North County or South County? (Irvine, Orange: apartments, rentals, condo)

[LFMK]

We're looking to move early next year (probably about March 2017) and we're in a bit of a dilemma.

I work in Tustin right near the 55. My wife works at UCI but could possibly be relocated to Orange. Kids go to school in Tustin not too far from my work.

So the daily schedule is:

AM: I drop off kids, go to work.
PM: Wife leaves work, gets kids, goes home. (I tend to work later into the evenings.)

Right now we live in Tustin so this is all very easy. However, we rent, and we want to rent a house, and we cannot afford to rent a house in Tustin. There are amazingly few houses for rent at all in Tustin to begin with and the ones that do exist rent for $3000 and up.

We are currently paying about $2000 in rent on our crappy apartment and are looking for about $2700 max rent next year.

Irvine is out for certain personal reasons I can't talk about here. Just know that it's out.

So we're looking at North County (Brea, Placentia, YL) or South County (Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, the various Lagunas). In brief, North County looks way more livable but the commute, down the 57 or 55 corridors in the morning and back up them in the evening, looks brutal. South County is about the same price point but looks more like Suburban Hell. On the other hand it is a reverse commute, more or less.

What are y'all's thoughts? North County + commute hell or South County + easy commute?

[OCerik]

Even though a lot of South County is extremely suburban, it is close to the beach cities (San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna Beach) that have lots of different dining and entertainment options. Also the beaches in South County are much better than North. Most would probably say it's a better environment for kids also. If you add an easier commute to all of that, the choice for me would be fairly easy.

It's all down to personal preference though and what area you feel like will fit your family more.

[RoadTripGurl]

The commute either way sucks unless you work odd hours. From Irvine going north in evening will definitely suck. I don't like south OC because all the jobs are in Irvine and points north being that I will always be driving north for work. The environment south is aesthetically better but again it depends on your preference. Brea and some parts of Fullerton are very nice and Fullerton has very good high performing schools. I wouldn't consider south OC unless telecommuting some days was an option.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I'm an ethnic / food diversity loving Northern boy.

Can't get me enough Bò Bảy Món!

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by LFMK

North County + commute hell or South County + easy commute?

Both premises are incorrect. The commute from South County might be equally bad or even worse. At least the North County locations have viable surface street alternate routes if there is a major Sigalert.

Also South County is far from "suburban hell". If you want to see what suburban hell looks like check out Rancho Cucamonga.

How about choice 3, look in the South Coast Metro area where there are a lot more available rentals.

orange co apartments / housing rentals "south coast metro" - craigslist

Newer executive home in South Coast Metro Area

Updated 2 Bed 2 Bath Condo in Park Like Setting

[goozer]

I would look at Orange. It's adjacent to Tustin and for the most part it is slightly cheaper. More importantly, your commutes would not appreciably change from how they are now. You wouldn't even have to get on a freeway as one poster noted. Also, Orange, like Fullerton, has a charming "downtown" area that gives the city some character.