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I will be moving to Irvine with family. Could you please let me know what would be expected cost of living for a couple and an infant (1 year)? I am trying to figure out what should I budget for followings:
Rent apartment (1 BR/2 BR furnished)
Groceries
Transport
Entertainment
I will be moving to Irvine with family. Could you please let me know what would be expected cost of living for a couple and an infant (1 year)? I am trying to figure out what should I budget for followings:
Rent apartment (1 BR/2 BR furnished)
Groceries
Transport
Entertainment
Thank you
I don’t know your income or budget for the things you ask. These are imo minimum expenses.
Rent expect about $2300 and higher depending on if you rent a single bedroom, a single bedroom with a bonus room or two bedroom. Rents have been ballooning in a OC for quite a while. You’ll need to be quick on the trigger to get a place.
Groceries...my wife and I spend about 5/600 a month maybe more ay even less . I don’t really pay attention but we do go to Costco. I’ll ask my wife she’s the food buyer later today and get back to you. With a baby your food expense may be higher if you buy or cook for your baby. Unless you shop at Gelsons or high end supermarkets
Transport? Assuming you need a car or to drive your own car?
Buying a car is a expense. Granted I don’t know if you are on a Ford Fiesta budget or Bentley Continental. Expect to pay minimum $600 for insurance. That’s what I’m paying for each vehicle. Full coverage etc. but I have multiple policies. Anywhere from $120 and up for registration. Mine vary. Some $120 some are $360. Fuel is about 3.60 up to 4.20 something a gallon depending on where and why you buy it from. Double it if you need two cars. Don’t forget to add in basic maintenance and possible repairs. You’ll probably be unable to work on your car at the place you live. Most places don’t allow people to work on their are in the parking lot.
Entertainment...where do you wanna go what do you wanna see? Anything from free to sky is the limit.
We work within our retirement budget and get along very well. This is how we manage, and have a great time.
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Dana Point, not Irvine. ( But you can apply the ideas to what ever degree feels good to you for the Irvine area )
1. Residence : Erica and I Rent a one bedroom apt, at the Monarch Beach Villas for $ 1900.00 per month. ( unfurnished). This is an older property, and thus more open area , not tall packed in monoliths.
We have one assigned car port parking, landscaped open areas, hillocks, lawns and plants, tall trees, great fitness center, large and very nice pool and jacuzzi, a second separate jacuzzi, and tennis court. About 950 sq ft., open beam cathedral ceilings, very comfortable ambiance, an outside lanai, and great neighbors. Also, about 5 minute walk to Salt Creek Beach and Beach Park.
( add on utilities, cable, etc )
Also, Sea Terrace Park is adjacent to the property, very nice, and during the summer, they have Free Sunday
Concerts. 2 minute walk . Dana Point Marina and Harbor are about a 5 minute drive.
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2. Personal Vehicle : No BMW, or Mercedes. We have one Mazda Three Hatch Back, that we bought brand new
about two years ago. Great deal, and well within budget. Red in color, looks great, gets super gas mileage, handles well on all roads and conditions, fast acceleration, plenty of room for four, plus the aft cargo area.
love the car, and I wash and detail it at home, myself, every Saturday, and then run errands to Ralph's Market,
The bank, CVS pharmacy , and other assigned duties by Admiral Erica.
Actually, at the same time, Erica super cleans the apt., for about 4 plus hours, every saturday. ( team work )
No, we do not have slaves to do all that, thus we can apply the money saved toward Saturday Night Date Night
dinner out and other fun activities. We really enjoy going out and have many marvelous restaurants close by in our tri cities.
Entertainment : ( That can vary as to the family )
We go out , two to more times a week. I believe there is a separate thread that posters have listed their favorite restaurants and bars in south and north county. Excellent recommendations on going out. You can check out prices on
their individual web sites.
Also, we have learned to work in Happy Hours, and go early first to happy hour, and then have first seating reservations for dinner.
Also, by going early, the cooks , bartenders and wait staff are not harried, and stressed. We get outstanding service and even have time to talk story with them.
