Orange County Area

Made popular in America by MTV, this area has been a local favorite for years, It%u2019s tucked away from freeways and major commercial districts. Aside from the PCH, most people won%u2019t be able to recognize the area. However, if you do find yourself in this area, enjoy every minute of it. Homes are packed in tight near the water%u2019s edge in small residential communities. The homes themselves aren%u2019t that big but the price would say otherwise. Houses here range in the millions and aside from beautiful weather and an ocean view, I would consider this a scam. But like they say, %u201CLocation! Location! Location!%u201D. It is definitely one of Southern California%u2019s prized paradises.

To be quite honest, Irvine is very pricey in comparison with the rest of Orange County. From local businesses to real estate, you will definitely notice a substantial difference in price. However, if you are able to afford a home in this area, you will find this city to be beautiful from the landscape to the weather. Irvine is a city designed with perfection in mind. Nothing here is out of place. Everything has been strategically located to create a residential harmony. While being a mainly suburban community, Irvine offers residents and guests a number of activities whether in the day or at night. With the Irvine Spectrum, the District and the Tustin Market Place all being in Irvine, you won%u2019t have trouble finding something to do whether you%u2019re with family or friends.

It's one of those newer OC cities that have a bit of a cookie-cutter feel to them. Very, very safe, and very, very similar. You're not going to get any vibrant arts scene or mom-and-pops here, but you're not moving to Lake Forest for that anyway. Good schools, non-existent crime rate. Pretty cut and dried.

Aside from Bill and Ted%u2019s Excellent Adventure, San Dimas is a mild and quiet residential community at the edge of the Inland Empire. Some interesting spots to visit is Downtown San Dimas and its water theme park, Raging Waters. This city is a commuter city where many of its residents work outside the city in nearby Los Angeles and Pasadena. There isn%u2019t much diversity in this area. Most nights out will be spent at some big chain restaurant. If you%u2019re looking for something local, Downtown San Dimas is your best bet. This spot may be the only bright spot in a mundane city.

A ton of things to do here, no two ways about it. Mission-V was originally designed as a consumer's paradise, and now that the city has been around for the better part of 30 years, the infrastructure has developed and refined to a point where, no matter what you might want to do, the city has the facilities and the locations to make it happen. Along with Irvine, often listed as the "safest city in America". It's getting a bit older, so houses are starting to fall into median ranges here right as they begin needing some serious upgrades from the ubiquitous "Nouveau Spanish" style that the city birthed. Still very safe, conservative and white-bread, but the benefits here bring people to the county in the first place.

Great weather and a great beach makes for a wonderful place to visit or to call home. I love coming out here to spend a day with friends. This city offers a number of local businesses that will keep your eyes satisfied and curious. Fashion Island is a mall you must check out. It has been innovatively designed as an outdoor mall to get the full effect of the area%u2019s beautiful weather. Often times, visitors come just to walk around and relax with friends and who can blame them. Another spot to check out is Newport Ave. This street will take you through all the local businesses and restaurants in the Newport Area. From sushi to Baja tacos, you%u2019ll be impressed by the wide selection of eatery%u2019s and shops.

A blend of the surf scene, funky arts, Latin culture, soldiers on leave...San Clemente is the place for you if you live to stay on your toes and are always looking for what's next. Still relatively undiscovered in comparison to Newport and Huntington, but who knows how long that will last. The young, artistic and adventurous should be flocking here.

Stanton has always seemed to be OC's appendix...not really sure what it's there for, but it's definitely there. If you're driving on the 22, blink and you'll miss it as you drive by. It's a fairly quiet place and a nice alternative for those who are burnt out on the "mini-LA" feel of border cities like Buena Park, Los Al, Cypress etc. New developments sound promising.

Temple City is a very safe area with really good schools. It's quiet, with almost no nightlife at all, but on the other hand you won't have helicopters and police sirens going past your house every day and night.

