Anyone from Orange County, CA?
THE TOUCH
Registered Users Posts: 535 Major grins
Well, this isn't really photography related, but could involve photography when I get there (on the side of coarse)!
I have a possible job opportunity in Orange County that would require me to move from Bakersfield. I'm scared to death of LA but I've been told that OC is completely different than LA.
Is there anyone that lives in the area that could give me some information on the area? How is it compared to LA?
Thanks!
I have a possible job opportunity in Orange County that would require me to move from Bakersfield. I'm scared to death of LA but I've been told that OC is completely different than LA.
Is there anyone that lives in the area that could give me some information on the area? How is it compared to LA?
Thanks!
Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein :bash
- Kevin
- Kevin
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Comments
OC has less people and less of everything actually ... some good some bad.
OC has less poverty, less crime, less congestion, ... less culture, less variety, less extremes.
Any community in LA has a comparable counterpart in the OC ... and any community in the OC can be found in LA. Once again the only difference is size and age ... most of the OC is fairly brand new (southern). My kids live in Rancho Santa Margarita, a city that wasn't on the maps ten years ago.
One thing to think about ... Ford moved the Lincoln-Mercury HQ to Irvine. Their study showed that even though housing is much more expensive (a lot less cluck for the buck in the OC), that the big gain in quality of life far exceeds having to settle/live in a smaller house.
Unsharp at any Speed
Thank you for the opinions on both! The job would be located in San Clemente - is there any areas you could recommend for living? I've been researching the cost of housing and there's a big difference depending on the area.
Any thoughts on Oceanside, Lake Elsinore, and Mission Viejo?
- Kevin
Hi Kevin! I've lived in Orange County all of my life, except for a brief few years in Redondo Beach (L.A. County). There's nothing to be afraid of here. Gary is pretty correct in his rundown of Orange County. It's a nice place to work and live. Variable weather temps depending how close to the coast you live. Oh, yes, the beaches are great! O.C. is not big city-gritty like L.A., San Fran, Chicago, etc. It's more urban, I guess. Less culture, but not totally absent either. We have the Performing Arts Center opening up a brand new center soon if you like classical music, etc. We are surrounded by L.A. county to the north, San Diego county to the south, and Riverside/SanBernardino Counties to the East. So in a day's journey you can go to either the beach (Bolsa Chica Wetlands for birds), head to L.A. for all the museums, music, zoo, shopping, etc., San Diego for the zoo, Sea World, Wild Animal Park, museums, Del Mar racetrack, or head for the mountains and snow in San Bernardino, or down the freeway to Palm Springs and other Desert areas. All this, of course, after you run out of things to do in O.C. We may be less congested than L.A. proper, but I imagine you will find it pretty fast-paced and slightly more hectic in comparison to Bakersfield! I like to think that OC is a nice, center-point of southern California to live in, that is completely surrounded in every direction with neat places to go. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and good luck!
Hi Kevin!
I'd recommend NOT living in Lake Elsinore and commuting to San Clemente, that would be a nightmare on the 74. The 74 is a nasty one-lane (each way, making two lanes divided by one "double-yellow") and it is trafficked by not only biker gangs but also 18-wheeler semis. NOT a god combination.
I'd recommend living in either Mission Viejo or Oceanside. Mission Viejo will be just a short jaunt up the 5 freeway, and Oceanside will be just a slightly longer trip down the 5 freeway, but it's wide-open as far as traffic goes thanks to Camp Pendleton occupying all of that area. I make a very nasty commute from Irvine all the way to San Diego every day, and it is ~70 miles that can take about 2+ hours on a bad Friday afternoon.
Photography-wise, OC is a paradise. Visit my "Local Haunts" galleries to get an idea of what you can find, noting that I'm not that much into birding so you won't get a proper idea of how awesome the birding opportunities are around here...
Here are a couple shots from around OC:
Here's the subcategory:
http://matthewsaville.smugmug.com/General%20Photography/164867
Take care, and welcome if you decide to move here!
-Matt-
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
I'm not too worried about culture...I'm sure it's better than Bakersfield! I love the thought of all the places you mentioned - we just don't have that up here. It's two hours to the coast and 1 hour to the dry boring mountains...that's it.
I'll PM you with some more questions since this isn't really photography related! Thanks for the offer!
- Kevin
Thanks for the tip on Lake Elsinore! The housing (99% Manufactured Homes
We're always complaining about not having anything to do so I think we'll be pretty happy if we move!:D We grew up in a town of ~30,000 then moved to Bakersfield 3 years ago. We've been pretty happy here but it's starting to get boring - I need more shooting adventures!!!
I was going to PM Saurora about housing but since we're already into it - where would be the ideal place to live for first time home buyers? We currently rent and would love to purchase a house but without equity, it's going to be tough. The company is going to pay for the difference in housing each month so that should make it easier! It looks like Oceanside would be cheaper than Mission Viejo - any ideas?
Thank you all! I am so thankful for this forum when it comes to things like this!!!
