Newport Beach California
Newport Beach California has the top per capital ownership of Mercedes Benz automobiles in the whole world. Houses on the bay and on the Newport peninsula rank amongst the most costly on the west coastline of the United States, which puts them in the running for some of the most high-priced real-estate, per foot, in the whole world. Home of the O.C. and the Balboa Bar, Newport Beach California represents some of the new-old money of the west coast. Although these houses aren't historical estates, the peninsula was built up in the 50s and 60s, which sets the wealthy development of Newport apart from the even newer large money developments of Silicon Valley which cropped up by the hundreds in the early 90s. The wealthy of Newport occupy an fascinating middle ground amid the old money of the steel and oil families of the early on 19th and 20th centuries and the ultra-new cash of those who made it big through the tech boom.
However you look at it, Newport Beach California means wealth. When you drive down Pacific Coast Highway through town you'll go by yacht dealers located across from Ferrari and other exotic automobile dealerships. I've seen more Bentleys in the Newport region than anyplace I've ever seen; they're lined up in ritzy supermarket parking lots like Accords and Camry's back in the real world. I worked as a caterer close to Newport for a short time and waited on small, friend-and- family Christmas gatherings which included 200-name guest lists, carolers, magicians, and dozens of employees. In order to arrive at the house where the gathering was being hosted I had to get past an armed security guards at the gatehouse that kept the riff-raff out of the gated community.
Though the clientele is classy and the real-estate astronomically high-priced, it isn't hard to see why the wealthy decided to settle there. Newport Beach California is a gorgeous area, with about 300 days of sunshine a year and beautiful views of Catalina Island and the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to the influx of cash in the region, Newport boasts a great school structure and amazing restaurants. On a pleasant day you can stroll for hours up and down the boardwalk, people watching and checking out the surfers lined up on the breakers. Sure, the rental fee for a two-bedroom apartment building may be more in Newport than the mortgage payment on a home in many parts of the country, it's a pretty good gamble that those houses aren't a block from the beach and less than an hour from Hollywood or L.A.