What do your neighbors do for a living?

[irvinehomeowner]

As for my neighbors...  Let's see...
1) Indian couple with kids, not sure what they do, but they both leave for work every morning and are very sweet people
2) White couple with two adult kids living with them, Dad is a lead sales manager for dental products, not sure if mom works, don't think so
3) White/Korean couple with two young children.  Dad is a civil engineer, mom is a paralegal
4) White couple with kids, dad seems to own a network hardware install/repair business, not sure what mom does, they rent
5) White couple with kids, dad goes to work early everyday, not sure what mom does, they rent
6) Sketchy white dude who is doing something shady, just not sure exactly what, but 100% gives me that shady vibe every time I see him
7) Solo white dude, living that single past middle age life, not sure if he works, but doesn't seem to have a 9-5 job
8 ) There was a white retired couple, but they moved recently.

The rest I'm honestly not sure.  I'm not particularly social and there seems to be a significant language barrier with about 80% of my neighbors.  My best guess is a mix of
1) Rich af FCB family, do whatever they want, park 6 figure cars on the street because the nice stuff is in the garage
2) Empty "investment" house
3) FCB full time mother and kids, dad is mia
4) FCB family, dad does something, mom does whatever she wants

This is some IrvineDream level reconnaissance.

Can you explain the context of this?  Not sure I understand what you're getting at.

IrvineDream knows all the TI members, remembers where they live, what they do etc... so much so we assume IrvineDream has a spreadsheet with all this data.

I'm assuming you wrote your post from memory so that's pretty good that you know all that about so many of your neighbors.

It took me over a year to remember what our next door neighbor's names were... and I still have no idea what they do (I assume the mom is stay-at-home... but hard to tell).

 

[someguy]

Ah word.  That's hilarious about IrvineDream  ;D

I need to get better with remembering people's names.  It's been 3 years officially at this house and I know the names of about a half dozen neighbors. 

*Opens excel*
*Maps out addresses*
*Enters column heading for names*

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I actually wrote their names on a whiteboard on our fridge once but the kids erased it... .

 

[qwerty]

I like all the hardworking highly educated Asian women supporting their lazy white mexican husbands.

fixed that for ya

This could have been a very upsetting post for me. Luckily my wife has yet to be produce a w2 that has beat me!

 

[Paris167]

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

A pair of educated professionals should have no problem earning 200k between the two of them.  Even 150k for a pair of mid 20s educated professionals is doable.  Isn't that enough to afford a modest stucco box in Irvine?  What are you seeing that makes you believe a household of educated professionals doesn't add up?

Mid 20s is probably fine since DINKS.  But for mid 30s, $150k is rough.  Even $200k is rough.  Hard to move up.  I guess that's why the market is saturated with $1.3m+ homes.
- 2x private preschool tuition
- fancy cars
- trips to aulani
- all sorts of lessons (kumon, tkd, gymnastics, swim, piano, etc, etc)
- expensive hobbies (studio workout classes, expensive road bikes, expensive guns, fancy handbags, etc, etc)

You just described more than half of my street of neighbors! And That aulani is drowning in profits!
Glad to know that we?re not alone wondering how all these people live this million dollar lifestyle.

 

[notTHEoc]

There are many businesses and professions/industries where if you are lucky (and skillful) enough to catch a strong 5-7 year cycle, you can make more than enough to put 50+% down on an Irvine home plus have plenty leftover to carry you for decades on less income *IF* you don't spend extravagantly and invest decently.

Also, if you were able to save a lot pre-2008, weren't meaningfully impacted in the GFC and had cash to invest well 2009-2011, you made a fortune. It's not the majority, but a lot were able to.

For the OP in early 30s, it's tough due to bad timing entering the workforce. But I think many in their mid 30s to early 50s fall into the above categories.

Among people I've come across, I very highly doubt anyone lives paycheck to paycheck or depends on parental handouts. I know some who don't have prototypical 8-5pm w-2 jobs, but I think it's more due to personal lifestyle choices and falling into the categories above.

 

[Liar Loan]

There are many businesses and professions/industries where if you are lucky (and skillful) enough to catch a strong 5-7 year cycle, you can make more than enough to put 50+% down on an Irvine home plus have plenty leftover to carry you for decades on less income *IF* you don't spend extravagantly and invest decently.

This is a great comment.  Due to human nature I think most people increase their spending to match their newfound wealth. 

In the mid-00's mortgage industry, loan officers could make $500k - $1 mil per year if they were hustlers.  The problem is most were spending it on expensive cars, expensive bottles of booze, and lavish trips to Vegas.  I even heard about a loan officer at Fremont Mortgage that bought himself a helicopter.. LOL!

I guess my point is that many, if not most, people that catch these cyclical windfalls decide it's their chance to live like "ballers" and they don't take a long term view.  They simply suffer along with everyone else during the downturn, and they end up slaving away for many more years at drastically reduced wages.

This might be less true for those that reap technology windfalls - I don't know - but it's definitely true for finance.

