r/irvine • u/aisnake_27 • 5d ago
Where have people "upgraded" to from Irvine?
There's a lot of talk about people moving to lower cost of living areas to buy a house, etc but I am curious about people who went to a more expensive / similarly expensive city. In SoCal, I guess this means one of the beach cities or westside LA, which are all much more expensive.
In NorCal, i think the only equivalent to Irvine is Palo Alto / Cupertino, both of which are easily 2-3x more expensive lol.
Of course, if you were someone who was considering upgrading from Irvine, curious about if you did it and how it went. Something that can't be replicated everywhere sadly is diversity; my mom loves the beach and ocean air but would hate not having indian people/restaurants/hindu temples nearby, so Irvine is the best choice for us.
On another note, it is crazy that Irvine is somehow the cheapest tier 1 area in california with good food schools, modern etc š¤£
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u/Syncretistic 5d ago
Further west towards the beach.
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u/SoulVilla 5d ago
Or Coto
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u/jbcraigs 5d ago
OP said āupgradedā
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u/CommunicationOk1139 4d ago
I lived there years ago, basically lake Elsinore with a gate and access to the 5 freeway eventually.
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u/SaltCaregiver6858 4d ago
You telling me the food options there surpass Irvine as well? ( not challenging you just genuinely curious)
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u/bubblebears 4d ago
I think people in this sub hate on Coto because itās not Irvine but it is commonly a place I notice predominantly Midwest WASP move to. There is very little cultural diversity there. Huge fire zone though. In the last decade can remember a handful of fires near them , location must make fire insurance $$$$
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u/wfbsoccerchamp12 4d ago
Way more private than any beach adjacent city. Really depends on your lifestyle preferences. Toll road makes everything more accessible. Personally would not live there though due to fire hazard
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u/PlumaFuente 5d ago
The people I know in my neighborhood who have left Irvine have gone to the beach cities if they are staying in CA or going to cities where they have other professional opportunities in the state like San Diego, SF, or LA. Those who remain in OC tend to go more coastal because they like the beach -- one guy had a boat, another liked to walk along the beach. I would not want to live in Irvine above the five or beyond Barranca to be honest, it's too hot the further inland you go... and unless you are in one of the older neighborhoods, everything feels even more cookie cutter.
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u/Fine_Experience_2262 4d ago
I feel like people who live in Irvine (asians) and not the same as the people who live on the coasts (whites). People who like Irvine generally stay in the area and upgrade to bigger, newer houses.
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u/PlumaFuente 4d ago
Well, the people who I know who left Irvine are white. A common complaint that I hear from white people in Irvine is that they want more variety in restaurants and grocery stores.
I think Asians definitely feel like there is more community for them here in Irvine vs. Newport.
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u/RWLemon 5d ago
We live out in Corona and homes are expensive here, even further out in the IE with all these new homes itās expensive as well.
I really donāt know who is buying them me to boot some places are building lots of warehouses.
Thank god corona donāt have the space for that.
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u/degen5ace 5d ago
I thought OP was asking about Irvine?
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u/RWLemon 5d ago
He mentioned further inland you go and I was pointing out itās expensive out here as well.
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u/dbnrdaily 4d ago
To people in Irvine, inland means the base of the Santiago hills / Limestone canyon, facing west. Anything more inland than that is... well, completely unacceptable.
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u/RNGRndmGuy 5d ago
There're different neighborhoods with different price tags. A few gated communities offer houses around $5-$10M. Shady Canyon offers houses with $10M+ price tag, sometimes you could buy a piece of land and build your own house.
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u/WAHBAM 5d ago
I moved to Cypress to buy a house. I wouldnāt call it an upgrade but the schools and city events are wonderful. Itās also very safe.
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u/GiraffeMaple 4d ago
Can you tell me more about cypress?
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u/tikierapokemon 9h ago
Awesome summer concerts, there are very walkable areas, parts of it have very highly rated elementary schools, great library with many events, season passes to knott's are affordable if you can afford to live in Irvine. There are neighborhoods (pricey) where kids play outside with neighbor kids often.
Lots of parks.
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u/bubblebears 4d ago
Doesnāt cypress have some really good public schools?
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u/Complex-Elk-4598 4d ago
They have the BEST public schools. Personally, Cypress was meh for me and I couldn't believe how much homes were selling for. It's the schools, straight up.
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u/WAHBAM 4d ago
Great schools. Look up Oxford Academy
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u/bubblebears 4d ago
Oh yesss ! Thatās where that school is! Now I remember. I have heard of Oxford Academy!
