enantiomorph

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irvine, like much of orange county, is full of strip malls, parking lots, and miles of planned communities that look completely identical to one another. seriously, I spent years living there, and I still managed to get lost trying to navigate the suburbs. let's see... most businesses close before 9pm. homeless people are transported to poorer sections of orange county. racial profiling is particularly bad. the intense micro-managing of all aspects of the city (placement and pruning of trees, color of windowpanes, etc) gives the city a feeling of superficiality and sterility. it's also very conservative. I couldn't believe when one of the republican groups on campus held a bake sale in which they charged white men $5 and black women $1 for donuts. it's a decent city for raising kids (it's safe, there are parks, good schools, etc) but not so much for 20/30-somethings. two of my friends are leaving uci because they can't handle the surroundings. anyway, I urge you to check the campus and city out. you can always throw yourself into your work and put up a barrier between yourself and your surroundings. there are good things & bad things about every city, and it's ultimately about creating your experience and maximizing the aspects that make you happy.

As an undergrad at UCI, I did everything I could to get out of Irvine. If you're looking for housing in OC, I'd recommend Costa Mesa; if you're willing to make the commute to/from LA county, I'd suggest Long Beach. I feel obligated to warn those of you considering UCI that the environment is very sterile (and at times felt soul-draining) - no amount of money or entourage of brilliant faculty would convince me to attend UCI as a graduate student.

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sent a pm with juicy details :mrgreen:

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37. http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/ 8)

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