Orange County is not luxurious (Los Angeles, Santa Ana: middle-class, for sale, houses)

[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.

Anybody else get a laugh about this stuff?

[Charles]

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.

Anybody else get a laugh about this stuff?

When homes average $650K and every TV show portrays the lives of the rich, sexy, and famous, what else are folks in Iowa going to think?

[Humanoid]

When homes average $650K and every TV show portrays the lives of the rich and famous, what else are folks in Iowa going to think?

The median was around $600k just a bit ago, but that was for an ugly stucco box that can hardly be called a luxury home. Also, what show is showing the lives of the rich and famous in orange county? The shows I know show the life of the middle-class and over-extended.

[NaplesRes]

I know I'll probably get flamed for saying this but I think the notion of Orange County as a "place" was made up to give inland OC folks a feeling of identity different from LA and a way to tie into Newport and Laguna. It's not like anyone ever says they live in LA County.

Saying you live in Orange County is a way for people in Mission Viejo, Irvine, etc. to feel a part of the Newport and Laguna lifestyle. When people hear OC, particularly after the TV shows, they think of Newport or Laguna. A lot of people in inland OC like the idea of tying in to that "glamour" when in reality inland OC is no different than the other suburbs of LA like West Covina or Torrance.

The reality is there is coastal southern california and inland southern california. The LA / OC county line is largely meaningless when you consider job, entertainment, etc. overlap.

[missionhome]

95% of inland Orange County people could careless about what is going on in Newport Beach or Laguna. As a Mission Viejo resident, I am almost embarassed to be associated with those cities which have such a bad stigma in some areas. After "The OC" first aired on FOX, my husband's relatives from Indiana called us and asked us if we were living in the "land of Devils and whores" (they come from a very conservative area). The "glamour" that these shows has caused for our county is humilating. If you say you are from Orange County in another area, people instantly judge you now as a materialitic snobby bimbo. It doesn't help that my entire family has blond hair either, that just makes them judge you more and fit their sterotypes of the region. You should be thankful you don't live in a county with as horrible a reputation as this. I actually tell people in other states when they ask where I'm from, "I'm from Mission Viejo, its a suburb south of Los Angeles." BEFORE I could say I was from Orange County, but now it just means judgment.

Do not be so naive to think that inland OC envies cities like Newport Beach or Laguna. I prefer raising my children in an area that is more middle class and the communities are safe and quiet. If I was 21, I might think otherwise, but as a mother, I prefer living in a less materialistic area (even though the whole region is fairly materialistic, MV is less so). I prefer being in a city where they have events like Fun with Chalk or Symphony in the City, events that the whole family can enjoy, as opposed to "hip" grand openings of new stores at Fashion Island (but don't bring the kids, leave them with the nanny). My brother in law lives on Lido Island and is living up the "Newport" life: He has his 7 million dollar house, 2 million dollar boat, and exotic girlfriend. Do I envy him? No. His wife divorced him, his kids won't talk to him and one is a drug adict, and his own family (including my husband) won't talk to him. His family was so happy in Laguna Hills, but when he moved them to Newport they changed so much and the family fell apart. That is why I think the better half of Orange County is inland. We don't want the Newport lifestyle, I want the Mission Viejo lifestyle. A place where the kids come first and the adults and their partying comes second. Maybe my view is skewed due to my brother in law, but I think families are a lot less strong than in Newport than areas like MV or Irvine (and families fall apart like a Daewoo nowadays).

Also, many of the county's most affluent areas are inland. Newport and Laguna have many very rich people, but then many many more pretending to be rich, where the inland areas have people that are a lot more humble, but as a whole, more affluent. Check out the "richest" OC cities by household income: Villa Park ($203,000)-inland, Anaheim Hills ($157,000)-inland, Coto de Caza ($153,000)-inland, Laguna Beach ($141,000)-coastal, Yorba Linda ($138,000)-inland, Newport Beach ($137,000)-coastal, Laguna Niguel ($112,000)-coastal/inland, Laguna Hills ($103,000)-inland, and Ladera Ranch ($99,000)-inland. The other OC beach communities: Dana Point, San Clemente, Huntington Beach, and Seal Beach don't make the top ten. Looks to me like Newport and Laguna aren't superior to all of OC anyhow.

I don't want to flame you, I just want to make it clear that inland OC does not want to be Newport in any shape or fashion. Otherwise I think the wealthier folks in Villa Park, Anaheim Hills, or Coto de Caza all would have moved to the beach if it was that much better. Even we could afford a decent house in Newport Beach, but you don't see me throwing a for sale sign in the front yard and running for Newport.

[Humanoid]

Looks to me like Newport and Laguna aren't superior to all of OC anyhow.

Newport and Laguna have an upper-class presence that is lacking in the other areas you mentioned which are just middle-class (with the possible exception of Anaheim hills) and filled with McMansions. I'm not sure I would make it a coastal vs inland issue, but its pretty clear that the majority of the inland communities are built to make the middle-class feel wealthy by mimicking the life-style in more upper-class regions (often on the coast).

