Which one of these places in South OC would be most Ideal to settle down/retire in? (San Diego: apartments)

[Newbe10]

I have pretty much made up my mind that I want to settle down and retire in Southern Orange County. I think that the area is ideal due to the fact that the area's scenery is beautiful, it seems like a pretty safe area to live, the ocean is close by and the fact that most of the communities of South OC are far enough away from the Chaos of the LA/Long Beach and San Diego areas.

I have considered San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, MV, and Dana Point, but my number one choice is San Clemente. I love the Spanish style architecture on many of the buildings in San Clemente and the fact that almost every house there either has an ocean view or is only a few blocks from the beach.

San Clemente, based on my own research, seems to have the most reasonable prices for homes along the coast in OC (and many of the homes are really nice). I was able to find that many homes are priced under a million, even by the beach.

Anyway, since I have never lived in any of the communities mentioned above, which one would any of you recommend for settling down in and/or retiring in? I don't plan on moving to any of these communities right now; it would be me and my wife settling in after our kids grew up and left for college, so it's pretty much a plan for the future.

[Mr. Fantastic]

San Clemente is going to be cheaper, so will San Juan Capistrano.

But, if you can swing it, I would possibly look at Laguna Niguel/Dana Point for value. Laguna Beach and Newport are far too expensive right now.

[NewportBeachGuy]

Originally Posted by Newbe10

I have pretty much made up my mind that I want to settle down and retire in Southern Orange County. I think that the area is ideal due to the fact that the area's scenery is beautiful, it seems like a pretty safe area to live, the ocean is close by and the fact that most of the communities of South OC are far enough away from the Chaos of the LA/Long Beach and San Diego areas.

I have considered San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, MV, and Dana Point, but my number one choice is San Clemente. I love the Spanish style architecture on many of the buildings in San Clemente and the fact that almost every house there either has an ocean view or is only a few blocks from the beach.

San Clemente, based on my own research, seems to have the most reasonable prices for homes along the coast in OC (and many of the homes are really nice). I was able to find that many homes are priced under a million, even by the beach.

Anyway, since I have never lived in any of the communities mentioned above, which one would any of you recommend for settling down in and/or retiring in? I don't plan on moving to any of these communities right now; it would be me and my wife settling in after our kids grew up and left for college, so it's pretty much a plan for the future.

San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, and Laguna Niguel are a great place for retirement and bringing up children. They are really boring places for young people but excellent for boring old farts. I was raised in Laguna Beach so those areas are well known to me.

[Wurzig]

Dana Point and San Clemente will have more overcast skies, especially SC....(trust me, not all homes in San Clemente see the ocean or are 'just a few blocks' from the beach'---the newer part of SC is on the other side of the freeway and it reaches a few miles inland)......

SJC and MV have the hottest temps.

SJC also has a lot of the architecture that you mentioned...(definitely authentic in old SJC)....it has one of the missions......

San Juan has a very old downtown, (nowadays, cute, touristy shops mostly----it also has Nixon's favorite restaurant--the Western White House was in SC), but other (housing) areas are much newer than downtown.......it is the eldest town out of all your choices.....

MV is a planned community for the most part, but homes are aging.....(not ancient by any means, just aging, comfy).....

The newest areas of SC are on the non-ocean side of the freeway.......the areas on the ocean side are 'sleepy'.....twisty streets, surfer-dudes of all ages, older one-of-a-kind homes, mixed in with duplexes, apartments, etc....

Considering any and all towns as a whole, DP is probably the most laid-back........great, safe harbor area in which to walk.

I have lived in LN for over 2 decades...all of the towns that you mentioned run together, (well, SC is about 5 minutes down the road), but they have definite personalities....my daughter was born and raised here, but we are close to retirement age.....safe, clean area....nice housing..... I see the ocean from my house.......some do. Heck, if you are at certain elevations, the ocean can be seen from many in DP, many in SC, some in SJC, more than you realize in LN and possibly MV, too.......(not sure about MV)....

This is not an inexpensive area......we definitely pay for the Mediterranean climate....

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by Wurzig

MV is a planned community for the most part, but homes are aging.....(not ancient by any means, just aging, comfy).....

As are the original sections of Niguel, i.e. the Pacesetter homes up the hill at Niguel and La Hermosa, and the homes off La Plata as well as the homes off Adelanto.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

As are the original sections of Niguel, i.e. the Pacesetter homes up the hill at Niguel and La Hermosa, and the homes off La Plata as well as the homes off Adelanto.

If memory serves, those are about 45 years old now. Last time I was there it looked like most of the homes in my old neighborhood had been remodeled. The weather's not exactly brutal there so I doubt aging structures would be much of an issue.

[Fontucky]

For the most part, they're in excellent shape. We own a rental on Monte Verde, built ~1962/3.

Soil subsidence has been the main problem in isolated pockets of that area.

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

San Clemente is going to be cheaper, so will San Juan Capistrano.

Laguna Beach and Newport are far too expensive right now.

Tell me about it! Both places are outrageous. It would be nice to see a huge correction in the prices of homes in both cities.

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by Wurzig

Dana Point and San Clemente will have more overcast skies, especially SC....(trust me, not all homes in San Clemente see the ocean or are 'just a few blocks' from the beach'---the newer part of SC is on the other side of the freeway and it reaches a few miles inland)......

SJC and MV have the hottest temps.

SJC also has a lot of the architecture that you mentioned...(definitely authentic in old SJC)....it has one of the missions......

San Juan has a very old downtown, (nowadays, cute, touristy shops mostly----it also has Nixon's favorite restaurant--the Western White House was in SC), but other (housing) areas are much newer than downtown.......it is the eldest town out of all your choices.....

MV is a planned community for the most part, but homes are aging.....(not ancient by any means, just aging, comfy).....

The newest areas of SC are on the non-ocean side of the freeway.......the areas on the ocean side are 'sleepy'.....twisty streets, surfer-dudes of all ages, older one-of-a-kind homes, mixed in with duplexes, apartments, etc....

Considering any and all towns as a whole, DP is probably the most laid-back........great, safe harbor area in which to walk.

I have lived in LN for over 2 decades...all of the towns that you mentioned run together, (well, SC is about 5 minutes down the road), but they have definite personalities....my daughter was born and raised here, but we are close to retirement age.....safe, clean area....nice housing..... I see the ocean from my house.......some do. Heck, if you are at certain elevations, the ocean can be seen from many in DP, many in SC, some in SJC, more than you realize in LN and possibly MV, too.......(not sure about MV)....

This is not an inexpensive area......we definitely pay for the Mediterranean climate....

Thanks for all of the info! From what it sounds like, it's a much more diverse area (housing wise) than it looks while driving through on the main freeways/roads.