Why Do the Chinese Love Irvine?

irvine ppl are also spoiled in a way... the only reason they are not reeling that their homes are 30-40% underwater still like the rest of americana and only 10-15% underwater (maybe even less now) is because of FCB's... cities in riverside are declaring bankrupt while nice neighborhoods are becoming ghetto (when i first moved to the west side, it was great, and now ppl leaving shopping carts out on the curb right outside my condo complex is the norm AND the unit downstairs just listed at a HUGE discount AND its still way too expensive for me to live here even with a dilapidating infrastructure pot holes at every stop sign on the block)... n then u got irvine where ppl are complaining mainlanders coming to buy nicer homes then they can afford and driving nicer cars then them... =_=...

not to sound condescending... but this just reminds me of one of those reddit pics with the poor african kid with the caption that says "your telling me you have too much water that you poop in it??"... but whatevers... shit like this requires a paradigm shift to pin ppl back into reality vs the easy way out which is to not even bother... if my work didnt require me to travel and interact with ppl all over, id probably take the easy way out too... much more comfy to stay in my comfortable county n bitch all day about first world problems too
 
momopi said:
It's not just Irvine, but also other desirable areas such as Cerritos, Arcadia, Diamond Bar, etc. with good school districts.

I spent 3+ months to look at >100 houses in the Cerritos area and placed ~20 bids on homes. We simply could not compete against all cash buyers in Cerritos. Here's an example of a SFR in the only block of Norwalk that's in the ABC school district:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Norwalk/15507-Bechard-Ave-90650/home/7792561

You might say "wow only $379k", good luck getting it at that price. The home will likely sell for $500K.
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Fast forward from 2013...

That house in Norwalk was listed for $379k and sold for $515k 2 months later:

Currently valued at $1.2 million in 2024.
 
Liar Loan said:
I was reading this IHB post by Cubic Zirconia:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/premium-not-yet#86593

And this sentence caught my eye:

This type of activity seems to be taken for granted by the readers here at Talk Irvine, yet I don't know if anybody has ever fully explained it. (Maybe they have and I just missed it.)

There are a lot of desirable features to Irvine, but that could be said for many OC cities. What is it about Irvine that gets people that have never been here to plunk down $700k+ for a house? Is there some cultural appeal to Irvine that I'm not aware of? Is it all just marketing? What makes Chinese people want buy houses here out of all the places in SoCal? I've read that it's perceived to be a good investment, but why not buy houses in Laguna Beach, La Jolla, or any other coastal city then?

Sincerely,
Confused White Guy
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I find it funny that LL started this thread.

School reputation (as perceived) is a big factor but also the central location and the availability of new home inventory that not many other OC cities share. You can say south OC cities have new homes... but then there is the abundance of Asian-centric food and shopping available in or near Irvine that those other cities do not have.

Safety and relative lack of violent crimes is another draw.

I know there are those who shoot down many of these things... but combined... it's a unique conflation that few other cities can claim... and not just for Chinese... but many ethnicities that are in high representation in Irvine (Middle East, Indian, Korean, Jewish etc).
 
usctrojancpa said:
Momopi called it on what it'd sell for.
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There was one factor regarding the school district zone that I didn't consider back then - the aging and decline in Cerritos student population. Due to student shortage they're now accepting inter-district transfers. My friends in Downey send their kids to elementary school in Cerritos and was told that the inter-district transfer approval was probably good all the way up to Cerritos high school. The only exception (for now) is Whitney, they're still fairly strict on district-based admissions.
 
momopi said:
There was one factor regarding the school district zone that I didn't consider back then - the aging and decline in Cerritos student population. Due to student shortage they're now accepting inter-district transfers. My friends in Downey send their kids to elementary school in Cerritos and was told that the inter-district transfer approval was probably good all the way up to Cerritos high school. The only exception (for now) is Whitney, they're still fairly strict on district-based admissions.
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Young Indian families go to the Bay area these days or Irvine if the job is down here. Is Cerritos stil as nice as it was in the 80s? I always thought it was an oasis surrounded by sketchy Artesia/Norwalk/Bellflower.
 
