Good towns for people 40's and up with NO kids? (San Diego: apartment complexes, to rent)

[southorangecountylife]

My wife and I live in South OC, San Clemente to be exact. We do not have any kids and we absolutely love it here. So many restaurants, hiking trails, sunsets,wine bars, quiet small town feel. I dont know what your budget is going to be but if you ever decide that this might be an option for youu guys we can give you more info on this area. We have lived inland and also many beach towns across s cal and this has been our favorite. Your criteria you mentioned was basically ours exactly.

[loveorangecounty]

Given the description you have, I think you would like many areas of south orange county. I don't think anyone has mentioned how hilly the area is, which makes it conducive to some great hiking. I live on the east coast sometimes too in a very flat area, so the hills are greatly missed when I'm away. I think you would fit well in Dana Point, San Clemente and Laguna Niguel, although all the cities are great in south orange county, many are very kid oriented. You may like Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Ladera Ranch. It is not your typical parish. It is very non-traditional and are just starting to construct the actual church. We are currently in portable buildings. Ladera Ranch is FULL of kids but there are also a few retirement apartments, so there is a bit of a mix. You might check out Rancho Mission Viejo, a new city just south of Ladera Ranch, but I am unsure what the demographics will be since it is new. Good luck. I'm sure you will like Orange County.

[pacific2]

For example, who would have "thunk" this by driving through tiny cookie-cutter AV?

(Sorry, but I'm bored )

Sports are also big in tiny AV, but you would never guess the scope by driving through; or, by looking at the nondescript Ice Palace building:

Aliso Viejo's Ice Skating Mecca
Olympic Dreams take root for many at city's renowned Ice Palace
http://epaper.ocregister.com/Olive/O...lisoViejoNews/

Zack Sidhu's mother never expected to have to let go of her 16-year-old son.
But, he fell in love with figure skating while the family lived in Las Vegas and decided to move in with his grandparents in Diamond Bar so he could start training in Aliso Viejo.
"It was a 110-mile drive every day, but it was where I wanted to be to try to achieve my dream," Sidhu, now 24, said.
Sidhu is among many figure skaters who come to California to train at the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace. While serving locals' needs for figure skating and hockey training, the 20-year-old facility also has built a strong reputation for producing figure skating champions and even Olympians.

[owl6969]

Originally Posted by loveorangecounty

I think you would fit well in Dana Point, San Clemente and Laguna Niguel, although all the cities are great in south orange county, many are very kid oriented.

Its more like all.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by pacific2

Aliso Viejo is very different from Laguna Niguel. I'll try to delineate the differences. AV is more of an upstart "urbanish" town with a restless, experimental and young vibe. That is in contrast to Laguna Niguel's more settled and staid image.

AV is a developing mini-biotech, tech, and pharmaceutical research center attracting a lot of new startups and venture capital. Laguna Niguel, to the best of my knowledge, is not a concentrated job center.

AV housing probably appeals to those who do not wish to live in a "traditional" suburb. Aliso Viejo is a densely populated little city with a lot of townhouses, condos, houses on small lots, and apartments. LN offers a greater variety of housing styles, ranging from the above, to very spacious homes on large lots.

That said, I think Aliso is an attractive option for active 40+ folks (it suits me), but not if they want to avoid children.

We have gyms galore, a sports hotel, hiking and biking trails, yoga, dance acting classes, a coffee shop or two, and even a Buddhist-inspired university.

Staid? One cannot even tell when one is crossing into Aliso from Laguna Niguel or Laguna Hills because it looks the same and feels the same except for the newness of the many condo and apartment complexes.

Re weather: Laguna Niguel is not really inland. It's easternmost edge is perhaps just over 5 miles from the ocean. Most live closer to the ocean. The weather in Laguna Niguel is ideal. Being 2-3-4 miles from the ocean is perfect as it provides coastal cool weather but coastal fog burns off here by 8 AM unlike the area right by the coast. I love it here for swimming since swimming right by the coast is too cold, too windy. Aliso by contrast is noticeably hotter in summer, and noticably colder in winter; generally 4 degrees (summer:higher; Winter: colder) between where I live and the Aliso town center.

Job centers? Well Laguna Niguel is home to many who work at home. I will leave it to your imagination to consider that such positions are usually highly skilled ones but are "headquartered" all over the United States. Businesses here are varied. They include a renown fertility center, law offices, vast numbers of high quality retail centers and big-box stores that dwarf others in the region (but draw from their populace) and auto sales (e.g. Mercedes, Cadillac, etc.), investment and professional services, real estate professionals, dentists/medical offices, salons (including specialty pet salons) and so much else. Also of greatest significance is the absolutely giant Chet Holifield Federal Building (the "Ziggurat" building) which houses many Federal Agencies and includes over 2,500 employees, plus contractors. I think it is safe to consider Laguna Niguel a job center.

