Affordable Way To Live In Orange County

It is easy to find a cheaper way to live in Orange County. If you are single that is, although there are rooms available for couples or families if there is enough space but they are harder to find.

In the South Orange County area, the only affordable way to live here is to rent a room in a house. Luckily, most houses here on the large side so you have abit more elbow room and alot of them come with various amenities, such as private pools or community pools, green belts, beautiful community areas, and even tennis courts. Alot of the homes in South Orange County have nice community and recreation areas due to them being part of master planned neighborhoods, a planning concept that took shape in the 1970s.

At the time of writing, individual rooms for rent in a house are ranging from $600 to $700 per month with some listings including the use of a private bathroom, house amenities, and community amenities with the cost of utilities. Typically, a small studio would cost around $1,100 and up (a friend of mine just had to move out of one because it went up in rent).

The house that we're staying in rents out a room for $600 per month with a private bathroom and garage space but the cost of the utilities is shared.

Most rooms available for rent are posted on Craigslist.com and Roommates.com. Also, posting flyers stating the need for a room rental around numerous colleges and universities in Orange County definitely bring in contacts fast. The downside to that is, of course, the contacts may mainly be students.  However, alot of the students that we have had contact with have been in the mid-20s to late-20s range, due to alot of people having gone back to school during these hard times. We have also had inquiries from assistant/interim professors and graduate students.

In about three years, we would have to move out of this house as well and instead of heading back to our condo, we may think about renting out another room in this area as well.