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I had a great time living in Long Beach in LA County. I think LA county is better for the lifestyle I like, but Orange County is also a great place to live.
I like LA County... the SF Valley, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach, Malibu, Ranchos Palos Verdes, Santa Monica, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Bel-Air, Beverly Hills...
It has more character in my opinion than Orange County. Between the two I'd pick LA over OC.
OC is nothing like the southern US. They are a totally different brand of conservative. Which is better is a matter of preference. The OC and LA offer very similar lifestyles. In either you can get a very urban or suburban lifestyle. They both offer nice beaches and the demographics are really not that different. The conservative parts of the OC (eg..Irvine)isn't that different than the conservative parts of LA(eg..Glendale)
Irvine is probably the most liberal city of Orange County actually (after Santa Ana). It was one of the few cities in our county to have a majority vote for Obama and one of the few cities in the county that did NOT have a majority vote for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in CA. Laguna Beach, Irvine, and Santa Ana are probably the three most liberal areas of the county. The rest is fairly conservative, but a VERY different type of conservative than the South.
Irvine is probably the most liberal city of Orange County actually (after Santa Ana). It was one of the few cities in our county to have a majority vote for Obama and one of the few cities in the county that did NOT have a majority vote for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in CA. Laguna Beach, Irvine, and Santa Ana are probably the three most liberal areas of the county. The rest is fairly conservative, but a VERY different type of conservative than the South.
I won't argue that Irvine is more liberal than Newport Beach, as an example because of UC Irvine. I think thaty much of OC is pretty liberal. Buena Park, Garde Grove, Anaheim, Westminster, and most of Fullerton. I think the demographics in the OC are changing quickly.
I enjoyed living in Newport/Laguna Beach, but outside those areas I prefer West LA. over OC. as a whole. The OC. seemed a bit too conservative for my taste, but it does have some spectacular coastal scenery.
OC is nothing like the southern US. They are a totally different brand of conservative. Which is better is a matter of preference. The OC and LA offer very similar lifestyles. In either you can get a very urban or suburban lifestyle. They both offer nice beaches and the demographics are really not that different. The conservative parts of the OC (eg..Irvine)isn't that different than the conservative parts of LA(eg..Glendale)
I think it's much harder to get a "very urban" lifestyle in the OC than in LA. OC has nothing akin to downtown LA, K-Town, Mid-city, etc. The most urban parts of the OC are far less urban than the most urban parts of LA.
I think it's much harder to get a "very urban" lifestyle in the OC than in LA. OC has nothing akin to downtown LA, K-Town, Mid-city, etc. The most urban parts of the OC are far less urban than the most urban parts of LA.
Newport Beach also voted for Obama. Orange county is essentially a suburb of LA but unlike the other suburbs [ie San Fernando\ San Gabriel valleys] is mostly white\ protestant\ conservative. There really is no focal point in Orange county [lots of nice medium-size cities]. Angelenos drive to Newport\ Laguna for wk-end beach fun. Very comfortable but very homogenized. Los Angeles is quite different in may ways that includes urban-living\ diversity\ nightlife\ traffic\ ghettos to luxury estates.
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Orange county is essentially a suburb of LA but unlike the other suburbs [ie San Fernando\ San Gabriel valleys] is mostly white\ protestant\ conservative. There really is no focal point in Orange county [lots of nice medium-size cities]. Angelenos drive to Newport\ Laguna for wk-end beach fun. Very comfortable but very homogenized. Los Angeles is quite different in may ways that includes urban-living\ diversity\ nightlife\ traffic\ ghettos to luxury estates.
