although i do not live near scco (i'm a commuter), i know around fullerton (within 2 miles) a studio can cost you anywhere from 790 and above. one bedroom/1 bath start around 900; and, usually, two bedrooms with one/two bathrooms cost around 1100 and up. the apartments i've seen are decent.
the area around scco is quite nice- very suburban, mostly caucasian. you find lots of things nearby. also, scco is right across a california state university. that cal state school is actually a commuter school, where most of the students commute there so not sure if lots of cal state folk live around there. however, the area around scco isnt' your typical college town, like westwood, where you see college kids walking around all the time. it's orange county so you pretty much have to drive everywhere. there's a lot of houses nearby, like i said, very suburban.
i don't know about the safety, but as i said, you dont' see many people walking around all the time. but i haven't heard of any major crimes around the area except your typical broken into cars near some apartment complexes.
another thing, scco will send you a summer packet that will give a list of students looking for roomates. i believe they send you a card that asks you if you would like to put your name on a list to request a roomate. scco does own apartments/condos across the street and right next to school. i think you have to be put on the wait list for that. the rent policy has changed to year leases, instead of month-to-month. you get cable and some utilities paid. and i think condos/apartments range from 1200-1400? i dont' know exactly since current classmates rents range from 430 to 735ish (but that's per room, depending on size of the room).
i also have classmates that live 15-20 min away. their rent is about 600-750 per room. they live in fullerton (near the 91 freeway), anaheim, garden grove. i havne't heard of areas where's it really cheap. they are all about the same price i think. anways, hope that helps =).
