Moving to Orange County, CA from Cincinnati with two kids, lots of questions:) (Santa Ana: sales, real estate)

[Koukla1]

My husband, two kids And I (elementary school ages) may be relocating to OC in the next year from Cincinnati, OH. My husbands business will be located in Santa Ana. We are more concerned with living in a safe and really great city than we are the commute time to work (although it would be a plus to have an easy commute). Other than living in a crappy City we are happy in Cincy because I have a tight knit family, we live in a safe and middle to upper class neighborhood, and my kids would be going to good private schools here. If we moved it would be to "better" our life style (and i hope I'm correct) that OC would be a better life style for me and my family (weather, out door activities etc)???
we like to be active out doors, we like to go out to dinners and be in fun places.

My questions are, how much higher is the cost of living in OC than here in Cincinnati? What is an avg income of what a family should make to live comfortably in OC?

We are looking for homes in the range of $750,000-1,000,000. If possible, I would like to live in an area /city that was safe and was close to good private schools and/public schools. I would like an area with character (no cookie cutter homes), a view, good climate, hip, close to everything and Family friendly--in other words, what cities are really great...in that price range?

What elementary and high schools are the best in OC? Do most kids go to public or private (bc I hear the public schools are great).

What is the life style in OC? Is it fake and boring (I've read this on some posts) OR is it like I picture it to be beautiful with a lot to offer?

[luckodeirish]

You are going to get a variety of answers to your questions, especially the one relative to "is it fake and boring"...
For your price you have options, Irvine is mainly cookie cutter but there are some older areas with non cookie cutter homes. Schools are great. And before nurserosie my neighbor weighs in I will beat her to the punch and tell you to check out Lemon Heights and other areas of North Tustin. Not cookie cutter, homes have good sized lots, etc. 1,000,000 will get you in, maybe a bit less for a dated home, but well worth it. Both Irvine and North Tustin are about 20 min from most parts of Santa Ana, so your spouse could almost make it home for lunch...
I cannot comment on the prices of OC vs where you are now. But there are a lot of things to do, outdoors hiking, biking, beaches, indoors, amazing shopping South Coast Plaza places to eat, etc.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Koukla1

I would like an area with character (no cookie cutter homes),

What does "cookie cutter" mean to you? If a home isn't custom or a spec home then it is a tract home. And builders build tracts so that there are many different styles, elevations, and reverses in the same tract.

What do you mean by an "area with character"?

Here is a picture of recent sales of homes in your price range:

Real Estate Search | Redfin

Here is a picture of where highly rated schools are:

California School Performance Maps

[Koukla1]

Luckodeirish, thank you so much for your input!! Love every bit of info I can get. Charles, I guess what I mean by "cookie cutter" is a neighborhood where every house or every second or third house looks the same. As for "area w character" I mean an area with personality not boring...hope this helps. Thanks also for the real estate search and school list!

[Matt Kim]

Why the precondition of private schools? There are good public school districts in OC, and you can save the money and give yourself more flexibility with home buying, i.e., you can afford more. Private schools are expensive here, and kind of spread out. Is Santa Ana where you want to live? It's a big city, and rather spread out. Some nice areas and some, well, changing areas. Irvine is next door and (really) safe. The (public) schools are great, IMHO. North Tustin (technically Santa Ana, I guess) is nice. With public schools, your kids schoolmates will be nearby, whereas with private schools they'll be spread all over the place. There are some nice neighborhoods in Costa Mesa a hop, skip, and a jump from SA. The closer you get to the coast, the less you'll think you need air conditioning.

But back to the schools. If you want to get immersed in the community more quickly, look at a public school district. Mine's great. I can't really say I'd send my kids to private schools if I wanted to spend the money.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Matt Kim

There are good public school districts in OC.

Agree. There are many good, some great, and a few excellent (top-10-in-the-country kind of excellent) school districts in OC. The great schools are better than most private schools, and the excellent schools are worth a whole lot more than money can buy.

[Koukla1]

Ol'Wanderer, thank you for answering my question...that is exactly what I was wondering. It is not like that here....So which schools are excellent (what area are they in)??

Also, this is another question for any one to answer...what is the story with Covenent Hills in Ladera Ranch...it seems like the homes are beautiful, new and not terribly expensive....is it far from every thing? Are there excellent schools near Ladera?

Another area that seems to have reasonably priced, nicer homes is Rancho San Margarita.

The areas I'm interested in are possibly Ladera Ranch, Laguna area (Nigel), Irvine, Tustin, Allison Viejo...am I missing any...are there areas I should stay away from? What about Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo?

I realize I have many, many questions, I just want to be 100% sure I make the right decision for my children.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Koukla1

Ol'Wanderer, thank you for answering my question...that is exactly what I was wondering. It is not like that here....So which schools are excellent (what area are they in)??

My answer for this question was bashed a few times here on this forum; still, I'm giving it one more time while in full knowledge of the wrath that will again descend on me:

I belong to a very large family. With extensions, there are hundreds of us, all live in OC. Some of us (my husband's side) have been in OC since 1950. My side of the family, since 1975. Hundreds of children in many branches of our combined family have/had attended many schools districts -- Anaheim, Fullerton, Orange, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Laguna Beach, Irvine, Newport-Mesa, Santa Ana, Tustin, Capistrano, Saddleback Valley, and Huntington Beach.

In my experience, the best among those abovementioned districts is Irvine.

Originally Posted by Koukla1

The areas I'm interested in are possibly Ladera Ranch, Laguna area (Nigel), Irvine, Tustin, Allison Viejo...am I missing any...are there areas I should stay away from? What about Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo?

All of those areas are good. Some parts of Huntington Beach is mediocre.

[Matt Kim]

RSM is "cookie cutter" (your term) IMHO.

I'l partial to Seal Beach or Huntington Beach. Great public schools and you'll never need to run your air conditioner and almost never run your furnace. There are some good values all over Huntington Beach. Very few "cookie cutter" neighborhoods. The Hill in Seal Beach is nice (it's not on the pricey side of PCH and the lots are bigger), and you can walk to the beach.

Advice from a midwest transplant from a city very similar to Cincinnati. Don't arrive with a bag full of dealbreakers like private vs. public schools. You're moving 2/3 of the way across the country. Why stop 20 miles from the coast and run air conditioning bills close to what your heating must have cost in the midwest? Santa Ana is criss crossed by al the major freeways in Orange County. The drive to your husband's office will be a wash from almost anywhere.

[Ol' Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Matt Kim

Don't arrive with a bag full of dealbreakers like private vs. public schools. You're moving 2/3 of the way across the country. Why stop 20 miles from the coast...

Great advice. But then again, as our hometown on the coast, I'm biased.