| Weather | | How much crime? | | What are the neighborhoods like? | | What are the people like? |
| Costa Mesa has pretty consistent weather in that it doesn't generally get too hot or too cold. It either has a nice ocean breeze coming in from Newport Beach or the Santa Ana winds from the inland regions. It rains in the fall and winter but just not that much to be uncomfortable. The summers are truly beautiful with the exception of June gloom, which most beach area cities experience. June gloom is just an overcast gray sky during May and June and then it goes away to reveal the sun in all its glory. Winters are very mild even for California. | | Car burglaries and bicycle thefts seem to be the most frequent and worst crimes in the area, although if you go bar hopping you'll most likely run into a few bullies who love causing trouble after a couple of beers. Car burglaries are easy in this town because people are too trusting. They leave their purse or camera or laptop in the front seat and run into the grocery for "a couple of minutes." Of course, when they get back, those things are gone and they wonder what could have happened. Bike thefts are the same. People leave their expensive bikes unlocked and run into to get just one thing that will take less than a minute. However, for some reason, bike thieves are just waiting for that to happen and they ride off into the sunset with an brand new, very expensive bike. Lock your bike and don't leave anything valuable in your car. Ever. | | Costa Mesa has some terrific areas. Most notable is South Coast Plaza. This is world famous and has every high end store you have ever heard of. It's a great place to spend the day. Costa Mesa is a mixture of races and economic levels, mostly White and Hispanic. If you look hard enough you can rent an apartment or studio apartment for very little money. On the other hand, you can also spend a fortune either buying or renting a mansion that overlooks the back bay or the Pacific Ocean. Of course, some of the more questionable parts of town are around Harbor Blvd., which used to be one of the best places to shop in this town until about twenty years ago. Now, it looks a bit cheaper and there are more cops cruising the street to try to prevent bigger crimes than bike thefts from happening. | | Generally speaking, Costa Mesa residents are pretty friendly. It still has a small town feel even though the population has boomed in the last thirty years. Costa Mesa welcomes all types of people and races and it caters to entrepreneurs. Businesses pop up constantly and it is the center of opportunity for people who have great ideas and are willing to follow through with them. There are several great colleges in this area, so there are a great deal of college students and teachers. There is literally something for everybody in this town. From laid back hippie coffee shops to five-star restaurants and hotels. |
| Downtown Area | | Restaurants | | Schools | | Single life |
| Newport Blvd. in downtown Costa Mesa and South Coast Plaza in the border with Santa Ana are the two best places to shop in the area. South Coat Plaza is immaculately kept up, while the shops on Newport Blvd. are good but appear to be rather old and out of date. | | Plenty of great restaurants in South Coast Plaza to choose from. The best vegetarian restaurant in the area is Mother's Market. | | The schools here get very good reviews from proud parents. Kids grow up in the Costa Mesa public schools and go onto to great universities and earn advanced degrees. | | There are plenty of things to do in Costa Mesa to meet your soul mate. There are too many clubs and gyms and restaurants to mention, but each one of these can be a perfect step in the right direction if you want to meet somebody. |
| Noise | | town comparison vs. | | Best hospital | | Tourist attractions |
| John Wayne Airport can be loud at certain times of the day for residents living in north Costa Mesa. The first time you hear the jet back draft you'll freeze in your shoes. After that however, you'll get used to it. | | Newport Beach is adjacent to Costa Mesa and it has one of the highest per capita income levels in the country. It also has some of the most expensive homes and some of the most absolutely fantastic views ever seen by human beings. It contains Newport Bay along with several inhabited and expensive islands within it. Thousands of boats and yachts and movie stars homes are in Newport Beach. Santa Ana is another city that butts up to Costa Mesa. This is nothing like Newport Beach or Costa Mesa. It has some nice parts to it but mostly it seems as though it is just a big industrial area where a lot of people live. Of course, if one could afford it, one would have to live in Newport. But since most of us haven't won the lottery or made our fortunes in business yet, Costa Mesa will certainly do. | | Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach is just outside Costa Mesa's city limits and services both cities. This is a state of the art hospital that constantly makes changes to keep up to date in the medical field. | | Costa Mesa, once again, has world-renowned South Coast Plaza, but if you're in the area you must visit Newport Beach. Corona Del Mar and Balboa Island, (both parts of Newport), are definitely must see places. |
| General comments | | | | | | |
| The first thing you'll see when you come into town from the freeway is a beautiful state of the art natural foods store. It's huge and that says a lot about the consciousness of many of the town's residents. People seem to want to take care of themselves, both physically and otherwise and Costa Mesa gives you all the tools to do so. There are Yoga schools, dance schools, colleges, parks, great eateries and it is a gateway to the Pacific Ocean. | | | | | | |
