Is Living in Orange County really worth the hype? (Los Angeles: renter, condo)

[sfaok]

If you're job is stable and you will have a high enough income, then live in Irvine.

There are mostly chain restaurants and homogeneous strip malls all over with the same stores (Though we do have some moderate to high priced independents that are rated highly in Zagat as well as a few Indian and Middle Eastern indies as well as lots of smaller Asian indies), but it's safe, clean, and compared to the cities north of the 55 freeway there's less traffic. However, the latter part is likely to change since the Irvine Company seems intent on having a population of 250,000-300,000 in 5-10 years based on all the new housing developments that keep sprouting up.

If you get tired of suburbia and want more of the glamorous, downtown, "big city" feel, with world-class museums, skyscrapers, trendy boutiques, clubs, bars, and restaurants then you can always drive up to LA for a night on the town. Be advised that traffic is an absolute nightmare up there.

If you like watching baseball and hockey, you have the Angels and Ducks. In LA you also have the Dodgers, Kings, and of course Lakers and Clippers if you like basketball.

You have miles of beautiful beaches that you can go to and if you like camping or hiking you can visit the mountains for the day.

You can always take the ferry and go to Catalina Island for the day or a nice weekend excursion to escape the hustle and bustle.

If you are feeling lucky and don't want to drive to Vegas, you always have the Indian Casinos in the Inland Empire about 40-90 minutes away. If you visit the casino in Temecula, you can also go to the vineyards there for a wine tasting adventure.

If you have children there is always Disneyland, Discovery Science Center, Knotts Berry Farm, and down in San Diego Legoland and the San Diego Zoo.

Of course for the fasionista there is South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. If you have a budget or are more utilitarian when it comes to shopping for clothes you have Target, Mervyns, Sears, etc. to shop at.

Basically if you can afford it, Orange County is paradise and life is wonderful. If you can't, life will be stressful and miserable.

[YLresident]

Originally Posted by vivo

lol sorta the way i feel(th lizards quote) im originally from the baltimore/dc area. moved last yr. my complaint is not urban enough. hbeach is a joke as far as urbanity. laguna isn't bad. artists village, ha! downtown fullerton eh. of course oc is supposed to be suburban but LA isn't a traditional city either.

California most def I'm sure is nothing like the East coast--but that's why we're the West coast... if we were exactly the same, why would anybody want to switch coasts? Sometimes change is great, sometimes it sucks.

OC is definitely not urban, not at all. I'm sorry for every transplant who came here thinking it was was--I'm sure it was quite the disappointment. But then, I don't think it's ever been the intent for the cities in OC to be urban--a little research might have discovered that, although cities' website I'm sure can be deceiving, much like all those stupid "the OC"-type television shows.

I'd love to visit NYC--and just the East coast in general, but even LA's unconventional urbanity is too much for me, so visits are probably all my totally un-urban (and uncool, I suppose, too) self can handle. The two places are so totally different, you really can't compare them fairly in way that will satisfy residents of both areas. SoCal and NYC inhabitants have totally different goals and cultures (whether you agree with either of them or not)--they just aren't doing the same thing. You can't even really compare LA, San Francisco, or San Diego fairly--and they're all in California. Even the residents in those areas all want different things from each other, so if you're coming from totally outside California and you don't want the same things as your fellow California residents, how can you expect anything other than shock, dissatisfaction, or even misery?

I'm sure I'd end up miserable in NYC, but that's why I don't live and just really want to visit. I want the experience, but I don't want the lifestyle. And if I don't like the experience? Oh well, I'll chock it up to my being different and stash it in my great life experiences file. Even if it isn't fun, it can still be a valuable experience.

Everyone's so negative in here...

[vivo]

also forgot to mention long beach. I know about dtown /belmont but driving by doesn't look all that happening. what;s the nightlife area in newport? balboa island?

[Parrotpaul]

My wife and I moved to Laguna Woods from Portland, Maine in 1998. I am a retired school teacher, and I substitute about 60 school days a year.

We love it here, but we don't have to commute or deal with the job market. We love the weather and the opportunity for personal time enjoyment.

We love the mountains and the deserts. We like to hike and climb around all the mountain ranges in the area. In addition 3-6 day road trips all around California, Arizona, Nevade, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado are terrific...except now the gas is a little high.

We will probably never return to the East where I spent 55 winters. I miss the seafood.

[cosmochick]

OC is so worth it. Take it from me, I moved to Dallas last year because I got enticed by cheap real estate, I had been counting down the days to return to OC. I would rather now rent for the rest of my life but be in a hip place with cool people rather than own a house in Dallas.

[wavehunter007]

[quote=YLresident;1541263]California most def I'm sure is nothing like the East coast--but that's why we're the West coast... if we were exactly the same, why would anybody want to switch coasts? Sometimes change is great, sometimes it sucks.

YLresident,


Just to add another point of view….