OCtoSV said:
Young Indian families go to the Bay area these days or Irvine if the job is down here. Is Cerritos still as nice as it was in the 80s? I always thought it was an oasis surrounded by sketchy Artesia/Norwalk/Bellflower.
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Like Mission Viejo, Cerritos has "aged" since 1980s. It's still fairly nice, safe, and not as cookie cutter as Irvine. Liberty Park, Heritage Park, Cerritos Library, etc. are great for kids.

Cerritos Mall and the retail/dining surrounding (South St, 183rd St) it is still alive and some doing very well. Broth Shabu Shabu and the Chuck E Cheese next door is always packed.

The gang bangers who used to live by Petroleum Gardens in Artesia are mostly gone, and the new Artesia town homes are whopping $866K:

Artesia Homes for Sale | Amarante

Amarante offers spacious single-family homes with hand-selected designer finishes for sale in Artesia, CA.
www.brandywine-homes.com www.brandywine-homes.com

However, you may find some homeless near Pioneer Blvd & 91 FWY in Artesia, and areas near 605 FWY or 5 FWY in Norwalk.

Norwalk, Bellflower, Downey, etc. has good parts and not so good parts -- same with Lakewood and Long Beach.
 
I have heard some people calling Irvine "the Chinatown of OC" 🤣! People living outside of Irvine have a perception that the majority of the population in Irvine is Chinese which is somewhat true but there is a large Korean population in Irvine as well!
 
Lets not forget that Koreans and Indians also love Irvine. ❤️
Yoda said:
I have heard some people calling Irvine "the Chinatown of OC" 🤣! People living outside of Irvine have a perception that the majority of the population in Irvine is Chinese which is somewhat true but there is a large Korean population in Irvine as well!
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Yoda said:
I have heard some people calling Irvine "the Chinatown of OC" 🤣! People living outside of Irvine have a perception that the majority of the population in Irvine is Chinese which is somewhat true but there is a large Korean population in Irvine as well!
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Not surprising considering it's where the University of Chinese Immigrants is located...
 
Yoda said:
I have heard some people calling Irvine "the Chinatown of OC" 🤣! People living outside of Irvine have a perception that the majority of the population in Irvine is Chinese which is somewhat true but there is a large Korean population in Irvine as well!
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The Chinese and Korean neighbors are not that cool. They are rude and just stick together when I have tried to be inclusive with them and their children…
 
Not OC or Irvine, but another place where I saw a huge Asian (Chinese and Korean only) population is parts of Bellevue in WA state. Due to work requiring me to relocate to Seattle area, I have been exploring Bellevue and noticed a very large Asian population there, especially the Eastgate neighborhoods. The tale over there too is that overseas Chinese residents bought over homes bidding up prices like crazy.
 
Irvinehomeseeker said:
Not OC or Irvine, but another place where I saw a huge Asian (Chinese and Korean only) population is parts of Bellevue in WA state. Due to work requiring me to relocate to Seattle area, I have been exploring Bellevue and noticed a very large Asian population there, especially the Eastgate neighborhoods. The tale over there too is that overseas Chinese residents bought over homes bidding up prices like crazy.
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Irvine, Bellevue, and Johns Creek are very similar in that way. There is a huge Asian population growth especially (Chinese, Korean, and Indian) in these three cities and public schools in the area become 10/10/10 rated schools. Bellevue is a very nice place to live with nice selections of Asian resturants and groceries nearby.
 
panda said:
Irvine, Bellevue, and Johns Creek are very similar in that way. There is a huge Asian population growth especially (Chinese, Korean, and Indian) in these three cities and public schools in the area become 10/10/10 rated schools. Bellevue is a very nice place to live with nice selections of Asian resturants and groceries nearby.
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We will be moving to Bellevue in the next 4-6 months. I still doubt Bellevue schools would be any close to IUSD when it comes to quality of education although bellevue schools are rated 8/9 today.
There is some Homelessness issues in Bellevue, though and some auto theft/break-ins. Irvine so far has successfully evaded that, and I personally find Irvine much safer and nicer than Bellevue. Going to miss Irvine when we move out from here, but life is all about change!
 
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