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I am considering a position in Irvine. I currently live in Sonoma County and love the lifestyle up here, but am considering the move to expand my career. I only visited Irvine for the day of the interview and didn't really love the concrete industrial feel. Are there other 'cool' young and kind of progressive areas to live within 30 minutes of Irvine? I'm a 30 yr old single female and I love to trail run and mountain bike. Is there anywhere that is close to activities like this with semi affordable rent? I currently pay $875 for a 1BR, I know I will be paying more, but also don't want to pay a lot to live in a prefab apartment. Any suggestions?
Also, how do people like living in Irvine? During my visit I was a bit stunned by the amount of traffic, lack of side walks, and big streets. Is all of OC like this?
Also, how do people like living in Irvine? During my visit I was a bit stunned by the amount of traffic, lack of side walks, and big streets. Is all of OC like this?
Basically, yes.
OC is pretty much the anti-Sonoma. There are some places, like Laguna Beach, that would roughly be in line with your lifestyle but they are all serious $$$ and rather small enclaves.
LA County has a lot more up your alley, but it's too far to commute to Irvine.
You're likely going to pay nearly double for a 1br in Irvine.
These have been some pretty in-depth Irvine discussions on this forum, but on the positive, its an extremely safe area, you'll have nearly everything at your fingertips (aside from maybe some higher end restaurants, but you'll have the beach cities for that), lots of bike/running trails, etc.
With that being said, Irvine is basically an entire planned city development. Done very well, but still entirely planned.
Heres the deal with commuting - you can easily spend 20 minutes driving from one end of Irvine to the other during morning commute times - so 30 minutes doesn't give you much. Expand to 45 minutes, and you've got some options, but you'll likely be in bumper to bumper freeway commute traffic.
You'll also need to be more specific with your budget, 1 bedrooms in that area normally start in the $1400 range. The positives, however, is that there are a lot of new (and by new, i mean never lived in) units, especially in Irvine itself.
You'll get to know Irvine Company - either love it or hate it.
From the sounds of it, you won't want to be in Irvine, as you have correctly identified.
LA won't work either, both because its too far and much it it will feel just like OC. There are not really any areas in Southern California that match up well with Sonoma County, where its both rural, but pretty and sophisticated.
OC can be broken into 3 general categories:
1. The older, sprawling, suburbs of inland North Orange County (Santa Ana, Anaheim, Fullerton etc...). This area is characterized by large swaths of mostly unappealing, 50's era suburbs, strip malls, a few slightly dangerous areas, diverse ethnic makeup and a couple of interesting old downtown areas (Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin, Fullerton). Generally speaking, this area is north of the 55 freeway.
2. The newer, sprawling, suburbs of inland South Orange County (Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo etc..). This area is characterized by more upscale strip malls and shopping areas, gated communities, chain restaurants, nice but homogeneous housing tracks built in the 80s, 90s and 2000s, good schools, families, more interesting topography, and virtually nothing of real genuine urban character. Generally speaking, this area is south of the 55 freeway.
3. The coastal cities (San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach), which are generally upscale, more interesting looking, less homogeneous architecture, more diverse food and entertainment options, more progressive, liberal and young.
This is a long way of saying, there is not going to be a perfect fit for you.
Generally speaking, I think most outsiders and insiders would probably agree that Laguna Beach and Newport Beach are the two best places in Orange County. This is where most people would live if they won the lotto and had to live in OC. This is where a lion's share of the non-Disneyland tourists in the OC end up.
Both cities are very pretty, have character, lots of food and entertainment options, great beaches, and younger and more progressive residents (Laguna Beach is probably the most liberal city in OC). Newport Beach is generally seen as a little more "fancy" and upscale and Laguna Beach is seen as more "laid back" and casual, although these are very broad generalizations that are only partially true. Newport Beach is larger and more sprawling, while Laguna Beach almost has a "small town" feel to it at times (its more insulated from he rest of OC). Newport Beach is probably less overrun by tourists during the summer. Laguna Beach is known as an artist's haven.
If you are into the outdoors and mountain biking, you would be especially interested in Laguna Beach, which is bordered on 2 sides by parkland that includes trails and mountain biking. Crystal Cove State Park is a particularly popular spots for mountain bikers, with steep trails and plenty of ocean views. It actually is on the coast right between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.
All things considered (and not yet considering price), I think the ideal spot for you would be North Laguna Beach (the area north of Broadway to the end of town at Crystal Cove). To commute from Irvine you could either take Laguna Canyon Rd. or Newport Coast Rd. to the 73. The area just north of Main Beach, which is the commercial area around Broadway, Forest, Ocean, is full of apartments and plenty of young people (late 20s and 30s). You can walk or bike to everything that is happening in Main Beach (bars/restaurants). You can pop up Laguna Canyon Rd, or over to Crystal Cove for hiking/biking, you can walk to the beach. It's a very liberal and progressive area.
Look for something off of Cypress, Cedar, Monterry, High Drive, Hillcrest... in that general vicinity.
Now the problem: price. This is not a cheap area, and its hard to imagine anywhere in OC you would find a 1 bedroom for $875.
The best you might hope for in North Laguna is 2 bedroom place in the $1700-$2000 range, where you could share the place with a roommate.
Expand to 45 minutes, and you've got some options, but you'll likely be in bumper to bumper freeway commute traffic.
