A Nice Place to Live [fpq]

Posted on February 1, 2023 | 26 Comments
Fountain Valley

Today Fandango continues his Provocative Question series by asking about our city or town. I live in Fountain Valley, California, which is an Orange County suburb. It is located about 40 miles south of Los Angeles and 90 miles north of San Diego. As of the last census in 2020, our population is about 57,000, mostly non-Hispanic white and Asian.

We are near the beach, but we don’t actually touch the coastline ~ you have to go through Newport Beach or Huntington Beach to surf the closest waves. Not that I’ve ever surfed! Sometimes I enjoy a beach walk though ~ I think this pic is from Crystal Cove in Laguna.

beach ocean sand surf waves rocks

We have a giant park in FV, called Mile Square, and it’s pretty for a walk too. In the summer, there are fairs and concerts, plus we are relatively close to the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa ~ I usually go to the OC Fair at least once each year. Coyotes also enjoy this area, and there are endless squabbles over whether we should kill them… or no! They were here first! I don’t have a dog in that fight, tee hee, so I don’t care. It’s very freeing not to feel obligated to have an opinion about everything. Try it!

FV is a nice place to live, bland and quiet, just like its slogan, which I like because I’ve turned into a vanilla girl in my dotage. I used to love big cities, but now all I notice is how noisy and dirty they are. Still, there are things cities offer, like fabulous museums, you can’t find here. My daughter lives in LA, so I do go up there around once a month.

Pink clouds
Fountain Valley, CA

I enjoyed living in Huntington Beach, where my girls went to school, since it’s more of a city, but when it became too expensive I moved to Costa Mesa. After they raised my rent a ridiculous amount at my studio apartment, a friend and I decided to share a place. We moved into our 2+2 condo in Fountain Valley just before the pandemic hit. After a year or so, the owner wanted to sell, so we bought the place and exited the SoCal rental nightmare. I’m very happy with my current living situation in Fountain Valley, which is good because I hate moving!

~*~
©️2023 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted.

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26 responses to “A Nice Place to Live [fpq]”

  1. newepicauthor | February 1, 2023 at 1:07 pm |

    Are you part of an association where you live, Paula?

    Liked by 1 person

  2. jaquintinwriter | February 1, 2023 at 1:16 pm |

    Beautiful views in OC ~ is your residence close to any of the Housewives of OC?

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Luftmentsch | February 1, 2023 at 1:41 pm |

    I’m pleased you’re happy where you are. Sometimes I wonder about living in the countryside, but it’s not really possible to live an active Jewish life there, and I think E and I would miss parts of city life, like museums and galleries — plus poor public transport links in the country would be hard for us as neither of us drive. I do find the small towns in America that I see in fiction intriguing and I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere like that, but, again, I don’t think I would be truly happy there.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Paula Light | February 1, 2023 at 1:55 pm |

      No. You need the convenience and camaraderie of the frum community around you or you will feel really isolated…

      I forgot to mention that in my suburb there are 18 churches, one Reform synagogue, and one mosque…

      Liked by 1 person

  4. ghostmmnc | February 1, 2023 at 1:41 pm |

    Looks and sounds like a nice place. Not too big, and not too little. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Roy | February 1, 2023 at 5:51 pm |

    Sounds like a sweet setup. Good for you! I have mixed thoughts about ownership vs renting. Our rent went up after the first year lease passed. That’s annoying–the apartment didn’t get any better, but they think it’s worth more! What the.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Sadje | February 1, 2023 at 6:27 pm |

    Owning the house you’re living in gives you a sense of security.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Fandango | February 1, 2023 at 8:52 pm |

    Sounds like a very nice place, Paula. And no doubt there are sufficient cupcake shops to satisfy your cravings. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Marilyn Armstrong | February 1, 2023 at 9:52 pm |

    Living near water is always somehow special. I love being near, though I’m glad to not be exactly ON it because flooding is no fun at all.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Paula Light | February 1, 2023 at 9:59 pm |

      Right, I agree. Even in Chicago, we were near Lake Michigan, which had a nice beach to walk on. I wasn’t fond of the suburb that had no access to any large body of natural water. It’s what you get used to, I guess…

      Like

      • Marilyn Armstrong | February 2, 2023 at 10:10 am |

        That was the thing I missed in Israel. Jerusalem is land bound. It was a long drive before you got to the ocean. It was the most land bound I’d ever been. Even in New York, we were close to the sea with many beautiful beaches. This area is an excellent compromise. No coast, but lots of rivers, lakes, ponds and dams.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Suzette Benjamin | February 1, 2023 at 10:58 pm |

    That sounds like a great place to enjoy life at one’s one pace. Thank you for sharing, Paula.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. henhouselady | February 2, 2023 at 10:43 am |

    The place where you live sounds wonderful. We used to live in the Inland Empire. My husband grew up in San Berdo.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Cindy Georgakas | February 3, 2023 at 12:12 pm |

    Such beautiful spot!!!💗

    Liked by 1 person