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Totally understand and agree, we all have different tastes. It would be cool to visit NYC, but I can't envision living there, personally.
The way you described it, Alicia Viejo looks and sounds awesome, maybe even perfect. How it's kind of compact, has opportunities for outdoor activities, then the almost naturally typical open and more serene feeling of South OC. I just can't get over the views of places in the South County, the hills and trees, etc. that a lot of spots offer.
Don't be sorry, the more info the better lol.
P.s. Found this house right now just searching AV in Zillow to see what it offers and looks like. Jesus, the house looks great and really spacious, then the view and trail in the back... I don't even care if the backyard is small and the houses are right next to each other. The price isn't that bad either I think. I wish I could move there now.
When you go to college, please take some sort of architecture course.
I don't have advice to offer, but I wanted to chime in that I grew up in La Habra. It's not that it was THAT bad, but it always seemed old, drab, and grimy. It just got worse as you drove toward LA. Plus, I have no interest in cities; I loathe LA and can't imagine that I would enjoy living in NYC or any other big city.
In my 20s, I moved down to RSM. It's been almost 19 years now and I still love it. Yes, they are tract houses, but they are clean and well kept up. We're close to the foot of the mountains, can see them from the window, and in 5 minutes, I can ride my bike into O'Neill Park and be on a trail. I love being able to walk a few blocks to a lake, and a couple of blocks in the other direction to stores. This neighborhood was just really well planned. I would never go back to North OC; the very thought is depressing. So I understand how you feel, OP.
Totally understand and agree, we all have different tastes. It would be cool to visit NYC, but I can't envision living there, personally.
The way you described it, Alicia Viejo looks and sounds awesome, maybe even perfect. How it's kind of compact, has opportunities for outdoor activities, then the almost naturally typical open and more serene feeling of South OC. I just can't get over the views of places in the South County, the hills and trees, etc. that a lot of spots offer.
Don't be sorry, the more info the better lol.
P.s. Found this house right now just searching AV in Zillow to see what it offers and looks like. Jesus, the house looks great and really spacious, then the view and trail in the back... I don't even care if the backyard is small and the houses are right next to each other. The price isn't that bad either I think. I wish I could move there now.
AV is really nice and it has great schools (There is also a private International Baccalaureate school); a balanced budget with a surplus; one of the lowest crime rates in CA; OC's highest life expectancy; and the lowest unemployment rate of any OC incorporated area. The rankings may have changed a bit, but that's how things stood the last time I checked.
That is a nice townhouse and you should reasonably expect to afford it if you get a good paying job.
About the term "compact" in reference to AV, well the city is 7.47 sq miles and just a bit smaller than Laguna Beach. There are about 50,000 residents and countless workers/visitors packed into that very small space.
In addition, 23 parks have been squeezed in the city, as well as a Buddhist-inspired university, several sports facilities and a golf course.
What's more, AV has, for its size, several technology, pharmaceutical, medical device, financial and other firms.
Here's a partial list of what's in this tiny city (I have too much time on my hands this AM ):
Soka University (America’s only Buddhist inspired university), Soka Performing Arts Center, Pacific Ballet Conservatory, The Center Stage Studio, Impulse Dance Center, Aliso Viejo Aquatic Center, Laguna Yamaha Music Center, Aliso Viejo Country Club, Renaissance Club Sport Aliso Viejo (Sports Hotel), Aliso Viejo Ice Palace, National Gymnastics Training Center, Microsemi Corporation, Dell (branch formerly Quest), Fluor (branch),Beyond Trust (Global security tech), OCTANe (Startup accelerator for new tech firms), AqueSys (Venture Funding for medical devices and Software), Smith Micro Software, Telogis, UST Global, Predixion Software, Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc( Recently purchased by a Japanese firm for 3.5 billion dollars), Corent Technology, Cirro Inc. (Software), Verismic (International provider of information technology management solutions), The New Home Company, Lennar Homes, Sunstone Hotel Investors, Al Frank Asset Management (Manages $700 million in assets), NFP Retirement ( more than $30 billion in assets under advisement), Pacific Life Insurance Company, Clarient, Valeant Pharmaceuticals,Wave Tec Vision Systems Inc.( will be bought by Alcon), Nolet Spirits (Vodka),Buy.com, Gaikai (a Sony computer entertainment company)....
