Moving from Santa Fe, NM For a Job in Irvine, CA - Places to live (Santa Ana: loan)

[lee337]

Hi guys,

I have accepted a job offer in Irvine, CA for approximately $70k and was wondering about affordable places to live. I can tolerate a commute up to about 1 hour each way (I'm used to it).

I don't think I'll have many options, but here's what I'm looking for in order of preference:

1. A safe neighbourhood.
2. A fenced yard suitable for 2 dogs.
3. At least 2 bedrooms.
4. Close to Irvine.

My wife, my newborn son, our two dogs, two cats and I will be moving. I'll be the only bread-winner. Don't laugh, but I'm making myself believe that $70k can support us. I'm no opposed to taking a second job if I'm incorrect in thinking that.

I live in Santa Fe, NM right now which is quite an expensive place to live itself. We have a 1300 sq ft, $300k house. What is the best I can expect near Irvine, CA? Places that are slightly further away but are connected by a rail link would be acceptable. Any recommendations/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Lee

PS: We'd probably rent for the first 6-18 months giving us a chance to see if we like it there, and (can afford to / want to) buy...

[EscapeCalifornia]

That's apartment renting pay around here and good luck finding a place to take two dogs and two cats. $300k buys a 1 bedroom condo. If you want to spend your life on the freeway (or expensive toll road) you can move to Corona or further inland and bring your housing cost down and maybe rent a small house for under $2k/mo. If you're searching for places and the good deals you find are in Santa Ana, there's a reason they're cheap.

[bob-jenkins]

Condo's are coming down. You could get one of those. Is your budget in the $300K range, or upwards of $500K? That would make a big difference.

[bhcompy]

if you dont have a car loan, 70k can pass. my family makes a similar amt and the car payments are what kill us with a 1400$/mo 2bed townhome apt.

[lee337]

Thanks for the replies. We have two cars that are paid off. Re: Corona - Google Maps suggests that it's 27 mins (45 mins in traffic) from Corona to Irvine. By "in traffic" does it mean rush hour? How long would the drive from Corona->Irvine take if I left at 7am?

Yeah, the pets are going to be a problem :-(

[lee337]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

If you're searching for places and the good deals you find are in Santa Ana, there's a reason they're cheap.

Could you elaborate on that? I searched on Realtor.com for houses in the $200k->$300k range. Most of the houses I wouldn't look twice at in Santa Fe, but there are a couple of options.

Forgive my ignorance, but I grew up in Scotland. I've spent the last 6 years in New Mexico commuting 2 hours a day from Santa Fe to Los Alamos. Is Santa Ana like something you'd see on that TV program, "The Shield"? Gangs? Don't walk alone after dark etc?

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by lee337

Hi guys,

I have accepted a job offer in Irvine, CA for approximately $70k and was wondering about affordable places to live. I can tolerate a commute up to about 1 hour each way (I'm used to it).

I don't think I'll have many options, but here's what I'm looking for in order of preference:

1. A safe neighbourhood.
2. A fenced yard suitable for 2 dogs.
3. At least 2 bedrooms.
4. Close to Irvine.

My wife, my newborn son, our two dogs, two cats and I will be moving. I'll be the only bread-winner. Don't laugh, but I'm making myself believe that $70k can support us. I'm no opposed to taking a second job if I'm incorrect in thinking that.

I live in Santa Fe, NM right now which is quite an expensive place to live itself. We have a 1300 sq ft, $300k house. What is the best I can expect near Irvine, CA? Places that are slightly further away but are connected by a rail link would be acceptable. Any recommendations/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Lee

PS: We'd probably rent for the first 6-18 months giving us a chance to see if we like it there, and (can afford to / want to) buy...

We just moved from Irvine, CA to TX and lived there 28 years. If you are working in Irvine try finding something to rent in Lake Forest or El Toro. The rent down there is cheaper than Irvine. You might find a good deal if you really look. The animals will be a problem pretty much anywhere but you might find a house available that will allow animals as long as you don't mind a large deposit.

