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6 Reasons to Move to Irvine, CA

1. Geography

Irvine is a planned city located in Orange County; most of the community lies on a flat valley between Loma Ridge in the north and San Joaquin Hills in the south. The community borders the following cities:

  • Tustin to the north;
  • Santa Ana to the northwest;
  • Lake Forest to the east;
  • Laguna Hills to the southeast;
  • Costa Mesa to the west;
  • Newport Beach to the southwest.

Architect William Pereira and Raymond Watson designed the layout of the City of Irvine, which is divided in more than forty townships known as “villages.” Each village is separated by six-lane streets and each one has a distinct architectural theme. There are schools, commercial centers and religious institutions in every township.

San Diego Creek drains the city and flows northwest into Upper Newport Bay.

Several hills, plateaus, and canyons lie further in the northern and southern areas of the city.

1.a Climate

The weather is warm during summer with temperatures in the 70's, but during the warmest month (August) temperatures tend to be over 80 degrees F.

December is the coldest month with an average minimum temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The rest of the winter months present average temperatures in the 50's. During this time of the year, the weather can also be hot and dry due to the Santa Ana winds.

It does occasionally snow in the Santa Ana Mountains to the north of Irvine, but it rarely snows within the lower-lying parts of the city. However, the area received three inches of snow in January 1949.

February is the wettest month of the year with an average rainfall of approximately 3.07 inches.

Not everybody knows that different parts of Irvine have different microclimates, due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean; for that reason, the June Gloom (overcast mornings and occasional drizzle) is more notorious in the southern parts of the city which are closer to the coast.

Moving to Irvine

2. Economy

Irvine has been rated one of the top cities for start-up businesses. There are approximately 200,000 jobs and more than 26,000 licensed businesses in the community.

The city is also the setting for film projects, due to its beautiful surroundings and all the advantages granted by the local government such as free or low-cost filming permits.

Due to Irvine's strong, fast-growing economy, Orange County has been listed as one of the top ten fastest growing job markets.

A large number of companies are headquartered in Irvine, including: O'Neill, Inc., Lifted Research Group, LA Fitness, In-N-Out Burger, Ford Motor Company (West Coast Design Center), Blizzard Entertainment, Edwards Lifesciences, Gateway, Inc., Quicksilver Software, Zymo Research, CorVel Corporation, Freedom Communications, ATEN Technology, Inc. (a division of ATEN International, Inc.), Gateway, Inc., Golden State Foods, Ready at Dawn, Red 5 Studio, Maruchan, Inc. (a division of Toyo Suisan) and many others.

International companies with headquarters in Irvine are:

Asics, Atlus, BenQ Corporation, BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, Dahua Technology, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Kia Motors, KOG Games, Marukome, Mazda Motor Corporation, Nikken Samsung Electronics (IT and Printing Division), Sega, Shimano and Toshiba Corporation.

3. Education

The Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) is one the finest educational systems in the nation. The five high schools operated by this school district are regularly on the upper positions of  Newsweek's list of the Top 1,300 U.S. Public High Schools.

IUSD manages 22 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, 4 comprehensive high schools, and one  continuation high school. All the schools in the community offer innovative curriculums, open-style classrooms, team-teaching, superb community involvement, and some schools offer year-round terms.

Colleges and universities 

Irvine is home to multiple prestigious colleges and universities, including: the University of California, Irvine (one of the nation's top academic institutions), California Southern University, Concordia University, Westcliff University, Paramount California University (a distance learning university), Irvine Valley College, Fuller Theological Seminary, FIDM, The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Orange County Campus; Stanbridge College, and a satellite campus of California State University, Fullerton.

Institutions in adjacent cities are: Chapman University and Soka University of America.

3. a Library

The Orange County Public Library System operates three branches in Irvine: Irvine Heritage Park, Irvine Katie Wheeler and Irvine University Park.

Most branches have the following material available:

  • Books, fiction and non-fiction.
  • Newspapers.
  • Magazines.
  • Large print books.
  • Telephone books.
  • Government documents.
  • Audio visual material.
  • Compact Discs (CDs).
  • Digital Video Discs (DVDs).
  • Videocassettes.
  • Audiobooks.

Special Services include:

  • The Reading Edge for the visually impaired at the Westminster Branch.
  • Special Subject Collections.
  • Specific branches have special subject collections such as: government documents, music scores, consumer health, cookbooks and genealogy.

Specific branches have language collections in: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish and Persian.