When you go to college, please take some sort of architecture course.
Why's that? Were you being sarcastic? Just to entertain the thought, Cal Poly Pomona has an excellent architecture degree program, but I know that it is brutal and everyone who takes it says it's the hardest thing they've ever been through and the toughest program in the whole school. I think it may had been Cal Poly San Luis Obispo that has that too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot
I don't have advice to offer, but I wanted to chime in that I grew up in La Habra. It's not that it was THAT bad, but it always seemed old, drab, and grimy. It just got worse as you drove toward LA. Plus, I have no interest in cities; I loathe LA and can't imagine that I would enjoy living in NYC or any other big city.
In my 20s, I moved down to RSM. It's been almost 19 years now and I still love it. Yes, they are tract houses, but they are clean and well kept up. We're close to the foot of the mountains, can see them from the window, and in 5 minutes, I can ride my bike into O'Neill Park and be on a trail. I love being able to walk a few blocks to a lake, and a couple of blocks in the other direction to stores. This neighborhood was just really well planned. I would never go back to North OC; the very thought is depressing. So I understand how you feel, OP.
I know exactly what you mean, it's nice to have someone on the same page. That's just about what this area is like. It doesn't have the big buildings like LA does though, but there are good places, decent, and really ugly drab places. I would say I live in a decent area thankfully, but it does get worse as you drive around in a certain direction, especially towards Santa Ana. I love when for whatever reason I go to somewhere like Corona, usually with my dad, or to like Anaheim Hills, and of course the South County, because it looks so nice, clean, and new. I would loath living in LA unless it's the super expensive better-than-decent area lol.
I don't think I would mind tract houses, that's how it was in Murrieta when I lived there, it wasn't bad. I would prefer to have a bigger backyard to just sit and relax at or maybe even have a pool though. It seems like a lot of houses down in that area are really close together or attached with a small back patio/backyard.
The views are really great like you described. I would like being more active and being outdoors on the trails they have there and parks, etc., if I could, I would even start doing so here, but there's only a few small parks around and Mile Square Park which is the biggest one around, and all those around me are too far for me to walk or bike to, too small, or I just wouldn't feel comfortable going.
How is it there, socially? Do people interact or talk to each other? Are people friendly or mind themselves? Did you meet any new people there or make friends easily? I hear a lot of the suburb areas down in South OC have people who are snobby or try to live like they are high class. No offense to any of you, you all sound very kind and are obviously very helpful. Is there any truth to these claims or stigmas though?
Quote:
Originally Posted by pacific2
AV is really nice and it has great schools (There is also a private International Baccalaureate school); a balanced budget with a surplus; one of the lowest crime rates in CA; OC's highest life expectancy; and the lowest unemployment rate of any OC incorporated area. The rankings may have changed a bit, but that's how things stood the last time I checked.
That is a nice townhouse and you should reasonably expect to afford it if you get a good paying job.
About the term "compact" in reference to AV, well the city is 7.47 sq miles and just a bit smaller than Laguna Beach. There are about 50,000 residents and countless workers/visitors packed into that very small space.
In addition, 23 parks have been squeezed in the city, as well as a Buddhist-inspired university, several sports facilities and a golf course.
What's more, AV has, for its size, several technology, pharmaceutical, medical device, financial and other firms.