As far as the commute you may be able to bypass the freeways completely in Lake Forest and El Toro depending on where you live and work. I lived in Irvine and worked in Lake Forest for a short time and was able to parallel the freeway on side streets.

You won't get anything right now for $300,000 in the area surrounding Irvine but if you wait long enough the prices just might get close enough to that to make your move. Prices in the area have been falling drastically, adjusting to the real world finally. I would rent and watch the housing market closely so you can catch it as it rebounds. Most analyst think CA has at least a year or 2 more of adjustments in the CA housing market before it rebounds but keep a close watch just in case.

Good Luck!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by lee337

Could you elaborate on that? I searched on Realtor.com for houses in the $200k->$300k range. Most of the houses I wouldn't look twice at in Santa Fe, but there are a couple of options.

Forgive my ignorance, but I grew up in Scotland. I've spent the last 6 years in New Mexico commuting 2 hours a day from Santa Fe to Los Alamos. Is Santa Ana like something you'd see on that TV program, "The Shield"? Gangs? Don't walk alone after dark etc?

Santa Ana = illegal alien heaven. Do you want to live with 4 families in a two bedroom apartment over you and men standing around all day cat-calling your wife?

And two hours a day commuting on the open highway is a very different experience than inching along in heavy traffic twice a day. Corona to Irvine is going to be a heck of a lot more than 45 minutes in traffic. Rush hour here is much longer than other places. There's a couple of toll road options but unfortunately they don't connect to each other for someone going to Irvine so you'd still have to sit in traffic. The 91 express lane takes you from Corona to the 55/91 interchange where you get dumped back into the freeway. Unfortunately, the 55 south is still nearly bumper to bumper at 10am. The other route is the 241 toll road which takes you from the 91 to Irvine. The problem with that is getting from Corona to the 241 with 50,000,000 other people going west on the 91 in the morning.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Santa Ana = illegal alien heaven. Do you want to live with 4 families in a two bedroom apartment over you and men standing around all day cat-calling your wife?

And two hours a day commuting on the open highway is a very different experience than inching along in heavy traffic twice a day. Corona to Irvine is going to be a heck of a lot more than 45 minutes in traffic. Rush hour here is much longer than other places. There's a couple of toll road options but unfortunately they don't connect to each other for someone going to Irvine so you'd still have to sit in traffic. The 91 express lane takes you from Corona to the 55/91 interchange where you get dumped back into the freeway. Unfortunately, the 55 south is still nearly bumper to bumper at 10am. The other route is the 241 toll road which takes you from the 91 to Irvine. The problem with that is getting from Corona to the 241 with 50,000,000 other people going west on the 91 in the morning.

I grew up in Santa Ana close to South Coast Plaza when it was pretty much a white suburbia. Things obviously have changed drastically in SA. In most places it is not safe to walk the streets after dark and graffiti has over run most areas. There are some pockets of nice areas but that is rare and you still have to deal with the issues of the surrounding areas. Such a shame!

There really is no good commute in OC anymore. Years ago there were what we called a reverse commute. If you were going the opposite direction of the incoming commute you were okay. The last place I remember where this applied was going up the 57 but I think that reverse commute is a thing of the past also.

Have you had any luck escaping from CA?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Soccersupporter

I grew up in Santa Ana close to South Coast Plaza when it was pretty much a white suburbia. Things obviously have changed drastically in SA. In most places it is not safe to walk the streets after dark and graffiti has over run most areas. There are some pockets of nice areas but that is rare and you still have to deal with the issues of the surrounding areas. Such a shame!

There really is no good commute in OC anymore. Years ago there were what we called a reverse commute. If you were going the opposite direction of the incoming commute you were okay. The last place I remember where this applied was going up the 57 but I think that reverse commute is a thing of the past also.

Have you had any luck escaping from CA?

My dad grew up near the civic center in Santa Ana in the 50's and even that area was decent then. Its sad to see how the blight and grown.

I'm still working on getting out. My wife has one last class to finish up in May and we have a house to unload. Terrible time, I know, but even if I have to eat some money or do a short sale, I don't want to ride this market wave to the bottom and get stuck here with my life on hold for who knows how long, waiting for the market to come back.