Commuting to Orange County

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

Aye, it was sarcasm.

Anyway, let's get real. There isn't much difference between the two adjacent counties when viewed from afar.

I tend to respectfully disagree. (We don't always agree -- but I like you -- hard not to like you. ) OC is not referred to as "behind the Orange Curtain" for nothing. And I remember Herb Caen -- do you remember him, Luv -- he was a very famous columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle for many years (is the Chronicle even in existence anymore?) -- anyway, one Christmas he wrote -- LOLOLOL -- "Orange County is so conservative that everyone in OC hangs blue and white decorations at Christmas instead of red and white." LLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL (For those who don't know, the color red was associated with Communism.) BUT --

As Republican and conservative (and religious) as my coworkers were -- and I worked for a big government agency for almost 30 years -- they were extremely good people. Salt of the earth, literally. (And rarely did employees leave -- I worked for a lot of the same people for those almost-30 years.) My ex and I had LONG-time friends, when we were raising our children and before I divorced my ex, who were Republicans (in fact, I think my ex and I were the only Democrats in our 'group'), and we simply agreed that we disagreed and we didn't talk politics. And it must have worked well, because we all were close friends for years, and I even wound up performing the wedding ceremony for one of our male friends and his second wife, and then six months later, I did the same for our friend's oldest son and his fiancé.

It was never the people of OC who I disliked. I just always thought that OC was geographically ugly (except for Laguna Beach and Laguna Niguel), that the traffic was terrible** (and it was terrible), and that there were so many people it was like living in a sardine can.

**Talk about bad commutes -- I lived only 9 miles from work, and I worked 8-5. If I didn't leave for work by 7 a.m., it took me 30 minutes (or more) to get to work (by freeway). And if there was a car accident, I was late for work. If I left by 7 a.m., and no accidents, it took 15 minutes from the time I walked out my front door to the time I walked into work -- and that included walking two blocks from the parking area. Going home always took 30+ minutes, and on Fridays it was 45+ minutes.

I was raised in San Diego and always had friends there. I always thought there was a BIG difference between OC and SD. You couldn't get me to live in OC again for anything. Bet it hasn't gotten any better in the 8 years I've been gone.

[LuvSouthOC]

I like you too Fran .

Anyway, the Orange curtain referred to the LA/OC barrier and NOT the non existant barrier with San Diego (Camp Pendleton, San Onofre etc.)

And the so-called curtain was not a real wall, but a cultural one with LA, that has since blurred.

Consider Gwen Stefani's song (what what, from OC ), Orange County Girl, wherein she wrote:

I guess behind the orange curtain it's not so bad.

I guess behind the orange curtain it's not..

Remember, No Doubt sang with Sublime (from LBC) and our so-called separation from LA/LBC is nearly gone, if it ever existed. They sang about Garden Grove etc. too.

I drove to Santa Monica in an hour from my house a few days ago. OC is inseparable from LA in all honesty. The main difference is demographics separating us from LA.

As for South OC, It appears we all love San Diego here from talking to others. Everyone goes often. It's just that people here don't like Oceanside and unfairly malign it without knowing much about it.

OC is no longer very conservative. It is purple too. See the Nytimes' article titled, "Orange County is no longer Nixon country".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/us...ange.html?_r=0

[Podo944]

We commuted from Crestline to Anaheim about 10 years ago. Since we both worked in Anaheim we drove in together so we had a routine, had our thermos of coffee and even brought our breakfast when we hit "the crawl". We listened to Bill Handel, or music and enjoyed each other's company. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes on average to get there, and about and hour and a half on the way home. Again this was 10 years ago. We loved where we lived so we lived for the weekends, but after about 2 years it really started to make us crazy. It was exhausting, and I'm not just talking about inhaling all the car pollution! We realized we were breathing in a lot of nasty stuff during all the gridlock areas!

One thing that really took us by surprise was how expensive it turned out to be! We had figured in the cost of gas, but there were the almost monthly oil changes, more frequent services, brake pads etc.
Also the longer the time on the road, the more risk! We had a few flat tires; thank goodness we didn't get into an accident! But we did see a few and that really snarled things up on the freeway! We used to check Sigalert first thing in the morning to see if there were any major accidents to see if we needed to get going earlier.

After my husband's company sent most of their work overseas, (he was a programmer for a manufacturing company) he got a job in Irvine and that put an extra 1/2 hour plus to the already existing commute that was getting harder each day. That's when we bit the bullet and moved to Orange County. So it was definitely an adventure, but one we would not do again.

A compromise for you might be San Clemente... the traffic going south on the weekends from OC to SD is really bad these days, but living in San Clemente would give you a head start if you intend to spend most of your weekends in San Diego. The traffic usually softens a bit after San Juan Capistrano, but on summer weekends, it can even be bad through Camp Pendleton. We drove down there on a Saturday afternoon during Comicon weekend, and it was bumper to bumper all the way down!

Well, just really do your research and I might suggest your husband does a few trail runs if he can. Actually drive the commute during rush hour and try driving from OC to SD on a Friday evening! Reality checks are good.

Best of luck on your decision.

