Tell me about your town

[blueerica]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I didn't say affordable, I said "affordable".

To work in Santa Ana and live anywhere that you can actually purchase a home for under $500,000 (if you want to live near Santa Ana, you're lucky to get a condo in a decent neighborhood for $400k), you have to endure a commute over a distance that, without traffic, would take ~20-30 minutes but with normal rush hour traffic can take upwards of 90 minutes - 2 hours. And, seeing as you're likely to want to come into the heart of OC or go up to LA more often than not for entertainment, you'd be making that drive. A lot.

Don't get me wrong, if you can afford the outrageous prices to either purchase or rent, and/or you can deal with abominable traffic, it's got a lot to offer. But it's hard to understate those two issues here.

My mom got a condo 4 years ago that's a stone's throw from Santa Ana in Costa Mesa off Fairview and South Coast. It was $350 K (I think), and in a great neighborhood. The plus-side to that place is that you can get into any area of Santa Ana (traffic or not) within 20 minutes without speeding or running red lights. Just don't get on the freeway there from 7AM to 11AM or from 2PM to 7-8PM.

Hahaha.