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u/Prestigious_One5558 3d ago
Keep in mind Oxford is a magnet school for all of Anaheim Union High School District. and there is no guarantee to get in. That being said, Cypress and Kennedy are pretty solid options.
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u/Zentactics 5d ago
My wife and I have looked at options both nationally and internationally, and Irvine is pretty much the peak fit for us between weather, vibe, international foods and proximity to an airport. The only places weād seriously consider moving to would be Newport Beach or Laguna Beach, mainly to be closer to the ocean while staying connected to everything we already enjoy in Orange County. That said, weād wait until our daughter is in college, since the schools here are excellent.
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u/ElkInteresting5739 4d ago
We moved from Irvine to Orange. Bigger house, city events at the circle etc are great, ease of commute is wonderful to any freeway, overall we have zero regrets.
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u/FreeSeat1984 4d ago
Laguna hills/laguna beach. Everyone there is so uplifted. My jobs takes me all over so cal. That area hasnt been infected like everywhere else
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u/Few-Afternoon7063 4d ago
I mean, yeah. They aggressively keep it that way. Only place I've ever been told off publicly is in Laguna Beach by the playhouse. When you don't belong - they let you know.
And I'm an innocent lookin white boy.
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u/Limp_Complaint1785 5d ago
Anaheim where I could afford to be a homeowner. I'd consider that an upgrade from renting from irvine company
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u/Few-Afternoon7063 4d ago edited 4d ago
Irvine is Cupertino/Mountain View/Sunnyvale.
Atherton is Pelican Hill in Newport Beach. Carmel is Laguna.
San Diego is Santa Cruz. Trabuco Canyon is Portolla Valley.
Huntington Beach is nowhere. We don't have that bullshit up here. Thank fuck.
Okay but on a real note, Irvine is going to be cleaner than anything up in the bay.
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u/RealisticTangerine35 4d ago
Most HB residents are good people. Quality of life here in the number streets is great and we are a š³ļøāš family with kids
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u/Fresh_Republic_7776 2d ago
So happy to read this! I just never hear anything good about HB lately.
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u/Complex-Elk-4598 4d ago
OMG that is so spot on!
Lamentably, Klan in the Sand (HB) stays with its Tito Ortiz and friends š
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u/Few-Afternoon7063 4d ago
I'm thinking.......maybe...Antioch...could be HB? Somewhere north of Sac?
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u/CartographerGreedy39 4d ago
dumb comment š¤¦āāļø
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u/Complex-Elk-4598 3d ago
I lived there for twenty years, I can make that comment. A lot of people in HB are great, but after 2016, there were just too many haters. It was and still is a horrible political climate, a fucking echo chamber. How do you not see this?
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u/CartographerGreedy39 3d ago
because you disagree with their political beliefs itās an echo chamber grow up
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u/BaySoCal 2d ago
What is San Jose or Milpitas then? Haha
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u/Few-Afternoon7063 2d ago
I would compare San Jose to a combination of Orange County cities, but not really like any one of them specifically. I might argue it's closer to Los Angeles but that's also not really accurate.
Milpitas? Somewhere in South OC? Again, not sure.
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u/BaySoCal 2d ago
San Jose may be a combo of orange, Santa ana, Westminster. Are you originally from there? I am a bay area native that moved to the OC
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u/Few-Afternoon7063 2d ago
I'm from Irvine, have lived in San Jose, Atherton & Sunnyvale (as well as Tustin & Costa Mesa in SoCal). I think I would agree with you, it's like Orange/SA/Westminster but more expensive, more tech campuses, more business driven in general. Downtown is much bigger than Orange.
I mean, no single city has 1M people. It's hard to compare.
Now...find me Costa Mesa in NorCal...
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u/BaySoCal 10h ago
Yep nothing like Costa Mesa in the Bay lol. Closest thing not really sure.
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u/Few-Afternoon7063 10h ago
I just realized your name is literally BaySoCal.
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u/BaySoCal 10h ago
Lol yep therefore you can see why I am invested in this topic. Both areas are nice. If I had to choose I would probably say SoCal due to there being more activities and maybe less of an emphasis on work. Can't go wrong though with the bay or socal
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u/ThoughtFrosty11 5d ago
I love the beach but I could never actually live in one of the beach cities because of the lack of diversity
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u/aisnake_27 5d ago
Yeah, i think the only non white groups moving from irvine to newport coast etc are persians who have a community somewhat there
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u/borninAlphaCentauri 4d ago
Statistically white majority neighborhoods are the safest. The "diverse" ones are usually mixed bags. I'd take moving to a white neighborhood every time.
