Garden Grove/Westminster - How do you rate them? (Santa Ana: for sale, condos)

[jamsifoes]

That area is very hit and miss. That's why I removed that comment. If I were you, I would look for a house in Costa Mesa. I really think Costa Mesa is under priced for it's proximity to the beach and Newport Beach. I haven't checked the prices lately but if you can find a house in a "bad" neighborhoods (near the DMV) in Costa Mesa, in a few years you will see that value increase. Just my opinion. There are several homes in the 550k range in Costa Mesa.

By the way, use Redfin for your home search. Redfin is so much better at keeping the listing information current compared to Zillow.

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by Curious Jay

Thanks jamsifoes. Appreciate your empathy. Do you happen to have some more informatoin about Hawaiian Gardens?

Yes, HG makes GG and Westminster seem like Disneyland.

As someone said in another topic, 'safe' and 'cheap' do not go hand in hand in OC.

[Teckeeee]

GG is run down IMO, Westiminster is pretty gritty too. No comparison at all to Irvine except the Asian aspect. Night and day in quality of neighborhoods. Make sure you have a good alarm in GG I know people that have been broken into several times off GG blvd, because they live in the only nice looking houses, those tract houses that look like Irvine.

[rikity]

I wonder if anyone posting how bad GG is really have lived in GG or spend a lot of time there? Garden Grove is a pretty big city and it has several varying neighborhoods. I lived in OC my whole life and spent a good portion of it around Garden Grove and surrounding cities so I know these area very well. I'm 5 feet 7, 180 lbs and unarmed....There is no area of Garden Grove where I would feel unsafe to walk around by myself. Now does this mean that there are certain areas where your car will be broken into if you leave your car unlocked? Of course. Garden Grove like many cities in Orange County with possibly the exception of the South County bubble where you have bubbles of very nice affluent neighborhoods and you go a few blocks then you're in the middle of a working class neighborhood.

Here's my perspective of Garden Grove.

The far east end of Garden Grove around Haster to Euclid is the older part of town which is the poorest part. This is the area that has the most apartment and lower end houses that averages in the $400k range. Again it's mostly working class and high volume of Hispanics and the rest lower income Asians. To some people, this make it "Ghetto" or "run down" but it's not exactly like you will be shot or stabbed walking around most of the neighborhoods. Again, there is pockets of neighborhoods in this part of town that is pretty quiet and well kept such as the area around Euclid and Chapman where some houses run in the mid $600k and Ghetto or "run down" is definitely not what I would use to describe it.

The middle of Garden Grove that run from Euclid to Beach BLVD contains everything you can think of. Some lower income houses and apartment to large ranch like homes that can run near million dollars. Some of the best kept secret to people who do not spend much time in GG is the area of homes north of Garden Grove blvd adjacent to Gilbert St. Some of these houses are awesome with huge lots.

Lastly you have West GG where I grew up and went to school. This is the area west of Knott Ave and north of Lampson. This section of GG is really not much like the rest of GG in terms of ethnic demographics. While the other parts of GG have high percentage of Asian and hispanics, west GG is still majority white with about 20% Asian and the rest hispanics. Not saying this is better or worse, just pointing out that this is the big difference in the area. It's middle class neighborhood but it's really well kept. I don't consider any pockets of this area to even be remotely bad. The neighborhoods are very social and you should see the block parties during the 4th of July. I have yet to see any part of OC where such a huge section of the city just block off most of the residential street and every street you go on, there's people out front all having a good time with each other. This is not even a city sponsored event but just neighbors wanting to celebrate as a community.

To the OP, if you have to move to GG, I would highly recommend you look in West GG if possible. The average price of homes in this area might be out your range if you're looking to stay under $500k. But if you can afford $600k for a home, I would suggest you take a drive through this part of town all the way to the East gate park area. Great neighborhoods and really good schools from elementary (Patton, Barker, Enders) to Bell Jr High and then Pacifica High school. Other thing that this area has going for it is the easy access to both the 22 and 405 FRWY which helps depending on where you have to commute to.

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by rikity

I wonder if anyone posting how bad GG is really have lived in GG or spend a lot of time there? Garden Grove is a pretty big city and it has several varying neighborhoods. I lived in OC my whole life and spent a good portion of it around Garden Grove and surrounding cities so I know these area very well. I'm 5 feet 7, 180 lbs and unarmed....There is no area of Garden Grove where I would feel unsafe to walk around by myself. Now does this mean that there are certain areas where your car will be broken into if you leave your car unlocked? Of course. Garden Grove like many cities in Orange County with possibly the exception of the South County bubble where you have bubbles of very nice affluent neighborhoods and you go a few blocks then you're in the middle of a working class neighborhood.

