yorkieinoz

Hi Guys, Moving to Irvine, Ca, in August. Is there anyone on here that lives there, who could give me any idea of areas that are nice and ones to avoid. Tried looking on the net, but cannot get a feel for the place, by just looking at photos. Ideally looking at apartments near Spectrum Centre. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Havnfun

I Yorkieinoz I live in Lake Forest which is right next to Irvine. Anywhere around the Spectrum is good, very low crime. Depending on what you are looking for you may also want to look at Lake Forest. Rents are definitely cheaper in Lake Forest. Let me know your budget and what you are looking for and I can give you some ideas.

yorkieinoz

Hi Havnfun. Thinking of budgeting about $3,500 per month for an apartment. Hubby will be working in Gardena. Looking for a 2 bedroom property. It's so difficult when you don't know the area, so any advice you can give would be fantastic. Thanks

OCKF

Good luck with the move!!

For your budget there are plenty of choices. To get a feel for what is out there you may want to check out the Irvine Company website. They have many choices around Irvine and nice Apartments actually at Spectrum.

https://www.irvinecompanyapartments....ectrum-center/

We used them when we moved to the area ourselves for six months before actually buying our place.

Let me know if you need any other help and good luck again!

bewildering

Hey, if you spend a little time reading this blog it covers Irvine housing.

Irvine Housing Blog | Established September 2006

yorkieinoz

Many thanks for replying Ockf, looked at the Irvine apartments, they do look awfully nice. They seem to have a few in that area, which would you recommend please. Hubby will be at work, so it will just be my Daughter and I and two Maltese dogs. Did you happen to see what the townhouses were like. Is it a gated community or do you need something like a key card to access the actual complex. Sorry for all the questions.

OCKF

I think you have a choice of 4 around the Spectrum and they are all quite nice. If you have a good look at all 4 and then decide whiz you fancy best. I would look at all the various floor plans and the largest one within your budget will be your best bet. Townhouses are nice too it all depends whether you fancy 2 floor living or a single floor living. We wanted everything same level so we didn't go for a townhouse. Not sure if any of these are gated but if they are then it will be advertised on the site. Also, check their dog policies as some go by weight, some by breed, some cats only etc.

Good luck again and here if you needed any more help with this or anything else in the area!!

username.exe

Are you determined to live near the Spectrum Center?
The reason I ask is that area always strikes me as being quite boring. It's just a mall by a parking lot (freeway). It's nice, but definitely the most pretentious mall I've been to.

I would recommend Costa Mesa. Lovely to walk around and close to the beach.

I hope you don't mind traffic.

yorkieinoz

No, we are not determined to live in Irvine, it was suggested to us via my Hubsband work colleague. I am open to any area. So the more recommendations, the better. Like the look of Palos Verses, but cannot find any decent apartments to my liking.

OCKF

Where is your husband's company as commuting is a BIG factor in Orange County. Palos Verses is quite a distance from Irvine Spectrum so I was wondering where his office will be in order to perhaps suggest alternative areas to consider.....

Havnfun

Will your husband be driving to Gardena everyday? That is going to be a terrible commute from Irvine. I would consider looking somewhere closer to Gardena if possible.

RoadWarriorFromLP

Commuting between Irvine and Gardena is a recipe for divorce or an early coronary.

Manhattan Beach and (south) Redondo Beach would be better bets.

yorkieinoz

Thanks for the replies guys. His office is in Gardena, so yes he would be travelling everyday. At the moment he travels 1hr 15mins, both to and from work, so he is used to quite long car journeys. But if you recommend any other areas, that we can look at, I would appreciate it.x

yorkieinoz

Never thought of those two areas, are they nice places to live.x

OCKF

He will be looking at a lot longer than that each way and if he does 2 hours either direction he has done very well. I used to do similar commute and as I hated the serious traffic I ended up leaving around 4:30 - 5:00 am just to get to office without hitting the main traffic so best to avoid or if had to do it then try car share sites.....

Both suggested areas have nice parts in particular Manhattan Beach.