Great weather and beautiful scenery! This community is absolutely gorgeous. With the beach nearby, locals are bound to find something active and exciting to do on any given day. The local cuisine is also a plus. From Blue Fin to the Ruby%u2019s Milk Shake Shack, dining here is a unique experience. And it doesn%u2019t hurt that you have a beautiful view to compliment your meal. The Pacific Coast Highway will be your main street for travel. It%u2019s a nice drive down the coast and Laguna Hills provides some of the best scenery.

I love visiting this city! I live around 30 miles away however work brings me Aliso Viejo on a weekly basis. This city has so much to offer that it's hard to remember that I am out there for work. The Town Center is my stomping grounds for lunch, shopping and after dinner drinks. I rarely miss a chance to eat at Opah and I just found another called Inka Mama's which will soon become one of my regular spots. If you are in the area you have to go to Grand Park in the evenings. They have live music and events held all year long. I am not going to miss the tree lighting this year. I'm not usually our there on the weekends but my co-workers tell me that Aliso Golf club is beautiful and the course is challenging...this is my next goal. One last thing as I sit on the patio of my office...the weather is beautiful in Aliso!

The city of Dana Point owes its name to Richard Henry Dana, a Harvard-trained seaman who wrote about the dramatic coastal area in his classic, best-selling journal, Two Years Before the Mast in 1840.  The original beauty that inspired Henry Dana still remains in this sleepy, beachside town.  Dana Point is characterized by an expansive stretch of stunning beachfront, marked by imposing, sheer-wall cliffs that rise from the sandy shores and extend inland in the form of gently rolling hills.  At the heart of this city is a small-craft boat marina filled with endless rows of power yachts and sail boats.  The harbor is popular among both tourists and locals looking for an invigorating stroll, shopping, waterside dining, or water sports such as kayaking, jet skiing, sport fishing, whale watching, surfing, parasailing or boating. Bordered by the cities of Laguna Niguel and Laguna Beach to the north, San Clemente to the south, and San Juan Capistrano to the east, the city offers a diverse choice of housing opportunities within the neighborhoods of Monarch Beach, Doheny Beach, Capo Beach, the Lantern District and Dana Point Harbor areas.  Dana Point is also a renowned, resort vacation destination, boasting luxury hotels like the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and the Ritz Carlton Hotel as well as many middle-line and economical hotel accommodations.  Monarch Beach golf course offers 18 holes of challenging golf with gorgeous white water ocean views. 

Orange is a city located in north-central Orange County, sandwiched between Santa Ana and Anaheim, the two largest (population-wise) cities in the county.  In contrast to most other locales in OC which have either created infrastucture to entice and support large technical businesses (Irvine, Mission Viejo, most of South County) or have exploded in masses of blue-collar labor (Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove), Orange posits itself as a third option: an area kept within a time capsule, a bedroom community from the 1940's surrounded by all of the modern amenities that the Southern California life provides.  Most of this "frozen in time" appeal can be found in the federally-protected Old Towne Historic District, centered in the Orange Plaza (locals call it "the Circle") at the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Glassell Street.  Due to the impressive and intensive attention to preserving the houses and businesses in this area, the Plaza and it's surrounding streets have been the location for many Hollywood movies, most famously in "That Thing you Do" and "Big Momma's House". Outside of Old Towne, Orange has various sub-communites with different flavors, from the barrios of El Modena to the rural horse trails of Orange Park Acres.  The Old Towne section gets the most attention from reviewers, but there is a lot to take in and enjoy in this sprawling city.  The attention from the major movie studios has also influenced a large expansion of Chapman University, a small liberal arts university just north of the Plaza.  Chapman opened a state-of-the-art film school and lot in 2007, and recent expansions and imporovements in the school's design and infrastructure have cost tens of millions of dollars in order to bring in a larger number of students willing to pay the steep tuition.

