Yeah, what he said. None of the crumbling, blighted infrastructure you see in the east. It's like visiting a gigantic, futuristic theme park.
Frankly, if I lived on the East Coast and visited Orange and San Diego counties, I'd be embarrassed to go home. ;)
I just came from LA and SD, and I was RELIEVED to come home. LOL. This country gal hates zero lot lines and all that traffic. I have a 2400 sq. ft. house that is on beautiful land with mountains, oak trees, and fields all around, paid less than $150,000 for it, and could sell it in CA for $750,000 without the land. I live in the "technology corridor", so I have all the modern conveniences of life with all the old-timey joys. You can't live any better than this. DesignerChick, you need to move to SW Virginia. We have all the good stuff and very little of the bad stuff.
Let me say I also spent several days at Pismo Beach, and I enjoyed every single one of them. I still wouldn't want to live there.
Oh, btw, the price of gas here is less than $2.00/gal for regular.
You forgot to mention that in Orange County, even the Industrial buildings are beautifully designed and well kept.
There is definitely the feeling that in Orange County, nothing bad will ever happen because everyone's rich and lives together harmoniously because everyone's rich.
There are no poor people in Irvine or Newport Beach, because they can't afford the housing. $1,000 a month is entry-level apartment living. Of course the apartments are all slick looking and superbly maintained. Donald Bren, owner of the Irvine Company, sees to that. The upside of this monocultural, white-bread life is that you know you're safe, and it's not an illusion -- you are.
When you see a factory that could compete with the best office space in the East, you know you're in trouble back there.
Until you know how much it costs to live there.
Until I moved back east, I thought Los Angeles' infrastructure was crumbling. Now I know better. It's in excellent condition compared to what I see here.
I'm embarassed to admit I live where I live :-(. I plan on moving to Miami by late this year/early next.
D