Here's a partial list of what's in this tiny city (I have too much time on my hands this AM ):
Soka University (America’s only Buddhist inspired university), Soka Performing Arts Center, Pacific Ballet Conservatory, The Center Stage Studio, Impulse Dance Center, Aliso Viejo Aquatic Center, Laguna Yamaha Music Center, Aliso Viejo Country Club, Renaissance Club Sport Aliso Viejo (Sports Hotel), Aliso Viejo Ice Palace, National Gymnastics Training Center, Microsemi Corporation, Dell (branch formerly Quest), Fluor (branch),Beyond Trust (Global security tech), OCTANe (Startup accelerator for new tech firms), AqueSys (Venture Funding for medical devices and Software), Smith Micro Software, Telogis, UST Global, Predixion Software, Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc( Recently purchased by a Japanese firm for 3.5 billion dollars), Corent Technology, Cirro Inc. (Software), Verismic (International provider of information technology management solutions), The New Home Company, Lennar Homes, Sunstone Hotel Investors, Al Frank Asset Management (Manages $700 million in assets), NFP Retirement ( more than $30 billion in assets under advisement), Pacific Life Insurance Company, Clarient, Valeant Pharmaceuticals,Wave Tec Vision Systems Inc.( will be bought by Alcon), Nolet Spirits (Vodka),Buy.com, Gaikai (a Sony computer entertainment company)....
AV sounds really nice and I think it's on the top of my list now too. I hope the surrounding areas like RSM, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, etc. are the same or as nice, but any of them would be miles ahead where I live now.
Speaking of employment, where do most people there work? Do they commute North or anywhere else, or do they mostly work in the same area? What kinds of jobs are there in that area? I know there are a few business in AV, but I don't think just those few can employ everyone around there. How do people around there manage to make nearly, if not so, six figures?
About it being compact like you said, I don't think it's such a bad thing. There would be a good amount of people and it would be dense enough to meet new people, I don't really want to live where it's too sparse or lonely. I wouldn't mind it being dense or kind of cramped even, because it won't be filled with weirdos or whatever like here.
Also, like I asked saibot too, how is it there to meet new people or make friends? Do people talk or interact much? Are people too busy working, being married, or having a family to make good friends? That's a big thing I'm considering too. I imagine in a lot of these areas in the south are family oriented and as such, people already have families and it would be hard to make friends.
On a side note, I decided to look up the city in YouTube to see maybe a city tour or anything about it, and this was a pretty informational video about AV, is this accurate? It seems really nice and I would probably really enjoy living there. http://youtu.be/lplA4VMQrns
For reference, in general, this is the overall area I'm considering, for anyone interested. imgur: the simple image sharer
On a side note, I decided to look up the city in YouTube to see maybe a city
tour or anything about it, and this was a pretty informational video about AV,
is this accurate? It seems really nice and I would probably really enjoy living
there. Experience It All @ Aliso Viejo - YouTube
Yes, the video is entirely accurate. Regarding businesses, there are more than a few here and most of those I listed are large. Aliso is headquarters to a number of big corporations, and it's also a mini tech center (nothing as large as Irvine), as this very dated LA Times article shows: Aliso Viejo Giving O.C. Tech Centers a Run for the Money - Los Angeles Times
Still, most people work outside of the city in a variety of places.
Regarding friendliness and meeting people, married or single, most people in Aliso tend to be very friendly.
Thanks for the info and support. I've slowly become a control freak and over think everything, which is a curse in that I can never choose something easily and when I mess up on a decision I hate myself. Now that I think about it, I'm just like my mom now
I know it will all depend on the money I have when it's time for me to seriously look for a house, but the point of this post was kind of to get a feeling for where I should actually consider living, so then I would see how much houses are in that city and then I would have a ballpark of how much to save at least. Also, isn't the housing market at a peak right now again? I'm hoping that in about 10 or 12 years, the market will be at a low point... I just can't find a decent chart to look at the history and make a prediction.
I would stay with my parents when I transfer, but I don't want to waste gas by driving almost every day from GG to Pomona and back. Being the closest to ever so far being on my own for a while is just an added bonus . They're against me moving there as long as I'm attending Pomona, and I've appeased them by saying I won't, so it's kind of in the air still.
