It sounds like the answers you're getting are dealing with the area and commute times around Irvine. To answer your question: "I'm trying to decide if the program is worth moving to the area for..."
UCI is a solid school. It's not nearly as good as the top UC's, but a solid top 50 university. That being said, its MPP program is not mentioned as one of the top programs. USNews doesn't have it ranked in the top 25 in MPP programs if that matters to you. This is probably because as far as I know the program was only started a year or 2 ago. So your answer probably depends on how good the employment stats are for their program, how much in aid they're giving you, and how much you care about the reputation (or lackthereof) of the program.
With regard to the city of Irvine itself, I can give you some decent insight as I went to UCI for undergrad and lived there for 2 years post undergrad. First and foremost: it is not a college town! Irvine is the definition of manicured suburbia, which is good and bad depending on your preference. The city is mostly upper middle class families and has tons of shopping plazas and chain stores. It is super duper safe and everything closes at 9 or 10. Most parties I attended in my undergrad years were house parties because there really are no bars within a convenient distance. (pub on campus if you count that) If you are into the bar scene, you should move to Newport Beach where there are plenty of dive bars close by populated by many a frat/sorority clique. The down side to Newport Beach is it's more expensive and parking can be a hassle.
The University itself is a ghost town on the weekends because it's a commuter school. The entire campus is pretty small as it's a circle. Parking, as with every university, is a pain in the behind.
That's all I can think of, but I would imagine if you're not getting a decent amount of financial aid, given the school's relatively new start it'd probably not be worth the debt.