Also, Wednesdays , we do a lot of hiking South County wide, and will stop for our after hike reward , mostly at places
that have a good happy hour and sometimes happy hour meal selections. That saves us a few bucks and makes
going out more manageable. South county is fun and feels good .
Understand that you are in Irvine, and we found that Irvine did not have the dinning and entertainment choices, that Dana Point, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano present. That is a personal choice. Some of our Irvine friends and family tend to go to Newport Beach and other close by areas for entertainment. They lived in Turtle Rock , Irvine.
We kind of mix and match : Ralphs Market, COSTCO, and Trader Joes. I hit Ralphs on Saturday, and Erica
COSTCO or Trader Joes on sunday. High quality food and decent prices. We eat healthy and well.
Erica has ladies outlet stores that she goes to, and finds excellent deals . I have no clue as to the names, since
I do not shop with women, at any time. But she comes home with high quality apparel , that was far
below the reg sales price . a fraction of the original cost. Your neighbors and new friends in Irvine
can help you all out with local knowledge on ladies shopping in the Irvine area.
To give you exact costs of living, that is pretty difficult since the budget for all of us will vary as to the individual family
and their personal style of living.
Point being, on retirement income, we are doing great here in south county, we just have to be sensible
and live within our means. And, we live well and are totally happy and at ease .
Might add, that within our retirement and savings budget, we also go on stay- cations, out to our desert and up to our mountains, Usually three to four day short visits.
Annually, there also is one longer vacation adventure :
We take off for about three weeks, on sailing vacations, bare boating in the Caribbean or South Pacific,
or Eco trip to Costa Rica, or return to Kauai Island, Hi. for a 3 week visit. Only one of those each year.
We stay within our means and manage to live a great life in south county.
But, again, we do not have the million dollar house up on the top of the hill, we do not have a luxury car or two,
we fly coach and not first class, we only have one credit card each, not a wallet full, and those are paid
off monthly. No debt.
We often see and hear that it is impossible for us to live in and enjoy life in south county. Well, we have charted
our own course in life, and we make it work for us. Each individual has the opportunity to make it work for them.
Yep, totally enjoy living here in south county. We just have to compromise a bit in our life style to enjoy
all of the treasures, natural and man made as well as really neat people .
Others have given you more precise info on their costs of living. Excellent scoops.
Rent probably is high. Everything else is reasonable. There’s lots of cheap supermarkets like Sprouts.
Sprouts is considered cheap now? Man I've been out of the state awhile.
To the OP. Some things to think about.
Rent apartment (1 BR/2 BR furnished)
-You pay for everything. You might get a parking spot free, but most likely not. You usually have to pay for garages. You pay for all utilities including trash/sewer, electricity, gas, water. Maybe try to find a private rental, but Irvine is known for their HOA's, so don't be surprised by all the things you can't do, like have a BBQ on your deck/backyard.
Transport
-We don't really have public transportation, so it's your car. Car insurance is based on where you live and your age (and of course your driving record). Registration is based off of the value of your car (usually what you paid for it, but I'm not sure in regards to someone moving from out of state - I'm assuming you're coming from out of state). Don't forget to add in car washes since, like a PP stated, you can't do a lot yourself in a apt/condo complexes, heck even some homes (most places have HOA's that don't allow this).
Entertainment
-movie tix are about $15/ea (non-matinee), but this category truly depends on what you deem "entertainment".
That’s nonesense. Apartment usually comes with at least one parking space. Even more nonsense about HOA and no BBQ. Please do not listen to posters who live elsewhere and post here.
That’s nonesense. Apartment usually comes with at least one parking space. Even more nonsense about HOA and no BBQ. Please do not listen to posters who live elsewhere and post here.
So in the 5 years I've been gone, even though my friends deal with this (yes, I even asked before I posted just to be sure it was the same), I guess Irvine got all lax about all their rules and regulations? I doubt it.
