Irvine #4...CNN Money Magazine. Best places to live (small cities) (Santa Ana: hoa, apartments)

[Roma]

2008 Best places to live (small cities). Irvine came in at number 4.

Best places to live 2008 - Top 100: 1-25 - from MONEY Magazine

[EscapeCalifornia]

Of course its a nice place to live if you've got the bucks.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Of course its a nice place to live if you've got the bucks.

Yep, the only con was housing prices. I was surprised that a typical three-bedroom, two-bath house can still run about $700,000. I thought housing in CA was much more affordable now.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Soccersupporter

Yep, the only con was housing prices. I was surprised that a typical three-bedroom, two-bath house can still run about $700,000. I thought housing in CA was much more affordable now.

That's the rub. You hear about 30% price declines on a county or regional area but what they might not tell you is that its 60% out in BFE or Santa Ana, but 10% in nice places like Irvine. Condos drag down the average a bit but actual houses are still insanely expensive.

[killer2021]

yea great place to live but you'll never get to enjoy it because you will spend all your day working!

[cabolissa]

It's OK, but VERY beige, and cookie cutter. Lots of in town traffic, expensive homes, and I wouldn't call it a "small town" with over 100K residents!

The upside, clean air, close proximity to beaches and freeways, jobs, safe. I work here, but you couldn't pay me to live here. I much prefer So. O.C.: Laguna, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest, Ladera Ranch, or Foothill Ranch. All an easy 20 min. drive to work.

[oc2nyc]

Any place that had over priced housing may have gone down in price but these areas are still very expensive for what you get. This is still So. Ca. You are always going to pay the price for good weather.

[MsKitten]

I lived in Irvine the first year I lived in OC, at the huge Deerfield apartments. I found Irvine to be very cookie cutter, and a bit strange as it was built as an intentional community yet there wasn't a very good sense of community. I never got to know a single one of my neighbors. I ended up moving to Costa Mesa for the rest of the time I was there (2.5 years) as it was closer to school (OCC), a little bit cheaper and a lot more interesting.

I can't speak for someone wanting to buy a home as I was just renting, but isn't it the case that in Irvine you can't own the land that your house sits on? I find that very strange.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by cabolissa

It's OK, but VERY beige, and cookie cutter. Lots of in town traffic, expensive homes, and I wouldn't call it a "small town" with over 100K residents!

That's why they called it a small city. By city standards, 100k ain't squat.

I see Irvine as, like you pointed out, very beige and cookie cutter, as well as Stepfordish. Too many rules, too many HOA Gestapo informants taking notes about people in "non-compliance". Not my style of living, to say the least.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

That's why they called it a small city. By city standards, 100k ain't squat.

Its hard to compare cities based on population when you get to SoCal. 100k people surrounded by corn fields is a small city and feels like it. 100k when its just one incorporated city next to dozens of others making up a metro of 10M+ isn't really a small city anymore.