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Old 02-26-2012, 06:37 PM
 
21,529 posts, read 30,936,665 times
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After some research, we keep going back to Mission Viejo.

Question - is there a "downtown" area of Mission Viejo, similar to Laguna? Currently that's what we love in Connecticut - each town has their own little town center. We've come across quite a few CA towns that have that as well. Having a hard time finding that in Mission Viejo though...
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Old 02-27-2012, 12:04 AM
 
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Irvine is a center for business and education. South County is very mellow and suburban. North County is much more urban and busy. If you prefer something more urban and close to Irvine, I would recommend Orange, Tustin, or Costa Mesa. Northeast Orange is hilly and has some nice homes close to some decent schools. Any part of Tustin bordering Irvine is very Irvine-like. Costa Mesa has more shops, restaurants, businesses, and nightlife, but has some pretty crappy schools. In regards to finding a family friendly area close to Irvine, personally, I would consider Orange (east of the 55), Tustin (east of the 55 AND north of the 5), any part of Irvine is safe, Costa Mesa (east of the 55), and stay far away from Santa Ana. Lastly, if you prefer affluence, there's always Newport Beach.
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Old 02-27-2012, 08:23 AM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,702 posts, read 79,379,373 times
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PLaaces with a "dowtown" to them:

Old Town Orange.
Santa Ana
Fullerton.
Laguna Beach.
Balboa Villiage (In a tiny sort of way).
Long Beach has a real downtown. (Just outside of Orange County).
Anaheim had one, but they tore it down (smart move guys)
That is all that I can think of.
South County suburbs have strip malls and shopping malls scattered about rather than a downtown. The idea is that a few places will be close to everyone rather than a lot of places close to a few.

Silverado Canyon is an exception. There is a gneral store and a library, but otherwise, they are pretty much far away from anything (this can be a good thing for some people).

For some reason, I tend to like Mission Viejo a bit better that the other South OC suburbs, I am not sure why, it is not all that signficantly different. It does have some older areas with a tiny bit of variety.

I have lived in Balboa, Laguna, Santa Ana, and Orange. Really enjoyed all of them. I like to walk. In Old town Orange, we put more family transportation miles on our red rider wagon than on our car.
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Old 02-27-2012, 11:10 AM
 
Location: Orange County, CA
68 posts, read 191,418 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
After some research, we keep going back to Mission Viejo.

Question - is there a "downtown" area of Mission Viejo, similar to Laguna? Currently that's what we love in Connecticut - each town has their own little town center. We've come across quite a few CA towns that have that as well. Having a hard time finding that in Mission Viejo though...
We live in Mission Viejo and love it. We are in Pacific Hills which is near Oso & Marguerite. There is no "downtown" in Mission Viejo but from where we live we walk to the shops/restaurants on Marguerite between La Paz and Oso.

I can be on the freeway in 4 minutes and The Shops at Mission Viejo mall is just down Marguerite. We moved here from Canada 3 1/2 years ago and we find the lifestyle here more relaxed.
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Old 02-27-2012, 03:46 PM
 
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Lots of good accurate info from the other posters but, to put a twist on things, you may want to at least look at Huntington Beach before you decide:

Family friendly
Fun downtown
Good schools
Beach and plenty of outdoor activities
Great weather
Relatively affordable for a beach town (housing stock is a little older)
Close commute to airport area of Irvine (30 minutes est. in traffic, 20 minutes non-rush hour)

The downside is that it is not as sterile as newer south county areas and the block wall housing tracts are not that attractive from the outside.

Tuesday evenings downtown are family nights and a good time to visit to get a sense of the place.

Good luck with your move.
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Old 03-07-2012, 06:15 AM
 
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How good are the schools in HB? Some locals have advised us to stay away...
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Old 03-07-2012, 10:03 AM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,702 posts, read 79,379,373 times
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Define good. School statistics are available onlline. However that tells about /14 of the real story of a school.

How good do you need or want? Irvine University is often the top OC high school, but i woudl nto want my kids there. It is too opppressive and competitive. Some of my kids do better in a mid level school where they can be the top student or top ten. If they do not have any chance at being the top student, they do nto try very hard. Others of my kids do better in a more competitive school where they are challenged and stimulated by their peers. None of my kids do well in an intensely competitive school where you are looked down on if you do anything that does not advance your career potential in some manner. My kids like to learn knitting, autor repair, shooting and other things that have nothing whatsoever to do with academics or ocllege admission. All kids are different. You amy or may not wnat the top school or even a top school. You may be happy with a school that is merely above the average for the area. You may be better off with a comparatively poor school where your kid will graduate as valedictorian. It really varies a lot.

All hgh schools have issues with drugs bullying and the like. Every single one (Except MAYBE schools like El Durado where ther are less than 50 kids in each graduating class). thus when you hear stories from residents who say :Oh this school has a drug problem," or "they have too much bullying" It probably means more tha ttheir particular student had a bad experience than that there is something wrong withthe school. OUr experience has been that properly motivated kids can do well and succeed from virrtually any school. The quesitons may be more one of which school will best motivate your particular kid. Which school will they enjoy?
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Old 03-07-2012, 03:03 PM
 
50 posts, read 165,177 times
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Huntington Beach schools are generally very good with some schools being excellent. There are 6 elementary schools with a California schools ranking of 10 (the highest score). Here is the school rankings map for all of Orange County. http://school-ratings.com/cities/Orange_County.html You can click on the schools for more detailed test scores and demographics. HB schools listings can sometimes be confusing since there are 5 different school districts in town.

The school atmosphere is not quite as academically focused as Irvine, it is more well-rounded with fathers spending non-homework time training their sons to be professional baseball players.

Last edited by bm22; 03-07-2012 at 03:16 PM.. Reason: add link
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Old 03-20-2012, 01:22 AM
 
Location: Laguna Hills, Ca
16 posts, read 27,731 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
Orange County rule: The shorter your commute, the better your life.


Driving around here will leave you worn out and ticked off. Eventually, it will turn you into a git because you have been frustrated and ticked off for so long, you stop thinking about or caring about other people..
while I agree somewhat with this OC Rule, I would have to say that ALOT of people commute out of OC for work, I live in Laguna Hills and commute to Anaheim - it is a 30 - 40 mile commute, and if I leave at the right time in the AM 6:15 - 6:30 then I can make it in 25 to 30 minutes and that is a good commute. However If I am late even by 5 min. the same travel takes me about 45 min. Your timing is everything on So Cal freeways.

I have lived here my entire life, and am just now looking to move to another state, so i don't know what to compare the driving to. There are a lot of crazy drivers here, but stop thinking or caring about others... nooooooo
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