So far I have no need for a loan. My parents are very low income on paper, so I'm getting just about the most financial aid possible, and it should be the same next year. It might change though, since I need to get a job to start seriously saving and get myself a used car, but that job and income will most likely lower my aid. The good thing is, I can always do what your husband did. Another option is build computer for people, I've been wanting to start doing that since I actually really like doing it and I have lots of experience with it, but my parents don't want people coming to the house and don't consider it a "real way to make money" or something.
I know the career I'm after is competitive here, and I need experience to even get an entry level job, so I need an internship, but I also need a job that pays, so I'm conflicted with that. Maybe after I start working and have some money saved and my car, I can take an internship or work IT on campus?
Core classes and general education classes, yup. Just the basic classes you need and classes everyone needs to take despite their major.
With a credit card, that's what I want to do. I only have a checking account right now, but when I start working soon, I want to get a credit card and just use that instead of cash to build credit, then pay it off. So basically make sure I have the cash available, then use the credit card, and use the cash to pay it off every month... Just like using cash.
It was shorter to get a bachelor's back then? I thought it was always at least 4 years. Now it's not uncommon for it to take 5 or 6 years thanks to too many students and not enough classes available. I know that at my community college right now, after about a month or less after registration opens, almost everything gets filed up even though it's the biggest in the district. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but ask, is it okay with me asking ballpark how his salary is? I've asked numerous times how much this career can get you on other tech forums, but I get answers anywhere from 50k to 150k. Although, on Indeed, in Garden Grove, the average for a Systems Admin is 81k and I've been told it's common to get 100k after around 10 years in the career.
600k may be too much, since I looked up 3 bed 2 bath houses in the areas I listed, and for a single that can be a lot, but I like to go overkill. Even so, if I get a smaller house or a townhouse or something, I can use the leftover money for furnishings, renovations, principle for another investment, go towards a car, or just save it. 20%? I was banking on only needing 10% down. So then I need like 120k saved up in 12 years... How does everyone else who doesn't have the money for a down do it? Just get a giant loan to cover the down as well?
I know my main focus should be school right now in the present, but I screwed up a lot in the past and I know now that I need to plan and have a good foundation to have a successful future, and I definetly want to have a good future living in a safe, quiet-ish, and nice area. I just want to get away from this area.
I don't live in the ghetto, but I'm tired of always driving around it to get around and seeing all the run down poor places around here, tired of seeing all the homeless around and ghetto shopping centers and annoying kids with snap backs and sagging pants acting like wannabe gangsters. Tired of the loud people, traffic, bad neighbors blasting their ****ty music. I know i probably sound ignorant and stuck up, but I've been around this just about my whole life and I just want to escape and live in those nice, open, new, neat places like cities in South OC offer, but it seems they are all family oriented.
So that's partly why I made this post. To find out what cities would seriously suit me, then have a solid goal.
Heya Dan...
I totally understand wanting a change in scenery. When I was studying at Cal Poly, my family lived in a somewhat ghetto area. I came home on weekends and one night, the SWAT surrounded the property, because the kids in the back house were into gangs. I thought surely bullets would go flying and I would get hit. None of that happened, but coming back home was extremely depressing...
Yes, try not to get too consumed with this right now. Whatever poor choices you've made in life is okay--I mean, look it, Dan, you're 18! I made a huuuge mistake much later in life, got myself into a boatload of debt and ended up working 2 full-time jobs to pay it all off. You have your whole life ahead of you and even for those of us who mess up later in life--there's still hope.
Regarding the down payment. Yes, hubby and I saved the 20% down primarily because I am frugal. I grew up poor, slept in my car during those stupid adult years and it's not going to happen again. He and I also had very cheap rent in an ugly neighborhood of Westminster. I can make sacrifices .
Personally, to me? I think you should save more than 20%. You always need a reserve for emergencies, so as a homeowner--taxes, unexpected home repairs, etc. What if you lose your job? Or get sick? Experts recommend having 3-6 months of your salary saved up for emergencies. After buying the house, I still had a healthy bit of savings left over. I talked with a Wells Fargo financial planner when house was in escrow and I recall having over a year's salary available after the down is spent. Hubby and I are now saving up again for 20% and reserve for a rental property.