- Kevin
Oceanside is a military community (home of Camp Pendleton). We pass through many times on the way to Legoland in Carlsbad (for the kids of course). Other than that, I don't know much about Oceanside, except I'm sure the cost of housing would be lower than MV.
Lake Elsinore is over the mountains with access only via Ortega Highway (Hwy 74) or freeways north around the mountains or freeways south around the mountains. Even though the miles are much shorter via Ortega, drive time is much quicker via freeways... if you leave for work at 4am and leave for home no later than 2pm. Lake Elsinore should be less expensive than both MV and Oceanside. Oh, and Ortega is a very dangerous highway.
Hope this helps.
Since we are posting pics, here are a few from arond the area...
San Clemente
Legoland
Aliso Beach (about a 10 mile drive from Mission Viejo)
and we even have some interesting architecture too...
Around MV, look at Rancho Santa Margarita (RSM to locals) and Ladera Ranch. Beware that housing in OC is very expensive, especially south OC.
I like the thought of living around MV or RSM, but housing just doesn't seem possible unless you have a spare bedroom!:D
It looks like we could get an ocean side or ocean view apartment for A LOT cheaper than a house!?
- Kevin
Not much more I can add other than what folks have told you already. I live in Fountain Valley near Huntigton Beach and I really like it here. It may not be as hectic as LA but there are still lots of crowds and lots to do. I've been through San Clemente a few times and I think it's a neat area. If I were you I'd look into a place in Oceanside. It may be a bit out of the mainstream but you won't find better climate anywhere and trust me it makes a huge difference when you can run down to the beach every morning or afternoon!
Erich
From what I gathered, including your thoughts, it sounds like Oceanside would be the best bet for staying out of the fast paced LA scene. As well as lower housing or rental costs.
I should be coming down in a couple of weeks to check out the area. Yeah!
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMENTS!!!
- Kevin
It is definitely a different world from LA. I personally much prefer it down here than LA though cost-of-living is the tradeoff. I wouldn't say "less" culture, jsut different. No, we don't have all the little art-house theaters, but it's an hour's drive up to the LA ones. I've found just about anything you want to get into, there's someone doing it/catering to it around here.
http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/
Yes, housing has more than doubled in price since we bought our house back in 2001. Not that I'm complaining any, but it doesnmake it rather difficult for new home buyers.
Condos are now going for more than we paid for our single family detacted 4 bedroom home.
I would recommend visiting each of the areas (all of south OC and Oceanside/Carlsbad) to get a feel for them... and you might want to test out the traffic at the times you would be driving to/from work.
Then I would suggest renting first to make sure you really do like the area you have decided on. My wife and I did this when we moved to south OC. We rented a home for a year to make sure. We loved the area so much we bought a house the next year.
Good luck and I'm sure you will enjoy the area no matter which community you choose.
One thing you can do is live in Costa Mesa, where the 73 toll road (not to be confused with that 74 highway that goes to Lake Elsinore!) is a tollroad that directly connects the San Juan Capistrano area with Costa Mesa / Huntington Beach and bypases a large chunk of the 5 and 405.l. The 73 also helps if you live in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, but you'd still have quite a bit of distance to cover on the 405. Costa Mesa would be perfect...
The Mission Viejo and Lake Forest area has a lot less traffic issues, but the 5 freeway can still be bad if it's 5 PM... I'd suggest living as close to work as you can, and biting the pricing bullet. Find a fixer-upper somewhere in an older neighborhood and you might get it for under $300,000...
Take care,
-Matt-
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
im still a newbie 'round here, but i can still give you my take on OC.
Pretty much everything thats been said here is true.
LA pretty much has traffic ALL the time while most of OC has the standard
rush hour traffic. (once the 22 is done with its update it should ease some congestion)
Living in Lake ELsinore is bad idea. The 74 can be a major nightmare and can be frequently closed from rock slides/wildfires etc.
Both areas have its ups and downs like any other but OC (IMO) is much nicer, cleaner. PLus the beaches are way better maintained than LA where most of the beaches there have some serious bum problems.
LA is a more fast paced environment whereas OC is a more laidback.
Oh YEAH, when in San Clemente, make sure you hit up Sonny's Pizza on Camino Real
Basically the freeways from the Mexico border to north of Ventura are packed
at rush hour every day. The main freeways in LA (5, 101, 10, etc) are packed 24/7/365.
http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/
BeachBill - Hopefully we can make it down there soon. We like the idea of renting first to get an idea of the areas. Also, the company I'm working for is a competitor of my previous employer, which is planning on crushing this company to the ground. I'm not sure how long they'll last since they're pretty new.
Matt - Thanks for the info. I never even considered Costa Mesa. That might work out pretty good since my wife might transfer to the Hilton there. She won't have to worry about traffic, and I would be going the opposite direction!
Crow - Thanks for the food tip! I LIKE PIZZA!
Thank you all again! I don't know how I would do this without all this advice!
- Kevin
- Kevin