Renting Scene in LA - Irvine CA area?

I'm evaluating a job opportunity in the LA area (HQ is in Irvine California), what is the apartment rental scene like there? 

What's a doable commute with LA traffic?

What does a 1/1 apartment typically cost?

What is the quality of living for a young female professional?

Any areas or property management companies to avoid?

The base is under $200k, bonuses are deal related, no conversation on relocation yet. Will be traveling ~30-40% to evaluate targets. TBD on equity and total comp.

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Irvine is Orange County, not LA. Will be a very different lifestyle from if you lived in LA. You likely won’t want to commute from LA - the desirable areas of LA are mostly on the west side so a commute from there all the way to Irvine will be a nightmare. When I worked in OC the majority of professionals lived in irvine / Costa Mesa / Newport / Laguna, with a few others here and there. Commute from north county is doable but not fun during rush hour.

Quality of life is extremely good, just very expensive for a suburb but the lifestyle in my opinion is pretty unmatched. It is extremely safe for a woman especially in Irvine. My partner and I have always said after working a few years in LA we’d like to raise a family in Irvine.

A decent 1/1 apartment at one of the Irvine company properties (they have units all over OC especially in south county, almost impossible to avoid them) will likely set you back low 3’s, though keep in mind this is a broad estimate for their nice communities and I haven’t checked in a bit - COL in OC has shot up a lot, I remember those same units used to be low-mid 2’s.

 

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