Best City to Live In
1. Irvine
1 Civic Center Plaza, 949-724-6000 cityofirvine.org
• Find Irvine on Facebook at
fb.me/cityofirvine or on Twitter @
city_of_irvine
• Safety: Irvine has been America's safest large city for seven straight years. Leaders are optimistic about keeping that title.
• Open space: Irvine has more than 50 parks and a phenomenal network of walking and biking trails.
• Shopping: Irvine Spectrum Center, The Market Place and numerous neighborhood retail centers.
Why they are No. 1: In two words, "master planning." Irvine,
incorporated in 1971, is practically synonymous with the term, and
public officials rarely fail to cite planning as the reason for Irvine's
polished reputation. Homes, parks, retail centers, streets, schools and
office buildings flow together in an orderly and efficient manner
designed to promote both economic growth and quality of life. "We are a
culturally diverse and thoroughly integrated city, which is reflected
throughout our business community, our neighborhoods and our schools,"
Mayor Sukhee Kang said.
Claim to fame: Irvine's public schools are the envy of Orange
County and are among the top-ranked in the entire nation. The city is
home to UC Irvine as well as semiconductor maker Broadcom Corp.,
artificial heart-valve maker Edwards Lifesciences and Botox maker
Allergan Inc.
Fan favorite: "Everything you could possibly need is within
the city. It's clean and safe. I love the layout and landscaping. It's
altogether a beautiful town." – Amy Ashoori, Irvine
Fun fact: Rabbits run wild all over the place in Irvine. There
is even a rabbit-crossing sign in the entrance to the City Hall parking
lot.
2. Huntington Beach
2000 Main Street, 714-536-5511 huntingtonbeachca.gov
• Find Huntington Beach on Facebook at
fb.me/huntingtonbeachcity or on Twitter @
surfcitypio
• Eight miles of wide, sandy beaches – the longest continuous stretch
of beachfront on the West Coast. Big-name resorts draw tourists along
the coast.
• There is a strong sense of community in Huntington Beach, a city
founded in the late 1880s and incorporated in 1909. That community
spirit is evident in the city's wildly popular Fourth of July Parade.
You also get that easygoing, beach-lifestyle feeling in Huntington.
Claim to fame: US Open of Surfing, considered the world's
largest youth-culture and action-sport festival, is held annually at
Huntington Beach Pier. The event started in 1959 as the West Coast
Surfing Championship and it now draws more than 500,000 people each
year. The city has a registered trademark on the term "Surf City USA"
and is home to the Surfing Walk of Fame.
Fan favorite: "This city has a little bit of everything; great
shopping and entertainment, relaxing recreation for your entire family
(including your pets), and a nice variety of interesting places to eat.
Add the wonderful ocean breeze and mild temperature." – Marie Cox, Brea
Fun fact: Some restaurants in this dog-friendly city offer menu items for canine guests.
3. Mission Viejo
200 Civic Center, 949-470-3000 cityofmissionviejo.org
• Find Mission Viejo on Facebook at
fb.me/missionviejoca or on Twitter @
MissionViejoCA
• This city, incorporated in 1988, is continually ranked among the safest cities in the entire United States.
Claim to fame: The city is among the largest master-planned
communities ever built under a single project in the United States. It
is also home to Lake Mission Viejo, a man-made reservoir safe for
swimming and stocked with fish.
Fan favorite: "Family-friendly, multi-generational neighborhoods; pride of ownership; good shopping." – Barbara Beier, Mission Viejo
Fun fact: Mission Viejo hosted the road cycling events for the 1984 Summer
Olympics held in Los Angeles.
– Reported by Brian Martinez
Original post found:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-315727-irvine-fame.html
P.S. Please look at my other blog about SCUBA Diving in Orange County
Sorry
New York. You might have the Big Apple, but since 2002, surfy
California has reigned supreme as the No. 1 place where Americans would
like to live. That's according to a new Harris Poll that found pricey Hawaii at No. 2 and Florida, Colorado, and Arizona rounding out the top five.