One of the biggest problems with the USA today - is how insular people are, and how the media creates most people’s perceptions of people and places. People may meet a person from a certain region or state, or see a TV show based in a certain region - and accept it represents people from that region. This problem seems especially acute with native Californians - who have never been East (or out of California). Many Californians believe they have a lifestyle that no one else has, or is so unique….

Let me give you an example…and I only use myself to illustrate a point about perceptions…

I live in a somewhat modern ranch house built in 1980, in a neighborhood and city - of mostly single story ranch houses and one-level homes. The house is decorated in light tones, is modest sized (1900 sq. ft), but has big windows, high ceilings, and sits on almost an acre. In my garden, sit Azaleas, Rhododendrons, and a sizable walk through grove of Bamboo. Our back yard even has a tropical flair to it - we have bananas and a few hardy palms growing out by our little greenhouse. We swim in our small pool from May to early October.

There are no taxies and no bus line where I live. There is a light rail, which we use often. I work in a 3-level office building in a suburban area. I have only modest, simple clothing for work (dockers, jeans, and a few dress shirts). A foreign car in my town is something that’s not a Chevy or Ford. The kids around here mostly skateboard and surf.

I live only two blocks from the beach (which I love). We go to the beach often from May to October, swim, surf, and watch the sunsets. In summer, our area is full of bikinis, surf boards, tourists, and seafood. In fall after the surfing competitions end, we pick fruit (peaches and strawberries) a few towns over each weekend. When its gets cold in December we drive further down the East Coast were it’s warmer, and sit in the sun watching the palm fronds sway along the beach in the breeze all over again. Winter for me is basically a non-event.

I hate being inside, and spend about 9 and half months outside hiking, surfing, running, and exploring. I don’t own a laptop, and have never been Broadway Show, have no business suite for my job, and could give a hoot less about Wall Street and power lunches. I don’t watch the Yankees or the Mets (I hate baseball), hate designer clothes, and pass a lighthouse, (not urban areas) on my way to work everyday.

But I live in the NYC area!


(I live along the Connecticut coast between New Haven and Rhode Island).

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Parrotpaul

My wife and I moved to Laguna Woods from Portland, Maine in 1998. I am a retired school teacher, and I substitute about 60 school days a year.

We love it here, but we don't have to commute or deal with the job market. We love the weather and the opportunity for personal time enjoyment.

We love the mountains and the deserts. We like to hike and climb around all the mountain ranges in the area. In addition 3-6 day road trips all around California, Arizona, Nevade, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado are terrific...except now the gas is a little high.

We will probably never return to the East where I spent 55 winters. I miss the seafood.

Sounds nice. But I'm willing to bet it you wouldn't be enjoying yourself nearly as much if you had to pay $4000/mo on housing and had to sit in traffic 2-3 hours every day to just get by. OC is great if you have a lot of money and/or got in the market when prices were 1/2 to 1/3 what they are now.

[YLresident]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

Many Californians believe they have a lifestyle that no one else has, or is so unique….

That wasn't the point of my post... it was to say to say that it's useless to sit around and complain about a sprawling suburban area b/c it's not like the large metropolis you lived in at home--b/c OC is clearly not big city. It was the unfair comparison b/t urban NYC and suburban OC which was my concern.

The surrounding suburban areas around NYC--and likely anywhere else in the US--are probably really similar to OC... I don't disagree at all with that. And I definitely understand that NYC isn't the entire state of New York...

I'd be just as perturbed by someone from LA or San Francisco moving to OC and complaining about how boring it is or how inconvenient travel w/in the area, etc. is as I am w/ East Coast/Mid Western big-city folks coming here and yapping about how much better city life was where they were from. OC isn't big city... so if that's what you're looking for, of course you're not going to like it. We're boring suburbia--and you can find the same atmosphere all over the US... we just generally have nicer weather.

(It's 3am... if this post came out totally weird--my apologies, I'm super tired! >_<)

[Parrotpaul]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Sounds nice. But I'm willing to bet it you wouldn't be enjoying yourself nearly as much if you had to pay $4000/mo on housing and had to sit in traffic 2-3 hours every day to just get by. OC is great if you have a lot of money and/or got in the market when prices were 1/2 to 1/3 what they are now.

You are exactly correct. In 1998 I purchased two 1,000 square foot condos for $140,000. My taxes on both properties are about $1600 a year. I rent one of the condos for $1385 a month.

Timing is important, and OC is expensive. If someone can afford the housing without a hitch..and that isn't all that simple anymore, that someone can live in one of the nicest areas in the world.

[mrsguevara04]

Currently live in Irvine and looking to move out of state. I can say overall Orange County is nice especially the beaches during summer but not a place for a middle class family to afford a decent sized house. The diversity is great! Money is what seperates the classes. Irivne is nice, clean and safe. Home owners association is alive and kickin so if you like recieving letters because you have too much dirt showing in your front yard, then this is the place for you. I would stay in OC if I was single, under 35, had money to spare and enjoyed traffic. It isn't for everyone but it is for some.