Please see my recently posted review for details. In general, it depends on where you are coming from on the east coast. If you are moving from the tri-state area, expect housing costs to be about the same, maybe a little cheaper, depending on where you live. Huntington Beach is what I consider a much more affordable version of Newport Beach, where a tiny 1,100 square foot house can cost you over a million just to have that prestigious Newport Beach address. Alternatively, you can probably afford a similar house in Huntington for around 5 to 7K, depending on location and condition. If you want to live downtown near the ocean, prices for single family homes typically range anywhere from 750k to 3 million (for brand new houses located on Pacific Coast Hwy across from the ocean). Normal houses go for around 800K to 1 million, but it does depend on your proximity to the beach. You can also rent or lease a home downtown for around 4k a month, if you know you aren't going to be here for long. There are plenty of apartments too, which typically go for upwards of 2K a month for a 2 bedroom. Hope this was helpful. It is a very nice and safe place to live, very little air pollution, since we are at the beach. However, anything metal does tend to rust very quickly, including cars if they are parked outside. And houses do also take a beating from the salt air, so expect higher than normal maintenance costs. Water/trash is around 60 dollars a month. No mello roos or extra fees if you choose to live downtown and not in a gated community. Property taxes range about 6k a year based on a 600K property value. Thanks to Prop. 3, at least you don't have to worry about them ever going up exponentially.
