Will I like Newport Beach without a Mercedes? (Long Beach, Irvine: real estate, home)

[Scott5280]

Welcome to New Porsche Beach Beoooch..

[antibes]

Originally Posted by stockpoet

At the moment I have a 2003 Ford Focus and I'm sincerely worried I'll roll up to work the first day and everyone will roll their eyes.

A Ford in OC??? Forget it! You'll be shunned, laughed at, an outcast!



You are what you own in Orange County...

[antibes]

Originally Posted by ndfmnlf

How rich should you be to be able to afford a luxury car (Mercedes, etc)? My rule of thumb is that you should never buy a car that is more than 3% of your liquid net worth. So if a Mercedes will cost you $50K, you should have a liquid net worth of at least $1.666 million (1.66M X 0.03 = 50K). The reason being that 3% is a very attainable interest rate. If you put the $1.666M in some short term bonds or even CDs, you can quickly regenerate the $50K without much trouble. Spend more than that, and you're on the slippery slope of depleting your capital.

Really, they dont need to be that expensive. Buy one that is a few years old and you can have it on a normal salary. Just make sure the milage is not too high. Why get a new one which decreases 25% in value within minutes as you've left the dealership?

Pity you don't have close access to Germany. They take fantastic care of their used cars, fill them to max with gadgets and extras, and sell them cheap. You call and ask a German his honest opinion of the condition of his car, and he seldom lies... Even a ten year old MB can look like new, with only 40,000 miles on it selling at a decent rate. The German government now gives them a $3-4000 credit or payback if they get rid of their old car and buy a new one. This is why their car industry is picking up business in the recession while other car industries suffer. Angela Merkel is a clever leader...
MB is like a VW bug in Germany. Its not considered luxury and all taxis are MB's. Its just ordinary. Germans are fantastic. Everything they produce, they sell (almost) is of really high quality. A very intelligent, productive, admirable peope, really.

[VLWH]

Come on folks, if you find a place you want to buy or rent then do it. Newport Beach is a safe community and close to the beach, shopping, etc... . Also, if it's close to your employment then that's a huge added bonus. I spent quite a bit of time in the OC area and have seen every type of car made. Don't worry about image, those that will judge you ain't worth having as friends anyway.

[Kissprod]

What a silly question? Of course - just drive a Beemer! Newport Beach is an upscale, essentially politically conservative bedroom community with high fashion shopping and a rocking beach community. It gets a lot of flack because there are a lot of closed communities and closed minds, a lot of poseurs. If you can live close to work, fantastic. I'm assuming you'll be renting, so you may also want to look in Corona del Mar and maybe even Laguna Beach. If anyone says anything about your car, just tell them that you drive it to check on your rental properties in Santa Ana. I'm less concerned about your OMG Ford Focus than the fact that you are going to work for a financial services company in Newport Beach. You know, of course, that politically conservative Christian Orange County is the financial scam capital of the nation? Many of the financial and mortgage companies responsible for our economic meltdown were and still are based in the OC, especially Newport Beach and Irvine.

[Scott5280]

The first time I lived in Newport Beach I drove a beat up Jeep Wrangler without a top, and rode a sea cruiser everywhere.Yes it's the land of Ferraris,and Lambos, but there is also a fairly laid back attitude on the Peninsula. I had friends with Bentleys and even a friend with a late 80's Oldsmobile that looked like it had been used as a stunt car..Who the F..cares, I wont lie to you and say that there isn't some serious attitude flying around at times, but generally those people are insecure nut jobs..Ford Focus..ok

[Raelyn28]

You guys crack me up!! Who gives a crap about what car you drive?? I am so glad that I have moved away from all that circus stuff in OC. And I am really glad that my two boys haven't been exposed to the materialistic, shallow, immoral lifestyle that so many Californians embrace. I don't miss it at all!! This is one of the most silliest threads on this forum and just another indication of the mentality of the area... I have had nice cars and junkers and neither one makes a person who he/she is...I don't even look at people in their cars anymore because all a set of wheels is to me is a way to get around...I'd rather spend my money on more important things...like feeding the millions of starving kids in other countries...

Originally Posted by Kissprod

What a silly question? Of course - just drive a Beemer! Newport Beach is an upscale, essentially politically conservative bedroom community with high fashion shopping and a rocking beach community. It gets a lot of flack because there are a lot of closed communities and closed minds, a lot of poseurs. If you can live close to work, fantastic. I'm assuming you'll be renting, so you may also want to look in Corona del Mar and maybe even Laguna Beach. If anyone says anything about your car, just tell them that you drive it to check on your rental properties in Santa Ana. I'm less concerned about your OMG Ford Focus than the fact that you are going to work for a financial services company in Newport Beach. You know, of course, that politically conservative Christian Orange County is the financial scam capital of the nation? Many of the financial and mortgage companies responsible for our economic meltdown were and still are based in the OC, especially Newport Beach and Irvine.

[antibes]

Originally Posted by Scott5280

The first time I lived in Newport Beach I drove a beat up Jeep Wrangler without a top, and rode a sea cruiser everywhere.Yes it's the land of Ferraris,and Lambos, but there is also a fairly laid back attitude on the Peninsula. I had friends with Bentleys and even a friend with a late 80's Oldsmobile that looked like it had been used as a stunt car..Who the F..cares, I wont lie to you and say that there isn't some serious attitude flying around at times, but generally those people are insecure nut jobs..Ford Focus..ok

If you're a teenager you get away with driving a wreck almost anywhere in O.C. After all, people assume you're a student so you can't exactly be blamed for your situation. If you're in your 30's or 40's you don't get away with it, but are perceived as a loser if you don't have your life together [=successful]. People DO keep their eye on what you drive and own in O.C. I am still to meet one woman who is willing to date what she perceives to be a "loser". Its been 20 years and I still haven't come across a single one.

[stargazzer]

I gotta idea.....reading all the posts the new in word in SolCal seems to be..."funky"
a) get a funky stencil, a real good one with , oh 10inch letters
b) spray in red....."Funky Dude"
c) enjoy the attention and.......include a " new funky haircut"
My hunch is ...your not very funky at all as this so-called job looks like a flop
and your funky hat and funky car will never get there , or will last about 3 mos if that. So the real truth is you need some funky career guidance with a wake up call

[stargazzer]

I think all these funky suggestions are really good