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Old 10-01-2015, 03:15 PM
 
Location: New York, Ny
11 posts, read 21,632 times
Reputation: 14

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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.
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Old 10-01-2015, 03:19 PM
 
3,437 posts, read 3,284,294 times
Reputation: 2508
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC_Dweller View Post
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.
looking for Downtown? how about the Downtown Disney?
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Old 10-01-2015, 03:23 PM
 
Location: New York, Ny
11 posts, read 21,632 times
Reputation: 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by payutenyodagimas View Post
looking for Downtown? how about the Downtown Disney?
Funny you bring that up. Is DT Disney a place that is opened to the public or is admission required? I was just browsing that the other day.
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Old 10-01-2015, 04:19 PM
 
3,437 posts, read 3,284,294 times
Reputation: 2508
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC_Dweller View Post
Funny you bring that up. Is DT Disney a place that is opened to the public or is admission required? I was just browsing that the other day.
yes its open to the public..we used to go there when we don't have a kid yet to watch movies and dine and get free entertainment
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Old 10-01-2015, 04:49 PM
 
1,874 posts, read 2,231,760 times
Reputation: 3037
You might like Belmont Shores/Naples/Downtown Long Beach, Old Town Orange, DT Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Corona Del Mar, Laguna Beach, Balboa Island/Peninsula, or DT Santa Ana. Much of Orange County is a suburb with a lot of strip malls and parking lots (not terribly unlike New Jersey). If you're accustom to Manhattan or the surrounding boroughs, it can be quite a shock.
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Old 10-02-2015, 08:11 AM
 
5,381 posts, read 8,683,351 times
Reputation: 4550
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC_Dweller View Post
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.
Try Laguna Beach or San Clemente, but you won't find anything in Orange County that approximates NYC. It just takes a while to get accustomed to, and appreciate, the stark differences.

Signed,

Former Manhattanite
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Old 10-02-2015, 12:40 PM
 
Location: New York, Ny
11 posts, read 21,632 times
Reputation: 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwong7 View Post
You might like Belmont Shores/Naples/Downtown Long Beach, Old Town Orange, DT Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Corona Del Mar, Laguna Beach, Balboa Island/Peninsula, or DT Santa Ana. Much of Orange County is a suburb with a lot of strip malls and parking lots (not terribly unlike New Jersey). If you're accustom to Manhattan or the surrounding boroughs, it can be quite a shock.
Thanks for the info... adding those to my "to-do" list. Your reference regarding NJ strip malls is spot on lol. Indeed, Irvine is a shock.
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Old 10-14-2015, 02:33 AM
 
75 posts, read 108,589 times
Reputation: 188
To deny that Irvine is a less comfortable existence than NYC would be disingenuous at best.
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Old 10-14-2015, 07:02 AM
 
Location: Rust'n in Tustin
3,265 posts, read 3,927,062 times
Reputation: 7048
Quote:
Originally Posted by pacific2 View Post
but you won't find anything in Orange County that approximates NYC.
And that's the way, (uh huh, uh huh), I like it - KC and the Sunshine Band
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Old 10-15-2015, 01:28 AM
 
671 posts, read 1,189,851 times
Reputation: 529
Try Balboa Island just over the hill from Irvine in Newport Beach. Also, San Clemente Pier at the rail platform (or walk along the beach to get to the Pier from the "San Clemente" station that is served ONLY by Metrolink), San Juan Capistrano (both sides of the railroad tracks), Orange (featured in a ton of movies as the quaint Mid-western town with its traffic circle), and Fullerton for OC downtown/villages with adjacent rail stations served by Metrolink and Amtrak trains. There are other village type of towns in OC, but they are best visited by car.

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. Also, Amtrak provides service to downtown San Diego and downtown Santa Barbara. You can easily do a day-trip to either. Take a late morning train and head back to Irvine at the end of the day. Fortunately, Irvine has a Transportation Center/train station served by both Amtrak and Metrolink. And Irvine being what it is, it also has a HUGE parking garage, so there should be plenty of spaces available for you to park. That is not always the case at the stations in OC that have the adjacent downtown/villages, so Irvine is being good to you.

Go to lacmta-dot-net for MTA subway, light rail lines and schedules
Go to metrolinktrains-dot-com for 5 county LA metro area commuter rail
Go to amtrak-dot-com and research Pacific Surfliner trains schedules etc.

Irvine is what it is, and a lot of people like it the way it is. It is great living for them. Good grief. Start exploring.

Last edited by HarryKerryJr; 10-15-2015 at 01:38 AM..
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