OT: Anyone from the Irvine, CA area?

Johnscoin

I'm moving out there in about a month and I figured there are some Southern Cal. people here. Any recommendations on good areas to live/rent?
Thanks for any help in advance!

Johnscoin

By the way, I'm sorry it's so off-topic, but I figure so. cal. is a coin hotbed?

MrLee

Irvine is fine. Santa Ana is a crap-shoot.

coingame2000

You're welcome to move into my area, Laguna Niguel, it's really nice!

shirohniichan

Irvine is almost all over-priced. The only are where houses are affordable is right around the intersection of Yale and Walnut (see MapQuest for details). I looked at houses around there and found out why the prices weren't so high. 1) The houses are older, and many are not well kept (imagine dead cars on blocks on some driveways), 2) they're right by railroad tracks. There were a few decent ones in the area, and since housing prices are going up some people are fixing the older neighborhoods up.

You might want to try Orange, Lake Forest, some parts of Tustin (beware of the area south of I-5 between Red Hill and Newport), and other cities that border Irvine. Good luck!

JJacks

When you say you are moving out here, do you have a job lined up in a certain area? Do you need to live close to work or is a commute OK?

Irvine is generally quite nice, but very expensive. I agree with Shiro on some of his suggestions. If you can go further north, Cypress or Los Alamitos can be quite nice as well. If you can afford a decent amount, Huntington Beach or Fountain Valley can be nice. I have lived in HB and Cypress and they are both good cities, but even then, you need to live in the "right" areas. Also, coingame is correct about Laguna Niguel and most of southern Orange county, but once again, it can all be quite expensive.

JJacks

BigE

Just refuse the transfer and move to Oregon-------------BigE

DesertLizard

Buy now and you are buying at the peak of the current RE cycle. If you rent be prepared to spend $2k/mo. for a decent place. I have a beach house 2 blocks from the ocean up for sale. Only $1.3M for almost 5,ooosf. D. Hall lives nearby.

Woodwind

I live about 25 miles north of Irvine across the LA County Line. Most everyone in this thread is right on. Most of Irvine is very nice, though rents are high. If you're looking for a less expensive area and don't mind commuting, you could look into Santa Ana, Garden Grove, or Anaheim, but there are some areas to avoid.

I know there are at least a couple of high end dealers in the Irvine area but couldn't tell you anything about their galleries, hours, etc. Irvine is also just 20 miles from the Long Beach coin show. (Just in case you weren't yet familiar in the area.)

kieferscoins

TTT. Good luck on the hunt.

Cameron Kiefer

Johnscoin

Thanks everyone for the replies. I really appreciate the advice. I'll be working in the vicinity of the South Coast Plaza, as my job is already lined up. So, I'll be looking for some place in the 20 mile vicinity I imagine. Of course, I'm just out of college, so a lot of money isn't in the bank Thanks again for the help and I'll look into the places mentioned.
Thanks again.
John

shirohniichan

If you're going to be near South Coast Plaza, look in the "South Coast Metro" area (it's just a nicer way of saying "a part of Santa Ana that doesn't suck as much as some other parts do). Look in Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Fountain Valley, too. They have good and not-so-good parts, and they're close.

jom

Shiiro: That comment about staying away from that area in Tustin I'm SURE has nothing to do with the fact I live near there. Right? lol

jom