Hi there,
I also live in Irvine, and in general it is pretty nice. Since it is a little inland, it is always warm and sunny and doesn’t have as much of a marine layer. Everthing is clean, and the streets are wide an comfortable. Only during rush-hour is it painful to drive, especially on I-5 and I-405. I had some trouble finding an apartment close to work. There are either industrial areas or residential areas, but they are far apart. In the past I rented a 1-bedroom from the Irvine Company across the freeway of Quail Hill. It was noisy from the freeway and too expensive ($1650/mo when I moved out). Now I rent in Westpark. Buying is of course out of the question. The 2-BR/2-BA rents for $1700, and apparently goes for >$500,000. That’s a factor two in the mortgage/rent ratio. They are building a ton of developments just north of me. All stacked tight, and I wouldn’t even want to buy anything like that.
Hey, btw, if you are interested to meet in that area, I just opened a meetup page yesterday. It’s not housing related, but piggingtonians are smart and always welcome.
