What's Tustin, CA like to live in? (Santa Ana, Irvine: apartment complex, rent)

[OptimusPrime69]

Literally never been there in my life. I have an opportunity for a job that will be bringing me to Orange County and saw an apartment complex in Tustin that seemed interesting. Can't really find much info on the city tho. Is it a good place to live? Quality of life ok? Any drawbacks? Weird things about it an outsider may not know? Trying to gauge where I can afford to live in OC given my $1650 rent budget for a 1-bedroom apartment.

[saibot]

My daughter goes to school there. Tustin in the hills is very nice and upscale, Tustin down by the 5 / 55 freeway is older and meh as far as housing goes. I have to say this for it, there is a small but pretty cute and walkable "downtown" (Old Town Tustin) with lots of neat little shops and restaurants. My favorite bakery, Cream Pan, is there. Nearby are a large library (currently under construction, though) and more major grocery stores and banks packed into a small space along Newport and Irvine Blvd. than anyone could need. And just a mile or so from there, a Costco and the Tustin Marketplace which has yet more stores (big-box and other), a theater, and fast-food and chain restaurants. You want shopping or food, they've got it.

It's a fairly safe town; again, the farther you are from the freeway the better. Laguna Beach is about 20-30 minutes away. Weather is typical for Orange County; not as cool in the summer as the beach, not as hot as the foothills. Other amenities in OC are easily accessible (Irvine Spectrum, Irvine Regional Park, etc.).

You could do a lot worse. Anyone else have more to add?

[OptimusPrime69]

Originally Posted by saibot

My daughter goes to school there. Tustin in the hills is very nice and upscale, Tustin down by the 5 / 55 freeway is older and meh as far as housing goes. I have to say this for it, there is a small but pretty cute and walkable "downtown" (Old Town Tustin) with lots of neat little shops and restaurants. My favorite bakery, Cream Pan, is there. Nearby are a large library (currently under construction, though) and more major grocery stores and banks packed into a small space along Newport and Irvine Blvd. than anyone could need. And just a mile or so from there, a Costco and the Tustin Marketplace which has yet more stores (big-box and other), a theater, and fast-food and chain restaurants. You want shopping or food, they've got it.

It's a fairly safe town; again, the farther you are from the freeway the better. Laguna Beach is about 20-30 minutes away. Weather is typical for Orange County; not as cool in the summer as the beach, not as hot as the foothills. Other amenities in OC are easily accessible (Irvine Spectrum, Irvine Regional Park, etc.).

You could do a lot worse. Anyone else have more to add?

Thank you for your response. It's funny you mention the areas by the freeways are "meh" because, of course...the complex I was looking is super close to the 5 lol. And I mean, I'm not expecting OC living or luxury living on my budget, but am hoping to find a decently cute place in an OK area. I like how Tustin is located close to things. Seems like it's 15-20 mins away from things, beaches, parks, LA, etc. Not a theme park person, but am an explorer of cute towns, hiking, and generally interesting things that make SoCal a cool place to live.

Are you familiar with the Nisson Rd area? I was google street viewing it and yes, it doesn't look glamorous, but looked pretty generic suburban, which I am ok with. What do u think?

[Finper]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

Thank you for your response. It's funny you mention the areas by the freeways are "meh" because, of course...the complex I was looking is super close to the 5 lol. And I mean, I'm not expecting OC living or luxury living on my budget, but am hoping to find a decently cute place in an OK area. I like how Tustin is located close to things. Seems like it's 15-20 mins away from things, beaches, parks, LA, etc. Not a theme park person, but am an explorer of cute towns, hiking, and generally interesting things that make SoCal a cool place to live.

Are you familiar with the Nisson Rd area? I was google street viewing it and yes, it doesn't look glamorous, but looked pretty generic suburban, which I am ok with. What do u think?

Your about 1/2 hour away from the beach. There is a large very nice park (Irvine Park) near Tustin. There's also lots of hiking. Peters cyn is very popular... unfortunately it burned down to the ground last fall but it's still open and sprouts are starting to appear. It's next to Orange where I live and Orange has a great downtown area.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

Thank you for your response. It's funny you mention the areas by the freeways are "meh" because, of course...the complex I was looking is super close to the 5 lol. And I mean, I'm not expecting OC living or luxury living on my budget, but am hoping to find a decently cute place in an OK area. I like how Tustin is located close to things. Seems like it's 15-20 mins away from things, beaches, parks, LA, etc. Not a theme park person, but am an explorer of cute towns, hiking, and generally interesting things that make SoCal a cool place to live.

Are you familiar with the Nisson Rd area? I was google street viewing it and yes, it doesn't look glamorous, but looked pretty generic suburban, which I am ok with. What do u think?

It's an OK area. Not the greatest, but what do you expect right by the freeway. It's more about what you are able to access, and that is actually a really good place to live if you want to access south OC. There is lots of hiking nearby, both near the beach and in the opposite direction, in the foothills. Cute towns, well, there are all the beach towns just a short drive away. Are you going to be able to come out to take a look around?

[Electrician4you]

Most o& Tustin is very safe. It’s a boring type of city. Old town Tustin is a fun area if you’re into that type of setting. The area of 5/55 is just older and more apartments and it has its moments. A “bad” area is the 55/McFadden/Richey Street as it butts up against Santa Ana and it has some spill over. 1st Street on the west side of the 55 has more hookers and cross dressers now than it used to. Other than that it’s ok. Typical white suburban neighborhoodcsett8ng streets are quiet.
I almost bought a house off Redhill and 17th but I lost by one day. I would live in Tustin. I have a few buddies who are cops in that city. And they said opioids run rampant andthere are sketchy areas

[kauaidooley]

You have received excellent scoops on Tustin. There arr many nice areas in Tustin, but it seems that you have to stay within a budget and that is a consideration. and going to be your personal choice.

I lived in Tustin, ( actually most every city in orange county over many years). I liked it . As others mentioned, we did live in Tustin, but accessed the other towns and beaches with reasonable drives.

It will be about 30 minutes to the beach cities of Newport, Corona Del Mar, and Balboa . Inland, You are fairly close to Irvine Park, Trabuco, and Silverado, and hiking trails. Think of Tustin as a town, not a city. The down town itself is quite quaint, with an old home town style, and feels friendly. Tustin area is spread out, and runs the range of what is affordable for the working class on up to beautiful homes in very nice surroundings.

Personally, we would not want to be bordering a freeway. One is the noise of constant traffic, the other is the hassel of the surface streets leading to and from the freeway at high travel times . That is our opinion, others have other ideas on that.

If we were going to live inland, Tustin would be on the short list. You have done some good research.

Wish I could give you some advice on specific properties, but I have moved from Tustin many, many years ago, when the really neat place we were renting was converting to condos, and we had to buy or get out. We got.

[OptimusPrime69]

Thanks for your responses. They are helpful for me.

[mapu-usa]

Is your job located in Tustin as well? That might influence your decision on where you choose to live.

Tustin is a nice town, but avoid areas bordering Santa Ana. The further East of the 55 and the 5, the better.

[OptimusPrime69]

Originally Posted by mapu-usa

Is your job located in Tustin as well? That might influence your decision on where you choose to live.

Tustin is a nice town, but avoid areas bordering Santa Ana. The further East of the 55 and the 5, the better.

its actually in newport