Here's my perspective of Garden Grove.

The far east end of Garden Grove around Haster to Euclid is the older part of town which is the poorest part. This is the area that has the most apartment and lower end houses that averages in the $400k range. Again it's mostly working class and high volume of Hispanics and the rest lower income Asians. To some people, this make it "Ghetto" or "run down" but it's not exactly like you will be shot or stabbed walking around most of the neighborhoods. Again, there is pockets of neighborhoods in this part of town that is pretty quiet and well kept such as the area around Euclid and Chapman where some houses run in the mid $600k and Ghetto or "run down" is definitely not what I would use to describe it.

The middle of Garden Grove that run from Euclid to Beach BLVD contains everything you can think of. Some lower income houses and apartment to large ranch like homes that can run near million dollars. Some of the best kept secret to people who do not spend much time in GG is the area of homes north of Garden Grove blvd adjacent to Gilbert St. Some of these houses are awesome with huge lots.

Lastly you have West GG where I grew up and went to school. This is the area west of Knott Ave and north of Lampson. This section of GG is really not much like the rest of GG in terms of ethnic demographics. While the other parts of GG have high percentage of Asian and hispanics, west GG is still majority white with about 20% Asian and the rest hispanics. Not saying this is better or worse, just pointing out that this is the big difference in the area. It's middle class neighborhood but it's really well kept. I don't consider any pockets of this area to even be remotely bad. The neighborhoods are very social and you should see the block parties during the 4th of July. I have yet to see any part of OC where such a huge section of the city just block off most of the residential street and every street you go on, there's people out front all having a good time with each other. This is not even a city sponsored event but just neighbors wanting to celebrate as a community.

To the OP, if you have to move to GG, I would highly recommend you look in West GG if possible. The average price of homes in this area might be out your range if you're looking to stay under $500k. But if you can afford $600k for a home, I would suggest you take a drive through this part of town all the way to the East gate park area. Great neighborhoods and really good schools from elementary (Patton, Barker, Enders) to Bell Jr High and then Pacifica High school. Other thing that this area has going for it is the easy access to both the 22 and 405 FRWY which helps depending on where you have to commute to.

A very sane, rational, informative reply. My only thought is this: If OP can afford $600,000 for a house, why shouldn't he look at Irvine?

[Curious Jay]

Thank you very much for your carefully reasoned and thought-out reply, rikity. I'm grateful.

[ragnarkar]

Boring, boring, boring.

You won't find much in the way of really bad neighborhoods but neither great ones either. There are occasional breakins and gang activity but you won't be immune to those either in, say, Irvine. The schools are probably one of the better public districts in Southern California but average by OC standards.

Fyi, avoid Hawaiian Gardens. GG and Westminster are probably closer to Irvine in safety than HG.

[rikity]

Originally Posted by Fran66

A very sane, rational, informative reply. My only thought is this: If OP can afford $600,000 for a house, why shouldn't he look at Irvine?

When I had mentioned the $600k, I was actually basing on my criteria of 1700+ square feet with nice lot. I forgot that the OP was looking for a starter home. For home less than this criteria, he should be able to find something around $550k or possibly less.

Also there's no way you're going to find a house in Irvine for $600k. Maybe a very small condo but I think even average Condo in Irvine are above $600k.

[Curious Jay]

Originally Posted by rikity

When I had mentioned the $600k, I was actually basing on my criteria of 1700+ square feet with nice lot. I forgot that the OP was looking for a starter home. For home less than this criteria, he should be able to find something around $550k or possibly less.

Also there's no way you're going to find a house in Irvine for $600k. Maybe a very small condo but I think even average Condo in Irvine are above $600k.

Thanks for your input. And I'm sorry for leaving out the other important details, it's not intentional. Here it is:

I have the tall order of living with my aging parents while trying to start a family in a new home in SoCal. We're not just two care-free young kids trying to start a romantic life together in a sunny SoCal paradise. I wish!!

My parents be a great help in actually raising the child(ren) since nothing beats the steady guidance of grandparents (not to mention the free, 24-7 childcare), but in an area where real estate is at a high premium it's not easy. I would absolutely like to maximize square footage, in order to have 4 adults and 1-2 children live comfortably. Not easy given the budget, but yeah...

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by rikity

Also there's no way you're going to find a house in Irvine for $600k. Maybe a very small condo but I think even average Condo in Irvine are above $600k.

Not true at all. A quick Zillow search of homes and townhouses for $600k and under was 79 properties. Several over 1500 square feet. I bet a Craigslist search would show a ton more.

OP, you might want to consider Costa Mesa as well. Not too expensive, much nicer than GG or Westminster and much more variety of things to do.