Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo or Irvine... (San Francisco, Anaheim: real estate, apartments, condos)

[cherrywink]

Hi all,
My husband and I are reconsidering relocation to SoCal for 6 months (possibly more). I'm writing this as I sit up in the mountains of Canada under 6 feet of snow (not literally but I'm sure you catch my drift). I've been to Irvine and like it but a friend of mine suggested Aliso or Mission Viejo as it's supposed to be a bit cheaper (not sure if this is true). We are looking at spending 1600-1800 for a nice, newer one bedroom. What we really want is a nice little town with decent shopping and things to do (biking paths, movies etc). I know that Aliso has their town center with lots of shops and of course Irvine has the Spectrum and South Coast Plaza. What about Mission Viejo? I really like the thought of MV as it looks beautiful.

Also how hard is it on your car to drive up the hills of Aliso or Mission Viejo? We have a diesel vw and it doesn't seem to love really steep hills (even with the turbo, lol). It would be nice to be 20 minutes or so from the beach and the less traffic on a daily basis would certainly be better. We have our own business so we can avoid rush hour as well but from what I'm reading rush hour can last all day in OC. Is the traffic that bad in all 3 places? When we were visiting SoCal last summer there wasn't ever traffic right in Irvine. Laguna and Huntington were busy on the weekend but the worst traffic seemed to be in L.A., which I suppose is to be expected. It took us 3 hours to get from the airport to Anaheim (I thought I might die, lol)! I'd love thoughts on all this! Thanks in advance!

[Coldjensens]

There is not much difference between the three locations that you are considering. In fact, if you woke up in one of the three places without knowing which one, you might be hard pressed to figure out which one you were in.

I cannot imagine those little hills having much impact on any car.

My choice of the three would probably be Mission Viejo. No particular reason, it just has a bit more appeal.

If you have kids, check on the schools. Do not go from district wide ratings. Some schools in one city are better than some schools in the other even if the other district has an overall better rating.

If schools do not matter, then just find a bargain. All the houses and subdivisions at any given price level are pretty much the same.

It will be hard to get to the beach in 20 minutes, especially in the summer.

[missionhome]

Well as far as shopping, Mission Viejo has the Shops at Mission Viejo Mall. It is a nice indoor mall with a good range of stores. Here is link to browse stores here: Simon Property Group the street from the mall is the Kaliedoscope Courtyards. This is a sort of "mini mall"/ entertainment center on Crown Valley. It is a little geared towards teenagers though. It has the cities movie theater, a few good places to eat, and other shops.Kaleidoscope Courtyards The city doesn't have any main single center that has everything though. Most of the stores and shopping centers are spread out through the city and there isn't one that has everything. Remember that Mission Viejo is a very spread out city set in the hills and is primarily single family residential homes. Aliso Viejo is more apartments and condos, thus having a fairly large population in a fairly small space.
Also, your car should be fine on the hills. It is not San Francisco with verticle climes. It is just slow rolling hills, that add a real nice touch to the area. If you live in Mission Viejo, you also are a member of the Lake Mission Viejo Association which is a private lake that only MV residents can use. You can swim in it and kayak and party boat. The marina has several boats available at reasonable rates. Introduction - Lake Mission Viejo Association, Mission Viejo, CA

Also, you will be fine finding a complex in Mission Viejo or Aliso Viejo for under 1,800 a month. In Mission Viejo I like to recommend Archstone Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo Apartments at ArchstoneApartments.com). It is walking distance to the mall and shopping and has 5 minute freeway access.
Now in looking for a comple, you will find many more in Aliso Viejo. They are also a little newer. I highly recommend City Lights at Town Center. It is a beautiful complex right behind the Aliso Viejo Town Center. Shea Apartment Communities - Northern California Apartment Communities and Southern California Apartment Communities.

Also check out San Clemente and Dana Point for complexes. These are beach front communities that could have some newer places. San Clemente has Talega which is newer and only ten minutes from the beach. If I were you, I would big the complex you like best. The cities down here are very similar and you will be happy in any (avoid San Juan though). I know I sort of wrote from a Mission Viejo perspective, but that is because I live there. All the cities down here are nice so good luck in finding a place. Again, check out City Lights, it is very nice.

[dtran103]

Originally Posted by cherrywink

Hi all,
My husband and I are reconsidering relocation to SoCal for 6 months (possibly more). I'm writing this as I sit up in the mountains of Canada under 6 feet of snow (not literally but I'm sure you catch my drift). I've been to Irvine and like it but a friend of mine suggested Aliso or Mission Viejo as it's supposed to be a bit cheaper (not sure if this is true). We are looking at spending 1600-1800 for a nice, newer one bedroom. What we really want is a nice little town with decent shopping and things to do (biking paths, movies etc). I know that Aliso has their town center with lots of shops and of course Irvine has the Spectrum and South Coast Plaza. What about Mission Viejo? I really like the thought of MV as it looks beautiful.

Also how hard is it on your car to drive up the hills of Aliso or Mission Viejo? We have a diesel vw and it doesn't seem to love really steep hills (even with the turbo, lol). It would be nice to be 20 minutes or so from the beach and the less traffic on a daily basis would certainly be better. We have our own business so we can avoid rush hour as well but from what I'm reading rush hour can last all day in OC. Is the traffic that bad in all 3 places? When we were visiting SoCal last summer there wasn't ever traffic right in Irvine. Laguna and Huntington were busy on the weekend but the worst traffic seemed to be in L.A., which I suppose is to be expected. It took us 3 hours to get from the airport to Anaheim (I thought I might die, lol)! I'd love thoughts on all this! Thanks in advance!

There is very little real estate difference in all three cities. There are more developments going on in Irvine though, and with the economic downturn, you may be able to find a good deal. The great thing about Irvine, is that if you plan to live there for the long run, they are constructing the biggest municipal park in the country called the OC Great park.