d.j.and80

Couldnt have said it better myself

Marc_ely

They also control a lot of the business property too. I work in a building run by them. The AC is centrally managed and we can't even adjust it. It's all a bit big brother.
Several of the guys here have rented from them and they will bump the rent up annually in pretty big hikes.

RoadWarriorFromLP

Irvine is conservative, suburban and has high housing costs, as is the case with most of the rest of Orange County. It bears little resemblance to LA, and most people in Orange County are happy about that. Not very exciting stuff for a single guy who likes a walkable lifestyle and culture.

A car is a must. Don't even think for a minute about relying upon public transport.

If there is a discounted housing option, then I would suggest that he take it, then look later once he has a better feel for the area.

A single straight guy who likes bars may eventually want to live in Newport Beach or possibly Huntington Beach. A single gay guy may like Laguna Beach. There isn't much in OC that can be considered to be bohemian chic, but Costa Mesa and the Orange Circle area in Orange come closest to matching that description (and that's a real stretch.) In any case, it may be necessary to have the American version of a roommate (which means flatmate, not a shared bedroom.)

Pavlova

Oh yes, OC and Irvine specifically are very vanilla. Good for families but I must admit the bubble can get a bit suffocating at times. It tends to attract the very best ... and the very worst. I'm at pains to show my kids that this isn't how most people live or, indeed, think.

MMcD

Would imagine that UC Irvine is a cocoon within the Orange County Conservatism cocoon...and, likely, quite different.

MellD

Wow Robin1234, I'm weirdly pleased to hear your lad is a librarian. I remember you chipping in on my librarian related thread a few years ago (omg has it been 4 years since we got back?!) Hope the interview went well. Is he a medlib? I see some very interesting medlib jobs in Irvine. I don't really have anything to contribute to this thread as I'm on the complete other side of LA area, and I work from home so I've not really been able to build up much a professional network here.

robin1234

Hi MellD I do vaguely remember that. I'll take a look at the old thread to refresh my memory. No, he's a cataloger, basically. I think this position was cataloging/metadata specialist, something like that. He felt that the interview went pretty well, I believe, he also had an opportunity to talk to a few other fairly recent hires - to find out about rentals, what it's like to live there etc.

I myself retired from my academic library job (US government docs, and serials librarian) three years ago and I'm beginning to feel retired. I've stopped dreaming about department meetings and cataloging standards, anyway.

Hotscot

Also check out Dana Point. Lovely harbour town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Point,_California

Bootle

Not really - UC Irvine is the most conservative of the UC institutions so it's really more of just a reflection of the OC conservatism.

The least insular of the communities around Irvine are in and around Huntingon Beach.

caleyjag

Agree 100% with this. I live in Thousand Oaks to the north of LA which is very similar to Orange County in many ways (a wealthy, materialistic suburb). I struggled through my first year with no vehicle and it was terrible. I only survived by having a housemate who could drive me around. A car is absolutely essential down here.

Mountain biking is the way to go for exercise in these parts.

MMcD

Oh...didn't know that

dondraper

Irvine are is pretty dead unless you study in college. Plus most of california, you need a car to travel. Public transportation isnt that great unless you live in a big city

robin1234

He was offered the job and he accepted. Apparently he gets up to $6,000 for moving expenses. He lives on his own, has no cat, and all his worldly possessions fit in a backpack plus Tesco carrier bag, so it'll be hard to spend that. (But it could cover up to thirty days in a hotel at the destination.)

Told his current boss today he'd be giving his notice soon, boss left work saying he'd be throwing himself under a bus... English sense of humour of course.

Thanks very much to all who shared knowledge of the local area, places to possibly live etc.

MMcD

That's great! Big adventure ahead. Congrats to him....

(good excuse, btw, for your own adventure in the 'Bear State' )

robin1234

I'm actually looking forward to a field trip, maybe in January or February. We have the classic Annie Hall view of Southern California (it simply exists as a place for New Yorkers to be appalled by) and my wife, in fact, refuses to go anywhere west of Chicago. Well, she's ok in New York and New England and that's about it.