OC is the BEST place to live if you make 6 figures (Los Angeles: real estate, crime rates)

[HarborEastGuy]

All these whiners should just move already.. I am from Seattle and yes
is it twice as expensive here but the weather is perfect and there is
so much to do here.

You really need to make 100k minimum to live a happy life here. If you
can make this minimum salary then you will be in heaven. Otherwise you
will be miserable and you should just move out of state.

So please... Stop all the cry-baby whining.. Man-up and get a good
paying job or move.. Those are your choices... We should use this
board for sharing GOOD experiences and recommending places to eat
or to buy things..

Just a single professional guy living very well in Irvine..

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Tom63376

single

Yeah, that explains the attitude.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Tom63376

All these whiners should just move already.. I am from Seattle and yes
is it twice as expensive here but the weather is perfect and there is
so much to do here.

You really need to make 100k minimum to live a happy life here. If you
can make this minimum salary then you will be in heaven. Otherwise you
will be miserable and you should just move out of state.

So please... Stop all the cry-baby whining.. Man-up and get a good
paying job or move.. Those are your choices... We should use this
board for sharing GOOD experiences and recommending places to eat
or to buy things..

Just a single professional guy living very well in Irvine..

For a single person with a high salary OC or west LA or the beach communities are probably like heaven. Clubs, chicks, cool cars, beach parties, I can understand that.

Fast forward five or ten years. Priorities change a little when people get married and have kids. I'm sure most of us realize this.

The weather is better if not the best, but I certainly wouldn't call OC heaven.
You still have traffic to deal with. That's heaven?
The property someone can buy with even a $200K salary (assume wifey-poo isn't going to work either) and 20% down is what, 2500 square feet on a 9000 square foot lot, maybe? That's heaven?
Your kids may have acceptable peers on the street that you live on but in OC or Beverly Hills or Malibu for that matter there are characters of questionable reputation (and graffiti and drugs and gang members) within a few blocks. That's heaven?

I guess what it boils down to is A+ weather is very expensive. Maybe B+ weather isn't so bad. Take away the perfect weather (and it's $400/sqft price tag) and what do you have that is significantly more desirable that you don't have in many other middle and large towns? The beach? Lots of people like lakes and streams. Shopping? Shopping has gotten ubiquitous. Malls are everywhere and besides, who goes to malls anymore when you have the internet? Jobs? OK, OC has lots of good jobs; I guess that is part of the expense of living there too.

[HarborEastGuy]

Charles-

You have some good points... My only point was that all the whining and bashing accomplishes nothing **AND** that this msg board should be
used for positive things like sharing info that may help people. I still think
the whiners should just grow up and stop whining. No one really wants to
hear it..

[Angel Bear]

I hear ya about the "whiners," but believe me, prior to this OC board, I spent a lot of time on the Los Angeles forum. People would totally diss my goal of moving to Southern California, without even knowing about my financial situation, etc. It used to be so sad to me, but I stuck around and have found that most people on the OC message board are pretty positive and very helpful

I hear ya on the 6-figures bit too. I think it really depends on your priorities. Hubby and I won't be having kids and we're in our mid-30's, so we have amassed a lot of equity, but we both do well in our careers. We could live comfortably on $100K even if I didn't work

Also, many people are working on improving their lives in order to live where they would like. There are millions of people who live and make it in the OC without making 6 figures...But...

It depends on the lifestyle you want. For us, our recreation is walking on the beach and surfing and biking. Plus, I cook every night and we don't eat at expensive places other than for special occasions. We wear Roxy and Quicksilver LOL...I buy my furniture from IKEA...But...I travel a lot and collect experiences Life is good

We're as happy as clams and are very fulfilled in life. We travel to OC a lot, but still keeping our options open as far as LA, SD, and the Central Coast...We'll end up someplace btn. San Diego and Santa Cruz.

So...sometimes, people need to "whine" or vent about the place they live. I myself try to focus on the positive in life, but I am not against supporting others who need a hug or some love now and then

With respect,
L

[FunkyMonk]

Originally Posted by Tom63376

Charles-

You have some good points... My only point was that all the whining and bashing accomplishes nothing **AND** that this msg board should be
used for positive things like sharing info that may help people. I still think
the whiners should just grow up and stop whining. No one really wants to
hear it..

