Where is the best place for a family with a teenager and a preschooler in OC? (Long Beach: real estate, apartments)
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Where is the best place for a family with a teenager and a preschooler in OC?
Hi! We are thinking about relocating to CA from NYC area. I thought OC is great as I am chasing the great weather as well as good schools.
I have 2 kids; current 9th grader and PreK. My husband does not drive due to his eye condition. So I am the driver in my family. I am looking for neighborhoods with good public school- high school, prefably with IB diploma program, walkable for my hubby, and if possible, easy reach to asian/ japanese grocery stores. I would love to live near the beach, but what I am really craving the most is a beautiful scenery. We do not mind renting for awhile; at least 2beds, (prefer 3beds) for under$2500 or max $3k.... Thanks!!!
Last edited by Cofeemama; 05-01-2012 at 12:29 AM..
You can rent a house on your budget in plenty of good neighborhoods, 3 or 4bd houses, so I wouldn't worry about budget too much. Keep in mind walkable and scenic don't go together very well around here unless you're at the beach, where everything is walkable.
There aren't a lot of IB programs out here, but there are a few at good high schools. The best overall public school with IB in the area is probably Troy. Troy is in Fullerton, kinda far from the beach, but probably has the grocers you want. Fullerton has a walkable downtown area.
Other options would be Kennedy in La Palma(fairly walkable for a suburban city, borders Cerritos which has Asian grocers, 15 minutes from the beach), Sunny Hills in Fullerton(nice area, far from the beach, that part of Fullerton probably isn't walkable), and Mission Viejo High in Mission Viejo(Mission Viejo is scenic, but not walkable.. not very beach close). There are handful more IB schools in the OC area, but I don't know the areas for some and the rest of them are private.
There are some non-IB schools you could consider as well. If your kid is very smart, Oxford and Whitney High Schools are in the top 5 in the state(test in public schools). Oxford is near Kennedy(see above) and Whitney is in Cerritos and could really meet what you want(Cerritos isn't the most walkable city, but they do have their own inexpensive city bus system and plenty of amenities, also has the grocers you want). Also, any of the high schools in Irvine(walkable areas on the western end of the city), Cerritos High, Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach(Wilson is in southeastern Long Beach where the beach is located[Naples, Belmont Shore, Belmont Heights districts] and is one of the most walkable areas in southern California), etc.
The east Asian populations(and thus the grocers) are centered in/around Cerritos, Garden Grove, Fullerton, and Irvine mostly.
If you're on a budget and need good schools and a family-friendly environment, pick:
Garden Grove (preferably the west part).. closer to the beach than Fullerton.
Fullerton (the west part has some good scenery in the mountains/hills)
Fountain Valley is even closer to the beach, has a 99 Ranch (Chinese Market), but is more expensive than the above 2 (but cheaper than Huntington Beach.)
Last edited by ragnarkar; 05-01-2012 at 09:16 AM..
Thank you very much for very interesting info! I already checked most of mentioned high schools' website. Troy seems great as I saw the school in the IB school ranking. But , as mentioned, Fullerton seemed a bit far from the ocean, and looking at images via google, I did not see much nice view. I would love to have some info re Huntington beach, Lugna hills, and San Clemente. I know they are more expensive than inland towns/cities. Are they safe? Walkable to gym, cafe, grocery stores. Maybe they do not have asian stores,but I need a view after living in Queens! Also , how is allegy season in OC? We are dying with pollen right now Thank you again!
Thank you very much for very interesting info! I already checked most of mentioned high schools' website. Troy seems great as I saw the school in the IB school ranking. But , as mentioned, Fullerton seemed a bit far from the ocean, and looking at images via google, I did not see much nice view. I would love to have some info re Huntington beach, Lugna hills, and San Clemente. I know they are more expensive than inland towns/cities. Are they safe? Walkable to gym, cafe, grocery stores. Maybe they do not have asian stores,but I need a view after living in Queens! Also , how is allegy season in OC? We are dying with pollen right now Thank you again!
You should take a look at the list of IB schools in California if you haven't already done so. (Personally, as a graduate of the program a decade ago, I think this should be top priority.)
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan and Sometimes Orange County CA
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If a veiw is the most important thng to you, then you want to be up high. That meand newport Crest, Laguna Beach or possible the Hills in Orange, Tustin or Anaheim Hills.
Typical homes in OC have a view of the neighbors house and the house accross the street. Some, usually in wealthier areas, have canyon views. Beach front homes start in the $2 million range. In many places there are a lot of condos along the beach, but they are still expensive and most of them get rented out during the summer. Do you have in excess of $1 million to spend on a home?
