VERY UNNEIGHBORLY; STUDY: ORANGE COUNTY DREADS BECOMING LIKE US.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

Because Orange County is, well - so very Orange County, certain things tend to strike fear in the heart of its populace: Any roof other than red tile. Unfamiliar faces after 5 p.m. in gated communities.

Gasp, Democrats!

But what they are most afraid of is becoming ``just like Los Angeles,'' according to a study released Monday that compares the neighboring counties.

``People here feel for people who live in Los Angeles. There's a sense among people of being grateful to live here,'' said Julie Puentes, spokeswoman for the Orange County Business Council. ``People move to Orange County for a slower pace, a more suburban atmosphere, and they want to protect that.''

Let them keep it, say many Angelenos.

Compared to L.A.'s world-class museums, professional sports teams, famous cuisine, ethnic diversity and trend-setting culture - what could possibly be so great about life in Orange County?

``I understand they have the dullest beaches in the world. One day the tide went out - and didn't come back in for a month,'' joked Ronnie Schell, who is the honorary mayor of Encino and probably best-known as Duke on ``Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.''

Schell said whatever Los Angeles residents may think they lack in safety, ease of commuting and clean air, many agree that Orange County more than lacks in vitality, culture and diversity.

Many San Fernando Valley residents echoed Schell, swearing that they could never live in Orange County: ``Every day would be more boring than the day before,'' said Rod McDonald, 44, an investment consultant from Woodland Hills.

And that seems to be just fine with folks behind the Orange Curtain.

Fear of L.A.

Despite its rapid growth, O.C. has managed to hold on to its much-desired ``suburban character,'' according to a survey conducted by University of California, Irvine, professor Mark Baldasarre and research associate Cheryl Katz.

``Many people think Orange County has grown and changed so much in recent decades that its suburban quality is gone. That fear has been best expressed in the views that Orange County has become `just like Los Angeles,' '' said Baldasarre, who is a professor of urban and regional planning in UCI's School of Social Ecology.

``But these findings show no evidence that Orange County is like Los Angeles in ratings of quality of life and government services,'' he said.

The Orange County survey polled 2,002 residents by telephone in September 1998 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent. Earlier this year, more than 1,500 Los Angeles County residents were surveyed by telephone in a separate study.

What Baldasarre found is at odds with a recent Money magazine article that named the City of Angels one of the three most livable big metropolises in the West. Orange County came in at the lowly No. 8 position.

Chris Romo, a 22-year-old Glendale resident, said he dislikes even going to Orange County, let alone thinking of living there.

``I never do anything in Orange County. It's just suburbs. There's more stuff to do here,'' he said.

Yet O.C. folks seem to believe they have it over their neighbors to the north in matters of quality of life, public services, job opportunities and county government. Los Angeles County, the results showed, was more likely to have problems with crime, pollution and traffic.

L.A. denizens including Stephanie Miller, comedian and a talk show host on KABC-AM (790), said they are willing to put up with a few more problems.

``I'll take a little more air pollution to keep a safe distance between me and right-wing psychotics,'' Miller said.

No insult meant

Despite the survey's overt swipes at Los Angeles, Baldasarre said he never meant to rile Angelenos.

The ``fear of becoming another Los Angeles,'' reported in the survey results, wasn't meant in a ``negative context,'' Baldasarre said.

``I was referring to urbanization, the fear of urbanization,'' Baldasarre said.

At the same time, however, the study results smugly report that ``satisfaction with the Orange County way of life is at an all-time high, undiminished by urbanization.''

For example, 58 percent of residents in Orange County say they are very satisfied with housing, compared with 45 percent of their northern counterparts.

Some Valley residents, however, question whether they would be as thrilled.

``Everything is the same there: the houses, the streets, even the people,'' said Ann Murray, 38, of West Hills, who once lived in Irvine for five years. ``We may have our drawbacks, but at least we have character.''

Orange Countians are also very satisfied with their work - 55 percent as compared with 37 percent in Los Angeles County.

Cultural desert

In leisure time, the survey said Orange County residents are more satisfied, with 54 percent vs. L.A. County's 42 percent.

Sure, the region has the Orange County Museum of Art and Leisure World, a pioneer of retirement villages, while Los Angeles is left to muddle along with the Sunset Strip and the Getty Center.

This Saturday, Los Angeles will host one of the biggest college football games of the year, between the University of California, Los Angeles, Bruins (ranked No. 3 in the nation) and the University of Southern California Trojans, while Orange County . . . well, Orange County doesn't have a big game.

Staff Writers Lee Condon, Ivan Sciupac and Rick Orlov contributed to this story.