This message board is open to anyone who feels compelled to post information about a city for ANY reason. I think the best aspect of this website is that it gives the reader a sense of what a city is all about, what it's culture is, the way the people act, etc.

Orange County's board is getting a lot of people coming in and telling you all that you're snobs. I might not be a genius here, but maybe this is happening because.....a lot of you ARE snobs.

Most of the posts aren't "whining" about how hard it is to live in the OC, this is twisting what people are saying. What I am reading is that people are critisizing the snobby culture that the OC has. They aren't complaining that they can't afford it there necessarrily, they are just venting in response to the rudeness, arrogance and pompus attitude that is so prevelant in the OC.

Personally, I moved to the OC and I afforded it fine. It was very expensive, but I was living comfortably, doing my thing, working and I had some fun. But there was so much fakeness and ignorance there. Most of the people I met were like robots, programmed to live a lifestyle that someone else created for them.

I think most of these "whiners" actually CAN afford the OC, but they are just trying to shed some light on the darkness so to speak. These are people that are genuinely disgusted with the culture in the OC and they want to make sure anyone reading this knows what the OC is REALLY all about....materialism, narcissism, greed, arrogance, prejudice, racism, classism, and ignorant self-rightousness.

The attitude in the OC is just plain offensive to many people. And that is why these posts keep popping up.

[nevercoldcall]

Originally Posted by FunkyMonk

They aren't complaining that they can't afford it there necessarrily, they are just venting in response to the rudeness, arrogance and pompus attitude that is so prevelant in the OC.

I simply haven't found this here. I found it in other places I've lived, such as Vegas, Hawaii, and Scottsdale, but not here. I think people make this stuff up in their heads. They're programmed to assume that everyone with a luxury car is a pompous arrogant person. Sorry but this is very very far from my experience in OC.

I'll be blunt - my girlfriend and I have never experienced any snobbery or pompous attitudes since moving here and we're tired of hearing about something that doesn't exist.

If you automatically think anyone with a high-end car or watch or who is beautiful is pompous and arrogant, grow up.

[nevercoldcall]

Originally Posted by Charles

The beach? Lots of people like lakes and streams.

I think that kind of comment really sums up what Tom is getting at. You like lakes and streams better than the beach? Then pack up and go live near lakes and streams. It serves absolutely no purpose to bash OC because of it.

[JakeDog]

"2500 square feet on a 9000 square foot lot, maybe? That's heaven?"

There is nothing wrong with that in my opinion. My father and uncle grew up in a 1400 sq. house and had a very happy childhood. Now people want to live in giant McMansions full of roomes they never use. Even for a family of 5, 2500 square feet is plenty of space. But people want pointless bonus rooms, and "formal" dining/living rooms they use at best once a year. We used to live in an 1800 sq foot home and now live in a 3300 sq foot home. The 3300 square foot home is pointlessly large and I plan on selling it and moving into something around 2000 sq/ft. Don't forget, also, that in Southern California b/c of the weather you and your kids can spend time outside. You need more space in Dallas/Houston b/c it is very warm and unpleasant for four months.

"but in OC or Beverly Hills or Malibu for that matter there are characters of questionable reputation (and graffiti and drugs and gang members) within a few blocks."

Mission Viejo is the second safest city in AMERICA. The other cities in Southern Orange County are similarly safe. Santa Ana is unsafe, but that isn't where most college edcuated people would consider living in OC anyway. If there are gang members and grafitti within a few blocks of Malibu I'm unaware of it- you sure you have been to Malibu? LOL! In any event, where is this utopia you speak of? Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, all have higher crime rates than LA proper. Southern Orange county is one of the safest placest to raise a family.

[califantastic]

Originally Posted by FunkyMonk

They aren't complaining that they can't afford it there necessarrily, they are just venting in response to the rudeness, arrogance and pompus attitude that is so prevelant in the OC.

I lived in a fairly affluent part of OC for almost two years and except for a couple real estate agents I did not meet anyone that I thought was rude, arrogant or pompus.