Lots here seem to think you are a millionaire…you might be. 
Newpoer, Corona del Mar and Laguna are very expensive areas. Most cant afford to live there.
Also, there is no obvious way to tell LA county and the OC…its one massive urban/suburban sprawl. Also, Metrolink lets you get around the greater area fairly easy although its really not for someone who visits clients.
This is stupid.
No its not having lived in both places my entire life.
There is absolutely no way (save signage) to tell when we leave one county and go into the other.
One thing the OP should also know is that there are no shortage of snobs in either county that are absolutely convinced that their county is better.
My position remains. LA and OC are different places, but no, not drastically and uniformly so that when driving from Long Beach to Seal Beach you remark “Whoa, I’m totally in a different county now.” But where is that true of? I live in Cook Co, IL now and having driven through a few counties, and when crossing borders, I have never thought “Oh, we’re in Lake County now. I can feel it.” The only way I could tell is because the freeway sign told me so. I don’t know of any counties that directly neighbor each other that give you some clear way of knowing when you’ve left one and entered the next other than signage. That’s just how it is when places border each other. The borders are going to look similar, but the cores are different. Los Angeles is nothing like Orange, Los Angeles County is different from Orange County, but no, you couldn’t stand on the border of the counties and point to anything and say “See!”
I knew this.
But I didn’t know this. Now I’m sad.
I’ve heard good things about Fountain Valley. I’ve been all around it, but never to it. Looks like it’s worth checking out. Thanks!
I don’t like to disclose too much about my finances, but I’ll put it this way, my new income would put me at upper middle class in Phoenix, but only middle to lower middle class in Orange County. So buying a place is doable, but I’ll definitely need to downsize and pick an area that’s not too outrageous (cough Newport Beach cough).
This may beg the question as to why I took the job. The main reason is that this is basically my dream job–a role I’ve been seeking for the better part of a decade, and at a minimum will open so many doors to me. Other reasons are my current house really is bigger than what I want an I don’t mind downsizing at all and I do like the California weather and activities vs. the oppressive Phoenix summer heat, even if it means ponying up a bit more to enjoy it.
And thanks again to everyone who’s contributed here. You’ve provided good food for thought.
I don’t mean to denounce Fountain Valley (I go to school there after all) but it doesn’t really have a downtown or much of a nightlife unlike what the OP desires.
I live in Irvine. Nothing to see here, but a great place to live. You can go to cool places like Orange, Laguna, Santa Ana (parts) Costa Mesa (parts), Newport Beach, etc.
You pay a premium to be close to the water, or close to the mountains. Prices drop a bit in the middle.
HB is great - but there are some crap areas the closer you get to the 405.
Fountain Valley is nice
Tustin is nice
Orange, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa - you can get more for your $, but drive the area a bit at different times to get a feel for them.
But he has a family and wants a great place for them to live and grow up. As for night;life, the 405 is just down the road, HB is a short drive and LA isnt that far.
Are you going to FVHS? I went to La Quinta.
To the OP…you might like the OC a whole lot more than Phoenix. The average temp in the summer ia around 75, little humidity and a soothing coastal breeze; winter averages around 65 and there is a whole lot ofsun. FV is also a quiet place to live.
I don’t recall the OP talking about a family but he did say he didn’t plan to have any children.
Yes. FVHS is a wonderful school. 
Actually…
I do have two dogs, but they’re already grown. Now they’ll just grow older.
I do have a friend who visits Newport Beach every year who really likes Fountain Valley.
Been kind of shifting my attitude the past couple of days regarding South Orange. Thinking more toward Lake Forest/Laguna Woods/Laguna Hills area now due to its proximity to the Irvine Industrial Complex which houses about a zillion companies–one of which I figure my girlfriend will find a job at. I also like the surrounding hills and greenery (Google image search has been helpful here). Like many of you have pointed out, it’s easy enough to get around to various fun places after work or on the weekends.
And Disneyland. I miss being 20 minutes away from Disneyland. (It seemed much farther away when I was younger)
Laguna Woods and quite a bit of Laguna Hills is serious retirement country so unless your idea of fun is extra shrimp at a buffet, I’d stay away. Lake Forest is okay but there’s really nothing exciting about it now that they closed the old Marine Air Base. There’s some nice townhomes off of Summit Park in Irvine that have great trails.