If you keep thinking of the 600k house, you'll go crazy as you realize how much you need to save up. Don't even think of that right now. I have no idea where my rental property will be or how much I'll spend. I will think of that once I have time in my busy schedule to add yet one more thing on my plate. Ugh!
I don't know how people do it without 20%. There were crazy home loans out there that allowed many people to buy a home with no-money down. Many of them have lost their homes, too, so don't be fooled.
Save for the used car. Pay it with cash.
All the internships I had were paid internships. As soon as you get to school, you should talk with your dept head about internships or jobs available for students like yourself. I bet there are some plenty.
My husband was troubleshooting computer problems as a side job when I met him. Not a huge clientele, but something. I don't blame your mom for not wanting to have strangers in the house.
My husband got that paid internship then became a full-time employee with benefits (including tuition reimbursements). When he left that job about 9 years later, he was making a little over 100k, I think, as a Senior Systems Admin.
When you get that internship, be willing to learn and go the extra mile. There were many interns at the cable company, but my husband and another intern were giving a permanent position, because they were eager, hard-working guys who were easy to work with.
Years later, he was told that you need to move from company to company to build your resume and to get higher pay. His job was just getting stagnant. No growth, so he took the chance and posted his resume.
He was flooded with offers and took one at a higher pay in the San Gabriel Valley (horrible commute). Then left that less than a year later to work with friends at a more stable company and Human Resources gave him a 15% pay increase on the spot, because, the guy said, you can't change jobs and stay at the same pay. Okay, sure. Thanks!
I think it took most people 5-6 years to get a Bachelor's back when I was going to school. It's going to take you some time also. Take it easy. One step at a time, but you're doing very well, I think.
I write too much. Good thing you're not asking about relationship advice.
This country is becoming a renter nation and sorry to say this but $100k salary 10 yrs later just won't cut it. Unless we have Great Depression II AND you position yourself correctly financially chances will be slim of you or anyone with avg income being able to afford a home in those nice areas. Hell even ghetto areas have rridiculous home prices. I was fortunate that I bought my house at 30 In a decent area. My wife and I make $90k. All those young adults living with parents will want to buy their own home soon and this alone will put upward pressure on RE prices.
How is it there, socially? Do people interact or talk to each other? Are people friendly or mind themselves? Did you meet any new people there or make friends easily? I hear a lot of the suburb areas down in South OC have people who are snobby or try to live like they are high class. No offense to any of you, you all sound very kind and are obviously very helpful. Is there any truth to these claims or stigmas though?
I would say it's a mixed bag. The people in my immediate area all seem to to be very genuine and nice, easy to talk to, not shallow or materialistic. But then we are mostly married couples living in smaller, "older" homes (built in the late 1980s) in a middle-class suburb. If we were rich and snobby we wouldn't be here in the first place. We definitely talk to our neighbors, we lend tools, my husband offers advice on car repair, they offer us lemons from their trees or the use of their pickup if we need it, that kind of thing. It's a friendly neighborhood.
I have three children, two of whom are homeschooled and one who is in a small, comparatively inexpensive religious school. The parents of other kids in our homeschooling group and the private school make up a large part of my social circle. So again, there, we're talking about a community of mostly likeminded people. It's natural that I would get along with people who are so much like me. It really helps if you can find your niche.
On the other hand, every so often I cross paths with the kind of people I suppose you're talking about--parents who boast about sending their child to the best preschool, women who get regular Botox treatments, and couples who have beachfront homes and spend a few months every year cruising. I don't have much in common with them. I were only around these folks, I'd probably think that South OC was not my kind of place at all, but they're far from the only sort of people here.
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I wish I could move there now.
):
. They're against me moving there as long as I'm attending Pomona, and I've appeased them by saying I won't, so it's kind of in the air still. 
How does everyone else who doesn't have the money for a down do it? Just get a giant loan to cover the down as well? 
.
