Bicoastal - NYC & Irvine, CA

[urbancuriosity]

Originally Posted by NYC_Dweller

Hello,

Recently moved to Irvine from NYC. I'm actually bicoastal since I travel back and forth from NYC to Irvine at least twice a month.

I've been here for 3 months and is it a shocker. I enjoy the cleanliness and well kept streets but definitely lacks a quaint downtown with shops, mom & pops restaurants & bars.

I believe I've explored most of Irvine but never came across a section with sidewalks, storefronts & general entertainment. Am I missing something or does that not exist here? Seems like everything is in a strip mall or shopping center.

Please let me know if there are places that I should check out.

I've lived in Irvine for many years. Irvine is a planned city (with a few micro-pockets of disorder). Much of Irvine is governed by HOAs which provide a degree of stability in terms of appearance. Most neighborhoods in Irvine look nice. You'll find very little that's unstructured. Even the strip malls look nice. You won't find a typical "urban scene." It's just not there. Outside of Irvine, you can find quaint walkable areas such as the core of Laguna Beach, or downtown San Clemente. Nothing like NYC.

Our public transportation is next to non-existent. This is an area for cars. Yes there are bike paths all over but, personally, I would avoid biking on major roads here.

Some like it. Some don't.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Move to the coastal cities. Irvine is for families and is boring. But it works.

[Chava61]

I guess one could go to the Spectrum Shopping Mall for things the OP is looking for:
https://www.irvinespectrumcenter.com/

NYC is so very different than Orange County from my experiences (having traveled back and fore myself).

[Veritas Vincit]

Thread is 8 years old. I imagine OP's either gotten used to it or moved away.



My impression of Irvine is large boulevards lined by trees, subdivisions, strip malls and office parks hidden behind walls. I don't really like it. I'm a fan of suburban spaces, but that choice makes an area seem uninviting and deader than it actually is.



If you go back to post-war suburbia, there was a more blended approach where subdivisions and their adjacent areas were more integrated and the transition more gradual. I feel like that's closer to the suburban ideal.

[CorporateCowboy]

I can understand why one might compare/contrast NYC to LA, but NYC to Irvine? Not so much.:-)

[Winter Coven]

Originally Posted by HarryKerryJr

Since you are from NYC, if you really want to explore, you can take Amtrak or Metrolink commuter trains to LA Union Station and explore Downtown LA, Wilshire Center/Koreatown, Los Feliz District, Hollywood, South Pasadena (a personal favorite), Pasadena, Long Beach, Clairemont, Downtown Culver City and by early next year, Santa Monica--all accessible by rail public transit.

Just for clarification, the L.A. County city served by Metrolink is Claremont.

Clairemont is a neighborhood of San Diego.