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Old 02-21-2012, 06:54 PM
 
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Hi there!

Once you explore South County, you'll be able to see some of the differences of the different areas.
A few examples...

Lake Forest near the freeway have (relatively) older homes and some have (relatively) bigger lots. (Some folks I've talked to there send their kids to private schools because the local ones now have a lot of English as a Second Language students.)
Lake Forest extends up into the Foothills with newer construction in Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. These areas have higher property taxes.
Lake Forest and Mission Viejo have a lot of similarities, Mission Viejo is much more hilly. Great for views... the older part of Lake Forest is flatter in most areas from the freeway to Trabuco Road.
Rancho Santa Margarita is further east, very nice, safe and is a big hyper planned community with lots of families. I used to joke (when I used to live there) the CC&Rs stated you had to have at least one child or expecting your first child in order to live there. People would belive me! Ha ha!

On the other side of the 5 freeway...
Laguna Hills have some older family areas (Laguna Terrace comes to mind) maybe the most border town to Irvine.
Aliso Viejo is nice, small, affluent, very planned, and very condensed.
Laguna Niguel is beautiful and has wonderful air... look out for liquification areas in case of earthquakes I've been told! Yikes!

Anyway, there is some variety here me thinks!

BTW, as far as commuting...We live on the border of Mission Viejo, and Lake Forest.
Hubby and I drive in together and I drop him off near Sand Canyon and the 5 freeway. It's takes about 20 minutes. I go on to my job in Newport Beach near the airport and it takes another 15 to 20 minutes.

Make sure to have a nice stereo in your car!
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Old 02-22-2012, 02:26 AM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
543 posts, read 1,893,771 times
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If you have already been touring the area you obviously like it here in Orange County. I think the only way you will really get a sense of the differences is to give it a try. Most people I know from the east stay in So. Cal and put up with traffic, cost of living etc., because they love the weather. Many of the "problems" people talk about, as far as raising kids, can be found in every affluent area, so don't let that scare you. That said, it is very different here, not better or worse, just different.

My husband's family is in CT and we love it there. I cannot imagine wanting to give up being close to NYC and Boston, or the history and beauty to come to OC but then again I haven't had to deal with shoveling snow for my whole life either. I think if you are looking for a change in culture OC is not the place. In that regard it is a lot like So. CT. If you are looking for a change in weather and lifestyle you will enjoy it here. Good luck with the move!
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Old 02-22-2012, 06:50 AM
 
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Originally Posted by oc2nyc View Post
My husband's family is in CT and we love it there. I cannot imagine wanting to give up being close to NYC and Boston, or the history and beauty to come to OC but then again I haven't had to deal with shoveling snow for my whole life either. I think if you are looking for a change in culture OC is not the place. In that regard it is a lot like So. CT. If you are looking for a change in weather and lifestyle you will enjoy it here. Good luck with the move!
Thanks!

I'm not looking for a change in culture, as the culture seems very similar in Fairfield County and Orange County. We're not really looking for anything "different" per se, but we are growing tired of the rat-race, type A, arrogant and aggressive surrounding that has become typical of the So. CT burbs. I'd love to raise a family in an area that is a little more relaxed, but I'm not counting on Orange County being that place; we're just [happily] considering it due to a job offer.

I've seen you post on the CT boards - have you made the move yet? Or will you soon? I might have a house for sale near the water in Pine Orchard if you're at all interested! Or - how about a housing swap!?!
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Old 02-22-2012, 06:55 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Podo944 View Post
BTW, as far as commuting...We live on the border of Mission Viejo, and Lake Forest.
Hubby and I drive in together and I drop him off near Sand Canyon and the 5 freeway. It's takes about 20 minutes. I go on to my job in Newport Beach near the airport and it takes another 15 to 20 minutes.

Make sure to have a nice stereo in your car!
Awesome, thanks! By "drive in" do you mean to Irvine? 20 minutes?! Perfect.
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Old 02-22-2012, 12:39 PM
 
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Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
Awesome, thanks! By "drive in" do you mean to Irvine? 20 minutes?! Perfect.
The industry part of Irvine generally is from around John Wayne Airport, down to Bake Parkway, and even to Lake Forest Dr.
My husband works a little more toward the Southern end.
Look at a map where the 133 crosses over the 5 freeway and you'll get the idea.

On days my husband drives in on his own, he gives himself an extra 5 minutes to park up. (instead of my giving him front door chauffer service) He's also a very relaxed driver. No speed demon in him.
He also usually takes the surface streets home cause he doesn't want to deal with the "Y"... (The biggest crunch especially getting home is the "Y" where the 405 meets the 5) so sometimes it takes a little longer to get home. Maybe 30 minutes or so.. but again, he takes his sweet time. (I call him "old man" when he drives, ha ha!)

Another thing to remember is there will be traffic just getting to the freeway so the time will also depend on where your neighborhood is.
For instance, getting to the freeway from where we live takes almost 10 of the 20 minutes, especially since we need to drive by a school.

When we had an apartment near the Los Alisos onramp to the 241 tollroad it was a few miles further, but the tollroad made it a snap. However, you're paying for that convenience.

