I live in Los Angeles now..... formerly midwest. About Santa Ana.... it's supposed to be a heavily hispanic area. Just because you work in Santa Ana does not mean that you have to live there. There are other great places in OC that you can commute from. Irvine is close by but be ready to spend about $1000 and up for a decent one bedroom apartment per month. Of what I've heard of Santa Ana, it is not a great place to live in.