You'll also need to be more specific with your budget, 1 bedrooms in that area normally start in the $1400 range.
Thanks, I would be open to 45 minutes. I'd rather live somewhere that I like and am willing to spend a little extra time commuting to get there. I currently commute by bike the 14 miles I am from work, but it doesn't seem like bike commuting is very doable or safe in OC.
I have received the final salary offer yet, so I don't quite know what I will have to spend on rent. I was just basing the cost of rent versus what I pay now. I does seem at least double in OC.
This is a long way of saying, there is not going to be a perfect fit for you.
Thanks for all your input. This direction will definitely get me closer to making a decision. I do feel apprehensive about the move since I do love living in Sonoma County. The main draw would be a career shift. I was also wondering if in your opinion, it is easy-ish to meet people? I would be moving down without knowing a soul, and my first impression is that some of the people (cab driver, receptionist) are a little stuck up. Is this common? I know it is a much larger town and larger population than Sonoma so I know it won't have the country small town vibe, but I just don't want to hate it :P...thanks!!!
What is Dana Point like?
Last edited by traildigger; 02-06-2013 at 10:45 AM..
Dana Point is nice, small and quiet, but it also trends towards an older age group with a number of retirees; but, also families with kids.
There are lots of touristy shops and restaurants there, but not much in the way of "nightlife." The harbor is great if you are into water sports. I don't know how easy it would be for you to meet other single young people there. BTW, OC is not known for nightlife.
My suggestion is that you just sign a short-term lease in either Irvine, or a nearby town, and explore the area to see what fits you.
You definitely will not find a Sonoma-like setting, but you should find something comfortable.
I think you would find it easy to meet people in nearby Aliso Viejo; in part, because of the layout and smallness (roughly 7 sq miles) of the city with lots of easily accessible parks, hiking and biking trails. Also, it seems like most people here really aren't that hung-up on themselves. There are also a lot of young people in the city, and being interested in sports/fitness would help you to meet them because nightlife is minimal. There are also lots of other activities like yoga, dance or acting classes. An organic ranch has been approved, as has a community garden. Asio Viejo is vey new and has always had a "progessive" vibe, but it seems that more conservative types (some "anti-green") have been moving in lately.
I suspect that the pimary reason why most people move to Aliso (the pop. increased by about 20% during the last 10 years, or so to about 48,000), is due to the city's proximity to Laguna Beach.
If you're interested in Aliso as a place to get your bearings, try a short-term lease at Alicante. They have an entire schedule of social events; and even if you don't attend any of them, it's still very easy to meet people there.
Dana Point is very nice. It's not as fancy as Newport Beach or Laguna Beach, and is cheaper. There are fewer young people there, and not as much of a real concentrated nightlife, or singles scene like there is in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. Unlike NB or LB, there are no real neighborhoods where there is a concentration of young people, and you can walk to bars/restaurants. I would say that most people would not find it as charming as NB or LB. But, that being said, its a very nice place, with a nice beaches and neat neighborhoods, a decent little downtown strip along PCH, a harbor area that is fun to walk around in -- and it will be cheaper. And, you can drive down PCH and be at Main Beach in Laguna in 10-15 minutes.
It's also farther from Irvine. You would take PCH down to Laguna Canyon Rd. and inland from there, or have to slog your way up the 5 in the mornings. Not terrible, but no the greatest.
OC is not generally a snobby place at all. But, there are 3 million people here, with an extreme diversity of lifestyles. You have very poor immigrants living in squalor, you millionaires living behind high gates, you have gregarious surfers, and conservative families, you have liberal artists and hippies, you have people that have moved here from all 50 states, and probably every county in California. With this diversity, its nearly impossible to generalize.
Yes, there are snobby people. But, there are also lots of people that are not snobby.
Also, while OC is not a huge urban metropolis like LA or NYC, it does share some common characteristics with those places that would set it apart from a place like Sonoma County. This is a busy place, where people see lots of new faces, and a new person arriving is not going to get anybody's attention. It's not like when my brother and his wife moved to Sonoma County from SF (first to Bodega and then to Valley Ford), and in a 10 mile radius there were only a handful of other young couples in the area, and they all found each other in short order, and they were all into the same things.
You would have to work a little harder here to meet people. But, that being said, there are lots of places to do it, and I'm sure you would find people you like, especially in a place like Laguna Beach or Newport Beach.
Another place to look is the Corona Del Mar neighborhood of Newport Beach. It's also close to Crystal Cove.
but not much in the way of "nightlife." The harbor is great if you are into water sports. I don't know how easy it would be for you to meet other single young people there. BTW, OC is not known for nightlife.
You definitely will not find a Sonoma-like setting, but you should find something comfortable.
There are also lots of other activities like yoga, dance or acting classes. An organic ranch has been approved, as has a community garden.
This sounds awesome, I am over the nightlife scene and more enjoy being outside, doing yoga, swimming, running, and biking so maybe Aliso Viejo will be a good option. I looked and noticed that there are some outdoor centric meet up groups and the yoga community is always a good place to start. Thanks!
Another place to look is the Corona Del Mar neighborhood of Newport Beach. It's also close to Crystal Cove.
CDM is extremely expensive, though. On per-square-foot basis, you can scarcely find anything more expensive in OC.
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OC attitude
