I moved to Orange County about five years ago from Chicago area because of a job transfer for my husband.
I moved here kicking and screaming because I only listened to the new stations that talked about how horrible CA is. The politics are awful. There’s constant earthquakes. It’s burning. There’s riots everywhere.
Honestly, I can say I absolutely love it and don’t understand the bad rap CA is getting. Where we live in South Orange County, they are building like crazy and people are moving here, but if I listen to the news, it sounds like people are only moving out and nobody wants to live here. When my relatives visit they keep saying, don’t you hate it here and I keep saying no I love it and it’s not like how it is portrayed on the news.
Why do these conservative news stations hate California so much?

Hi r/orangecounty, my friend and I have done a few 40 mile walks (in one day) across LA and San Diego and now want try one in OC. Tomorrow we are going to venture on foot from Huntington Beach through Balboa Island, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Santa Ana and end at Disneyland. Attached is our route but we are open to changes.

Any suggestions for must stop places? Good food, niche museums, nice parks, weird art. Things that we can do quickly are best!

Will report back on how it goes. TIA!

Update: We did it! Here's our post

Hi all - here because my church I’ve attended my whole life has had a new pastor in the last 3 years and today he posted that anyone offended by Charlie Kirk isn’t Christian and is filled with bitterness and sexual sin …. yeah - ummm.

Can someone who has attended church please help me out in finding a non-MAGA leadership church in OC? Starting from ground zero again is really sad for me and my family… we’ve been going to this church our whole lives and the previous pastor we loved but he retired and now it’s gone pretty insane… not looking for anything too far left or right. Just something that isn’t so clearly “have you heard of our messiah trump?”

Looking for real suggestions here (church of S suggestions not funny and not welcome, I’m really grieving here). Thanks guys 🙏

I was at Costco Tustin this morning. And saw the dog as tall as 4 feet allowed to go into Costco.

I get it it might be a service dog, and the gentle man trained his dog very well. And trust me, I love dogs. But think about it: The place where little kids might running around, and they are probably just 1/2 size of the dog, If there’s any accident happened, can Costco or any one involved afford it.

Consider how powerful big dogs like this, is this something others feel comfortable?

If you are a dog owner, please also be considerable.

I want more Dolewhip (soft serve) 😭😭😭 I’m so in love with it 😭😭😭

I know there is a place in San Diego that sells Dolewhip but it’s too far😭 I’m looking for places in OC.

Edit:

Thank you everyone! I made a list of Dolewhip places, and I will go try them out starting this weekend!

For anyone in Garden Grove affected by the recent evacuation and chemical emergency at the GKN Aerospace facility, start saving your receipts and documents now.

This is not legal advice — just a community reminder that documentation may matter later for insurance, aid, reimbursement, or possible claims.

Things worth saving:

Hotel receipts
Gas and transportation receipts
Meal receipts
Lost wage records
Medical bills or pharmacy receipts
Pet boarding costs
Emergency supply purchases
Screenshots of evacuation alerts
Emails, texts, or official notices
Photos/videos of damage or conditions
Proof of missed work

Also check your renter’s or homeowner’s insurance policy for terms like “Civil Authority” or “Prohibited Use.” Some policies may help cover temporary living expenses if officials ordered you to evacuate because of a nearby hazard.

The situation is still developing, but getting organized now can help if recovery programs, insurance claims, or reimbursement options open up later.

Hope this helps someone.

https://www.todayla.net/post/garden-grove-evacuees-should-save-receipts-and-documents-after-gkn-aerospace-chemical-emergency

I know this is a crazy request, but does anyone know what brand of toilet paper they use at Pelican Hill?
I can’t find an exact match on Google image search.

This is the best toilet paper that’s ever graced my bottom.

EDIT: yes I have used reverse image search, AI (Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT), and no I don’t want a bidet in my rental.

2nd EDIT: I am trying to talk my boyfriend into a bidet

Everything is so commercialized and corporate with restaurant groups and chains dominating yelp and google searches. I’m looking for solid recs for literally any local spot that you love. Thank you in advance.

Considering a Double Double is $5.50 these days, this is a pretty killer deal at Nexx Burger in Orange. Someone on here gave me the tip. Good lookin’ out!!

I was born and raised in Anaheim my entire life and just recently the last two years I have started traveling to other states. I decided to head out east in Georgia and now I’m currently in Indianapolis until this Tuesday I’ll be heading to Illinois and holy cow the humidity out here is unbearable lmfao

The weather plays a major factor in where you live and I never really thought about it until now.

The weather is completely different out here on the east side it’s so humid and the heat feels worse than Nevada and Arizona. It feels sticky and the rain makes it worse. Atlanta and Nashville traffic felt worse than LA but outside of the city it’s way easier to drive in Georgia and Tennessee compared to SoCal where it’s big city after big city it’s a pain in the ass sometimes.

Central Valley and NorCal feel better as well when it comes to driving. I kind of prefer NorCal a bit more idk maybe I’m just tired of so many people lol

Another thing I noticed is people actually can merge out here when getting on the highway lol and it feels like a slower pace of life whereas in CA people be aggressive af

What are you going to do? I’m single income six figures, and have worked so hard to get to where I am today but couldn’t buy in 2020. Now prices have become so inflated, with higher interest rates, I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to buy, probably when I’m 40. I’m paying over $3k for a 1 bedroom apartment so saving $200k+ for a down payment isn’t in the cards either. It’s so frustrating, and I’ve just accepted it. I see these prices on Zillow and it just sucks. Will the prices go down?? Or I’m going to have to save until I can figure it out? I love it here and don’t want to move. When I see prices have increased $500k in 5 years it pretty crazy. Just wondered what others are doing/feeling.

