Kudos to the city where we live!

Recently our city of Irvine was ranked first or second nationally on the list of America's safest cities. Now it's ranked 4th on the list of best cities in America in which to live. It's a pretty nice place -- I guess that's why it was so hard to leave here when we evaluated the offer from Illinois a couple of years ago.

America's Best Places to Live: Monday, July 14, 2008 provided by No. 4: Irvine, Calif.

City of Irvine Population: 194,000, Miles from Los Angeles: 36, Green space: One-third of the city, Sunny days per year: 280, Pros: Topnotch schools, great weather, lots of green space, Con: High home prices
Long before developers embraced the idea of mixed-use communities where residents could live, work and play, there was Irvine. Born in the 1960s, when the University of California commissioned architect William Pereira to design a new campus and town, “it was one of the first of the large planned communities that offered residents more than just a house and a yard,” says Jerold Kayden, a professor of urban planning and design at Harvard University. Today, Irvine’s population hovers around 200,000, yet it feels much smaller thanks to its tight-knit neighborhoods and more than 16,000 acres of green space. From their house here, Megan and Brent Gess and their daughters, Emily, 10, Natalie, 7, and Lily, 4, can walk to six different parks. “Most neighborhoods have their own pools, swim teams and recreation programs,” says Megan, 34, a mergers-and-acquisitions attorney. “It makes for very close communities.”Families say Irvine is pretty close to perfect. The school district has won national recognition, and not just because of stellar test scores. Innovative curriculums, year-round schedules and open-style classrooms all win kudos. “Education is a high priority here,” says Brent, 37, an intellectual-property attorney. “We’re surrounded by a lot of very smart people”—in part because the university is the city’s largest employer. Some two dozen international companies, from Gateway to St. John’s Knits, also call Irvine home.One drawback—and it’s a big one—is the cost of housing. While median prices have fallen nearly 19% since the 2006 market peak, a typical three-bedroom, two-bath house still runs about $700,000, says Cesi Pagano, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty. But prices in Irvine have held up better than those elsewhere in Orange County, and foreclosures aren’t nearly as widespread.