Orange County versus San Diego (Santa Ana, Corona: rental, hotels, to buy)

[Parrotpaul]

I live in south OC, and I have family in Rancho Bernardo in San Diego. I prefer OC.

BTW....the pressure to look good isn't that profound. That being said, what's wrong with wanting to look good?

My fashion statement most days is my cargo shorts, running shoes, and T-shirt. I change that to a tank top when it gets hot. Baseball cap and sunglasses are always worn.

I'm retired, and I sub teach. I wear a shirt and khakis to school. High fashion is present in pockets, but most working people are like most working people anywhere. Sure, you will see fancy cars and finely dressed people, but everyone doesn't live in Newport Beach or Monarch Bay.

California is usually about as casual as anyplace in the country. Flip flops are the stae shoe and can be seen everywhere including weddings. Shorts are always in fashion, and if you see someone wearing long pants from April through the middle of December, you know they aren't from here or they just arrived.

[A Proud American]

Originally Posted by JennieJenofAz

I lived in both counties and I felt OC to be more fun and friendly. But, I didn't live in a really good area in San Diego. I just felt San Diego to be more crowded, not as clean and new looking, and the people, at least those around me, not ALL of San Diego!, were less open and friendly. San Diego does have some very nice cities, like La Jolla, Carlsbad, those two are my favorites! I lived near the Zoo at one time and it was an older neighborhood and it was okay. No problems or anything. I also lived near San Ysidro, which is VERY close to the border and didn't like it at all.

Most anything south of downtown SD is, for all intents and purposes, part of Mexico. They might as well move the border crossing up 10 miles because there's nothing worth seeing down there.

The "clean and new looking" areas are mostly in north county. Plenty of shiny new tract-style developments to choose from. 20 years ago the bulk of those communities didn't even exist.

[sirwinston73]

Originally Posted by JennieJenofAz

I lived in both counties and I felt OC to be more fun and friendly. But, I didn't live in a really good area in San Diego. I just felt San Diego to be more crowded, not as clean and new looking, and the people, at least those around me, not ALL of San Diego!, were less open and friendly.

I agree, I live in OC and while I haven't lived in SD I find it to be less friendly and outgoing than OC. There is a level of rudeness and snobbiness in SD that I haven't found in OC.

BTW....the pressure to look good isn't that profound. That being said, what's wrong with wanting to look good?

My fashion statement most days is my cargo shorts, running shoes, and T-shirt. I change that to a tank top when it gets hot. Baseball cap and sunglasses are always worn.

Agreed, what's wrong with looking good? And I have to say, living in OC after living several years in Arizona, it's VERY down to earth by comparison. You see less "barbies" and "fake" people in OC than I did in Arizona, by a long shot.

Sure, you will see fancy cars and finely dressed people, but everyone doesn't live in Newport Beach or Monarch Bay.

I live in Newport Beach and don't see all the flashiness it's famous for. Cars, yes, but clothes, no, it's just as casual and laid back as anywhere in CA. And very friendly too. In my usual cargo shorts and running shoes I never get the dirty looks I got constantly while living in Arizona.

[Hawaii4evr]

San Diego. OC is boring whitebread republican suburbia with more smog. I'll give it credit for the beaches, but SD beaches are superior. SD has stuff to do, is slightly more diverse and a bit less conservative. Much less smoggy.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by Parrotpaul

I live in south OC, and I have family in Rancho Bernardo in San Diego. I prefer OC.

BTW....the pressure to look good isn't that profound. That being said, what's wrong with wanting to look good?

My fashion statement most days is my cargo shorts, running shoes, and T-shirt. I change that to a tank top when it gets hot. Baseball cap and sunglasses are always worn.

I'm retired, and I sub teach. I wear a shirt and khakis to school. High fashion is present in pockets, but most working people are like most working people anywhere. Sure, you will see fancy cars and finely dressed people, but everyone doesn't live in Newport Beach or Monarch Bay.

California is usually about as casual as anyplace in the country. Flip flops are the stae shoe and can be seen everywhere including weddings. Shorts are always in fashion, and if you see someone wearing long pants from April through the middle of December, you know they aren't from here or they just arrived.

Beg to differ on the last part. I grew up in Southern California and I am wearing pants right now, having just got off of work. Generalizations such as that are not helpful.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

San Diego. OC is boring whitebread republican suburbia with more smog. I'll give it credit for the beaches, but SD beaches are superior. SD has stuff to do, is slightly more diverse and a bit less conservative. Much less smoggy.

(sigh)

Looks like someone needs to venture north (my understanding is that to San Diegans anything north of San Onofre is "LA" so I give you kudos for AT LEAST differentiating Orange County from Los Angeles, if only for the sake of this thread) more often.

It is most certainly acceptable to choose one place over another according to one's personal likes.

It is less so to proceed then to paint the loser in your own eyes with a broad stroke paintbrush as you just have.

Apparently you haven't visited Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove or any of a number of other central and north Orange County cities, nor do you necessarily need to. But others might take it as read from your comment that there might be nothing there for them, if they are urbanites or, conversely, that all of Orange County is one big layer cake of cookie-cutter suburbia from La Habra to San Clemente, and from Seal Beach to Coto De Caza (tipping on that last one a little bit ).

It would be like my saying that San Diego, being close to Mexico, is nothing but a steaming basket of illegal brown pride folklórico culture from San Ysidro all the way to Oceanside, and from Carlsbad to Jamul. (Which it is not, and the only problem I have here is the illegal part, for which I put the most blame on our friggin' government and our even more friggin' president.)

I can name "Republican whitebread strongholds" in YOUR backyard. Try the northern part of the city of San Diego....Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos, etc.) Or the redneck 'burbs...such as Spring Valley, Alpine and, to a lesser extent, Lemon Grove and that surrounding area. Or, even better, those RICH golf-loving folks that live in that enchanted strip between South O and Coronado....why does Carlsbad have at least two golf companies headquartered there (unless things have changed in the past couple of years)?

Both places are far more interesting than you paint them.

[Tex?Il?]

Frankly, I think San Diego is a little hyped/overrated. Sure its beautiful and nice for a visit.

But its economy is largely based on military, which means much fewer career opportunities, and apart from some laid back, beachy, artsy colonies, is more homogenous and conservative (because of the military presence) than other equivalent urban suburban area of California (including Orange County).

Its not as relatively centrally located, the variety of outdoor environments to enjoy is nothing that can't be found anywhere else in the state, the things to do are much less in that city, while at the same time as about just as expensive to live in.

I'm not knocking it, to me I just don't see the big deal about SD other than a short visit. Its basically a small city based upon military and tourism, rather than a dynamic major metropolitan area.

Again its nice, but its cost of living giving its opportunities and amenities should be more similar to Sacramento.

[Coldjensens]

OC has better fireworks

[jorge112597]

OC, more things to do, nicer beaches, etc.

[bigdaddy5]

OC has a worse case of "affluenza" than SD (as seen in the Housewives of the OC on TV). Whitebread suburbia is pretty bad in Irvine, especially. People will call the cops on you if you park your car in their neighborhoods for no reason. Elitism runs rampant in these parts.