I lived in Irvine for over 10 years, a lot of the apartments did not allow BBQ's, gas or otherwise. Many condos I wanted to rent, I had to abide by the HOA's, which was fine, but could not have BBQ's there either. The condo I owned did not allow BBQ's of any kind on the decks, on any floor. I don't know where you live in Irvine, but where I did, that's how it was and that's what my friends still experience.
Yes, many come with a parking spot. I have friends that pay $25/mo for a covered spot. They could have a non-covered spot for free, sometimes it was assigned, sometimes not.
Maybe where you live, it's not like that, so maybe post that for the OP instead of assuming all of Irvine is just like where you live. I lived all over Irvine, I was just letting the OP know that Irvine tends to nickel and dime you.
It’s California, most people BBQ outside. While I didn’t live all over Irvine, who could. But if you can post where you did that OP can avoid it. Extra parking place is a problem because of too many UCI students. But I have lots of parking space in my area. My sister can also park outside her parking space too. But it’s first come first serve as anywhere.
Btw, this is not just Irvine, back when I was first renting an apartment in Fullerton, you get assigned parking lot. Even one of my kids used to live in Manhattan Beach, much more pricey then Irvine, she got one parking space free.
Again, we do not live in Irvine. Plenty of people do .
But, here at the Villas at Monarch Beach things may be a bit different than the complexes in Irvine..
We have free parking. One personally assigned covered CAR PORT. Plus additional open parking spaces that you
need to have your " On property parking tag " , that hangs from the rear view mirror. We are a gated
complex. Yes, we have garages, and as mentioned by others, those are extra, and they are not cheap.
My guess is $ 150.oo extra , and that is only for 1/2 of the two car garages. Our carport works just fine.
BBQ's Plenty of people have BBQ's, we do not. But, there are BBQs' at the pool area, along with
tables , chairs and loungers, and a large party room. Also, next door at Sea Terrace Park there is a bbq.
that we were usually the only ones using it.
BBQ, with a beach and ocean view it is short paved walk down to Salt Creek Beach Park, there are several BBQ's, some at the covered pavilions and some outdoor in the open air. All with great views of the ocean.
Also, for BBQing, we take a short drive to Lantern Bay Park, up on the bluff overlooking the Dana Point Harbor channel Entrance. Nice shade and Tall trees, bbq's tables, and a fabulous view. of the ocean.
,Sometimes , we will drive out to Caspers Wilderness Park, to BBQ. We generally have it all to ourselves . Perfect.
Also, , next to Dana Point Harbor, there a loads of BBQ's at Doheny Beach Park, right on the beach,
many shielded , but open BBQ areas, with beach and ocean views.
At Dana Point Harbor, there are also BBQ's on the grassy park areas at Dana Point Marina. Take a stroll along the boats .
We have something like 22 parks in Dana Point for people to enjoy. That includes others folks who live in south county as well.
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As to washing the car at the Villas, no problem, and I wash it every saturday in my carport, going on five years now. However, I do NOT use soap, just fresh water out of the kitchen sink tap and use 2 half filled buckets. I leave no mess of any kind. They may have a rule here about washing cars, but when I talked with the maintenance people, they had
zero problem with me, since I did not use any type of soap. There is zero mess . Fresh water only.
More compromise. After a rain, the car needs a little more help. I drive down to San Clemente to the Buggy Wash
and use the power wash wand . $ 2.75.
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A poster mentioned private owners, and much fewer units, that are not under the rule of a corporation.
That is actually a good plan. We have been looking into that as well, and maybe next year, we will
have found that situation. They are not all that easy to find, since many times the renters, once they move in. they stay there for many years, there is not much of a turn over.
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We evaluated the other areas of South County, including Irvine, and felt that Dana Point had the amenities that we required. Others have totally different ideas, and needs and situations but they certainly can, live in Irvine, or inland, and drive to and enjoy the other towns, shopping, beaches, marinas, restaurants, parks, hiking trails, etc.
South Orange County is great.
Last edited by kauaidooley; 03-14-2019 at 03:42 PM..
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