Rush hour is rush hour, just depends how much of it you can tolerate.
We have friends in Laguna Niguel, and the hubby drives to Downey every day, and has been doing it for years. He's on the early shift and drives like a maniac, but when they moved here from Arizona, Laguna Niguel is where they wanted to live. We think he's nuts, but he's used to it.

You could live right in Irvine itself... pleasant and safe enough, but more expensive, and it's another hyper huge mother of all master planned cities...not everyone's cup of tea.

Good luck!
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Old 02-22-2012, 04:41 PM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
543 posts, read 1,893,771 times
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Unfortunately, we are still in Orange County due to job issues. My husband now has a job that has potential for working on the east coast but not for at least a year. Our third is graduating this year so it actually works out well.

We sold our home here right before the mortgage crisis in 2007. My husband worked for Bear Stearns and, well, we know how that turned out. Since then we have rented because we knew we didn't want to stay in So. Cal.

Even though their is a more laid back climate in Southern California I'm not sure you will find Orange County to be any more relaxed than CT. In my experience it is very much a competitive environment. The first thing people will ask you is what you do for a living. You will then be asked what sports or activities your kids are involved in. We live in No. Orange County, in Los Alamitos. It is a great school district but not for everyone as it is competitive and sports driven. Many schools in South OC are the same way. Irvine especially, since there is a big Asian population. Let's face it, their culture, unlike the U.S., puts education first and it shows. If you don't want that type of school environment for your kids you might consider certain private schools.

I am in no way trying to discourage you from coming here because no matter what, your experience will be your own, and depend on a lot of factors. I just don't want you to think that because California is more laid back you will be able to raise your kids in an area that is "relaxed." I think for that you might have to look at smaller towns up North or perhaps the Midwest.

I get what you feel though. I have four kids, two in college. I have noticed a dramatic change from my first to my last. Maybe it is something we really cannot escape from.
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Old 02-23-2012, 06:47 AM
 
21,529 posts, read 30,942,079 times
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Originally Posted by oc2nyc View Post
Unfortunately, we are still in Orange County due to job issues. My husband now has a job that has potential for working on the east coast but not for at least a year. Our third is graduating this year so it actually works out well.

We sold our home here right before the mortgage crisis in 2007. My husband worked for Bear Stearns and, well, we know how that turned out. Since then we have rented because we knew we didn't want to stay in So. Cal.

Even though their is a more laid back climate in Southern California I'm not sure you will find Orange County to be any more relaxed than CT. In my experience it is very much a competitive environment. The first thing people will ask you is what you do for a living. You will then be asked what sports or activities your kids are involved in. We live in No. Orange County, in Los Alamitos. It is a great school district but not for everyone as it is competitive and sports driven. Many schools in South OC are the same way. Irvine especially, since there is a big Asian population. Let's face it, their culture, unlike the U.S., puts education first and it shows. If you don't want that type of school environment for your kids you might consider certain private schools.

I am in no way trying to discourage you from coming here because no matter what, your experience will be your own, and depend on a lot of factors. I just don't want you to think that because California is more laid back you will be able to raise your kids in an area that is "relaxed." I think for that you might have to look at smaller towns up North or perhaps the Midwest.

I get what you feel though. I have four kids, two in college. I have noticed a dramatic change from my first to my last. Maybe it is something we really cannot escape from.
I don't see anything wrong with people asking what you do for a living. It will actually be a breath of fresh air to hear that people are interested; in CT, nobody gives a crap about you. It's hard for newcomers to make friends because of the cliques, and if someone says hi to you passing you on the street, it's considered odd.

Schools and towns in CT are just as, perhaps if not more so, competitive. Keep up with the Joneses; we're better/smarter/more affluent than you. It gets old fast. Perhaps between OC and FC, it's a wash.

Like I said in my previous post, we're not expecting Orange County to be more relaxed. It will just be a breath of fresh air to get away from the aggressiveness in the Northeast.
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Old 02-24-2012, 02:02 AM
 
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After looking around I chose Las Flores based on ease of access to I-5 via Oso and also the 241 or 73 toll roads to get around the traffic jams. With both younger and older kids the proximity to big family areas like RSM and Ladera have made it easy for friendships and the Capo school district meets our needs. Many families in my area also send kids to Santa Margarita and J Serra private schools which are nearby and very highly regarded. The luxury of being able to have my kids be able to walk to school in a super quiet area was the clincher for my fam...

Also between Mission Viejo, Tesoro, Santa Margarita and San Clemente you have some of the areas best high school sports teams as well.
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Old 02-24-2012, 08:31 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,453,139 times
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Originally Posted by oc2nyc View Post
Let's face it, their culture, unlike the U.S., puts education first and it shows.
I'm not convinced. What we see in the US are a lot of intelligent wealthy Asians. There are a lot of Asians back home working in rice paddies and turning wrenches on Daewoos
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Old 02-24-2012, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
543 posts, read 1,893,771 times
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Originally Posted by Mister B View Post
Also between Mission Viejo, Tesoro, Santa Margarita and San Clemente you have some of the areas best high school sports teams as well.
Exactly. This is why I was telling Kidyankee South Orange County might not be the relaxed atmosphere he is looking for.
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