Maybe moving to OC from Michigan (Long Beach, Huntington Beach: real estate, new home, neighborhoods)

[fitmom]

My husband just got a great job offer in Long Beach & I've been doing a lot of research online regarding neighborhoods, schools etc. Our kids are 13 & 8 & our budget is around $650,000-$700,000. We are aware it's not possible to get a newer ( 15 years max) nice, big (3000 sq ft) house for that amount in OC. 30 minutes drive to work would be nice. The school district has to be good because my daughter just got into one of the top public high school's in the nation ( according to Newsweek) in the IB programme & I'm trying to find something similar over there. I've been doing some real estate research in the cities of Cypress ( around Oxford Academy) but it has older homes, Huntington Beach etc. Safety is definitely very important. The subarbs of Detroit are great & we have lived here for 20 some years & loved every minute of it. But since the Auto industry has been so hard hit, a lot of people are moving out. Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

[bhcompy]

Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, College Park East, College Park West, and eastern Long Beach are your best bets. Homes aren't very new anywhere around here, but you'll find that people renovate and remodel to keep them up to date.

Also, you'll be hard pressed to find 3000sq feet(do you have 30kids to need that much space?) in the area as well. Most single story houses are around 1400 and 2 story vary widely, but probably no more than 2500sq ft. Any houses you may find over 3000sqft would be million dollar homes as the average price per square foot in the area would send that price up high. There is one new civilian housing development in Seal Beach, but I believe the prices are above 1mill.

Another area you can look at is Cerritos. Whitney High School is an academic powerhouse, but if you're child is uncomfortable being in an environment thats 80%+ asian(mainly korean i would say), it may not be the best situation. Housing prices are higher here than elsewhere in the area.

All of the areas I mentioned are safe enough and have excellent schools.

[GirlsRUs]

Originally Posted by fitmom

My husband just got a great job offer in Long Beach & I've been doing a lot of research online regarding neighborhoods, schools etc. Our kids are 13 & 8 & our budget is around $650,000-$700,000. We are aware it's not possible to get a newer ( 15 years max) nice, big (3000 sq ft) house for that amount in OC. 30 minutes drive to work would be nice. The school district has to be good because my daughter just got into one of the top public high school's in the nation ( according to Newsweek) in the IB programme & I'm trying to find something similar over there. I've been doing some real estate research in the cities of Cypress ( around Oxford Academy) but it has older homes, Huntington Beach etc. Safety is definitely very important. The subarbs of Detroit are great & we have lived here for 20 some years & loved every minute of it. But since the Auto industry has been so hard hit, a lot of people are moving out. Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

Seal Beach is excellent for your situation. Really quaint with lots of shops and cafe's downtown. Good schools. Best bet for your $$. If you have any other questions, please ask! This is a great website!!!! Good luck with your move. You will love California. The weather is really nice.

[Unkllars]

For a larger, newer home, you may want to stretch the commute to 45 minutes, but you'll be able to get the home and schools you want. Would he be commuting for a normal 9-5, or could he leave earlier/later than that? That could change a few things. There are plenty of homes near Long Beach that could suit. I have friends that live in Fountain Valley/Westminster and enjoy it. I'm also thinking of North Orange County depending on when your hubby would leave for work (the wicked truth of Orange and LA counties). We have some great high schools!

[bob-jenkins]

I am not aware of any new homes over 3000 square feet at your price. That was back in the 90's (about 8 years too late) anywhere in OC. Try the IE if you NEED a new, big house.

[nasheq]

I moved from Irvine to Ann Arbor when I was 15. The schools in Socal are generally so far ahead of anything in Michigan. By 16 I was so far ahead in school I was taking most of my classes at U of M (DiffEQ, Multivar Calc, Bio, English, History, etc). I can't imagine schools being subpar in any rich OC suburb because of the large Asian population.

[Notalent]

Check out El Dorado Estates, In Long Beach (zip code 90808), right nextdoor to Cypress and Los Alamitos. Great area and great Middle School (Newcomb Academy) and Los Alamitos High School. Right in your price range and very nice upscale area. Orange County is nice, but alot of fake people here IMO. Long Beach is definiatley my choice, in the nicer areas.