[quote author="bkshopr" date=1228463956]Irvine is a city planned following a set of well designed templates and grew by repetition of successful formulated homes so in keeping with its motto I am going to honor the spirit of Irvine by recycling my old posts from a year and a half ago.
The house that I lived in last was repeated in 6 different neighborhoods in Irvine. When I listed my home there were a total of 35 identical houses listed as well. It really hurt the comp when the buyers can use them as negotiation advantage.
Just in my neighborhood alone 40 homes shared the same plan. My relatives from LA could never remember the distinctive character of the street because there is no visual landmark. Every residential street in Irvine is 35? wide and a 6? of grass on both side and a 4? sidewalk. There are only 3 types of trees, California Pepper, Eucalyptus, and Olive. My relative knocked on the wrong beige houses on many occasions.
Every neighborhood is surrounded by perimeter walls like the Forbidden City. I rarely see people walk on the sidewalks or use the parks. The only people I saw there regularly were the maintenance crew having lunch.
I never saw my neighbors because they live behind their garage. They used their garage as a primary entry. The neighbors never saw each other because most living spaces of the homes were off the tiny backyard. 5 neighbors were contiguous to my rear yard and 3 were at the back and 2 on my sides. I knew their bathroom habit well because I could see the lighting frequency and timing. All my neighbor?s second floor windows viewed down to my yard so I never used it. They looked down on to my window so I kept the blinds closed most of the time.
Our front yards were small so no one bothered to spend time manicuring their front. There was definitely no social interaction on the street.
The street was very wide and several kids playing on the street were almost run over by speeding cars so parents never let their kids out playing on the street again.
I waved to a neighbor adjoining my rear sometime but I could never locate the front of his house which is accessed from a completely different street. The front architectural style and the back never matched so I could never figure it out. The back was plain and stripped while many fronts were trimmed like a Vegas hotel.
The only thing that I knew about my neighbors was the new Mercedes and BMWs they parked on the driveway. Once a year I do see them doing Christmas decorations. Everyone got the same decoration from Target that year.
I never made friends during the 18 years living in Irvine. The story has been the same for my co-workers as well.
The best things were my homes were never burglarized and my kids got good grades from school. I made more friends here at IHB than the 18 years living in Irvine.
Homes in Irvine were inspired by San Marino architecture except in SM the parcel of land is much bigger with a real functional yard. Curb appeal is a million times more attractive that the repetition of cookie cutter facades in Irvine. Homes in San Marino are not dominated by garages and driveways. Mature trees and real front yards are much more attractive.
I lived in several neighborhoods in Irvine since the late 80?s. I would have to say I never knew my neighbors and was never greeted by them. Many neighbors did not know each other also. I wonder if this is a social issue if the neighborhood when Irvine is so crime free there is not a need for neighbors to get know each other to form support group to defend the territory.
Or may be the behavior is driven by livable part of the homes never engage the street combining with never using the front door and the lack of front yard gardening. No one really saw each other. All my neighbors drive into the garage and directly access into the home and rolled down the garage door quickly. The streets are deserted and the width is way too wide and that encourage speeding therefore parent rarely allow their kids to play on the street and they play at the parks.
I see families at the parks but they are from other neighborhoods. I talked to them and never see them again for another 6 months. I bought in Northpark 6 years ago and 80% of my neighbors sold their homes and moved up to a bigger house. I never saw them again. Pedestrians are rare in Irvine. All the sidewalks and beautiful parkways the Irvine Company incorporated into many communities rarely get utilized. Everyone drives to his or her destination. Pedestrians sometime are stopped by the Police on Culver and the Jeffrey Open space hobo managed to exercise his civil right in avoiding the slammer.
Most home buyers consider their home as an investment and transitory home. Homes are treated as a business transaction. None of these homes will ever become Grandma?s house where 3 generations would gather home for the Holidays. No one stays in their homes for a long period of time. Neighbors come and go and rarely stay in touch. The culture in Irvine is really about keeping up with the Joneses, Wongs or Chos. "I want you to be envious of what I have" I wonder if the environment is harvesting this type of thinking.
Pelican Hills, Crystal Cove, Ocean Ridge, and Shady Canyon are even worse for neighbor interaction. The only interactions I hear from them are bickering. "Your tree is blocking my view" and "I am envious of you because you got away with your detached casita having a second kitchen".
All in all for different folks there are different strokes. Irvine is a perfect textbook city cased studied by Ivy League school scholars. I lived there for many years and I felt much ?liberated? after moved away. Irvine for many is a perfect place with numerous positive attributes. The perfection was what attracted me there in the first place for secured investment shelter and good schools. As I grew older I have gained appreciation for legacy neighborhoods that evolved over a long period of time. Houses along the same street were built 6 decades apart with various home additions that tell a story of several generations. Trees were allowed to canopy over the street and homes with sizable yards to accommodate avocado and citrus trees. Adding a white picket fence would not result a warning from the HOA. No two homes are alike and there are as many homes with plaster and wood sidings. Most importantly, there are old men and old ladies walking on the sidewalk as well as young mothers with strollers and none seemed to harvest the stuck up attitude that I experienced the last 18 years living in Irvine.</blockquote>
BK, Thanks a lot for making that post. You seem to be one awesome, genuine guy. I can't believe you lived in Irvine for 18 years and did not make any new friends. I would be hesitant in my decision to moving there if that was truly the case. I got a chance to meet one guy in person from the IHB and he is super successful, but seems to be really humble about it at the same time. I hear ya, I hate trying to keep up with 'Kims' or the 'Wangs' and trying to impress other stuck up, snobby, materialistic Asians who don't even like me. I never really had any problems trying to keep up with the 'Smith'. I believe that the IHB will become a new social network that will allow people to connect and make new friends who live in Irvine and OC. Hope to make "down to earth" friends like you once i move out there. Thanks again for your insightful post.
Panda