Troy is a highly rated school, but it is super competitive and hard to get into. Your kids have to already be exemplary students and test well. UNiversity High School in Irvine, Troy, Oxford, and Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana are consistently rated in the top ten. I do not rememebr which others. However a top ten school is not really necessary for a student to do well, and for some students, the extreme competive atmosphere can be detrimental.
In general, the closer you are to the bech, the more you pay. The best view/schools compbination I am aware of in a beach town is Laguna Beach. Again, you need million(s) for a decent sized home.
My family is living for 3 years now in Newport. There is a great school called Newport Harbor and you can find apartment near the school easily. Newport is great.
Thanks again! my daughter is already in preIB program here in NY, so i know what to expect and yes, i have been comparing a map, IB world school website, Greatschool.com and Tulia(real estate) to get ideas and see what are best choices. But it is not enough. so all of your inputs are really helpful. I found out that Mituwa (Japanese grocery) is in Costa Mesa, so near Costa Mesa might be an option too.
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Oceanview Highschool in Huntington Beach:
They have only scored 6 in greatshool.com. Anyone know more about the school?
Also, anyone have any advises re San Clemente? I know it is a bit far from Mituwa, but school seems good despite of the size.
How safe is it? They had a bomb scare/ gun shooting....
also, is it walkable city? I am guessing this area is a little more diverse than other south OC cities, which is great
Newport Harbor sounds great too. I am not sure if we can afford it. But what are people like? Are they like what i watch in Brovo "real wives"?
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan and Sometimes Orange County CA
14,917 posts, read 19,003,360 times
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San Clemente is a small beach community. It is not a city. Personally it is one of my favorite OC towns, but it is really far away from pretty much everything. It does have a train station though, so you cna take the train instead of driving (if you have some way to get around once you arrive at your desitnation).
Ratings do nto mean a lot IMO. It gives you something to go by, but it is more important to go there, talk to some teachers and students and parents. Kids are different. You have to figure out what is best for your particular child. Ratings mean nothing if your child does not thrive in the school atmosphere. Some children do better in less competitive schools and will graduate top of their class, while the same child may falter in a hyper competitive amosphere and barely graduate. "Best" on a piece of paper or interenst site does not mean best for your particular kid.
A bom b scare means that some kid did not get their homework done or was not prepared for a test so they made a Bomb threat to get teh school closed and get a day off. It means nothing at to the quality or safety of the school. a gun shooting is bad, but it can happen anywhere. The best and safest school in the world is no less likely to have unsable kids with access to a gun than any other school. If there were ten gun incidents, I would be concerned. One? Not relevant.
The people in Newport Beach are like the people everywhere, except that in much of Newport beach they are considerably more wealthy than average. However there are good people, bad people, nice people, mean pople, snobby people, down to earth people, uptight people, laid back people. Yes, there are undoubtedly people similar to the exaggerated stereotype you see on TV. Is everyone like that? No. Everyone is not the same no matter where you are. There are always different people. There can be a prevailing atmosphere of materialism and selfishness, but that does not mean everyone is like that. I can tell you with certianty that not every is like that in Newport Beach, and that there are some very nice people there. I cannot tell you what the majority of people are like there (no one can, there is no person who knows the majority of the people in Newport Beach). All anyone can tell you is what the people they happened to meet are like. they can identify a previaling attitude or atmosphere if they spend enough time there, but anyone who claims to know what most or all of the people in any location are like is full of dung.
Thanks again! my daughter is already in preIB program here in NY, so i know what to expect and yes, i have been comparing a map, IB world school website, Greatschool.com and Tulia(real estate) to get ideas and see what are best choices. But it is not enough. so all of your inputs are really helpful. I found out that Mituwa (Japanese grocery) is in Costa Mesa, so near Costa Mesa might be an option too.
--
Oceanview Highschool in Huntington Beach:
They have only scored 6 in greatshool.com. Anyone know more about the school?
Also, anyone have any advises re San Clemente? I know it is a bit far from Mituwa, but school seems good despite of the size.
How safe is it? They had a bomb scare/ gun shooting....
also, is it walkable city? I am guessing this area is a little more diverse than other south OC cities, which is great
Newport Harbor sounds great too. I am not sure if we can afford it. But what are people like? Are they like what i watch in Brovo "real wives"?
Thanks!
Unless things have changed drastically Newport Harbor High draws from part of Costa Mesa as well. I lived in Costa Mesa and went to Newport. It will be a little higher quality school due to it's location. The area it should draw students from has a mix of housing, so it would be worth finding the boundaries and then looking at homes within the CM area.
As to the TV shows, well lets just say it is not reality TV.
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Thank you again!