[Fran66]

We can just agree to disagree. But I will agree with one thing -- it's wall-to-wall people, houses, and stores/malls from north LA County to Tijuana. There are no breaks. Somewhat of an exaggeration -- but not by much. As for SD, traffic was fine, as long as I left OC before 6 a.m. and if I started back before 2 p.m. If not, I waited until 6 p.m. to start back (to OC). And that hasn't changed. I have friends that live in OC, Vista, and SD -- they all can't be wrong.

Life in Southern CA is pretty much ruled by traffic.

In any case, keep talking. I get on these boards and start to think I'm never moving back.

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

I like you too Fran .

Anyway, the Orange curtain referred to the LA/OC barrier and NOT the non existant barrier with San Diego (Camp Pendleton, San Onofre etc.)

And the so-called curtain was not a real wall, but a cultural one with LA, that has since blurred.

Consider Gwen Stefani's song (what what, from OC ), Orange County Girl, wherein she wrote:

I guess behind the orange curtain it's not so bad.

I guess behind the orange curtain it's not..

Remember, No Doubt sang with Sublime (from LBC) and our so-called separation from LA/LBC is nearly gone, if it ever existed. They sang about Garden Grove etc. too.

I drove to Santa Monica in an hour from my house a few days ago. OC is inseparable from LA in all honesty. The main difference is demographics separating us from LA.

As for South OC, It appears we all love San Diego here from talking to others. Everyone goes often. It's just that people here don't like Oceanside and unfairly malign it without knowing much about it.

OC is no longer very conservative. It is purple too. See the Nytimes' article titled, "Orange County is no longer Nixon country".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/us...ange.html?_r=0

[DriveNotCommute]

OP, my opinion is that you should consider relocating. If you must stay in SD county, at least get closer to the I-5 and move as far north as you're willing to go. South OC has pretty consistently good schools all along the I-5 from the SD border up to Irvine if that plays a factor in your decision making.

A commute like the one you're considering will definitely wear down on a person regardless of their tolerance for it. I know that many people consider hour-long commutes to be normal but your husband's commute would be double that at minimum. It even runs through zones of heavy traffic where it is essential to pay extra attention to the cars around you.

My experience comes from driving these commutes: South OC to Sorrento Valley (about 60 miles) and South OC to Thousand Oaks (about 100 miles).

KatieQanderson brought up taking the train. I would agree with Fran66 that even this will still be tiring but also think that it might be worth considering before moving. The cost of the tickets probably wouldn't exceed the price of gasoline, car maintenance, and depreciation by all that much.

I also want to mention that the distance will make it less practical for your husband to socialize with his co-workers. Don't know if that is important to you, just thought I'd mention it since some work places have a strong social atmosphere.

[LuvSouthOC]

Fran, this one is for you...get ready to laugh!

27 signs you are from OC:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/reneee3/27-s...ge-county-dead

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

Fran, this one is for you...get ready to laugh!

27 signs you are from OC:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/reneee3/27-s...ge-county-dead

OMG -- this is HYSTERICAL! And I bet no one who hasn't lived in OC for any period of time, now or in the past, gets it. And the funniest thing (for me) is that I was pretty much like that! LLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL And I didn't even know it! LLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL

Wow -- the creator of that list/videos is EXTREMELY witty!

[ucctgg]

Originally Posted by Fran66

OMG -- this is HYSTERICAL! And I bet no one who hasn't lived in OC for any period of time, now or in the past, gets it. And the funniest thing (for me) is that I was pretty much like that! LLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL And I didn't even know it! LLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL

Wow -- the creator of that list/videos is EXTREMELY witty!

Maybe you can get back to answering the OP's question:
Too far.

[socketz]

I like Orange County and have commuted there once in my career from RB. Doable, but not desirable long term.

If the family was there vs. San Diego, I'd live there without a second thought. OC is a nice balance between LA (Live to Work) and San Diego (Work to Live).

Many in San Diego are somewhat insular and fear all parts of California north of Carlsbad. Be careful adhering to all the advice you receive online. Form your own opinion.

[Pedro2000]

There are certain times of the day where I would rather never go to OC. And I don't need to commute to/from work, but it seems these days there is always a traffic jam after San Clemente. If clears up soon after on most days, but its taken me an hour to go a couple of miles at times.

He might leave early enough to miss traffic, he might leave later, but he's going to be miserable. And you said he wants to stick at this place for 20+ years. What happens if he has to go in early one day, stay late one night. When you have a 1.5-2 hour commute, it already means he has a 7am - 7pm. Except he's working the 9-5 shift.

And you really can't say "weekends will be great" because his weekend really would consist of Saturdays. He'd get home after 7pm on Friday evenings and would probably be drained. And we are assuming there are no accidents or traffic jams or construction issues that suddenly make his 1.5-2 hour commute something far far longer. And by the time late Sunday afternoon rolled around, he'd be getting ready for that long commute early sunday evening.

And that's what long commutes do to people. It becomes something you dread. No matter how many things you do to make life easier, it's still a long commute. And as others stated, more chances of car issues, more chances of anything. More chances of just being tired. And this is also assuming he loves his job and all his co-workers and there is never any stress at work. People do what they have to do sometimes, but quality of life and time are far more important. You never get time back. He'd become old real fast if he did that commute for long.

The other issue is his family would never see him. He leaves early in the morning and gets back late at night. If he's not making a ton of money doing so, it just means he makes a decent salary but he's never home. Is that really worth it?