OC: non-tract housing, good schools, laid back/funky (Long Beach, Anaheim: HOA fees, condo)

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by Teckeeee

Those are nice, but isn't the wall in your backyard your neighbors wall to their living room/dining room?

No, they are totally detached with a backyard, a two car attached garage, and no common walls.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Originally Posted by gogogo35

Thanks so much everyone. I also have a question about the culture at schools in this area. Right now, my kids go to a great school in Dallas that I hate.... It's white and affluent, not diverse, the kids are all overscheduled, a lot of the girls wear huge bows in their hair, the 7-year-old boys can throw a football better than many men I know. It's just a lot of pressure on kids to be a certain way. Is this what I'll find in the OC area in schools that are considered good/great?

I can't speak for all of the schools, but I did graduate from Aliso Niguel HS and I didn't find it to be that way at all, in terms of pressure to be a certain way. At least when I was growing up, I felt like there were several social circles for people who had different interests. I never really felt ostracized, but I grew up in a different area so I didn't have a lot of social baggage going in.

Long Beach isn't a bad suggestion. One of my best friends lives in a great neighborhood there that definitely isn't cookie cutter. He currently commutes to Costa Mesa in rush hour and it takes him about 45 mins -- this commute goes with traffic.

I wouldn't recommend Oceanside/Carlsbad due to the commute, but I know people who do much worse.

[Teckeeee]

Originally Posted by pacific2

No, they are totally detached with a backyard, a two car attached garage, and no common walls.

Good to know If I stick around I would consider one.

[gogogo35]

Thank you -- this information is so helpful.

[kgsmith5]

When I read you thoughts on good schools and funky area I thought Laguna Beach but then saw your budget. Sorry. I'd look into parts of Cosra Mesa, Fountain Valley and even the cheapest areas of Newpirt. We lived in south county for a dozen years and unfortunately "cookie cutter" if normal.

[gogogo35]

Thanks. (Hard to imagine anywhere with houses as expensive as Laguna Beach being funky, but I guess I'm coming from a different perspective.)

[gogogo35]

Thanks. It's hard for me to imagine that the kind of funky/artsy/intellectual neighborhood would be exclusively multimillion-dollar homes like what I'm seeing for Laguna Beach. I'm looking for something more like Austin (and maybe Seattle) -- well educated, liberal, relaxed (of course, there are multimillionaires in those places, too, but not in the kinds of neighborhoods I'm thinking of). I don't know what the SoCal context is to understand what the different communities are like there, if that makes sense.

What about Alhambra? I saw a couple houses I liked in Fountain Valley, too. I don't understand what Long Beach is about (it looks more city-ish, fewer trees, at least from Zillow, than what I'm imagining).

I know I will just have to visit these areas to better understand them.

[gogogo35]

Also, what about Claremont? I love the houses I've seen on Zillow in that neighborhood.

[gogogo35]

ugh ... terrible air pollution in Claremont.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Claremont has that quirky, artsy vibe you're looking for, but the drive would be really bad.

Long Beach would probably fit the bill too, for the most part. I'd recommend checking out the El Dorado Park area.

Alhambra can be nice, but it doesn't really have the vibe you're looking for. For that matter, neither does much of OC. It would be a pretty bad commute too.