Please help me figure out where to live in Orange County (San Francisco: transplants, rentals)

[portmu]

Ok, having read quite a few requests for advice and responses, I've become a bit panicky at the thought of having to move to Orange County. I'm a single 30-something black woman with a 13 year old son currently living in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. I accepted a position at a great company in Newport Beach, and I'll be starting at $250K/year. Having read through citi-data the past couple of weeks, it appears that we could experience some negative reactions based on the color of our skin. Being from Oklahoma, it's not something that would keep me from moving to a new place, but I have a son, and I'm worried that he may have to regularly deal with it. With that being said, it's still California, and we did live in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco for years, with no problems. I've always wanted to return to CA, but figured the LA area would be where I settled. That wasn't in the cards, since the Company is based in Newport.

Given this info, could you provide suggestions on where to live? My son will start 7th Grade and a great public school is a necessity. I also don't want to be isolated from meeting people, as I am single (and an "equal opportunity" dater when it comes to race). I would prefer to rent for the first couple of years. Lastly, would living as far north as Redondo Beach be too much of a drive each day? Thanks in advance.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by portmu

I'll be starting at $250K/year.
I am single...and an "equal opportunity" dater
I'll be starting at $250K/year.

If you're rich, I'm single.....


Check this out for schools

California School Performance Maps

[Coldjensens]

You will nto avoid all prejudice anyplace. Your best hope is to find a place where prejudice will be minimal and will not be tolerated by school officials. In my admittedly limited experience, you will encounter more prejudice from other minority groups (Hispanics and/or Asians). You would expect to encounter less prejudice in areas with a wealthier/more educated population, but that is nto the case. You also might expect less prejudice in more liberal areas but that is not true either. In fact the opposite seems to be true. South Orange County is mostly white. The impoverished areas are mostly Hispanic and two communities Irvine and Garden Grove are heavily populated by white and Asian people. Blacks simply are not very common in Orange County. This is not because of an overwhelmingly prejudicial popualtoin, it is just due to economics and personal choices. However segregated living tends to generate some suspciaion and fear which can lead to prejudice in some instances.

There is prejudice all over Orange COunty. It may be slightly less in some areas, but it is everyhwere. However prejudice exists pretty much everywhere that I have even been in the country. So your goal is to find the nicest place withthe least liklihood of prejudice.

On the other hand, Orange County is also filled with wonderful terrific people. It wil depend heavily on whom you encounter. You may have a run in with the only five Nazis in Newport Beach and think that the whole place is awful, or you might live there your whole life and encounter only wonder people. Orange COunty is very large and people move around a lot, so where you live may not make all that much difference. If you live in Corona Del Mar and avoid any local racists, the Nazis, Hicks, supremecists, or whatevrer from another community may still come there and make rude comments as you leave a resturuant. It is really hit and miss. However that is true pretty much everywhere.

This is a difficult delimmna. Fullerton could be a decent option for you, or Cerritos, or Anaheim (Troy and Oxford High Schools are execellent if your son can get into them). You could live anywhere and get your kid into the Orange County Arts schools if he has talent. They are execellent schools and very tolerant (too tolerant in some regards). They are located in Downtown Santa Ana and you would have to arrange transporttion for him. They are charter schools that accept anyone from Orange County with extreme talents in the arts (singing, acting, music, drawing, graphics, etc). They are not free, but you can easily afford the relatively minor fees that they charge.

Another option is the El DuradoSchool for Gifted Children. If there is any place that prejudice is not tolerated and kids are taught how to deal with and avoid their inherent prejudices it is there. It is expensive, but with only one child and a substantail income it should not be a problem for you.

As to where to live . . . . you will find more black people mixed in and therefore arguably more tolerance in the central and northern parts of Orange County. However, the high end areas are mostly in the south. As you move south, it gets whiter, richer and more intolerant. Irvine is known for having small bands of Nazis and white supremecists. Newport Beach is known for police prejudice. Even in Laguna which is extremely gay friendly and heavily populated by gay persons, I think you may run into some prejudice.

