GrowthStateofMind
Active member
Fremont takes No. 1, with seven other California cities on the list, including Irvine at No. 8 and Huntington Beach at No. 25
2026 Happiest Cities in America
- Thread starter GrowthStateofMind
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NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
But specifically on Fremont- it’s subjective but I would take Irvine’s weather over Fremont. Access to the beach is better in Irvine. Food is a tie. Schools despite the rankings does not move the needle that much. But agreed that Mission San Jose is top ranked. End of the day you have similar cultures- parents who care and schools with resources.
Much easier to live and work in Irvine though which means you could have a 10-20 min commute. In Fremont, if you are going into the office while there are some jobs there odds are people are commuting an hour one way. This affects your quality of life. What’s the point of paying $2-3MM for a home but you commute an hour one way to go to work. Once you are back from work you will be tired to do the things that you enjoy in life. If you could live in Irvine and work in Irvine/Newport beach which has plenty of high paying white collar jobs, you have hit the jackpot.
Yes of course you have the single young adult who is earning $150K+ and renting in a high rise building but I would say they would be a minority. Same with a couple in their 30’s or 40’s who are earning more than $200K or $300K, have the downpayment for a home but are choosing to rent for various reasons.
On Irvine real estate- in the last few years there have been ups and downs with any city whether it’s in OC or elsewhere but as it’s been discussed ad nauseam on here- 10 years ago, if you search these forums- there were comments on how Irvine RE is expensive, ten years later, it’s still expensive and the same homes that were expensive a decade ago costs $1-1.5MM more now. Top of mind- look at the homes in Montecito/woodbury. Plenty of other examples and there is nothing special about Montecito (if anything the motor court homes may not be very appealing for some people) but I mention it because just recently came across a $2.25MM new listing there and so searched for comments and wanted to know the discussion and what they were selling for 10-15 years ago. And odds are 10 years later, there will still be comments on how it’s expensive. It may not be unique to Irvine. I suspect it’s the case with other desirable places like the peninsula/parts of east bay. It is what it is. Lot more people want to buy than the people want to sell, that does not appear to be changing. Safety, cleanliness, schools, diverse cuisines etc makes the city desirable. Other affluent suburbs also have a lot of this. But perhaps what makes the city unique in the long run is the Irvine company and IPD wanting things to stay the way they are now. Irvine company may do it for selfish reasons given their multi family, retail and office exposure but unintentionally homeowners get to benefit from that as well. Anyway tough to predict the future but I am not betting against the real estate here, maybe we can come back here 10 years from now and see how things look? Can’t be happy or sad about a short term projected gain/loss, let’s reassess 10 years from now.
CalBears96
Well-known member
ND has two cities in the top 5?
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Have 2 separate friends that have lived in Seattle, they say the weather is depressing so it's interesting it made #15.
Isn't Fremont even more expensive than Irvine?
Isn't Fremont even more expensive than Irvine?
But they are happier!
Ready2Downsize
Well-known member
My sister in law used to live in Fremont and as I recall it's built out so most likely people have lived in their houses with low house payments.But they are happier!
CalBears96
Well-known member
I don't think Fremont is more expensive than Irvine. And Fremont is quite a bit cheaper than the Santa Clara County cities to the south, but commuting to San Jose for work is a pain though.
Slightly more expensive. Per Gemini:
- Fremont (Q1 2026): Recent median price per square foot ranges between $850 and $926.
- Irvine (Q1 2026): Recent median price per square foot ranges between $810 and $832.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Los Gatos is like Newport - where the white people (mostly) live. One of my best friends I made living up there is a local, played QB at LGHS and bought his parent’s single level 4 br pad with a yard and pool
In the early 90s in a very sweet prop 13 deal. Lots of those kinds of owners in LG. Saratoga and Los Altos and Cupertino are where Asian ballers want to be. Some parts of Sunnyvale. Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Hillsborough, Portola Valley are rarified. And we haven’t even touched on stupidity rich Marin County towns like Belvedere or Ross.
In the early 90s in a very sweet prop 13 deal. Lots of those kinds of owners in LG. Saratoga and Los Altos and Cupertino are where Asian ballers want to be. Some parts of Sunnyvale. Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Hillsborough, Portola Valley are rarified. And we haven’t even touched on stupidity rich Marin County towns like Belvedere or Ross.
GrowthStateofMind
Active member
How’s Mountain View these days? I liked the quaint vibe there when I first visited 20 years ago.
