Lake Forest/Irvine Down to Earth Neighborhoods? (San Diego, Santa Ana: renting, homes)

[adrianz]

Would be very grateful for any leads for good neighborhoods to check out. We're relocating from WI and want an area where we can garden, bike and walk to stores and restaurants, and have friendly, down-to-earth neighbors. Do places like this exist? My husband is out there now driving around and is not having much luck.

Thanks in advance!

[Coldjensens]

All but the friendly down to earth neighbors. Those may be hard to find, especially in the more "upscale" cities. We found that most master planned "communities" lack any sense of community at all. Down to earth people exist everywhere, but seem more prevalent in Silverado Canyon, and the central OC cities (Orange, Santa Ana, Fullerton, Placentia, Yorba Linda). Such people seem scarce anywhere in OC, but you can find them if you look hard enough. There are loads and loads of places that you can ride bikes, walk to stores, and in most cases garden (some areas may have CC & Rs that prevent gardening or any growing of something that does not look exactly like all of the neighboring properties). However you will not find as many of these amenities in the areas where you find more down to earth people (except gardening).

The more down to earth cities are heavily populated with "Mexicans!" . . . . gasp. (note many Hispanics are not really from Mexico, but the residents of upscale cities tend to refer to all of them as "Mexicans" and while "Mexicans" can actually make really fun neighbors, they fall into the undesirable category amongst the people who plan and/or create the OC philosophy).

Sorry, but the prevailing atmosphere in OC is all about how great you are, how your children are better than other children, how you make more money, or at least use it more wisely, how you have the best car, better clothing, most recent electronic gizmos, how you are the more knowledgeable wine connoisseur, how you eat at the best restaurants and drink at the best bars, how you follow all of the latest trendy parenting books, health books, lifestyle books, etc. In places like Irvine, South Tustin, Mission Viejo etc etc, be prepared to get repeatedly cut off in parking lots, stores, lines, etc because everyone else is far more important than your are and everyone else's time is much more valuable than yours could possibly be (especially if you do not drive a BMW, Mercedes, or Jaguar). People do not mean to be this way, but they get that way from the constant rushing around and constant pressure to accomplish everything imaginable in one day. Everything is about time and everyone is in a rush. Not everyone is this way, but a vast majority are.


It is not a terrible pace. It is actually a beautiful place with an incredible amount of great things to do, but down to earth people is not one of the strong points of OC. In fact, it is probably the weakest point.


You will find the other amenities in abundance.

[missionhome]

I think Lake Forest is a good choice if you want down to earth neighbors. The city as a whole seems to be much more humble than the surrounding ones and I know some people that live in Lake Forest and have a very close community. Foothill Ranch of Lake Forest also kind of has that feel since they are so secluded from the rest of the city and have a small town feel.

[kturbe]

As Misisonhome noted, Lake forest is a great choice and they are going through a huge redevelopment and adding many new shops and restuarants. Two communities that I like are Portola Hills and Foothill Ranch. They are a little newer but provide a more close knit community and both the elementary schools are excellent. You might want to also check out Mission Viejo

[recycled]

There are many good neighborhoods in Lake Forest, and if you want to be able to bike and walk to stores, that can apply too. Most residents of Lake Forest are not as "status oriented" as in Irvine. It is a bit less uptight in Lake Forest in Irvine, but that's my own generalization, not a fact. I suggest looking within a 2 mile radius of the intersection of Lake Forest Rd and Trabuco Rd, east of Jeronimo Rd. I prefer east of Jeronimo Rd to stay away from the Interstate 5 freeway noise and pollution. Nearly every store I need is within walking distance, and the city is very bicycle friendly. I bike commute to work nearly every work day year round, a round trip of over 20 miles. Nearly every major street in the area has a good wide bike lane, and as long as the bike rider knows what they are doing and how to ride safely, it is a great way to get around. There are some pretty good hills around town, it's not all flat, so it will burn plenty of calories depending on where you are headed.

If you do decide to move to Irvine instead, it is among the most bicycle friendly places on earth. Hundreds of miles of Bike lanes along many through streets, plus bike paths criss crossing the city in several directions. 80 percent of Irvine is relatively flat, so it makes for pretty easy pedaling around.

[adrianz]

Thanks so much to everyone for taking the time to reply. It's all very helpful to us in figuring out this decision. Very glad to hear from another bike commuter too!

[dakicka]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

It is actually a beautiful place with an incredible amount of great things to do, but down to earth people is not one of the strong points of OC. In fact, it is probably the weakest point.

I second this statement. After have been living here for 10 months I am moving to San Diego in hopes of better culture, more 'real' people, and better priorities in life vs. superficial/money/tangibles/artificial/stuffy/pretentious/arrogant/narcisism ruling the OC.

[byesil11]

Hi everyone
We are moving from NY to OC (most probably Lake Forest) and need some info on schools. We have 3 year-old, so right now we are most interested pre-k onwards. Also, I would appreciate suggestions re. preschools. We will fly to OC next week and we want to check out preschools. Many thanks, Bilge

[missionhome]

I sent my kids to pre kindergarten at Mission Viejo Christian School. I was happy with the school and would recommend it. For elementary school, if you are planning on public then: I would not recommend Ralph Gates Elementary or Olivewood Elementary, Aliso and Santiago are both ok, and La Madera, Lake Forest, and Rancho Canada Elementary are all very good. In the Foothill Ranch subdivision of Lake Forest, Foothill Elementary is phenomenal as is Portola Elementary in the Portola Hills development. Both of these developments are new and very far from the freeway, but are good family communities. Both of these communities were in danger in the Southern California Wildfires though, with the fires right up to many homes backyards so that is a risk in those two neighborhoods. Middle and High school in Lake Forest is both good at Serano Middle School and El Toro or Trabuco Hills (in Mission Viejo) High Schools. Also look into Mission Viejo as well next to Lake Forest as it is a very nice city also (maybe I'm biased, I live there
Mission Viejo's Elementary School are all good with the exception of Viejo and Glen Yermo Elementary Schools. As far as pre-k, my only experience is with Mission Christian, but there was a thread not to look ago about pre-k's and some good ones were mentioned, you should search it.

[byesil11]

thank you so much for tips on schools
bilge