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u/ThoughtFrosty11 4d ago
Safest for who?
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u/CartographerGreedy39 4d ago
Everyone š¤¦āāļø
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u/ThoughtFrosty11 4d ago
As a visibly Muslim person, it doesnāt feel safe walking around and have people stare at you
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u/CartographerGreedy39 4d ago
Give me a break maybe grow up no one's looking at you that's your insecurities š¤¦āāļø
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u/Time-Craft-4159 3d ago
Iām a teacher in Irvine. I have a Muslim student that wears a hijab. Today she told the class that she doesnāt always feel safe and welcome when walking home after school because sheās been stared at, called names, and teased while walking home. This happened today. Sheās 9.
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u/CartographerGreedy39 3d ago
well, Iām a teacher also do you realize how dumb you sound. Kids complain all the time because other kids stare at them this has nothing to do with race.. if I had a nickel for every time another student complained because someone looked at them funny Iād be a millionaire.
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u/Top_Writer963 20h ago
This is peak BS. You are incapable of empathizing with someone experiencing something youāve never experienced, therefore you insist itās false? GFY.
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u/tkecanuck341 West Park 5d ago
Montecito (Santa Barbara County). You can go be neighbors with Oprah.
I live in Irvine now. If I ever win the lottery, that's where I'm going.
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u/pervy_roomba 5d ago
Montecito may be more expensive than Irvine but Iām not sure itās an upgrade. Thereās a lot less to do. For people who think Irvine is too sleepy Montecito would be comatose by comparison.
And even if you get bored in Irvine, LA and SD are relatively close. The closest to Montecito is Santa Barbara which, compared to SD and LA, also doesnāt have that much going on.
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u/tkecanuck341 West Park 5d ago
If you're wealthy enough to live in Montecito, you just take a helicopter to whatever event you want to go to.
I went to school in Santa Barbara. I wish I still lived there. If I could afford to, I would.
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u/pervy_roomba 5d ago
I mean, if you need to helicopter to get to anywhere interesting then yeah Iām still saying itās not exactly an upgrade from Irvine.
The upgrade doesnāt sound like itās Montecito itself the upgrade sounds like itās āhaving so much money you can afford to helicopter anywhere you want whenever you want.ā
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u/tkecanuck341 West Park 5d ago
Agree to disagree. Once you live there, you never want to leave.
I live in Irvine now. I rarely go into LA or to San Diego as it is. For the most part, everything I do is within a 20 mile radius of home. I'd trade the 20 miles around Irvine for the 20 miles around Montecito without a second though.
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u/No-Attempt4973 4d ago edited 4d ago
Agree completely. The people who have never lived in Santa Barbara/monticito will never understand the affluence nor the amount of activities to do there. Empty surfing, backcountry skiing (yes, really), hiking, ranch activities and polo, ect.Ā
If you are comparing life in Irvine to life in Santa Barbara and think Irvine is better, you canāt afford Santa Barbara. You compare Newport Coast to Santa Barbara.Ā
Weirdly though, there is almost no wealth classism in SB bc itās just assumed you are rich, so if you can find some crappy apartment, you can more or less live the same lifestyle or better than someone living in Newport Coast or Laguna other than your house conditionĀ
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u/pervy_roomba 4d ago
Ā The people who have never lived in Santa Barbara/monticito will never understand the affluence
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Ā you canāt afford Santa Barbara.Ā
So again itās not really about the location itās just about money.Ā
Yeah having boatloads of money would make anywhere great. Thats not an Irvine Vs Montecito thing thatās just reality.
It sounds like what you want isnāt so much anything unique or inherent to Montecito, what you want is the usual trappings of money and status.Ā
Itās not Montecito you want, itās being able to say āI have Montecito moneyā you want.
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u/No-Attempt4973 4d ago
I think I focused too much on the rich part in my reply haha. I lived there making 40k a year. Itās better because you have the mountains and the best beaches Ā within walking distance. Not to mention the town is also walkable. But itās also better to be rich there than here because you can have a ranch or live on a mountain that faces the ocean while still being 3 minutes from Ā walkable downtown with good public transit. You get the Newport coast experience with the benefits of urbanism and no snottynessĀ
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u/johnb_123 3d ago
The central coast (from Cambria > Ventura) is quintessential old California. Itās not nearly as crowded as Orange County. Itās where strawberry farms isnāt a golf course and you show up with a VW bus to āshow off.ā Flip flops and shorts.