A theory- Fremont’s renter rate is significantly lower than Irvine's renter rate. Could that have helped Fremont in these rankings? Sure renting may not necessarily make someone unhappy automatically but outside of a few exceptions (someone who has plenty of savings for a down payment and can afford to buy in an expensive area like Fremont or Irvine but chooses to rent), odds are if you are renting in these places for the school district, life isn’t better than owning in my opinion. Rental stock is not great, rent would keep increasing, finances would be tight, etc.
But specifically on Fremont- it’s subjective but I would take Irvine’s weather over Fremont. Access to the beach is better in Irvine. Food is a tie. Schools despite the rankings does not move the needle that much. But agreed that Mission San Jose is top ranked. End of the day you have similar cultures- parents who care and schools with resources.
Much easier to live and work in Irvine though which means you could have a 10-20 min commute. In Fremont, if you are going into the office while there are some jobs there odds are people are commuting an hour one way. This affects your quality of life. What’s the point of paying $2-3MM for a home but you commute an hour one way to go to work. Once you are back from work you will be tired to do the things that you enjoy in life. If you could live in Irvine and work in Irvine/Newport beach which has plenty of high paying white collar jobs, you have hit the jackpot.
One little difference: there are 100x the number of $200K+ jobs near Fremont compared to Irvine. I moved back to South OC from San Jose for lifestyle but stil commute for my job because the streets of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties are paved with gold.
Very expensive - 2 decades of Google RSUs
Liar Loan
Well-known member
Renters are paying half as much as owners to live and don't have down payment money tied up in an asset that is losing to inflation (Irvine homes for the past four years) so renters are probably not the drag on happiness that you suspect.
Agreed on the number of high paying opportunities in the bay area especially in tech. It’s not even close and If you have to be in the office in the Bay Area, you have no other choice. There are some tech high paying jobs in OC but a lot more white collar jobs in finance, law, health care, etc. But you moved for the lifestyle right? Now imagine if you were one of the lucky/privileged ones that had a local high paying job but also lived in the same city here in OC that you worked in? The quality of life would be even better. That’s hard to beat. That’s my point- if you are lucky/privileged to have this lifestyle, weather, food, access to the beach/mountains and if you have a 10-20 min commute, that’s a great life in my view.
Yes rent is far less than the mortgage, but when you think of a renter who are you thinking of? The image I have in mind is a middle class family with 2 kids living in a 1or 2BD Irvine company apartment in a space that feels a little tight. You want a bigger space but rent is a lot more for a 3BD apartment and after paying rent and expenses there is little left over to invest or save. You are waiting for the day the kids graduate so you can move because you don’t need to be in a specific area for the public schools. Could you blame them if they are not as happy as someone who has more privilege and that does not mean automatically homeowners, it’s people who are in financially a better place, they are more secure, have a solid rainy day fund- those just tend to be home owners typically. And it’s not for the most part homeowners who put 3 or 5% down, it’s ones who used a jumbo loan and were well qualified with plenty of reserves set aside for a rainy day.
Yes of course you have the single young adult who is earning $150K+ and renting in a high rise building but I would say they would be a minority. Same with a couple in their 30’s or 40’s who are earning more than $200K or $300K, have the downpayment for a home but are choosing to rent for various reasons.
On Irvine real estate- in the last few years there have been ups and downs with any city whether it’s in OC or elsewhere but as it’s been discussed ad nauseam on here- 10 years ago, if you search these forums- there were comments on how Irvine RE is expensive, ten years later, it’s still expensive and the same homes that were expensive a decade ago costs $1-1.5MM more now. Top of mind- look at the homes in Montecito/woodbury. Plenty of other examples and there is nothing special about Montecito (if anything the motor court homes may not be very appealing for some people) but I mention it because just recently came across a $2.25MM new listing there and so searched for comments and wanted to know the discussion and what they were selling for 10-15 years ago. And odds are 10 years later, there will still be comments on how it’s expensive. It may not be unique to Irvine. I suspect it’s the case with other desirable places like the peninsula/parts of east bay. It is what it is. Lot more people want to buy than the people want to sell, that does not appear to be changing. Safety, cleanliness, schools, diverse cuisines etc makes the city desirable. Other affluent suburbs also have a lot of this. But perhaps what makes the city unique in the long run is the Irvine company and IPD wanting things to stay the way they are now. Irvine company may do it for selfish reasons given their multi family, retail and office exposure but unintentionally homeowners get to benefit from that as well. Anyway tough to predict the future but I am not betting against the real estate here, maybe we can come back here 10 years from now and see how things look? Can’t be happy or sad about a short term projected gain/loss, let’s reassess 10 years from now.
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