 

[Hugo Township]

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

A pair of educated professionals should have no problem earning 200k between the two of them.  Even 150k for a pair of mid 20s educated professionals is doable.  Isn't that enough to afford a modest stucco box in Irvine?  What are you seeing that makes you believe a household of educated professionals doesn't add up?

Household income of $200k is like 20% of Irvine households. This statistical website claims it's 14.6% actually.https://statisticalatlas.com/place/California/Irvine/Household-Income

Maybe that's just UCI bringing the average down? Well, the median earn of a man >age 25 with a bachelor's degree is ~$76k, and for a woman >age 25 it's ~$52k. So for a median couple that would be $128k. I think saying "no problem earning $200k" is extremely overstating what most people actually earn who live in Irvine.https://statisticalatlas.com/place/California/Irvine/Educational-Attainment

 

[paperboyNC]

Household income of $200k is like 20% of Irvine households. This statistical website claims it's 14.6% actually.https://statisticalatlas.com/place/California/Irvine/Household-Income

Maybe that's just UCI bringing the average down? Well, the median earn of a man >age 25 with a bachelor's degree is ~$76k, and for a woman >age 25 it's ~$52k. So for a median couple that would be $128k. I think saying "no problem earning $200k" is extremely overstating what most people actually earn who live in Irvine.https://statisticalatlas.com/place/California/Irvine/Educational-Attainment

$128K isn't that far off from $200k.

Most families that I know living in Irvine have passive income in addition to their jobs.

 

[Kenkoko]

In Eastwood village, I see so many  what i feel are recent immigrants from china...I wonder what type of work they do to be able to afford to live here. Besides that, I am finding that a bunch of homes recently sold in Eastwood were bought by a handful of investors - Very same listing ad for rental soon after escrow close. These homes sold close to a million dollars and rented out the as soon as escrow closed....where is the money coming from? FCB....???

My uncles (Taiwanese FCB) lives in Eastwood and my cousin just recently moved there.
They tell me about 70-80% are Chinese. My uncle even stopped taking his english lessons because he does not feel the need to learn. Almost everyone he bumps into during his daily walk can speak chinese  ;D
My cousin is renting and the agent told us she has 3 other available properties in Eastwood for rent from the same owner.

 

[Mety]

Welcome back, YF!

 

[Kenkoko]

Welcome back, YF!

I presume this is directed at me. But i am not YF LOL!
I am actually a long time lurker that just recently decided to join the fun  ;D
I even had to pleasure of meeting USC (Martin) back in 2016 when we were flipping our Santa Ana Penthouse. (sorry Martin we wasted your time & thank you)

 

[Mety]

I don't exactly know what my neighbors are doing, but I'm seeing more and more husbands are staying home and wives are out for work. Husbands might be working from home making $$$ though.

 

[bones]

In Eastwood village, I see so many  what i feel are recent immigrants from china...I wonder what type of work they do to be able to afford to live here. Besides that, I am finding that a bunch of homes recently sold in Eastwood were bought by a handful of investors - Very same listing ad for rental soon after escrow close. These homes sold close to a million dollars and rented out the as soon as escrow closed....where is the money coming from? FCB....???

My uncles (Taiwanese FCB) lives in Eastwood and my cousin just recently moved there.
They tell me about 70-80% are Chinese. My uncle even stopped taking his english lessons because he does not feel the need to learn. Almost everyone he bumps into during his daily walk can speak chinese  ;D
My cousin is renting and the agent told us she has 3 other available properties in Eastwood for rent from the same owner.

Do any white people live in Eastwood?

 

[qwerty]

@paperboy - but how much passive income are we talking about really? This statement makes it sound like it?s a significant amount. If it?s rentals they must have an empire because one rental maybe throws off 300-500 of free cash per month, 3600 to 6000 per year if they are lucky?

 

[paperboyNC]

@paperboy - but how much passive income are we talking about really? This statement makes it sound like it?s a significant amount. If it?s rentals they must have an empire because one rental maybe throws off 300-500 of free cash per month, 3600 to 6000 per year if they are lucky?

Each individual's situation varies. Many have family trust funds in diversified investments. Others had stock options that they diversified. It's very foolish to assume that the salary of a couple is their only source of funds.

I worked with a guy who owned four franchise restaurants, another who owned 15 rental properties - mostly purchased in the 90s or earlier, another whose dad owned dozens of shopping centers. One of my neighbors doesn't work. Neither him or his wife. When he wants to move up, his dad pays cash.

 

[paperboyNC]

A neighbor kept his NorCal home as a rental when he moved here and recently unloaded it for a huge gain. His wife still owns some business

 

[qwerty]

You know a lot of rich folks.

And it?s not that foolish to think a salary is most peoples only income. The majority of the US population gets a w2

 

[Kenkoko]

Do any white people live in Eastwood?

Yes, my cousin already thanked me for picking the right house. Apparently there are 2 hot white girls living across the street who jogs almost naked.

 

[eyephone]

Do any white people live in Eastwood?

Yes, my cousin already thanked me for picking the right house. Apparently there are 2 hot white girls living across the street who jogs almost naked.

Rofl