Some OC Questions (Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Anaheim: middle-class, condos, houses)

[DLetch1]

Hello all -

My wife and I are currently looking to relocate. We currently live in the Midwest. We are retired and looking for much warmer winters. Up until recently, we were only considering Arizona, and maybe Vegas or St. George, but are now also considering California. I just have a few questions if y'all would be so kind as to help us out

1. First off - what are some of the safest cities in OC? We know Irvine is one, but what are some others?

2. How bad are earthquakes there? Do you sit on any fault lines, and also, how bad would you feel one if a larger one were to hit the Los Angeles area?

3. I honestly don't understand all this hate everyone has towards California. Aside from the cost of living being high, what are some of the other problems? As far as I can see, California is one of the most beautiful states in the country. Am I missing something?

Lastly - Are people friendly there? I know there's bad apples everywhere, but overall would you consider this a friendly place to live?

Thank you!

[saibot]

Originally Posted by DLetch1

Hello all -

My wife and I are currently looking to relocate. We currently live in the Midwest. We are retired and looking for much warmer winters. Up until recently, we were only considering Arizona, and maybe Vegas or St. George, but are now also considering California. I just have a few questions if y'all would be so kind as to help us out

1. First off - what are some of the safest cities in OC? We know Irvine is one, but what are some others?

2. How bad are earthquakes there? Do you sit on any fault lines, and also, how bad would you feel one if a larger one were to hit the Los Angeles area?

3. I honestly don't understand all this hate everyone has towards California. Aside from the cost of living being high, what are some of the other problems? As far as I can see, California is one of the most beautiful states in the country. Am I missing something?

Lastly - Are people friendly there? I know there's bad apples everywhere, but overall would you consider this a friendly place to live?

Thank you!

1. This recent list: https://www.safewise.com/blog/safest-cities-california/ , ranks 8 OC cities as safer than Irvine (I live in #2, Rancho Santa Margarita). Basically all of the cities in South OC, from Irvine south, plus Yorba Linda and the farthest inland portions of Orange, Anaheim (Anaheim Hills), and Tustin are very safe.

2. The vast majority of earthquakes are felt as nothing more than brief shakes and rumbles. I've lived in OC my entire life and have experienced one earthquake that did some minor damage--broken dishes, a couple of cracked windows. That was in 1987 when I was living in La Habra. There is always the POTENTIAL of a stronger quake, of course. Buildings are made to withstand quakes and there are certain basic precautions that residents need to take, such as bolting tall furniture to the wall. Otherwise, we all go ahead and live our lives and don't worry about quakes.

3. I think most of the "hate" for California comes from people who don't live here. If we hated it, we'd go somewhere else. Of course there are downsides besides the high COL, such as rush hour traffic and hot dry Santa Ana winds which cause wildfires (these tend to be on the outskirts of the county or in neighboring counties, but the wind can blow the smoke our way. In fact most people here are more concerned about fire danger and poor air quality due to smoke than earthquakes).

4. I'm not the best to judge relative friendliness, since I haven't lived anywhere else, but I think it is a mixed bag. You might hear a lot about pretentious, affluent snobs, and there are certainly people like that (especially in the newer and more expensive coastal areas) but I have to say that some of the kindest and most down-to-earth people I know also happen to be rich. And there are still a lot of ordinary middle-class folks just like everywhere else who are very friendly. A lot depends on where you choose to live.

[TimTheEnchanter]

If you are 55+ Laguna Woods Village is a retirement community that makes up probably 95% of the City of Laguna Woods and is very safe and the most reasonably priced location in Orange County. The community is 12,000 units, condos and individual homes. There are 6 pools, 2 gyms, a stable, two golf courses, 6 clubhouses, some of which are specialty ones, like a Performing Arts Center, a club house with ceramics kilns, woodworking tools, and other hobbyist rooms. There is a tennis center, pickle ball center, lawn bowling facility, bocce center, a library and more. There is almost any kind of club you could name.

I've lived through every major earthquake felt heavily in Orange County since the Sylmar Quake in 1971, but that is only a few in the 51 years since then; the 1987 Whittier Narrow Quake, the 1994 Northridge Quake, maybe Ridgecrest in 2019. The big ones are not common at all, but there are small ones, so small you don't know if it was an earthquake or big truck rumbling by.

California is a one party state so there is no restraint or constraint on the state legislature to pass seemingly crazy, intrusive laws. That doesn't sit well with a lot of people.

A place like Laguna Woods Village is very friendly because no one "grew up" there. Everyone moved in from someplace else.

[teqp]

Saibot hit a lot 'safe' cities. I would also throw in Villa Park and Orange Park Acres. As for earthquakes, the last real big one was in the 90s if I recall correctly. Most people don't get overly concerned with earthquakes because big ones happen so infrequently. We do get some small ones even once in a while and they are no big deal IMO.
There is some hate for CA but I don't give it any attention TBH. You can't please everyone. As for friendliness of folks in OC, I would say a lot of folks keep to themselves. Once you settle into a neighborhood you do meet your neighbors and can have nice friendships. We actually ran into our neighbors at a restaurant during lunch yesterday. They invited us to join them and we had a nice lunch/conversation.

Good luck in your decision on where to live OP.

[snuffybear]

Question about Laguna Woods Village...if I moved there (I'm 55+) as a mom with daughter (19), would she be able to use the pools, etc? And how about when my sons (in their 20's) visit? We all like to swim and they would want to use pools and maybe other facilities.

[TimTheEnchanter]

If you are 55+, your 19 year old daughter would only be able to live with you if she was some kind of a caregiver.

There is no problem with guests using facilities, but some of them (like pools) require the resident to be with them.