Hi there, I went to UC Irvine (so I had four years to get familiar with the area). I believe the side of Anaheim that is closer to the hills is regarded as the "hit" side of town, and the side closer to Disneyland is the "miss" part of town. As for surrounding cities, theres Cypress, Westminster, Santa Ana (it's considered rough because it's next to Irvine), Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, La Mirada. All of these communities should be good places to live in, only exception is Santa Ana, it's regarded as rough because it's lower income and it's next to Irvine, which is affluent. In general (this is widely known, I think), Orange County is expensive, especially if you live closer to the coast. I have a cousin who goes to CSUF, and he loves Downtown Fullerton, it's quite nice. My piece of advice is to live somewhere where you have two freeways nearby, just so you have options in case traffic gets really horrible. Hopefully this helps!