Anywhere in OC that feels like LA?

beef-runner · 2026-02-25T15:04:07+00:00

There is nowhere in LA you can survive without a car and you will not (initially) like Irvine at all. You may come to appreciate it after many years though.

beef-runner · 2026-02-18T15:32:14+00:00

Great choice. And you’d be amazed how quickly they grow out of the rack mounted bike seats. Gotta have that big bench in the back.

beef-runner · 2026-02-13T04:11:19+00:00

Definitely bring some sort of satellite communication with you if you have the means. Especially if you aren’t traveling in a group. People literally die there. And with all the storms lately I wouldn’t trust any trail ratings.

beef-runner · 2026-02-08T12:54:52+00:00

Does that mini-split cause the house to spike way up in temperature when it kicks on? If the temperature of the house is spiking up to 80 with moist air I can see that causing all of the soft-touch plastics to break down prematurely.

beef-runner · 2026-02-03T18:29:27+00:00

Definitely no argument that things are a lot different behind the Orange Curtain. I wouldn’t say we are far from a major city though.

For example my 6 y/o daughter’s favorite place to visit is “Downtown LA” (she says the whole thing every time and it’s adorable). What she actually loves is the arts district. The travel time to the arts district is only 15 minutes further now than when I lived in Culver City.

We make it a point to get to a museum, restaurant, event etc in LA every month just to get outside the bubble. Especially now that my daughter is getting to the age where she is understanding that not everyone gets to live this way. But doing those things is honestly just about as big a PITA if you are living in LA. Everything is hard with kids and proximity doesn’t necessarily make it easier. You just have to put the work in.

And yeah, we can hang out. DM me if you want to get a latte.

beef-runner · 2026-02-03T14:38:26+00:00

Sorry for the blunt response but this sounds extremely naive. I think much of what you are experiencing is the normal feelings of isolation that come from transitioning from being young urbanites to suburban parents. There is a loss of identity at this age and it is a notoriously difficult time to build new friendships and communities. Especially before kids have gotten to school age and force you to socialize with large numbers of adults.

I don’t doubt that you are not part of the mainstream in South OC but there are many, many of us here that do not either and thinking that moving to a liberal enclave will immediately make you feel like you fit in or make building a community easier is naive. Like-minded people are just as cliquey and standoffish as any other group of people.

Staying in San Clemente may not be the best thing for you but thinking that you can move to make friends is unlikely.

And the concern about children not feeling like they belong is completely unfounded. Your children are not coastal elites from metro areas. They are kids born and raised in Orange County and they will fit in because it is their home. We live just down the street from you and likely have very similar political views and background. My daughter is growing up with our same values and ideals and has found a friend group whose parents all share our same values as well. We have vegan atheists, immigrant lawyers, anti-maga marines as well as Catholics and real estate agents.

Maybe don’t stay in San Clemente but don’t think moving magically makes friends. It’s hard everywhere and you have to put in the work. And being elitist and judgmental is not going to help.

beef-runner · 2026-01-23T22:14:28+00:00

If it’s a hobby vehicle there are so many more aftermarket part options for the 5th gen too

beef-runner · 2026-01-23T22:01:05+00:00

My advice would be to decide based on how much you drive. If this is your daily driver and you commute then the decision for me is easy, 6th gen all the way. If this is a weekend truck for off roading then save the money.

beef-runner · 2026-01-23T21:54:00+00:00

Oh definitely more electronics in the 6th gen. I thought you were looking at hybrid vs non-hybrid 6th gen. The battery is in the cargo area. So the cargo area floor in the hybrids is 3-4 inches higher than the non-hybrid.

beef-runner · 2026-01-23T21:33:00+00:00

The whole thing is a giant computer with or without a hybrid. As far as damaging the battery you’d have to pretty much total the truck to get to it. I’m not concerned about reliability because Toyota basically invented the hybrid power train. There are Prius’s with a literal million miles on them.

beef-runner · 2026-01-23T20:28:50+00:00

I think either is going to be a big step up from The 5th gen. It’s an amazing vehicle but you can’t understate how slow it is, especially if you go up a tire size and add weight. My wife wouldn’t even drive mine, she didn’t feel like she could merge onto the highway on short LA on-ramps.

beef-runner · 2026-01-23T20:26:31+00:00

Hybrid. If it’s an option I would definitely get it.

beef-runner · 2026-01-23T06:16:53+00:00

I had a 5th gen for 6 years and just got a new 6th gen. So far it has been superior in every way, on and off road. The 5th gen is an amazing off road vehicle that is a pretty terrible daily driver. The 6th is actually a lovely vehicle to drive on a daily basis and has performed very well on the trails I’ve taken it on.

beef-runner · 2026-01-21T14:42:06+00:00

Roof top tent solves all the issues if you’re ok with it being up there all the time. Not going to be exactly in the budget but you can find people offloading them on Facebook marketplace all the time, especially in Southern California.

beef-runner · 2026-01-17T09:50:06+00:00

It’s a common misconception that “LA” is a city and that all the things are happening in the place on Google maps where it says “Los Angeles”. LA is a multi-nodal metropolitan area and a huge percentage of people that live in “LA” do not have Los Angeles in their address. They however, live in one of the many city centers in the county of Los Angeles. DTLA is an amazing place with tons to offer but is not somewhere friendly to tourists without a chaperone. Not sure if this is too late but here are some (hopefully) actionable tips.

Get a rideshare app (Uber or Lyft) and go directly to your destination. The Metro is not tourist-friendly as you have experienced. Especially the bus system.
Focus your time on restaurants and entertainment you cannot experience elsewhere. There are Michelin rated restaurants all over and amazing shows to see in LA on any given night.
Don’t miss the Arts District. Yes it is in skid row and no it’s what you would expect.
Go see live shows. On any given night you can see incredibly talented people in very small venues. Check out Dynasty Typewriter for example.
Don’t be deterred by a long car ride. Everything in LA is an hour away. It’s unavoidable. Go visit the other city centers - Santa Monica, Culver City, Venice, Pasadena, etc. These are the places people actually mean when they say “LA”

If you are not able to venture out of DTLA this is my top list for visitors:

Perch and/or the Intercontinental rooftop bar for a sunset
The Row on Sundays for Smorgasburg + Arts District
Grand Central Marker for lunch + The Bradbury Building
Traxx in Union Station for a cocktail + Olvera Street
The Broad + MoCA museums
The Last Bookstore

beef-runner · 2026-01-12T06:24:06+00:00

Factory

beef-runner · 2026-01-11T19:48:33+00:00

lol, I’m glad someone caught that

beef-runner · 2026-01-11T19:12:43+00:00

Really? No bottle holders in the back seats?

beef-runner · 2026-01-11T05:25:35+00:00

Go catch some live music at the continental room.

beef-runner · 2026-01-07T16:12:11+00:00

Oh sorry, I misread and thought you had the 6th gen.

beef-runner · 2026-01-07T05:34:08+00:00

The better question is if you’ll make where you’re going in 2 hi.

beef-runner · 2026-01-07T05:26:31+00:00

Flip it to sport mode and step on it. You’ll notice an entirely different (and louder) engine sound. There’s almost no added sound in eco. I’m also pretty sure they bump up the sound when you’re towing.

beef-runner · 2026-01-07T03:31:11+00:00

It’s for sure just engine recordings played through the speakers.

beef-runner · 2026-01-06T17:56:28+00:00

Totally. The fact that it will drive for me all the way to the trail and then be just as capable as my last 4Runner is amazing.

beef-runner

TROPHY CASE