California's Safest County Also Happens To Be One Of Its Most Conservative | Alejandro Avila

California is the most beautiful state in the nation (don't @ me), but it can be an absolute hell-hole in terms of personal safety.

Specifically, Los Angeles County, which is notorious for letting itself go by allowing transients to roam the streets like zombies. 

Worst of all, L.A. County residents frequently dread the possibility of a run-in with criminals based on the county's soft stance on prosecuting crime.

Orange County, Heaven on Earth

Well, if you travel just 30 minutes south of Los Angeles, you'll come across the always-stunning Orange County, one of the state's more conservative counties, which also happens to be the safest in the state.

Full disclosure: as a man who hails from the heavenly hills of O.C., I am wholly biased toward this county's strengths …

Yet, I am undeniably speaking the truth when I say Orange County offers a better quality of living than Los Angeles County.

Best of all, there are now FACTS to back up what I already knew was true, and I love it when that happens.

A recent study published by home security company SafeWise revealed that the seven safest cities in the Golden State are in conservatively run Orange County.

Here's the top-ten list of safest cities in California:

1. Rancho Santa Margarita (O.C.)

2. Aliso Viejo (O.C.)

3. Yorba Linda (O.C.)

4. Laguna Niguel (O.C.)

5. Mission Viejo (O.C.)

6. Lake Forest (O.C.)

7. Lincoln

8. Poway

9. Rocklin

10. Irvine (O.C.)

Why is O.C. so special, you ask? 

Orange County is run much more ‘conservative’ politically than its neighboring county to the West, making it almost obvious that the area is going to be a much safer and cleaner place to live than the ultra-politically-progressive L.A.

One of the marquee billboards you'll spot on the 405 freeway heading south is the "Crimes Doesn't Pay In Orange County" sign, letting L.A. residents know that crime doesn't fly in O.C. and not to be conflated with L.A.'s loose rules on crime. The sign is paid for by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

"If you steal, we prosecute," the billboard declares, to the immense relief of normal citizens entering the county.

Orange County prides itself in all its differences with L.A. to an embarrassing degree, at least for the latter.

We're not like L.A., is a great message to announce when promoting safety.

La Habra, Calif. - Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer after a press conference announcing his bid for reelection on the border of Los Angeles and Orange Counties in La Habra, CA, on Wednesday, January 26, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Orange County knows how to run things, which shames nearby L.A. County, which is facing a declining quality of life, especially when dealing with crime.

O.C.'s local government uses residents' feedback to create a better, safer environment. If crime is an issue, get tough on crime. If Dr. Fauci says to lock down and mask up, take a step back, look at the data, and do the opposite of what the loony epidemiologist says.

O.C.'s Conservative Government Trumps L.A. By A Landslide 

Life is better in O.C. 

To drive this home, let's remember California's COVID era as an example.

During lockdowns, which I can admit were brutal, Los Angeles County shut down every public space imaginable to blindly "follow the science."

Basketball rims were taken down, beaches closed, and restaurants limited capacity to as low as 10 percent occupancy — all ridiculous rules dictated by Los Angeles County.

To the East, Orange County operated closer to Florida, opening up public spaces and trusting the locals more than Los Angeles ever did.

I still remember driving 40 minutes to glorious Orange County on weekends in 2020 to sit inside restaurants with friends, only to return to dreaded Los Angeles County where I was forced to wear face masks and wait in lines to enter a Target, policed to be at 25 percent capacity and no more.

During the COVID era, O.C.'s superior way of life was evident to everyone in SoCal. Drive an hour and a half south to an equally conservative San Diego County, and people mingled freely in closed or open spaces, all while L.A. decided to stay locked down.

All that is to say: L.A.'s liberal leadership has allowed the glorious City of Angels to look like a hell-hole. And be run like one, too.

Citizens of L.A. frequently concern themselves about getting their homes or cars broken into. 

Occasionally, friends will share stories about mistakenly leaving an item on their vehicle's front seat, which is practically a ‘Welcome’ sign for an L.A. goon who knows they won't face legal repercussions if they break in.

For that, we must thank L.A. District Attorney George Gascon — an ex-San Francisco D.A. whose soft-on-crime stance lets criminals run rampant.

In Gascon's Los Angeles, once-opulent cities like Santa Monica and Beverly Hills devolved into a pit of crime available for looters to waltz in and destroy.

Orange County's game plan of being the opposite of L.A. seems to be working out, swimmingly.

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Send a message: alejandro.avila@outkick.com