ORANGE County, California, USA (North America)

Have you lived in or visited ORANGE County, California? Tell us about it!

San Clemente

October 2019 —  I am from a small beach town located in south orange county, CA known as San Clemente. I was born and raised there, went to school there, had my first love there, and got into all sorts of trouble there. When I turned 23 I had moved away to san diego to find a better or different way of living. After staying in san diego for about 5 years, i returned to san clemente to find it exactly the same, yet all the more different. There were new buildings, shopping centers, trollies, people. The town I once knew as home felt so alien to me. Almost like it wasnt real. I all of a sudden didnt feel very comfortable or even like I was in the same city. The poeple were even different. They were now all outsiders who decided to move there to raise their families. I cant be mad at them though for wanting to make a better life in such a perfect spot. But ever since going back there in 2018 I felt like Ive had to move on towards another place where I can raise my own family. Plus I dont want to get stuck there just like everybody else I grew up with.town is Yorba Linda in Orange County, California, United States. I grew up there in the early 1990s. Although it’s a fairly small city, it is surrounded by bigger cities. There are various different suburban type communities around the city, including hilly areas near the back where one could go hiking. Growing up here was pleasant as it was not super busy and you could easily walk to school or the local grocery store without issues. Due to the closer proximity and lack of crowds, there was always something to do or somewhere to go. I loved going to parks to play and even have good memories of grade school. There were always other kids to play with in my neighborhood and pleasant local communities. I really enjoyed going to my friend’s house which was nearby, and going to the neighborhood pool to swim on warm days. One specific memory I had was going to Richard Nixon’s funeral, as his birthplace was in Yorba Linda. A main thing I did not like about Yorba Linda was the summer weather. It could get very hot and stuffy during summer, so if there was no air conditioner it was difficult to stay cool. However, the winter weather was mild and it did not rain too often.

Yorba Linda

June 2018– The town is Yorba Linda in Orange County, California, United States. I grew up there in the early 1990s. Although it’s a fairly small city, it is surrounded by bigger cities. There are various different suburban type communities around the city, including hilly areas near the back where one could go hiking. Growing up here was pleasant as it was not super busy and you could easily walk to school or the local grocery store without issues. Due to the closer proximity and lack of crowds, there was always something to do or somewhere to go. I loved going to parks to play and even have good memories of grade school. There were always other kids to play with in my neighborhood and pleasant local communities. I really enjoyed going to my friend’s house which was nearby, and going to the neighborhood pool to swim on warm days. One specific memory I had was going to Richard Nixon’s funeral, as his birthplace was in Yorba Linda. A main thing I did not like about Yorba Linda was the summer weather. It could get very hot and stuffy during summer, so if there was no air conditioner it was difficult to stay cool. However, the winter weather was mild and it did not rain too often.

Newport Beach

June 2018 — I grew up in Newport Beach, California in the 1980s and 1990s. It was a beautiful place to live, located right off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. I spent my days playing at the beach, watching the sunset, swimming, laughing, building sandcastles. We took sailing lessons and surf lessons. We played beach volleyball and participated in Jr. Life Guards. We rode our bikes everywhere imaginable. Newport Beach is a small coastal city but has definitely grown in size. We would go whale watching, dolphin watching, and sea lion watching. It was a beautiful and fun place to live and grow and raise a family. We would oftentimes take the Catalina Flyer to Catalina Island during the summer to play at the beach there. We participated in all types of sports too. We loved the water and living at the beach. We had a big house full of animals and a big happy family. They have world famous Balboa Bars which are ice cream on a stick dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. There are several TV shows that were inspired by my hometown, The OC, Arrested Development and the movie Orange County to name a few. Many of the Real Housewives of Orange County live in Newport Beach. Although those shows stereotype Newport Beach, they’re mostly fictional and the things that are similar are extremely exaggerated for entertainment purposes. I suppose that is a pet peeve of mine, however, when I was growing up no one knew where Newport Beach was so now at least people can identify it.

Newport Beach

June 2018– I grew up in Newport Beach, CA, USA in the 60’s and 70’s. I lived in a 3 bedroom ranch in a pretty wealthy area. The parents were more relaxed back then. We did not lock doors during the day and kids just ran wild all over the neighborhood. We had a lot of freedom to roam. Our house was about a mile from the beach and we were allowed to ride down there and spend the day at age 10. We rode to the mall and I once almost ran into John Wayne, who said “Look where you’re goin’ little girl!”. (Really, we saw stars pretty regularly.) I earned spending money babysitting a newborn when I was 10! The town was booming and there was much construction. We played in the areas under construction after the workmen went home (Insurance nightmare!!!). Yards were neat and homes were maintained without HOA’s. We had fruit trees and my mom grew vegetables. She also rehabilitated wild birds for several organizations. She was known as the hummingbird lady in our area.

Irvine

January 2018 — Irvine, California is a quiet little suburb that’s a great place to raise a family. The schools are excellent, the libraries are clean, and there’s lots of shopping. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to grow up in a place where it was ok to leave your door unlocked, to have lawn furniture on your front lawn without it being stolen, or to have a dozen parks a stone’s throw away in which to run or play with pets, until I moved away to the city. Residents from Irvine may not be as sophisticated as people from L.A., as relaxed and carefree as people from San Diego, or as hip as the people from Santa Ana, but I believe there’s a shared appreciation of harmony and order that unites the city.

As a teenager though, there was nothing worse than growing up in a boring town. I spent my Saturdays reading books at Borders (RIP), renting Blockbuster movies (RIP), or getting Starbucks and walking around the mall with friends. As you can tell from that description, it’s a pretty well-off place. Many of my classmates lived in these huge mansions overlooking the hills. Some even had their own tennis courts and horses (!). I think the sedentary nature of the town spawned a lot of creative types- artists, skateboarders, musicians, and the like, who wanted to go and add some chaos into the world. Irvine is the bland, steady foundation upon which to build a masterpiece.

Since growing up there in the 90s, it’s unfortunately gotten even more expensive to live and work in that area. My whole family has moved to other cities because we just couldn’t make it work financially. But if you come into a windfall of cash, Irvine is a fantastic place to raise a family. Just don’t be too surprised if your kids turn out to be punk rockers fighting “the Man”.