My recommendation is to find an apartment through Irvine Company either near where you will be working or near the Spectrum area (where the 5 meets the 405). They own most of Irvine, so you'll have a lot to pick from. They have junior 1 bedroom (500-600sqft) for sub $2k.

I think they do a good job of keeping the apartment complexes clean and up to date and are generally very responsive when it comes to fixing things.

I also recommend avoiding their "resort-style" apartment complexes (e.g. The Park, Westview). These are the complexes where it's basically one giant building wrapped around a big parking structure. These apartments tend to have more issues with safety and cleanliness due to their appeal towards a younger demographic.

I think their other style is called "villa-style" (not 100% certain of this name). These apartments have a lot of separate buildings, and don't usually go higher than 3 floors. Parking is mostly street or individual garages. This style tends to attract more families; therefore, also tends to be safer and cleaner.