4. Government

The City Council functions as the legislative body that represents the citizens of Irvine. It is responsible for establishing the City policies and service standards, passing local ordinances and developing an overall vision for the community as a whole.

Five members form the City Council and they are elected at large by registered voters of the community. The Mayor serves a two-year term, while each member of the Council serves a four-year term.

The City  has a two-term limit for elected officials.

Irvine California

5. Infrastructure

5.a Transportation

The City of Irvine is served by multiple modes of transportation such as: bus, light rail, train, biking and walking. Several companies, including the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), Amtrak, iShuttle and Spectromotion, provide service to the community.

Bike

There is a system of 54 miles of off-street bikeway trails, and 301 lane miles of on-street bikeways for both, commuting and recreational purposes.

Ishuttle, operated and managed by the Orange County Transportation Authority, takes residents, employees, and employers –in the Irvine Spectrum Area and the Irvine Business Complex (IBC), to and from work and home.

ACCESS is OCTA's shared-ride service for people with disabilities. The passengers must be certified by OCTA in order to use the ACCESS service.

The Irvine Station, a growing transportation hub in South Orange County, is located in the Spectrum area of the city at 15215 Barranca Parkway.

The Irvine Transportation Network (ITN) provides up-to-date information for anyone living in, working in, or traveling through the Irvine Business Complex (IBC).      

TRIPS offers transportation to adult residents who are unable to drive due to permanent physical and/ or cognitive disability.

Amtrak provides rail passenger service throughout Orange County and Southern California.

Metrolink is a commuter rail system that provides reliable transportation and mobility throughout Southern California.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is a multi-modal transportation agency serving Orange County.

Spectromotion. According to their website: “Spectromotion is a nonprofit organization in charge of assisting Irvine Spectrum Area commuters and residents in finding ways to commute to work that are more environmentally friendly, less expensive, less stressful, faster and more convenient than driving alone.”

Mobility Guide: The City of Irvine provides multiple transportation options for seniors and special needs populations.

5.b Utilities

Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) provides domestic water service, sewage collection, and water reclamation to residents and business in Irvine and portions of nearby communities.

The Orange County Sanitation District is in charge of wastewater, water reclamation and watershed protection.

Southern California Edison (SCE) provides electrical power to the City of Irvine.

Southern California Gas Company (The Gas Company) is the provider of natural gas to those living or operating a business in the City of Irvine. 

6. Point of Interest

Irvine, California offers five major shopping destinations; two of them are:

  • Irvine Spectrum Center features more than 120 stores. It has an outdoor carousel and a movie theatre with a capacity of 6,400-seat, and a 21-screen.
  • Fashion Island offers a premier coastal shopping experience, with first-class boutiques, top-notch department stores and a wide variety of restaurants and cafes.

In Irvine, shopping is a destination in itself since you can easily spend a whole day at any one of these retail centers.

Restaurants in the community offer a wide selection of foods from all over the world. If you move to Irvine, you will be able to enjoy great food from Thailand, India, Vietnam and many other exotic lands, in just over 40 square miles.

Irvine Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the Mariners Church parking lot (corner of Bonita Canyon and Turtle Ridge.) This event is widely visited for local chefs and at-home cooks chefs who hunt for the freshest ingredients of the season.

Irvine has a large variety of community parks where residents enjoy a range of programs and services. There are also open spaces and neighborhood parks, some with a variety of recreational amenities.

O'Neill Regional Park offers 4,500 acres of beautiful landscape in the Trabuco and Live Oak Canyons.

The park features more than 23 miles of scenic trails for hiking, biking or horse riding. Other amenities in the park include: horseshoe pits, two large community turf areas, 79 campsites at the Arroyo campground for RV's and tent camping, a children’s playground, picnic tables, barbeques and fire pits.

For those who love biking, Irvine offers more than 44 miles of off-road bike trails and over 280 miles of on-road cycling lanes. A variety of biking and hiking trails are available to explore at: Irvine Regional Park, Quail Hill preserve, Mason Regional Park and Bommer Canyon.

The Irvine Museum, located at 18881 Von Karman Ave STE 1275, is the only museum in the state of California committed to the preservation and display of California impressionism.

If you are moving to Irvine, you will be able to experience all the amenities of a community that mixes urban living and preserved natural space.

When you are ready, please give us a call or CLICK HERE for a FREE moving estimate.

Our team of Irvine movers are highly skilled at handling fine, fragile items as well as articles of all shapes and sizes.