Costa Mesa, California is a city within the county of Orange County, the third most populous county in all of California and the sixth most populous county in the United States of America. Of the over three million people who reside in Orange County, over one hundred thousand call Costa Mesa home, as it is uniquely located between the vacation destinations and upscale communities of Huntington and Newport Beaches. Better known as an edge city to the larger metropolitan areas of Long Beach just to the West and Anaheim and Los Angeles to the North, Costa Mesa has become a highly desired suburb that is close to the beach, relatively safe and affordable for families.
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Costa Mesa began as a semi-rural agricultural community in 1953 when it was first incorporated as a city within Orange County. Since then it has boomed as most coastal suburbs in the Southern California area have and now has an economy that thrives on retail, commerce and various types of manufacturing. Within Costa Mesa itself are a number of major companies with a national and even international presence that employ a number of people within Costa Mesa itself and from other areas in the vast county of Orange. These employers include the headquarters of the credit bureau Experian, which has over 3,700 employees; the Automobile Club of Southern California, which employs over 1,200 people; and Hyundai Motor America, the Korean-based car company, whose plant employs over 20,000 local workers. In other words, Costa Mesa is an ideal place to land a job and move to with their family.
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As Costa Mesa is located on the ocean and even the farthest areas within Costa Mesa are a short drive from the ocean, the California beach bungalow influence is prevalent in much of the residential architecture in the community. However, various other styles are prevalent in the homes in Costa Mesa, ranging between Mediterranean and Spanish construction, as well as the popular single story sprawling ranch style that is popular amongst many homes throughout California. Homes range greatly in value, based both on their proximity to the ocean and their proximity to Newport Beach to the south, which is widely considered to be one of the nicest places to live in all of California, if not all of the United States. Condos are priced at over half a million dollars while homes are often well above a million and a half and up, depending on their location, size and style.
Beyond having excellent schools in Costa Mesa, there are no shortage of family oriented things to do within the community itself and just outside. The access to great, safe and clean beaches is one of the biggest highlights for families living within Costa Mesa, from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach to the more wild and secluded beaches of Laguna just a short drive away to the South. Numerous parks are also available for families, like Fairview and Canyon Park. And of course Disneyland is a mere fifteen minutes away and other amusement parks like Knotts Berry Farm are about the same distance, giving family’s a great rotation of locations that will provide a day’s worth of entertainment for everyone.
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Costa Mesa has also become known as a hub of arts and culture on an annual basis in Southern California, with the Orange County Fair being held in it’s center each July, drawing over one million visitors each year. Nearby the fairgrounds is the Pacific Amphitheater, which regularly hosts major musical acts that are known all over the world, like Madonna, Steppenwolf and Jessica Simpson. East 17th Street, in the heart of the city, is also incredibly popular just about any evening within the city, as there are a number of international restaurants and hole in the wall dives that are favorites among locals, as well as excellent bars. Just outside of Costa Mesa in the neighboring city of Anaheim are professional sports venues like Angels Stadium where the Los Angeles Angels play games and the Honda Center hockey rink for the Anaheim Ducks. Thanks to the prevalence of services like Uber and Lyft, accessing these venues outside of Costa Mesa is much more convenient.
If you’re looking for a quiet suburb that is close to the beach and some of the nicer communities in Orange County, Costa Mesa is ideal. There are great schools and affordable homes, still allowing a family to live out their California Dream.
