Posted this in the job forum, but I thought i'd post it here too. I am considering a position out there and was wondering what everyone's thought on this area? Ideally I would want to live in LA or Santa Monica, since I figured there would be more to do for someone like me (27male and single).

The commute from LA is too much for me

I'm about your age and live/work in Costa Mesa/Newport....have been here for a few months. I'd recommend just living in this area vs LA, the commute doesn't sound worth it. There is plenty to do, and enough younger people around to find things to do on weekends. Newport rent can be expensive, so I'd recommend living in the "good" part of Costa Mesa that basically borders Newport and is a mile or two from the ocean.

LA is 45 miles away, and SD is 90 miles in the other direction. Overall as good of a location as you can ask for.

Did you live in Texas before? I was just wondering what your thoughts on the cost of living adjustments were.

Yeah, in Uptown in Dallas most recently. I posted it in the Job Network thread, but the vast majority of the REAL cost of living difference is solely tied to state taxes (7-10% vs 0% in Texas)....Compared to places like Uptown in Dallas and Midtown in Houston at least, you can find places to rent that are "only" $150-$200 more a month, if you do your homework and take your time looking. Gas is maybe $0.60/gallon more....going out, eating out, grocery shopping is the exact same...car insurance is $10-15 more (again, if you do your homework)...utilitiy bills are lower, lots of places don't have or need AC so that helps.

At the end of the day, its state taxes plus maybe $200-300 a month is the differnce, at least for me personally. If you're talking abou buying a house here, its a completley different ballgame and I can't really comment on it!

I live in Placentia, north of Anaheim. I'm about 6 miles north of Disneyland

I'm in newport, large under 30 crowd who rent along the beach and tons to do both day and night...buying here is a whole different animal but your prop will increase at a rate rarely seen and I don't think we will ever leave..

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Double...

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Im a little late to the convo but for what its worth I've rented in Newport for 5 years and lived in Huntington for a yr before that. Moved straight from Aggieland when I was 22 and single and now Im 27 and married.

You def want to live in OC if you're working in Irvine. I really enjoyed my time on the Newport peninsula when I was single. I'd liken it to Uptown Dallas but on the beach. Rent isn't too bad if you find roommates. Finding roommates isn't too hard hand most ppl on the peninsula are imports like us. My best buddies here are all from out-of-state.

G'luck and let me know if you have any questions.