Costa Mesa might be tolerable for you, but the schools are not so good. Newport is not the best option if you are concerned about prejudice. You will defeinitely find some there.

Orange has some very nice areas Villa Park, Orange Park Acres, Old Town, Anaheim Hills. However as you move into richer areas, you may find more intolerance.

If you rent at first and have your son attend charter schools or private school, then you are free to move around a bit withut taking him out of school unless you want to. It is probably best to try an area and see whether you feel comfortable.

[missionhome]

People seem to care about money more in the area than race. If you have a nice purse, drive a nice car, have a nice house, and have the right sun glasses, etc.... then you would be fine. Its shallow, but it is reality in a area like Newport beach. Your biggest problem could be making sure you don't have friends that are snobs.

[Vinsanity]

for $250k a year, you should be able to live anywhere you want. Fullerton, Anaheim, and Cerritos have some decent areas, but I wouldn't recommend them unless you mind a longer commute than you should have. Racism makes me uncomfortable as anyone else, but if I'm giving in to the idea that only white people should live in Newport Beach because I don't want to encounter racism, then I've let them win.

I wouldn't want to put a 13-year-old kid in a situation where he'd be facing hate and prejudice, but as long as he knows that those people aren't any better than him, then he should be fine in most of the well-to-do areas here. I'd focus mainly on moving to a place with the best quality schools; Irvine should be a solid choice.

[bhcompy]

At 250k/yr you'll be able to live pretty much anywhere you want and send your kid to private school if you'd like. People are pretty live and let live around here, but I'd find a place that isn't packed full of transplants already because those people tend to be the least accepting(in my experience). If you want somewhere really laid back and accepting, I'd look in places like Sunset Beach, Surfside, and Seal Beach. Simple commute to Newport and excellent schools(part of Los Alamitos Unified). You could also look at Huntington Harbor, which has a great deal of newer condo and townhouse rentals and great schools as well. The beach communities tend to be the most accepting communities because of the laid back culture, and they also tend to be great places to meet people as well.

[Munich]

250k is gonna make you very happy in Orange County

Newport itself is nice, but full of very spoiled and rich people. Not a bad thing, but not everyone's cup of tea. I like Laguna bcause IMO it's the most liberal place in the OC (great art scene, gay scene,....) and close to Newport.

Try not to live too far away from work because traffic is a nightmaren in the OC.

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by portmu

Ok, having read quite a few requests for advice and responses, I've become a bit panicky at the thought of having to move to Orange County. I'm a single 30-something black woman with a 13 year old son currently living in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. I accepted a position at a great company in Newport Beach, and I'll be starting at $250K/year. Having read through citi-data the past couple of weeks, it appears that we could experience some negative reactions based on the color of our skin. Being from Oklahoma, it's not something that would keep me from moving to a new place, but I have a son, and I'm worried that he may have to regularly deal with it. With that being said, it's still California, and we did live in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco for years, with no problems. I've always wanted to return to CA, but figured the LA area would be where I settled. That wasn't in the cards, since the Company is based in Newport.

Given this info, could you provide suggestions on where to live? My son will start 7th Grade and a great public school is a necessity. I also don't want to be isolated from meeting people, as I am single (and an "equal opportunity" dater when it comes to race). I would prefer to rent for the first couple of years. Lastly, would living as far north as Redondo Beach be too much of a drive each day? Thanks in advance.

Check out Naples / Belmont Shore area in Long Beach. Very good middle school (Rogers), pretty accepting of diverse cultures, and not more than a 25-30 minute drive to Newport (just take pch).

[Munich]

Originally Posted by NaplesRes

Check out Naples / Belmont Shore area in Long Beach. Very good middle school (Rogers), pretty accepting of diverse cultures, and not more than a 25-30 minute drive to Newport (just take pch).

Not during rush hours

[AKgirlinCA]

Just live in Newport or Corona del Mar, you can afford to! You need to be close to your work.

The truth is that there are hardly any African Americans in OC. I'm not quite sure why, but it's simply the case. I think Newport is definitely more shallow than racist, if racist at all. Heck, Kobe Bryant lives in Newport Coast.