Where we live

Thought I'd tell you a little about where we live. Irvine is a planned city, consisting of townships called  "villages". The all look are pretty square and are usually located close to a shopping area. There is e.g. lots of stores like Barnes & Noble, Target, just across the road from us, which is really convenient. Irvine is also very green, has several parks and bike lanes. The neighbourhoods are quite uniform in appearance, and everything is looking quite neat.

We live in one of the many appartment complexes and it turns out to be quite a convenient way of living. The complex is a gated community, i.e, the community is surrounded by a fence and you need either a key or a remote control to get through the gate. We have a reception at the front of the complex which is open 8 am to 6 pm every day - great for picking up parcels if you missed UPS during delivery hours! There is a small business office consisting of computers, printers, scanner, fax machines all of which the tenants can use for free. Also, there is a small gym, free zumba and yoga classes, 2 salt water pools and jacuzzis, BBQ areas and a clubhouse which everyone can use. The complex is super clean and often you see the maintenance guys driving around on golf carts making sure everything looks spotless. It feels a little like resort living and even if it has a Stepford wives character, we really enjoy living here. There are a  lot events organized by the rental company: cookie exchange events, photo events, taco nights, wine tasting..all complimentary. So far we have joined the taco night. think I need to do some demo baking at home before participating in any cookie exchange events:)

Below are the pools,

The flats are very convenient, they all come with a full kitchen - large freezer and fridge unit, microwave, dish washer, cooker, lots of kitchen units, kitchen island - you learn to appreciate these things after living in Germany where you have to buy your own kitchen. It still feels like luxury here!! We also have a new device I haven't seen outside the US - the garbage disposal unit. It is a device installed under the kitchen sink between the sink's drain and the trap which shreds food waste into small pieces.  The waste is sent down the drain into the water pipes and out into the sewer system. Not completely environmental friendly but we occasionally use it.

In this complex all flats come with one garage, dryer and washing machine, one walk in closet and the floor plan is an open solution. The only thing we would change is the American predilection for carpets, I think it may be losing its popularity a little but we have them in every room apart from the bathrooms, dining and kitchen area. We have a 2 bedroom 2 bath room flat, in European words: 3 room flat with kitchen, 2 full bathrooms and a balcony. Needless to say: the walk in closet and kitchen island really did it for me when we looked at the flat back in February!

Outside our garage

Flat, second floor (third, according to American standard)

Outside the house

Across the road, shopping area (behind the palm trees)