Places where I lived: Irvine, California

Wherever I lived, I was always happy. Even in Texas, I wasn’t unhappy…

California is special though. I love California. It’s an uncomplicated relationship. Yes, California is expensive but I love it.

I didn’t choose to live in California. That’s where my job happened to be when I immigrated to America almost nine years ago.

We spent a few years in Northern California. We lived in Cupertino.

Then we had a stretch in Memphis, Tennessee, and Dallas, Texas.

We were then back in California, Southern this time. Irvine. We’re now heading elsewhere, but it’s a different story. For now, I still spend a lot of time in Irvine.

I’ve really enjoyed Irvine.

You can, of course, read about Irvine on Wikipedia.

Some curious facts and observations:

Irvine is one of America’s flagship master-planned cities. The city’s Master plan, created in the 1960s, still guides the modern development of the city. I once tried to get involved in a real estate project in Irvine. It was a far-fetched and opportunistic situation (I’m not a real estate entrepreneur). I was told — forget it, you can’t rezone anything in Irvine. I wasn’t being lied to. You can’t rezone anything.

For many years Irvine has been America’s safest city of its size.

Much of Irvine’s real estate is owned by Irvine Company. The owner of Irvine company…