Currently live in South Orange County. It’s a pretty ideal location. Orange County is very diverse, ethnically, politically and even economically if you’re a bit flexible on location. Yes to all the people claiming higher cost of living, it is a bit higher, but by pretty much any measure I can think of so is the quality. The main sacrifice is size of home and most likely proximity to neighbors. If you are keeping your budget $700-900K you can find a very nice condo in some prime locations and even close proximity to ocean. If you want a single family your budget will have to go up or you are going to move your search further inland to maintain price. As far as work goes Orange County has been great I’m about 1 hour to LAX or ONT. SNA and LGB are less than that, generally our show times avoid the worst traffic but rarely have I experienced more than 30 minutes of traffic added to my drive. One of the small but not insignificant perks of the base is the ability to walk from all employee parking within 20 minutes in LAX and less than 5 at all others.

To answer the OP, Torrence to El Segundo within 2 miles of the water has tons of cool opportunities for a rental particularly. And there is just an awesome vibe walking and dining in general.

In response to the general Cali hate, guess what, it costs a lot to live somewhere nice. After adjusting for my more expensive house price I haven’t felt a significant increase in tax burden vs Michigan. Some things are pricier but as I alluded to earlier the quality is also better. Parks, bike paths, roads (for the most part) all way better than previous lived places. I always find it funny to hear how expensive it is to live in SoCal, then find out that the house the other person lives in a “cheap to live” area is more than mine. They may have more square footage, but I live most of the year outside or on the ocean so…