Best affordable, non-soul-crushing areas for young family working in Tustin? (Long Beach: apartment, rental)

[Designbot]

My wife and I are about 30 years old, and we have two young kids, one of whom who will be starting Kindergarten next year. We've lived in Fullerton before, and liked it all right, although we found it difficult to meet people, and we found Orange County in general to be an odd mix of wealthy, appearance-obsessed Republicans and inappropriately-aged wannabe punk rockers.

We moved out of the state, but now my work requires me to come back to our office in Tustin. Are there any decent areas where we can find a 2-bedroom apartment/townhome/rental for ~$1300 that isn't in a massive complex surrounded by bland strip malls?

Things we're looking for are:

A diverse mix of neighbors, including young families
Laid-back, non-superficial atmosphere
Decent schools
Walkability
Good cheap food
Trees & hills would be great, as well as bike paths
Proximity to the beach is a plus

Based on NaplesRes's suggestion, I'm considering the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, but a shorter commute would be nice. I also drove through Lake Forest area recently, and I liked the natural setting, although the oversized, overplanned shopping areas around Irvine kind of creep me out.

Any suggestions?

[nori_garsi]

1300 is really low for a two-bedroom home or townhome. I rented a 2b apt. right across from South Coast Plaza and we paid about 1200. Santa Ana has some nice areas where you may find something in that range. You may also find something in Rancho Santa Margarita or other places in East or Southern Orange County. I don't think you'll find anything in that range close to the beach in a decent neighborhood.

Unless you want to commute from the LA area I would think this question would be better suited for the Orange County board.

[nmnita]

yes, try the OC board, but I also agree, you are going to have trouble finding what you want in that price range. In fact you would have trouble finding that anywhere in OC. I am afraid. I wish you luck..Belmont Shores might be a good bet,as well as Santa Ana.

Nita

[NaplesRes]

2 bedroom in belmont shore will be around $1800 to start I bet.

[Mike121]

Perhaps try for an older apartment downtown Orange.

[Designbot]

I included the question here since the Long Beach area isn't in Orange County… thanks for the suggestions. Fortunately, there are a surplus of rental properties in some areas right now, so rents are lower than they have been.