Mission Viejo or North OC (Long Beach, Huntington Beach: custom home, safe area, to buy)

[miriam1]

My husband and I decided to buy a new house. He works in Huntington beach and I am working at cypress! My "job type corporations" are mostly located at LA area and long beach, rarely in south orange county- we love Mission Viejo area, but because we both have to commute (for sake of our kids)we are considering Irvine- Cypress- Huntington beach - Costa mesa and seal Beach either. but compare with mission viejo, all of the north OC cities are flat, houses have smaller lot and seems neighborhood is not as good as south OC( at least as beautiful and green as!) unless I go toward beach side in Huntington or Costa mesa which is more than my budget and again i have to drive 30 minutes to get to 405!
my question is;Where i can find a 4 bedroom house around 800k with Mission Viejo quality (neighborhood- school- parks- bicycle road...) - or you think i better to commute and enjoy nice view and big backyard!kids will grow up and enjoy MV area and schools? please share your idea i really like to know what do you think.

[JakeDog]

Fountain Valley, Tustin Ranch.

[missionhome]

Perhaps Yorba Linda. Rolling hills and green, a lot like Mission Viejo, just in north OC and a little more inland.

[NaplesRes]

For that location, you could look at Belmont Heights or Park Estates in Long Beach and "The Hill" in Seal Beach. All are family oriented, bigger lots, very safe, good schools, and have a lots of character filled custom homes (no tracts). It's a little more expensive than MV. The median house price in the 90803 Long Beach zip code is $1.1M and the median in 90740 Seal Beach is 800k.

[oc2nyc]

I live in Rossmoor, an unincorporated city in Los Alamitos. We have beautiful tree lined streets, safe area, and good school district. We are located right between the 405 and the 605 freeways, easy access to both. We are only 4 miles from Seal Beach and right next door to Long Beach, close to Belmont Shore. Right now you may may not get a huge lot, but you can get a nice house for $800k. Prices will be coming down even more though so unless you see your dream house I would wait. Check out zip code 90720 on Realtor.com . Good luck in your move!

[BHtoBaltimore]

Dear MV Potential Resident - I moved from Mission Viejo to Beverly Hills and I miss it terribly. I would go back the first opportunity but I have one of those corporate jobs.
I used to commute to Huntington Beach and it took about 40 minutes (one way) on the Toll Road as I lived north of Lake MV. As far as your work is concerned...have you tried looking for an assignment is South OC? Tustin and East Irvine are in the Tustin school district (so-so). Irvine Schools are top notch (my second choice to MV). Really..if you are a 'family' person where the weekends are full of family activities....go for MV. You will be so happy that you did. You will most definately find an amazing house in the $800K range.

[miriam1]

thank you all. I checked Fountain Valley, Long beach and Yorba linda, i need to check los alamitos right now, thats too bad i cannot have a big lot! i will miss my backyard and ...

dear BHtoBaltimore you are right. it seems my problem is not commuting if i didn't have young kids! all my hesitation is I get used to MV and I will miss my dear lake and my dearest friend and green streets! I should move and start finding friend again!!
I used too commute everyday to USC but now I am not sure. if i need to move or just compromise till my girls get a little older! Right now i don't have real traffic issue in the morning,we have optional hours i start at 6:30 or 7 AM no trafic in the morning ; evening around Culver there is traffic jam.

[picsesmauve957]

North for the better prices, but Mission Viejo for the beauty.

[City_Gal1974]

Placentia. Mission Viejo. Irvine.

[NaplesRes]

Originally Posted by picsesmauve957

North for the better prices, but Mission Viejo for the beauty.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I personally prefer custom homes, unique stores you can walk to, and natural bays, oceans, etc. to cookie cutter houses, chain stores, and the desert. Don't get me wrong, MV has lots of strengths (safety, good size houses at a relatively affordable prices, and good schools come to mind) but I wouldn't call it more beautiful than coastal areas of southern california.