Newport Beach, California: If you're here, you've
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11/18/2007
Obviously any area with a median home price of $2,600,000 is not going to be ordinary.
The big advantage of living here is that you get the best of everything. The finest restaurants, the world's biggest Mercedes-Benz dealer, the sleekest road network, and if you're willing to pay $15,000,000 for a house it will be brilliantly designed and stunning in all respects.
Your more typical $4 million oceanfront house gives you one of the most beautiful views in the nation, but you're literally three feet away from your neighbor on both sides.
Commercial property in Newport Beach and Orange County in general is stunningly ultra-modern and immaculately maintained. A fellow named Donald Bren of Irvine Company owns most of it, and as a consequence is worth a snappy $15 billion (yes, with a B; his house alone is probably worth $15 million). He'll charge top rents but deliver top quality.
Living with extreme wealth means extreme wealth. How extreme? Visit the web site of Fletcher Jones Mercedes-Benz and see all the pre-owned cars available for sale. Yes, people trade in last year's S-Class to exchange for this year's model, at $90,000 a pop. This is a phenomenon seen in few places in the nation and certainly it has helped pay the bills on Fletcher Jones' massive palace of cars.
Newport Beach and surrounding areas has the best shopping in the universe. Centers like Fashion Island (owned, of course, by the aforementioned Bren) combine stunning beauty with sleek design and, of course, the expected high prices. But don't worry, the world-class delicious cinnamon twist pastry in Pan de le Monde in the Atrium court is around $2, and you can enjoy it near the Koi pond watching the fish wander around, and the nearby Barnes & Noble will sell you books no more expensively than anywhere else. A cheap day in an expensive place.
On the other hand, there are no poor people. They simply do not exist in this universe. $1,200 a month studio apartments are the closest thing you'll see to affordable housing. The poor areas are all far inland, and people are bussed in from there to do whatever grunt work is required. The good news, of course, is that eliminating poor people has all but eliminated crime, too. Look at the reviews of Santa Monica, CA that talk about the homeless to see why things are done that way here.
If you can afford to live here, it's one of the most stunningly beautiful and practical places in the world to be, with no compromises in climate, beauty or availability of just about anything. You are likely to feel significant pressure to keep up with the Joneses, with new S-Classes every year, a 47' Grand Banks in the back yard, and so on. This means that even the very stiff housing costs may be only the beginning ...
Because you are not living in an ordinary place. Which means you have to be a pretty extraordinary person to move here.
David | Monongahela, PA