Orange County, CA compare with Austin, TX (San Diego: neighborhoods, to live in)

[AustinGuy]

Originally Posted by TheHarvester

Please, Republicans from Orange County who are longing for the good-old-days, DO NOT MOVE TO AUSTIN! Help us save Austin from the Californication that is destroying so many other places.

I don't have any problems with Orange County, but I think those who are looking for a little slice of the OC in Texas should check out Plano and the suburbs north of there instead of Austin. Seems like a much better match IMHO.

[Phisch]

Originally Posted by TheHarvester

Irvine vs. Austin --- I cannot think of a better comparison of what I hate vs. what I love. I'm just a guy with an opinion so don't take me too seriously, but I cannot relate to anyone who thinks Irvine is a good place to live or a good model of how cities should be designed. To me, it's a corporate Stepford nightmare that strips humanity of soul in favor of "amenities, security, convenience and sterility."

Be sure the kids always wash their hands with antibacterial soap after touching anything that doesn't have a corporate logo.

Please, Orange County conservatives who are longing for the good-old-days, DO NOT MOVE TO AUSTIN! Save Austin from the Californication that is destroying so many other places.

LOL. That was quite the sweeping generalization.

The Stepford thing? My ex-boss, who lived in Santa Ana, used to say that about Irvine. She couldn't believe it when I told her that there were homes there that had picket fences. She thought everything was the same beige color.

I know people loathe Irvine for cookie cutter, but for those who care (and therefore choose to live there), the ideas of strict homeowners associations and the rules that go with them are very compelling and help hold up their property values. This is a huge plus if you're someone near retirement and consider your home a big part of your nest egg. Irvine is also a university town, but by no means is it exclusively known for that. It's also got a large number of big tech companies inside of its zip codes.

Considering the goal when they designed Irvine is that they wanted a place where people could work and live in the same vicinity (as opposed to drive to Los Angeles) plus have places for entertainment and shopping, well, I think they were pretty successful. Not everyone has lifestyles that are met by what is in Irvine.

Its got its share of people with money but mostly average folks with kids who look for good school systems, family-friendly living and lots of nice amenities. Not unlike many other folks who live in other suburban places of the US.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by Phisch

LOL. That was quite the sweeping generalization.

Thanks, I specialize in generalizing. Errr.... is that a contradiction?

[Phisch]

I hate when I see a remark like that and can't come up with a witty and pithy comeback. Thing is, it will come to me late at night and is hardly as effective 10 posts down.

XD

[tashina]

I'm a little late to the thread but I wanted to put in a "best park" vote to San Diego, my hometown.

Zilker Metropolitan Park 350 acres
Golden Gate Park 1017 acres
Central Park 843 acres

San Diego's Balboa Park is a 1,200 acre (4.9 km²) urban cultural park in San Diego, California, United States. Unlike some city parks which are mostly free of buildings in favor of open space and recreational fields (e.g. New York's Central Park), Balboa Park is a cultural complex. Besides open areas and natural vegetation, it contains a variety of cultural attractions including museums, theaters, gardens, shops and restaurants as well as the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, a theatre (for plays) and a bowl for orchestras.

Just love that place. Great museums, classes (I took ballet there at 13), fountain, space theater, sculpture garden, the Zoo of course, lots of trails, a Chess club that runs 7 days a week, great Spanish architecture and this cool thing - can't remember the name - Houses of Hospitality I think, where once a year all the Houses (one per nation) cook a national dish and people come from all around to eat food of all cultures in this gorgeous setting. The rest of the year the houses are open for cultural activities. So if you are Scottish, you always have somewhere to go and listen to Scottish music and hear the accents of home.

All that said, I've only driven past Zilker as I don't live near downtown (too much $$), so I'm not making any comparisons. I'd like to come and try my hand at rowing one morning. How are the bugs in Zilker (since it's more "natural"? Should I wear long sleeves and bring the bug spray? Never thought about that stuff in California so I'm trying to learn how it's all done here.

[love roses]

Wear short sleeves and bug spray, or else you'll probably suffocate from the heat. I haven't been to zilker in a while, but I do remember that there were lots of trees. I think it's about to be too hot for mosquitos now, though.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by tashina

San Diego's Balboa Park is a 1,200 acre (4.9 km²) urban cultural park in San Diego, California, United States.

Is that the gorgeous water-dominated park north of downtown, near Mission Beach? I've only been to SD once but I remember seeing a very impressive body of water surrounded by parkland and I think it had an island in the midst of it. All within the urban zone. Very nice! Definitely beats the pants off of Zilker, except that Zilker connects to more hiking trails and wilderness areas.

[tashina]

Nope, San Diego has lots of parks
Balboa Park is near downtown, just blocks away.

You may be thinking of Fiesta Island/Vacation Island in the Mission Beach area. Was there a roller coaster like this?
Belmont Park on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
There's a whole area there with the ocean next to it and the roller coaster and the Boardwalk with funky beach houses. I think it's called Mission Bay Park - that's what I thought of it as, anyway.

[Phisch]

I'm thinking Harvester is thinking of Fiesta Island. Sea World is near there also.

Balboa Park rocks. Not too far is the Zoo and the zoo rocks. It has the best kid's zoo area, IMO. We used to have passes. We never really did exhaust what Balboa Park had to offer. Yep, it's being used as a model for OC's great park. Balboa seemed more a normal "walking" park vs. a hiking park though. Not bad, just different.

BTW, we've been to Zilker a few times this past week. Nope, not too hot for mosquitoes. Once we each got bit by some weird bug that was sorta like a mosquito but larger. Those bites last for quite a while.

[love roses]

There are different types of mosquitos, so it probably was still a "skeeter".