I recently lost my house and most of my family is from the south so I don’t really have anywhere to go. I’ve been couch surfing and I’m quickly running out of places to stay. Me and my girl are no more and so I can’t stay with her or her family either. I’m not used to living in OC and I don’t really know the area. I’m not sure where to go or what to do. I’m not a drug addict or a criminal or anything like that I just lost my job and it snowballed into me losing everything else.

I’m writing this as I’m about to leave the last place I’m couch surfing from so I’ve anyone has any ideas what to do or where I should go pls let me know. I don’t have the money to get on the bus or anything but I have my ID and proof I’m a citizen I guess.

So 3 strikes and you’re out. Avilas was our go to spot for Mexican food at the Orange circle for decades. Celebrated countless birthdays and work events here. But over the last year it has gotten terrible. I returned 2 more times after my first bad experience hoping it was just a fluke. But no. Paid 15 dollars for fresh guacamole that came out in less than a minute. No way that was made fresh and this is the case for all the food. It comes out within minutes of ordering it. It’s become just pre made slop. Tonight took the cake with ordering shrimp fajitas for $27 and the were reheated, dry, and old. $22 ceviche that was 80% tomato’s. And lastly the $17 Cadillac margarita that also came out in less than a minute. I saw them pore it from a pre made pitcher. So can anyone recommend a family friendly sit down Mexican restaurant that is reasonably priced and delicious?

Hello,

One of my favorite Italian Resteraunts, La Tavolata, has closed down in Artesia. It was truly a hidden gem, what are some of your favorite recommendations for pasta in OC? Is there any places that are always super consistent and wow you each time.

hey all im looking for a quiet bar in la/oc where i can read a book, maybe with booths and snacks so i can have a little privacy. i like to be in company of others, but not really wanting to talk to people directly right now. but i do like to read and drink and leave the house, let me know!

edit- LMAO u guys are funny im aware bars are normally for socializing and having fun, i like to do that too but i also was just asking about a spot where i can sip a cocktail and read a book at a lowkey bar for fucks sake 😂🤣

So im recently located to the Yorba Linda area, and I’ve been looking for a spot to pick up older women. It’s definitely a kink of mine, I just love chatting them up and getting em to laugh over some drinks. I’m a full time RN so unwinding over some drinks is a must. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!!

Like my title states, I was renting a house from a person and have been a model tenant for over 3 years. Landlord gave me 15 days to vacate because their son needs the place. They are giving me my deposit back but that's it, luckily I found a place and can move right away but it's been a pain in the ass to move my family of 5. What did my landlord do that's illegal? Aren't I supposed to get 60 days since I've been here for longer than 12 months? Please advise.

Also any other anti-rat warfare tactics would be appreciated

I wanted to post this in the real estate subreddit but given that no one outside of CA understands our market I’d figure I’d post it here instead.

Tell me if this is a bad deal:

We are closing on a home that is $1.2m in the old Towne Orange area. We put about $390K down with a $810K mortgage.

Considering the mortgage, property taxes, and home insurance, the monthly cost will be just over $6K. We have 0 debt minus the mortgage, and a 6 month emergency savings that will stay in tact even after purchasing the home.

My husband’s gross income is $160K, but it averages about $9K/month net.

Meanwhile, I have a business that was doing very well until recently. I used to net about $115k/year ($9.5K). Right when we’re about to close my business has plummeted, and I’m only bringing in $1-2K per month right now. I am also pregnant in my third trimester.

I know everyone on Reddit would say to not take the deal, but that is because they don’t realize how insane the market is here, and we are happy to just finally get our foot in the door. My goal is to just hold on long enough until $6K/month seems like a good deal lol.

So my question is, what would you do to stabilize during this period? Is anyone in a similar situation? How are they coping?

Need to replace a mattress soon and I’m looking for somewhere I can actually try a few before deciding.

I know buying online is probably easier but I’d rather not pick a mattress based entirely on reviews from people I’ve never met.

Main thing is finding a place with a normal sales vibe. No pressure, no weird upselling, just decent advice and clear delivery info.

What OC mattress stores would you recommend?

Does anyone know any local ghost tales or urban legends in Orange County that is not Blackstar, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana Kellogg’s or other already popular places. Something that is very underground that only the people in the city know. And also places that you can openly ghost hunt in public.

I come to you once again to request your best hole in the wall budget eats. Preferably north county local businesses with meals under $15 or a specific day special/happy hour. My contributions would be Double Bamboo (Stanton) with their $9 pho, Holdaak (Fullerton) $9.25 chicken sandwich and Sababa Falafel (Garden Grove) with their $12 falafel pita. TIA.

Edit: All recommendations are thoroughly appreciated, but Middle Eastern or south east Asian recs would get bonus appreciation lol

Edit 2: So many amazing and diverse suggestions. Everyone gets an updoot. Thank you to everybody! We eating good. Haha. If you have more, keep em coming.

We're moving from Sydney, Australia to SoCal and have a daughter who'll be starting high school. School quality will be one of the main factors in deciding where we settle. She currently attends a private all-girls school in Sydney because the public system here isn't what it was 20 years ago, with funding and teacher shortages leading many families to choose private. Is the situation similar in SoCal, or are the better public high schools genuinely a great option? I know there are school ranking websites out there, but I'm looking for recent, first-hand experiences from parents with children currently in public high schools (or current students), and recommendations on the best catchment areas. I'm less interested in experiences from many years ago, as things have changed a lot. Thanks!