Also where did you get your income stats? I'm finding much different values, but they show the same thing. The incomes aren't very different in these areas. But I have to say income is a very middle-class measure of class, it only works when comparing different middle-class communities. The people that are truly rich know better than to have a high income, they are rich because they are wealthy (own assets) and not because their yearly income is high. Many people that are worth 10+ million only let 150k or so to be realized as "income", when you own your house, cars etc that ends up being a lot of play money.

Also, just from walking around in Laguna Beach vs Yorba Linda the difference is pretty obvious.

[missionhome]

I don't want to get in this big dividing thing. Newport and Laguna are culturally different from anywhere else in Orange County, even the other coastal cities in Southern California. They are unique cities and that is great, but they by no means represent this county and are not a place that residents of other cities aspire to be like. The point I want to make is that we don't strive to be them or emulate them. It is pretty unfair to say a family that wants a larger yard, maybe a pool, and more square footage living inland wants to pretend they are rich. Maybe they want these things because they are better for a family as opposed to living in tight lots. Personally, I think this thread shows why people like me don't care for the coastal cities. Can we just think of people as people as opposed to what address they have? Is a Newport resident superior or better than an Irvine resident? What makes them different as people? Does being upper class on the coast really make someone "classier" than someone inland? This is what I want to understand. If you like living by the water, that is great. I moved by Lake Mission Viejo to be by water. I like swimming, just like coastal residents love the sand between their feet. I understand why people want to live by the beach, but the superiority complex that some coastal residents have just because they live on the beach is very pathetic.

[jksouthbay88]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

The median was around $600k just a bit ago, but that was for an ugly stucco box that can hardly be called a luxury home. Also, what show is showing the lives of the rich and famous in orange county? The shows I know show the life of the middle-class and over-extended.

Yeah
I agree.I'm an outsider but I have friends that lived where I lived and they said things that pretty much sounded luxurious to me.Plus where I work lots of the OC people come in with the oversized SUV's with the TV's,big Rims,and want the more expensive parking.Not all of OC is like that but it sure feels like most of it is.

[Humanoid]

The point I want to make is that we don't strive to be them or emulate them.

If the "we" is you and your family fine, but if you are talking about all of inland orange county then how exactly did you determine this?

Does being upper class on the coast really make someone "classier" than someone inland?

I don't think the issue is coast vs inland, its just that most upper class areas in California are on the cost. But yes the upper class are classier pretty much by definition.

The middle-class mimic the upper-class, this isn't unique to Orange County. But they do it in somewhat funny ways, like buying track houses that pretend to be mansions/luxury homes. Isn't it ironic that many of the architectural features of these homes are small/cheap scale versions of what is seen in real mansions?

It just seems that lately Orange County has gotten an image (with the middle-class) as being luxurious etc, yet most of it is rather middle-class and little different than most areas of LA county. I suppose the issue is that the middle-class residents of other areas (LA, Ventura county etc) seem to understand they are middle-class and act the part, where as Orange County is filled with many that think they are otherwise.

[missionhome]

Orange County is not luxurious and IS mainly middle class. I agree with you on that. The only thing I do not agree with you on is that we all wish we were "Newport" people. You make us [I speak for almost everyone I know] sound pathetic and unhappy. My family is upper middle class. My husband makes a substancial salary as a CEO and we could sell our home and move to Newport in a heart beat. You may be confused and say why? The CEO of Mission Hospital lives on my street, I have three doctors on my street, a dentist, and the owner of three laundramats. I have a best friend that lives in a 4 million dollar house in Laguna Hills and could swap it for Newport over night. These people all make very good salaries yet they choose to live in Mission Viejo or Laguna Hills [granted these people are probably at the top of MV's salary range, LH has a decent amount of wealthy people]. We love the family atmosphere, the events going on like the Saddleback Half Marathon which I watched my boys run this morning, we like how my kids go to a school where kids have jobs and aren't just written a $1,000 check by their parents every week. We like it here and everyone else does in Mission Viejo, that is why they CHOOSE to live here. In a recent survey conducted by the city that appeared in the city's monthly newsletter "MV Outlook", 95% of the city's residents said they were more than satisified with the quality of life in Mission Viejo. If everyone was so sulky and wanted to be at the coast like you claim, then I don't think this statistic would be so high.

Humanoid, OC is not luxurious. This is a diverse county with rich, poor, and middle, Hispanic, white, and Asian, and young and old. The image that a minority in this county have is wrong. This is not the "glamorous" life. Leave that for Beaverly Hills. We have our expensive areas like Newport Beach, our family areas like Irvine, Mission Viejo, or Cypress, our immigrant communities like Santa Ana, and our equestrian communities like Tustin Foothills and Laguna Hills. Let's put this behind us, we agree that this county is not luxurious, but rather some areas are. Those that think the entire OC is like some exclusive club are wrong. Let's get on with life Make Living your Mission.