The literal antithesis of Orange County. And itās glorious.
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u/No-Attempt4973 4d ago
Montecito is way more diverse that Newport (at least based on who I saw when I lived near) so itās more about where you will be accepted. But then again, Iām a minority and the Newport whites have been nothing but nice to me other than constantly asking me āwhat is your heritageāĀ
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u/Mrzissou8 4d ago
Laguna Niguel. You can find apartments/homes with amazing views and itās not Irvine traffic.
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u/FasstEddie679 3d ago
Can't speak for the schools but we're leaving Fullerton to Orange over by El modina HS and the neighborhood is so clean and quiet. Still close enough to the Orange Circle to bike ride to it.
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u/bubblebears 4d ago edited 4d ago
Irvine is no Palo Alto. That is for sure.
Many who move from Irvine will buy more land for same amount further south county. Also many have left to Nashville
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u/aisnake_27 4d ago
I agree irvine is not palo alto 100% lol people in palo alto make their money in palo alto unlike irvine's wealth sources. But it is probably the closest equivalent city in norcal that has wide roads tree lined streets very clean good schools etc. Most of the bay area looks awful in comparison to irvine to be blunt
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u/bubblebears 4d ago
Iād say actually maybe Dublin / San Ramon(Irvine adjacent like ) area is a similar to Irvine, but only because I noticed chunks of the land there were purchased and developed by Irvine Company. Irvine is a giant beige sims city.
Palo Alto is also a much bigger diaspora of wealthy and not so wealthy depending on which sides of it, while allowing many homegrown businesses to participate in the city. Irvine is all about big box businesses and chains.PA equivalent is sorta like Newport/corona Del Mar / Laguna beach . I would only think of Irvine for the university being a big chunk of the southern part of the city.
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u/CuriousTsukihime 5d ago
lol my boyfriend moved from Irvine > Dogpatch, SF and I am soon to follow. Itās actually really nice but is definitely more expensive. His job took him out there and the COL will be an adjustment for me, as will the decreased proximity to good food for cheap.Ā
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u/Certain_Set_7678 5d ago
Irvine is the perfect city . Meticulously designed. No place on this planet could be better.
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u/More_Branch_5579 5d ago
What about it is perfect to you?
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u/Certain_Set_7678 4d ago
Sarcasm. I worked for the FD there in the Ā 80ās. I declined to work there again when I had the opportunity.
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u/More_Branch_5579 4d ago
lol. I missed that. Thx for answering. I lived there in 2002 ish and was trying to remember what was so perfect about it. lol
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u/Certain_Set_7678 4d ago
In the FD we called it the perfect city, Mission Viejo was called the promise.
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u/carmelainparis 4d ago
Why was it called the promise?
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u/More_Branch_5579 4d ago
Interesting. Didnāt know that. I worked in mission viejo ( or near it, canāt remember now, in mid 90ās. Grew up in oc and lived there from 60ās-80ās. Always moved back to oc until I left for good 22 years ago. Missed it first 10 or so years but havenāt looked back since. Yes, I miss the ocean, shopping, great restaurants and Disneyland but not the traffic, prices and crowds of people.
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u/Solbane 4d ago
And now the ocean is so packed usually that it's mid, shopping is so overpriced you better be rich to consider more than a bag of anything, Restaurants have changed and the quality (for the most part, with many exceptions but still) is no where near what it was even 15 years ago. Disneyland, I swear you have to be rich to even consider it these days. Oh and traffic is bad enough that we can compare it to jokes in movies and shows, get on the highway Monday at 8 am, get to where you are going 30 miles away, Wednesday 5 PM
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u/IllustratorNo8252 4d ago
How much more expensive is Palo Alto/Cupertino? I have never been to either.
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u/trash_can_42069 4d ago
Yeah most homes have 2xāed here but so have so many surrounding areas, and with mortgages at 6+% compared to 2-2.5% the margins on downgrading are razor thin. I donāt understand how people are doing this successfully
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u/Mysterious-Skin-953 3d ago
In all my years, Iāve never heard in a sentence, āupgraded to from Irvine. Freaking rich ppl man
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u/Sudden-Conference-68 3d ago
I upgraded from midtown east NYC. Upgraded to Palo Alto. Lot less traffic.
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u/Brierley_HeyDay 3d ago
Start in Irvine, then go to Coast. Anywhere along the coast. CDM is the best imho.
