LaHabra - good or bad? (Santa Ana, Anaheim: apartment complex, rent, condo)

[ach1978]

My partner and I are an interracial lesbain couple (I am Black and my partner is White). We recently moved from the east coast and are thinking about purchasing a condo in La Habra - in fact we made an offer on the condo today, but we are a little unsure about it after seeing some "seedy" looking individuals in the area. We come from pretty much liberal areas and gangs are new to us. I work as a professor at a local university so I would like to live somewhere in northern Orange County, around La Habra, Fullerton, Anaheim, etc. Are there any suggestions. Basically, what are good neighborhoods, what are bad neighborhoods? Where should we avoid? How is La Habra? My main concern is not me being a lesbian, but me being Black in many of these areas. Suggestions...

[sgvkev]

Unfortunately, La Habra is one of the bad cities in the OC... avoid anything in central/east La Habra (between Whittier and Imperial until Palm). North and south tips are nice though... Fullerton's nice until you hit Chapman/Malvern where it starts getting close to Anaheim. Anaheim? The hills are very nice... anything between the 5 and State College is bad. Anywhere close to Disneyland isn't that great either. Here are some others:

Buena Park- West of Fullerton... north of La Palma isn't great while south of it's a little more desirable (the parts close to Anaheim and Stanton aren't great).

Stanton- Next to Anaheim and Garden Grove... not a desirable area by any means. The worst part is Crow Village near Beach and Chapman...

Garden Grove- The only good area is west of Knott... the rest lives up to its nickname "Garbage Grove"

Orange- For the most part a desirable area... some shady areas in the south but nothing "hardcore".

Brea- Very good area... east of the 57 is upscale (Olinda) while west of it's middle class.

Placentia- Very similar to Brea except it's all middle class. This is a good option...

Cypress- Parts near downtown off Lincoln are below average but the rest isn't bad.

La Palma- Very good area... lots of Asians.

Los Alamitos- Nice middle class area near the beach.

Yorba Linda- Great area but may be a bit pricey...

Villa Park- Small area surrounded by the city of Orange... pretty good but pricey.

Anything below the 22 I consider south OC...

[Brooklynite]

"we are a little unsure about it after seeing some "seedy" looking individuals in the area"

You mean the interracial lesbian couple that just moved in?.

[martinez4]

I grew up in Fullerton, Sunny Hills to be exact. Parts of La Habra have always been a little dicey but then again, every area has it dicier sections so it just depends on what you are looking for. Are you looking for an urban feeling or are you looking for the more rural idea? La Habra Heights has some beautiful, older areas that are more in the hills.

As an adult I lived in Yorba Linda (before relocating to San Antonio) and there are some really nice house and condo developments there.

Good Luck to you and your partner whenever you may choose.

[J1ndo]

Of the North Orange County cities, Fullerton is my favorite (though I currently live in Brea, which is nice). It is economically, culturally and racially diverse and has quite a lot going for it.

My biggest question though: why are you buying a condo? Why not rent until you are sure you like the area you live in? Doing so will save you money anyway, since condo prices are currently declining.

[zenjenn]

I lived in La Habra for 2 years in an apartment. It was a gated apartment complex and fairly safe. I agree that La Habra isn't the best, but it is.. "ok". In terms of being an interracial lesbian couple, I don't think it's necessarily any worse than anywhere else - but what do I know? I'm just basing it on the fact that people pretty much kept to themselves in La Habra.

I lived in La Habra when I was attending Cal State Fullerton my last 2 yrs of college - is that where you are teaching? I found I could get more apartment for less money in La Habra, and the quality of my life really didn't suffer at all, except for the location not being convenient to freeways. It was fine. But once we got to the point of wanting to have a house and family La Habra wasn't where we wanted to be. So if you don't plan on having kids in your life at all or for a long time, La Habra's adequate.

Also one caveat, this was nearly 10 years ago I'm realizing, so this is assuming nothing major has changed since then.

[SoCalMom]

A coworker lives in La Habra and she says certain areas (the seedier ones) are referred to as GuadaLahabra.

[ach1978]

Originally Posted by Brooklynite

"we are a little unsure about it after seeing some "seedy" looking individuals in the area"

You mean the interracial lesbian couple that just moved in?.

Wow... this is what I mean... I am sure you realize that the OC has a HORRIBLE rep in the rest of the country for being one of the most racist, homophobic, and class-ist counties in the country - which is pretty bad considering it is in SoCal and not the American South. My main concern in moving to LaHabra as well as the OC in general is dealing with racism, homophobia, and gangs. Considering your racist and homophobic remark... maybe the OC's negative rep is warrented. I just hope you don't live anywhere near LaHabra.

[YLresident]

Originally Posted by Brooklynite

"we are a little unsure about it after seeing some "seedy" looking individuals in the area"

You mean the interracial lesbian couple that just moved in?.

Thanks for taking OC down a few more notches--just what we don't need.

Bigot.
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La Habra has decent parts, but go with your gut feeling--if it doesn't feel right, don't move there.

[YLresident]

Originally Posted by ach1978

Wow... this is what I mean... I am sure you realize that the OC has a HORRIBLE rep in the rest of the country for being one of the most racist, homophobic, and class-ist counties in the country - which is pretty bad considering it is in SoCal and not the American South. My main concern in moving to LaHabra as well as the OC in general is dealing with racism, homophobia, and gangs. Considering your racist and homophobic remark... maybe the OC's negative rep is warrented. I just hope you don't live anywhere near LaHabra.

I've heard very little about gangs in OC... what cities round here have those? I think I've heard about issues in Little Saigon, and maybe Santa Ana, but where else?