What are the down-to-earth communities in northern OC (Santa Ana, Orange: best neighborhood, renting)

[bobnln]

My husband and I are considering faculty positions at Chapman University. We have two children (1 & 5) and so are looking for a community with high quality public schools. My big concern, based on my read of this forum, my SoCal friends and my own biases (I grew up in the Bay Area), is how/where to raise down-to-earth children in OC? We (like most parents) want our kids to be well-grounded, kind, considerate, hard-working, humble, mature adults; but OC, with its many advantages, seems to encourage kids to be shallow, materialistic and spoiled. Hence we are looking for suggestions on where to locate to increase our odds of parental success? Also, given SoCal traffic, I want to live within 5-10 miles of Chapman. We need at least a 3bd/2bth house (prefer a bit bigger), we figure on spending $700k-$1M. I would love to be able to walk to a cafe and little shops (i.e., not an exclusively car-centric community). My sources have suggested Tustin Ranch and Orange (right near the University). Any other ideas? or evaluations of these options?

Thanks for your patience with my long post.

[martinez4]

My husband was employed by Chapman.....he loved working there!!! We lived in Yorba Linda and the commute was not to bad....He could take back roads all the way there so there were options in case the freeway was bad.

We moved to San Antonio 3 years ago and love it but do miss friends:-)

Good luck to you:-)

[Reivax]

Originally Posted by bobnln

My husband and I are considering faculty positions at Chapman University. We have two children (1 & 5) and so are looking for a community with high quality public schools. My big concern, based on my read of this forum, my SoCal friends and my own biases (I grew up in the Bay Area), is how/where to raise down-to-earth children in OC? We (like most parents) want our kids to be well-grounded, kind, considerate, hard-working, humble, mature adults; but OC, with its many advantages, seems to encourage kids to be shallow, materialistic and spoiled. Hence we are looking for suggestions on where to locate to increase our odds of parental success? Also, given SoCal traffic, I want to live within 5-10 miles of Chapman. We need at least a 3bd/2bth house (prefer a bit bigger), we figure on spending $700k-$1M. I would love to be able to walk to a cafe and little shops (i.e., not an exclusively car-centric community). My sources have suggested Tustin Ranch and Orange (right near the University). Any other ideas? or evaluations of these options?

Thanks for your patience with my long post.

I have 6 children, 3 are now in high school. My oldest two attend Newport harbor high, and they're about as grounded as can be. My belief is that *where* you live is not as important as what you're showing them in the house. So while my children are surrounded by all that is Orange County, it is inevitably how you raise them that will matter most.
Basically it's my long-winded way of trying to reassure you that you can raise a great kid in Orange County. You and your spouse will be the biggest influence on them.

I think, though I haven't been researching it extensively, that you can find something fitting that description and price range near the Circle (That's the name given to the circular intersection of Chapman Ave and Glassell, if you didn't know.) Especially now, I think home prices are slipping. Can you wait a year? Every thing I read says it will just keep slipping.

I think from your description that you would love the idea of living within walking distance of your place of work, plus the Circle is a neat little area and a great place to spend Saturday morning with a newspaper and a couple hours of free time. (not that I think parents of 1 and 5 yr. olds have much of that!)

So, this leaves the schools, and unfortunately I don't know enough about that school district to help. I would suggest you consult some of your potential coworkers at Chapman University. (do you call them coworkers when you're a professor?)

If you have very little exposure to Orange County, please don't let this board be your only input as to what it's like here. There seem to be a lot of really negative threads full of bigotry that make things seem 10 times bleaker than they are. I strongly urge you to come here and see for yourself, and if your pocket book allows, live close to Chapman U. The area right around the school is a unique community.

Good luck!

[tomm112233]

Move to Cypress, it's got great schools, is a bedroom community with tons of parks and activities for the kids, etc, etc.

[NaplesRes]

Sounds like you need to live in Belmont Shore or Belmont Heights. Probably a 25 minute drive to Chapman.

[Lardog]

Maybe I over simplify things like this, but it seems to me (as a parent of an 11 year old daughter) that the way your kids turn out should be more of a function of the direction and parenting YOU give them rather than the neighborhood they grow up in. I understand how kids can feel pressured to "keep up with the Jones' kids" which can alter their perceptions and behaviors, but its our jobs as parents to help them develop different priorities in life (which I will admit is not an easy job, but it is our job nonetheless)

[NJ Chutzpah]

Actually i agree with finding a down to earth community

Your kids will spend more time in school than they will with you. Lets face it school really is the biggest thing in their lives.

I have witnessed first hand what a school full of spoiled rich kids, and teachers that cater to their every need can do to a person

[jayolm]

Bobnln:

Since you want to live 5 - 10 miles to Chapman University, that really narrows your options down quite a bit.

However, I agree with your friends who suggested you move to Tustin Ranch or Orange right near Chapman Univ. Both cities are nice places to live, and are very different from each other.

Tustin Ranch is a very nice, wealthy area with an excellent school district. But "down-to-earth" would not be the first thing that comes to mind when describing the city. Its far more materialistic than Orange.

Orange is a very down-to-earth place, very nice friendly folk. Not as wealthy as Tustin Ranch, but also not as materialistic. Downtown Orange is truly a unique place to spend your weekends. Has a very small town feel to it, with lots of mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. However, the schools in Orange are not as good as Tustin Ranch.

As one other poster mentioned, prices are dropping out here right now. The longer you wait to come out here, the cheaper your home will be to buy. As long as you don't wait past 2 years!

[bobnln]

Thanks to all those who have posted. I would love to hear more (or more details).

I agree that parents are a big influence (although the current research suggests less of an influence than we would like to think), however we are going to be the same influence regardless of where we live (too old to change my ways and values now) so the variable factors are the community and school. I have lived in eight different states and so appreciate that everywhere has pluses and minuses. I just want to go in with the most information possible. We are likely not to be moving until the summer of 2008 so might get some advantage from the softer housing market.

[xochousewife]

Try downtown Orange--great Craftsman style bungalows, walk to the "plaza" with unique restaurants and shops (great cheese store called "Frog's Breath", Gabby's for Mexican food) and the newly renovated Orange Library just opened up again. It's a stone's throw from the University, too.

I lived in North Santa Ana, specifically in the Floral Park neighborhood, for 10 years. IMO it is the best neighborhood in OC--beautiful custom vintage homes, a fabulous social network, moms' group with lots of activities for the neighborhood kids, book groups, bunco groups, walkers, progressive dinners, etc. It's about a 5-10 minute drive to Chapman. The elementary school in the neighborhood (Santiago) is top-notch. I used to work there as a psychologist. Many of the kids go to private school beyond 5th grade as the Santa Ana School Dist. isn't the most desirable.

Good luck!