Santa Ana, California

Let’s get this out of the way; Santa Ana is largely frowned upon by the rest of Orange County, particularly, of course, coastal Orange County. Property crime and homelessness make them clutch their pearls. But, if you’re coming from elsewhere you’re going to notice that it’s still SoCal climate and there are nice neighborhoods.

Although downtown Santa Ana was the subject of a revitalization effort and it’s got lots of accouterments, Downtown is generally a place you go, not a place you live. The upper-middle and middle-class subdivisions are set apart from the rest of Santa Ana. Santa Ana is not necessarily an inexpensive place to settle by any means. Up in the hills, behind gates, one can also live in the Santa Ana zip code.

Santa Ana is centrally located and a quick drive to beaches and John Wayne Airport.
Shopping is diverse including South Coast Plaza (Costa Mesa) It is centrally located to the rest of Orange County, ten minutes from the beach, 2 hours from the mountains, 1 hour to LA, and 2 hours to San Diego. Also, the candy/produce/snack vans/trucks. The MetroLink passes through providing train access to LA.

Santa Ana's reputation was built in the 80's and 90's when things got rough. It's a very different city now but the reputation for crime has unfairly clung to the city.

Downtown Santa Ana has gone through a major revitalization in recent years. Much of this is driven by an arts movement that has given the city a cool vibe. Combine that arts scene with growing restaurant and bar options and the downtown area offers increasing social and cultural options. Future growth is planned but the city continues to wrestle with a desire for Downtown development and a fear of gentrification that displaces the majority hispanic community. In the meantime most of Santa Ana has a more family-focused “suburban” lifestyle with gated neighborhoods and amenities focused on keeping kiddos and parents happy.

The big drivers of the local economy in Santa Ana include government, financial, aerospace and electronics. The development project in downtown resulted in the creation of 10 new banking and financial building and the civic center for local, state and federal government buildings. Which means you can live and work in the city. That said, plenty of people live in Santa Ana and commute to Orange county cities like Irvine or Anaheim. While commuting is a thing we would strongly advise not moving to Santa Ana and then leaving yourself a long commute to LA or any other SoCal city.