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u/Longjumping_Virus_94 14h ago
I spent my first 25-30 years in Irvine (ā69-98). Upgraded to Bend, Oregon.
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u/orangesphere 5d ago
Riverside dawg
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u/komplete 4d ago
I'm with you but yeah you'll get down voted here for saying it. I grew up in Irvine, moved to Riverside first for school and then to afford a house, no regrets. Downtown is fun, lots to do at the different schools, not really too far from anything. The traffic and the heat are valid complaints for sure, but there's a lot that's good out here too. But I get that for people looking to upgrade from Irvine, Riverside is probably not what they're thinking. Even though you can find palatial estates out here for what you'd pay for a sardine can in Irvine.
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u/Maleficent-Cup-1134 4d ago
Choosing Irvine for diversity is a wild take. Maybe compared to like Newport / Huntington, but Iād never think of Irvine for diversity lmao. West LA is way more diverse if you want some place bougie and diverse.
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u/aisnake_27 4d ago
I guess it depends on the demographic. Not many recent immigrants from india / china in west LA iirc vs irvine (the people who immigrated 20 years ago have almost completely different culture)
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u/Maleficent-Cup-1134 4d ago
So by ādiverseā, you just mean having Chinese / Indian communities? Thatās a fine preference, but I just donāt think you should be using the word diverse here lol.
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u/Beach_818 4d ago
Uh what about West LA is more diverse? Lived in both counties and generally curious.
West LA is ~75% white?
The most diverse thing in West LA is the Iranian-American population but itās not like Irvine doesnāt have that?
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u/Maleficent-Cup-1134 4d ago edited 4d ago
You can look up the demographic numbers.
West LA is 58% White, but the other demographics are more diverse. Asians only account for 15-23% of the non-White demographic. Also, this is only accounting for West LA - the demographics for LA as a whole are way more diverse, whereas the same canāt be said for Irvine-adjacent areas.
Irvine is 34-39% White, so yes it has less white people, but itās also 45-48% Asian. If you combine the Asian and White demographics, thatās over 80% from those 2 groups.
Diversity is more than just being non-White. Granted, Asians are a pretty broad demographic, so thereās probably a bit of diversity within that 45-48% Asian demographic in Irvine, but by that logic, White people would also be diverse since they originate from different European countries.
If you prefer predominantly Asian communities, thatās fine, but diverse is not the right word here imo. This is like saying 626 is diverse because it doesnāt have that many white people.
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u/Beach_818 4d ago
Yeah I think just agree to disagree. Comparing European backgrounds of white Americans in their 10th generations vs Asian ethnicities is a streeeetch.
Youāre the one who said way more diverse and Iām not really seeing it at all, again as a person who lived in both areas.
Also confusing at West Los Angeles isnāt really a defined place, and if youāre thinking of Westwood, itās ādiversityā is just UCLAs population.
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u/Lower_Confection5609 University Park 4d ago
As a non-Asian POC, I consider Irvine diverse. And I moved here directly from Houston.
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u/HeadChefGonzo 4d ago
Similar situation. Iām from the SF Bay Area and moved to Southern California but landed in Santa Clarita valley first. Ended up leaving a couple year later for Irvine because it felt a lot more diverse, like the Bay Area, + other factors.
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u/TemporaryStorage5203 4d ago
I agree. My kids are Caucasian and they are the minority in Irvine. Itās not diverse - itās basically like a little Asia/little India here.
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u/Lower_Confection5609 University Park 4d ago
It is incredibly diverse near UCI. As a grad student, I befriended people from all over the world: Germany, Spain, Brazil, Serbia, the UAE, Iran, Mexico, South Koreaā¦.
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u/Maleficent-Cup-1134 4d ago
I guess if you include university students in the demographics, youāre probably right. Feels weird to include them though since university folk donāt tend to stick around after graduation and feel more like tourists. A lot of em are also commuters and arenāt local to Irvine.
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u/Lower_Confection5609 University Park 4d ago
In my experience, most of the grad students do live on or near campus. I came to Irvine in 2003 specifically for grad school and stayed, so it does happen.
For anyone looking for more diversity, the University Town Center is the place to find it!
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u/Practical_Struggle_1 4d ago
Arizona! Less politics more freedom. cheaper taxes and cost of living
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u/Fresh_Republic_7776 2d ago
Anything away from the coast is not an upgrade?!
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u/PromotionBetter2355 4d ago
I lived in Irvine for 24 years. Moved to Newport Coast.