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyGoatherd

Thank you all! I'm so excited about our move. Some more info about us....

We are in our 40s and I'd say pretty health conscious and enjoy being active. This is what I do NOT like about the east coast. I've lived up and down in the east coast as far south as Florida and as far north as Connecticut and no matter how you slice it you are dealing with either bad winters or hot muggy summers. I love the idea of being able to hike a good portion of the year.

I can tell you the one thing I don't want is anything wet, foggy or cloudy for a long period of time. From what I've read there are places along the coast that are that way. Some foggy days are fine. Some cloudy days too. But I want someplace that gets good sunshine and gets warm in the summer. 70 degrees in April is nice. I would not enjoy 70 degrees as the high in the middle of summer though. I don't need 100 but I enjoy a good 80-85 degree day in the summer.

We love going to the gym. I take yoga and swim and he works out. But we also love hiking so some parks or places for day hiking would be nice.

And I'll admit I do like shopping. We have a couple of open air malls here in Virginia that I love so I'd love to find something that is like the Grove if it exists in OC!

We aren't into bars and clubs so I don't need nightlife but I want a place that still feels vibrant and growing. Not dying.

Having been the victim of crime, a safe area is very important.

We are Catholic and pretty liberal. Though this is liberal by east coast southern standards. In the northeast or the west coast we'd be middle of the road I think. I'd love to find a good Catholic or Episcopalian church to attend.
I was so set on Ventura county and the Thousand Oaks area, but honestly the more I look into Orange County the more I'm getting sold on it!

My family used to go to St George's Espicopalian church in Laguna Hills. Laguna Niguel is very pretty and pretty safe. You have access to Dana Point, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. Lots of restaurants. You can walk to the beach sometimes. I did walk a mile to the beach from my house in a Laguna Niguel.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by NewbieHere

My family used to go to St George's Espicopalian church in Laguna Hills. Laguna Niguel is very pretty and pretty safe. You have access to Dana Point, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. Lots of restaurants. You can walk to the beach sometimes. I did walk a mile to the beach from my house in a Laguna Niguel.

Quick access to Dana Point, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach. Not to mention it takes about 12 minutes to get to downtown San Clemente and have a lovely meal at Nick's.

I get to San Clemente in about the same time it takes me to Aliso.

I tried walking to the beach and it took an awfully long time, but very doable on a nice day.

[TheLonelyGoatherd]

Originally Posted by Eagles2013

With a comment like this I really think you would fit in a place like the "People's Republic of Santa Monica" or maybe even look at Northern California such as San Francisco. What about West L.A?

I find it interesting that you would target Evangelicals, as if they make up most of the county and would be a constant harassment to your daily life. This isn't the first time I have heard comments like this on the forum.

I'm heading to bed now but I'm very excited about reading the rest of the replies tomorrow. Let's hope we have power since we have a snowstorm heading our way and our electric company has us in the zone for "Very likely" to lose power. Lovely. I can't wait to get to California and never deal with winter again. A 10 degree fluctuation is nothing to me. We swing from teens in the winter to upper 90s in the summer.

But I did want to comment on this really quick. Hearing the word evangelical sends shivers up my spine. Is there anyone here who has lived in the south who could tell me if OC evangelicals are similar to southern evangelicals?
Because I've heard people in California who call themselves Conservative who would be considered liberal if they lived in the south.

Anyway, my husband and I were thrust into the evangelical world in our teens and got away from it in our 20s. I'm a Christian but I'm not a fanatic. I don't want to live someplace where upon meeting me someone immediately asks, "What church do you go to?" And when I tell them I'm Catholic they look away and say "Oh" or scowl, or proceed to tell me that I worship idols and I need to be born again. I don't want to drive past homes and see anti gay signs on people's lawns. I'm conservative in many ways but the brand of Christian conservative here in the south is too much for me. I spent years going to mega churches. My whole family is evangelical. One of the many reasons we want to leave the east coast is to get away from family. We want a more liberal and open minded place to live. So I can say without hesitation that if OC was anything like the south in terms of fanatical Christians I'd pass on it but I don't think that's the case.

I guess my southeast-ness is showing. lol

[loveorangecounty]

I have lived in NC, but it is so diverse now that I do not think of it being your typical southern state. I do think that south orange county is a pretty religious area. It is home to Saddleback Church, which has thousands of members. But there are all kinds of religions here and find that people are not judgmental in that area. I have heard of the "in your face" evangelicals in the south but personally never experienced it while there. I would consider the OC area conservative but there are liberals also. We all live happily together. There are also many Mormons in the South OC area, not judging, just letting you know.

[oc919]

Pac2 - as always, thanks for the great insight!

OP - good luck with the storm. I live in NJ and bracing too. Cant wait for the day I can toss away the snow gear for good!