Irvine vs San Francisco (Santa Ana, Orange: apartments, condominiums, homes)

[AliZonouz]

Hi everyone
Me and my wife are architects and are planning to open our own firm and we are having our first baby so we need to decide where to start the firm which would have a better market and at the same time think about the future of our baby and the enviroment which he/she must be raised in.
So please give me your opinions which place is best for living considering both the architecture firm and the baby future.

Thank you

[Urban Planner]

Holy cow you couldn't have picked two more different cities. Seriously... they are at each on opposite ends of the spectrum. One is one of the coolest cities on earth (San Francisco) and the other is the most boring place on earth (Irvine).

[Buildingz R' Us]

Actually there's alot of local pride among the Irvine millennial natives, but you wouldn't understand. We don't care about being cool. Irvine is about world class education and luxary living while having all of Southern California's amenities at your finger tips.

I'm tired of this cookie cutter bashing, one day modern suburb development will look more historical like the Victorian Home models. 21st century suburban architecture will gain its charm far into the future. Nothing stays new forever so i vote for Irvine's smart growth pattern. South Orange County is the future and the suburban model copied by Phoenix and Houston.

[Urban Planner]

Originally Posted by Buildingz R' Us

We don't care about being cool.

Exactly my point.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Urban Planner

Exactly my point.

Truly being cool would be not knocking what others like. Phony cool is vastly different (see this thread).

True Cool is laid back and what ever man......

[NativeOrange]

Originally Posted by Buildingz R' Us

Actually there's alot of local pride among the Irvine millennial natives, but you wouldn't understand. We don't care about being cool. Irvine is about world class education and luxary living while having all of Southern California's amenities at your finger tips.

I'm tired of this cookie cutter bashing, one day modern suburb development will look more historical like the Victorian Home models. 21st century suburban architecture will gain its charm far into the future. Nothing stays new forever so i vote for Irvine's smart growth pattern. South Orange County is the future and the suburban model copied by Phoenix and Houston.

Woodbridge is the only area of Irvine that will likely ever be considered "charming" in the future, and it will be taken with a grain of salt compared to homes from the Victorian era. Also, there is nothing smart or sustainable about Irvine's growth patterns. It follows the same outdated, decentralized suburban planning model that has been around since the mid 20th century.

Irvine is a nice, clean, family friendly, upper middle class city, but from an urban planning perspective it is NOT representative of "smart" growth at all.

[payutenyodagimas]

Originally Posted by bronizzle

Uh. No it won't.




Tract suburban development will also look like the cheap, horribly designed construction it is.

do they still build Victorian these days?

[payutenyodagimas]

if they don't build Victorians anymore, don't expect cities to be "cool" just like your San Francisco neighborhood you are particularly proud of because only the rich can afford them. its either you live in a tract neighborhood which you despise or hi rise glass condominiums/apartments


I forget, Detroit still has a lot of Victorians or colonials

[Finper]

Originally Posted by payutenyodagimas

if they don't build Victorians anymore, don't expect cities to be "cool" just like your San Francisco neighborhood you are particularly proud of because only the rich can afford them. its either you live in a tract neighborhood which you despise or hi rise glass condominiums/apartments


I forget, Detroit still has a lot of Victorians or colonials

City of Orange and Santa Ana has some very nice painted lady Victorians.


Why is Irvine the only option in OC? It's surrounded by some nice not cookie cutter areas like Lag Beach, Orange (old town) Santa Ana (old town).


If your architects you might be happier on the North Coast. There's a lot more interesting architecture there.

[Arizona89A]

Originally Posted by Finper

City of Orange and Santa Ana has some very nice painted lady Victorians.


Why is Irvine the only option in OC? It's surrounded by some nice not cookie cutter areas like Lag Beach, Orange (old town) Santa Ana (old town).


If your architects you might be happier on the North Coast. There's a lot more interesting architecture there.

Irvine architecture, and landscape architecture, is in a modern style with white buildings, mirrored windows on office buildings, and green trees. So it is all white and green. I like this, I also like Temecula and Carlsbad, who did the same thing. Irvine doesn't have any smart growth except for the 4 story smart growth apartment towers. Nobody seems to know who invented the smart growth tower. Maybe Donald Bren did??????