Adjacent from Anaheim is a city thriving with culture and diversity. Buena Park is quintessentially an example of Southern California’s melting pot. In recent years, Buena Park has attracted a strong number of Asian-Americans, African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans into its community and because of this; the city has transformed itself to an active vision of an enriched city. Beach St. acts as the main artery for social commerce in the city. It offers a variety of businesses, restaurants and services that attract many visitors from outside Buena Park. This city is a hotspot for recreation and entertainment with places like Knott’s Berry Farm and Medieval Times to enjoy. It’s a sure shot that you’ll be able to find something to do at anytime during the week. Although Buena Park is known for its entertainment, there is also a safe suburban area located on the north side of the 91 freeway. It boasts a variety of homes, apartments, and town homes in a wonderful Southern California environment. The majority of people living in this area are families which makes being in the community a fairly quiet and peaceful experience. If you love the diversity that Los Angeles offers, but hate the congestion of city life, Buena Park might be the spot for you. It offers a variety of exceptional cuisine and memorable experiences that will be hard to get tired of.

I have a good friend who lives here with a wife, kid, and two dogs and they love it. The climate is pretty much what you can expect from Southern California, almost perfect, but I know the economic situation here isn't too reliable. Anywhere in California, really. Other than that, crime isn't an issue where he lives, but he has always said that the rectangle formed by Whittier Blvd, Harbor Blvd, Idaho Street, and Imperial Highway contains the majority if not all of the problem areas in the city. Even within that area, though, there are neighborhoods and streets that are very nice.

La Palma...a good stretch of suburban sprawl in what would otherwise be a not so nice area. La Palma is fine, yes, but neighboring Cerritos and Hawaiian Gardens have a reputation of being high in gang activity. It has cleared up over the years, but there's still that reputation...Overall, it is waaay more affordable than any neighborhood in a beach town or nearer either Anaheim or LA.

El Monte is a suburb of L.A. just about twelve miles east of downtown and acts as the hub of San Gabriel Valley, with two major freeways--the 605 and 10--intersecting, thus causing a boom of developments and making it one of the largest cities in Los Angeles County.  The area has a very dynamic population of primarily Hispanic and Asian cultures, creating a very international suburban feel.  With the growing population in El Monte, community and educational facilities continue to improve by adding new parks to serve the community with many active sports programs and family events.  Similarly, the appearance of the neighborhoods has greatly improved, partly due to various new programs offered by the City, and partly due to the growing pride and awareness of our residents that El Monte is a great place to live, work, and play.A walk down any street will remind of the average, Hollywood-depicted American neighborhood, with kids in baseball uniforms piling into mom's mini-van for the day's game, or families in the yard for a barbecue.  Overall, the area is rapidly growing its focus on community and redevelopment as per request of the many happily planted families who call El Monte home.

The epitome of Southern California may be Huntington Beach. During the summer, visitors come by the thousands to relax by the beach. Many visitors rent out homes and hotel rooms just to soak up the sun before the fall season begins. Although Huntington Beach is known as a family getaway, the nightlife here has been making a name for itself. On Main St. you can go bar hopping with friends until 2 am. There are some rowdy locals but law enforcement is always just around the corner. One sad thing is that in Orange County, I have experienced the most racial discrimination. There is a large white community here and unlike other communities, this city has been known in past for issues in racial discrimination. It has been getting better and hopefully continues to do so over time.

You know what you're going to get with Laguna Niguel; aside from some very small cosmetic differences, this place is just the same as Lake Forest, Foothill Ranch, Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, etc.; it's a sprawling, upper middle-class community that obsesses about safety and appearances on the level of Disneyland. There isn't much in the way of character, history or individualism, but it is pretty and safe for families.

The mountains lining the horizon--when you can see them--are very luring to those caught in the concrete drabbery of Colton suburbury. In fact, they are very a very tempting retreat. Maybe the grass just seems greener way over there...or maybe it really is. It still looks like a town built on a desert to me, even though folks will say its a "fertile valley," but whatever. Either way, Colton is a less expensive, but still expensive, California city with plenty to do a drive away.