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To those of you who live or have lived in Irvine--how did you find your apartments? Craigslist? Local paper? A specific realtor? The Irvine Company? Something else? Thanks!

Just curious as to what information/hints/tips other people received during their visits. Was anyone presented with a better option than "Live an hour away"? At this point (and I am moving with a partner who will, hopefully, be able to get a decent job) I'm planning on biting the bullet and looking for a 2 bedroom with some character fairly close to the university for a bit under 2k/month. Does anyone have any thoughts on Costa Mesa (which, from craigslist searches and mapquest studies seems like my best bet)?

Well, here's my initial report: a lot of students talked up Long Beach, both for its urban aspects (can walk/bike places, etc) and for the fact that because apartments are individually owned, there are bargains to be found. I'm a little put off by the distance from the university, however (a current student told me she gives herself between 45 minutes and 1 hour for the trip)--if I'm traveling thousands of miles to go to school, why end up an hour away from where I need to be? All of the students and faculty I spoke with who live in Long Beach or LA (an even further commute) lived in the area before starting school, and had roots in these areas. It looks like the thing to do is to make a trip out a month or two before moving, rent a car, and drive around looking for apartments.

Yea, declining that offer of housing is painful! I'm going out Feb 29-March 2, so I'll also post what I find regarding housing.

Can anyone here give me information about living off campus? I'm considering UC Irvine, but I have a dog so I won't be able to live on campus (damned no dog on campus rules!). I like my dog a lot, so getting rid of him is not an option. The only thing I can find from internet searches is that it is ridiculously expensive, and that every apartment is part of a huge complex, all of which look exactly the same. Is there anything with a little character in Irvine? Has anyone had success living off campus?