was just in Austin and Dallas and let me tell you NEITHER are comparable to Southern California. lol and the thing that always gets me and I mean always is income brackets, TX is cheaper state to live in so you move there and tell yourself that Austin is just like southern california where you could not aford to live.

[cabolissa]

Originally Posted by Jon_2007

you know ive been reading some post's in this thread and i find it funny that mostly everything said in here is in your own opinions, saying most of orange county is middle class has zero statistics behind it at all, ALOT of orange county is upper class compared to the middle. Maybe you dont live in the same area(s) as i do in orange county, because i disagree with that statment. maybe if you made more then 100K it would open the doors to "different" parts of town, and you would most likely change your "opinion"

lol I was just in Austin and Dallas and let me tell you NEITHER are comparable to Southern California. lol and the thing that always gets me and I mean always is income brackets, TX is cheaper state to live in so you move there and tell yourself that Austin is just like southern california where you could not aford to live.

Thanks for your permission! Why so hostile Jon???

[Jon_2007]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

I grew up in the LA area and lived a bit in Orange County (Irvine) and I can't help but laugh at some impression "outsiders" seem to have of the area.

To me the area is just your normal middle-class suburban area of California, but recently its been caste as some sort of upper-class area.

lol, where did you grow up Santa Ana ??

[Jon_2007]

Originally Posted by cabolissa

Thanks for your permission! Why so hostile Jon???

forgive me if i came across hostile

[cabolissa]

Originally Posted by Jon_2007

forgive me if i came across hostile

No worries.

By the way, where are you from, the East Coast? Because those of us from CA don't refer to it as Cali.

If you've been in CA for 36+ years like I have (born and raised), you might understand my wanting to leave. It's not the same place - of course nowhere is. But it's much too crowded, and there are no real "bedroom communities" left. It's all city upon city...

[Humanoid]

Originally Posted by Jon_2007

lol, where did you grow up Santa Ana ??

I said where I grew up - Los Angeles.

. maybe if you made more then 100K it would open the doors to "different" parts of town, and you would most likely change your "opinion"

Making 100k/year doesn't make you upper-class, it makes you middle-class. I've been to all the supposedly "rich" areas of Orange County and the majority of what you see are track homes filled with middle-class families. Nothing wrong with that. There certainly are rather wealthy folks in Orange County, but the same can be same of any County in California.

Regardless, there aren't really any statistics on these matters that I know about. You can't look at income statistics because income doesn't tell you about wealth.

Anyhow, Austin and Dallas aren't just like Southern California, but they aren't some areas with no jobs filled with rednecks etc. In many senses the Texan economy is doing much better than the California economy (Partially due to lower personal and corporate taxes). You can live the same sort of lifestyle in Austin as you can in Southern California. There isn't much you can do in Southern California that you can't do in Austin.

Austin is one of the areas I've been looking into as well. I was born and raised in California and then I went to graduate school + worked on the east coast for a while and came back for family. But we aren't happy with spending more money to live the same lifestyle that we did on the east coast so we are looking for alternatives.

[cabolissa]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

Austin is one of the areas I've been looking into as well. I was born and raised in California and then I went to graduate school + worked on the east coast for a while and came back for family. But we aren't happy with spending more money to live the same lifestyle that we did on the east coast so we are looking for alternatives.

Glad to meet another like-minded person... I was born in LA and I can barely recognize the place anymore! I lived abroad, and coming back to live in OC was both great and not-so-great at the same time. I want more of a small town feel, the dollar to go farther, and not to spend 50-60% of my income on housing!

[mading6]

Originally Posted by ocexpo

Personally, OC wouldn't be as much of a disappointment to a traveler as LA. La has been hyped up as the ultimate wealthy lifestyle. Hollywood looks like some 1920's reject with transiets and run down apartments. Aside from the hilly areas, most homes are trashy duplexes filled with illegal immigrants, crime, and drugs. I am personally disappointed by LA and its image, and I live here. Imagine a traveler coming to vacation in La. That would be the biggest waste of a week off work they could ever take.

I also live in Los Angeles, actually Hollywood and it is a real dump. Once in awhil I will rent a hotel room on the beach in Laguna to get away. I too love that OC is clean and not filled with trash like Hollywood. But I also do love Hollywood for what it is.

[Raelyn28]

This is an unbelievable comparison to me and proof that Orange County is totally over-rated and over-priced. Click on the pic and see what I mean. Wow!! Talk about rip-off in California. No thankyou... I choose to live elsewhere and don't care what amenities OC has to offer.. It just isn't worth it...