New to la habra good or bad?? (Long Beach, Santa Ana: middle-class, to rent)

[Srt392]

Good evening everyone. I recently moved from Downey to La habra.
Originally was looking in Whittier , however i couldn't find what I was looking for so i kept looking at surrounding cities like la mirada and la habra. Long story short ended up buying in La habra.
In the pocket that i live its looks pretty calm and so far the energy that receive is positive. A lot of family activity and over all happy neighbors. Apparently i bought in a good pocket (south of imperial).
When ever i tell EVERYONE that i moved to La habra the majority of people seem to think very highly of the city .I have not heard anyone tell me otherwise. However, in the back of my mind i still feel insecure about buying a home here.
I was hoping i can get some real feedback on the area over all.
For all the people that live here in La habra tell me how you like it.
And to all the surrounding cities : fullerton , brea, whittier, la mirada , was is your perception of the city.
Thank you for your feedback

[kishac]

Originally Posted by Srt392

Good evening everyone. I recently moved from Downey to La habra.
Originally was looking in Whittier , however i couldn't find what I was looking for so i kept looking at surrounding cities like la mirada and la habra. Long story short ended up buying in La habra.
In the pocket that i live its looks pretty calm and so far the energy that receive is positive. A lot of family activity and over all happy neighbors. Apparently i bought in a good pocket (south of imperial).
When ever i tell EVERYONE that i moved to La habra the majority of people seem to think very highly of the city .I have not heard anyone tell me otherwise. However, in the back of my mind i still feel insecure about buying a home here.
I was hoping i can get some real feedback on the area over all.
For all the people that live here in La habra tell me how you like it.
And to all the surrounding cities : fullerton , brea, whittier, la mirada , was is your perception of the city.
Thank you for your feedback

My overall perception of La Habra based on what my friends tell me is that it's a decent area (some good pockets, some less so). If you're happy there then I wouldn't let anyone's opinion cloud your view of La Habra.


A few years ago I was looking to find a place to rent in north orange county, and I ended up choosing Brea because of its public schools, access to the freeway, and impression that the city was very well maintained. I do go to La Habra sometimes because I like the Mexican food there.

[saibot]

I grew up in La Habra and lived there for 26 years. It was a fine, quiet, non-exciting place to live, but even back then, it did not have a great reputation. I lived on the La Habra/Whittier border north of Whittier Blvd, and the whole neighborhood was solid middle-class white, but people already called the city "Guadalahabra." I moved away over two decades ago, so I don't really know if it has gone down, up, or sideways since then.

[Newfangle9]

I lived in Brea for many years, and knew quite a few people from La Habra. I knew a few who pronounced it La Harbra.

[JohnG72]

OC people can be snobs. Theres literally no area of OC that compares with the bad areas of LA or Long Beach, not even Stanton, Santa Ana, etc.

La Habra, Fullerton, Brea, etc are all fine. Like theres literally nothing to worry about.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

OC people can be snobs. Theres literally no area of OC that compares with the bad areas of LA or Long Beach, not even Stanton, Santa Ana, etc.

La Habra, Fullerton, Brea, etc are all fine. Like theres literally nothing to worry about.

I second, third and 58th this.

Just be glad people AT LEAST know where you live. Having grown up there, I was surprised to find that people living in Costa Mesa, Irvine and points south would often not know where (or WHAT) La Habra was/is.

There are no indicators on any of the closest freeways to La Habra. You actually have to get off the freeway to find a sign that points you in the direction of the city.

This probably adds to people's perception. My brother-in-law complained about my parents' old house being a "horrible location" (probably due to freeway access and this being pre-Harbor Blvd. extension, when the only option was up and down the windy/twisty Fullerton Rd). For those wanting the "hip" and "cool" this area is under the radar. However, more "current" housing is definitely on display as of the past couple of years.

Just think of it as your forever place in that little storybook valley (which includes the eastern part of Whittier and much of Brea as well, and the northern edge of Fullerton). That is, unless your career moves you elsewhere.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by mrsltd

This probably adds to people's perception. My brother-in-law complained about my parents' old house being a "horrible location" (probably due to freeway access and this being pre-Harbor Blvd. extension, when the only option was up and down the windy/twisty Fullerton Rd). For those wanting the "hip" and "cool" this area is under the radar. However, more "current" housing is definitely on display as of the past couple of years.

I didn't even know that Harbor has been extended. My childhood friend lived off Fullerton Road, on Vista Rd. We used to ride our bikes up and down that twisty road.

Supposedly, the early residents of La Habra were told that Beach Blvd (Hwy 39) would eventually be made a freeway. That didn't happen, they built the 57 instead. It did leave La Habra kind of stranded. If you look at a map, La Habra is in the middle of one of the largest freeway-free areas in Orange County. From my house, it was 20-30 minutes to the nearest freeway whether you went north, south, east or west. It was inconvenient, but at the same time it was (at least at that time) a quiet, safe town.

[Srt392]

Thank you to everyone that responded.
Not trying to sound like a snob, just curios if there is anything that i do not know about as far as the area goes. I never really knew anything about the area prior to moving here. That is the only reason i ask.
I guess it is nice to not have freeways near by, i dont really mind now that i realize that.

Any other feedback would be appreciated good or bad.
Thank you

[BB_210]

La Habra or GuadaLaHabra?

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by saibot

I didn't even know that Harbor has been extended. My childhood friend lived off Fullerton Road, on Vista Rd. We used to ride our bikes up and down that twisty road.

Supposedly, the early residents of La Habra were told that Beach Blvd (Hwy 39) would eventually be made a freeway. That didn't happen, they built the 57 instead. It did leave La Habra kind of stranded. If you look at a map, La Habra is in the middle of one of the largest freeway-free areas in Orange County. From my house, it was 20-30 minutes to the nearest freeway whether you went north, south, east or west. It was inconvenient, but at the same time it was (at least at that time) a quiet, safe town.

I thought it was the 105 that was going to be extended into La Habra following Imperial Hwy, but ok. May well be that La Habra people have been told things more than once.