Do you live in or want to live in Irvine?

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[quote author="High Gravity" date=1245900244][quote author="bkshopr" date=1245897100]Identity is when you can describe the house with landmark feature to friends visiting you for the first time without having to resort to a number. Landmarks like house with a porch, a swing hung from a large front yard tree, a front court yard wall with Malibu tiles, White Adirondack chairs on the front lawn, the only house with a frontal 3 car garages, Xeriscape Cactus garden next to the front door, The house with a steep fairytale style roof, a white Colonial house with clapboard sidings and etc.



</blockquote>


Identity is not having a street number. i.e. "Elizabeth II, Reg., Windsor Castle, England."</blockquote>


Or Spirit the First, Manicured Plaza across from IHOP, Irvine, CA
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1245897100] Identity is when you can describe the house with landmark feature to friends visiting you for the first time without having to resort to a number. </blockquote>


In the age of GPS Navigation, we are all nothing but a number. Or map coordinate.
 
If I were not governed by Newton's first laws of physics, I would certainly love to relocate to the Bay Area. The only problem is the areas where I would like to live are infinitely more expensive than what I am currently paying for housing and I seriously doubt I could find a job that would pay enough for me to compensate for the move.
 
[quote author="CK" date=1245901521][quote author="bkshopr" date=1245897100] Identity is when you can describe the house with landmark feature to friends visiting you for the first time without having to resort to a number. </blockquote>


In the age of GPS Navigation, we are all nothing but a number. Or map coordinate.</blockquote>


I do not use it. I memorized every house and landmarks that I saw including the potted plant blocking some front doors and sandals on door mats.





I found that relying on GPS we no longer pay attention to our surrounding except to follow a piece of cheese to the maze exit. I get paid for my observations.



Have you heard of the police that went to the wrong house and arrested the wrong people because the GPS technology pointed them to the wrong house next door or a couple of houses down?
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1245897100]8 out of 10 top posters are not interested in Irvine because of property size, privacy and identity. Identity is when you can describe the house with landmark feature to friends visiting you for the first time without having to resort to a number. Landmarks like house with a porch, a swing hung from a large front yard tree, a front court yard wall with Malibu tiles, White Adirondack chairs on the front lawn, <strong>the only house with a frontal 3 car garages</strong>, Xeriscape Cactus garden next to the front door, The house with a steep fairytale style roof, a white Colonial house with clapboard sidings and etc.</blockquote>
Easy now... you just called 3CWG a landmark.
 
[quote author="ABC123" date=1245902313]If I were not governed by Newton's first laws of physics, I would certainly love to relocate to the Bay Area. The only problem is the areas where I would like to live are infinitely more expensive than what I am currently paying for housing and I seriously doubt I could find a job that would pay enough for me to compensate for the move.</blockquote>


Me too, but I have a feeling I will be living and working here for quite some time. And, it would be very difficult to convince Cayci that you get used to the cold/foggy/rainy days. That, and going out for a night at the theater is not as much fun when Cayci can't wear a hawt dress because it is too cold, and the hills are brutal to wear heels in according to Cayci. If I could, I would live in Rockridge (no SFRs for sale at the moment worth posting) or the Piedmont areas of Oakland. Both of which have many <a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Piedmont/271-Crocker-Ave-94610/home/526856">BK approved homes like this one</a>...



http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/10/bigphoto/675/40413675_0.jpg



Although I would want to do something about this room...



http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/10/bigphoto/675/40413675_3_0.jpg



It reminds me of something, oh yeah...



http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/theframeup/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/braff.jpg



<a href="http://www.redfin.com/CA/Oakland/992-Sunnyhills-Rd-94610/home/1913305">Or maybe this home</a>...



http://media.cdn-redfin.com/photo/10/bigphoto/585/40408585_0.jpg



Love that single entry doorway!
 
Piedmont is indeed a well designed community. Big lots and with view of the entire SF. There are 7 places in the Bay Area that have homes as nice as San Marino. Piedmont, Atherton, Hillsbourough, Palos Altos, Saint Francis Wood, Los Gatos, and a portion of Berkeley Hills.
 
Sigh...I need to have more shelves made for that thing. See, with a huge lot in North Tustin you may be able to build a bigger closet if the one already there isn't big enough. It's a shame that large lots in Irvine cost a bazillion dollars when you can find them at all.
 
I picked 4, but it's too strong - I might move to Irvine to be closer to a job or for a house I really liked. Probably not gonna happen, but I think I would like living in Irvine, just not as much as I'd like some other places.



I agree this is more of the "Orange Country Housing Blog Forums". To my mind, though, Irvine is a reasonable surrogate for Orange Country because it's the archetypical OC city. In most of the ways that OC stands out from the rest of SoCal (more jobs, somewhat higher income, lower crime, better schools, more suburban, stricter zoning, more regimented communities, strong developer influence, etc.) Irvine is even more that way than OC in general. Irvine is kind of the Orange County of Orange County. So an IHB forum that spills out to talk about all of OC seems perfectly reasonable to me.
 
None of the Above. Answer: Yes, but not right now!



We plan to live in Irvine at some point when upper end prices come down in the future.



However prices seem excessive for newer homes, and there seems to be little inventory for such from the Irvine Company. (No we were not impressed with Portola Springs and felt many properties there still remain overpriced.)



In any event, we just bought a beautiful home in a very nice gated (Shea Homes) community in Santa Ana located a few blocks from South Coast Plaza. Definitely a lot of bang for the buck. We'll look to Irvine in a few years when planned new housing projects actually begin.



We simply grew tired of waiting on Irvine, and we are pleased with our purchase.



Thanks to all the great advice imparted on this blog! Waiting seems wise for now in Irvine! We'll check back in a few years!
 
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