Irvine vs. Aliso Viejo or Mission Viejo (Santa Ana, Fontana: renting, HOA fees)

[jenell]

Irvine is lovely and expensive. The city will keep it's value. Foothill Ranch and Portola Ranch are good buys right now, as is Rancho Santa Margarita. Foothill Ranch is a part of Lake Forest. Mission Viejo is lovely and established, the schools are also good. Aliso Viejo is newer. [Moderator cut - real estate advert]
Jenell

Originally Posted by inirvine

Hello,

My fiancee and I are currently living in Irvine, and are considering buying. We're trying to decide whether to buy in Irvine or in a surrounding area (some seem to be a bit cheaper). We have thought of looking in Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest, and Foothill Ranch. We're new to the area in general, so we don't really know what the differences are between the cities, other than the the further out you go, the longer the commute. We're wondering more about the character of the different areas. We really like Irvine - we like the planned feel and how clean it is in comparison to other areas. We also like that the school district is great, so we won't need to pay for private school. However, we haven't lived here long, and we would love to get some input from anyone who has more knowledge of the area. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx

[stockproipi]

Originally Posted by Aqua Bliss

Foothill Ranch is great but there's never any houses for sale there. I check ziprealty quite often and the listings for Foothill Ranch are always 0 (for the last month). I guess you know it's a good place to live when nobody wants to leave.

That being said I work in the area and just driving around for 30 minutes I did see 1-2 for sale signs but they are few and far between.

That's not true. Check out redfin.com or realtor.com and enter 92610. You'll find houses for sale in Foothill Ranch. Not too many but there some. I live in FR since 1994 and love it. I moved to FR so my daugther can go to Trabuco Hills HS. She is now a dentist.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by stockproipi

That's not true. Check out redfin.com or realtor.com and enter 92610. You'll find houses for sale in Foothill Ranch. Not too many but there some. I live in FR since 1994 and love it. I moved to FR so my daugther can go to Trabuco Hills HS. She is now a dentist.

I second redfin; it seems to have the most information available per listing.

However redfin has one huge problem. For some reason, many recent sales listings have zeroed out information like beds and baths. So, if you are looking for recent 5+3 in a price range you get zero hits. You have to zero out almost all the information (hit reset on the search) and enter your price range, then you get hits but all the important information is zero - sort of useless. Zillow doesn't seem to have this problem; must be the way redfin processes the MLS data (because I think all delivery sources are getting their data from the same place).

So, use zillow for recent sales, and redfin for all other searches.

(I think I'll add this to the househunting tools thread I started.)

[jordanrbennett]

Inirvine,
My wife and I are in our 20s and have a baby and have lived in AV for just about a year now and I couldn't live anywhere else. It is so green and safe and there are parks, churches, great schools, and young families everywhere. Capistrano Unified and Saddleback are both great school districts. Irvine seems like a beautiful place to live but I must say that the HOAs are a little ridiculous. The amount that is paid in HOAs could equate to another $50k - $80k in house somewhere else. Mission Viejo is a little bit too far from the coast for me. It gets a little bit hotter and your only option is to take the 5 everywhere, which can get very backed up in traffic hour. RSM is beautiful, but you have the same problem: you are so far east. Lake Forest is nice but I have to agree with one of the other posters that it is a little older and not quite as pretty. Since AV is newer, homes are a little nicer and there is more commercial development (I think there is something like 11 targets within a 5 mile radius!!). It may not be the ideal setting for a young single person looking to go clubbing, but I think it is a great place for young couples. There are tons of restaurants and there are also wine bars and regular bars in the area if that is what you are looking for. We live about a half mile from the 73 toll road which makes getting anywhere in traffic hour VERY easy. Plus, if you guys are planning on having kids in the near future, I don't think there is a more perfect location.

[00molavi]

Originally Posted by jordanrbennett

Inirvine,
My wife and I are in our 20s and have a baby and have lived in AV for just about a year now and I couldn't live anywhere else. It is so green and safe and there are parks, churches, great schools, and young families everywhere. Capistrano Unified and Saddleback are both great school districts. Irvine seems like a beautiful place to live but I must say that the HOAs are a little ridiculous. The amount that is paid in HOAs could equate to another $50k - $80k in house somewhere else. Mission Viejo is a little bit too far from the coast for me. It gets a little bit hotter and your only option is to take the 5 everywhere, which can get very backed up in traffic hour. RSM is beautiful, but you have the same problem: you are so far east. Lake Forest is nice but I have to agree with one of the other posters that it is a little older and not quite as pretty. Since AV is newer, homes are a little nicer and there is more commercial development (I think there is something like 11 targets within a 5 mile radius!!). It may not be the ideal setting for a young single person looking to go clubbing, but I think it is a great place for young couples. There are tons of restaurants and there are also wine bars and regular bars in the area if that is what you are looking for. We live about a half mile from the 73 toll road which makes getting anywhere in traffic hour VERY easy. Plus, if you guys are planning on having kids in the near future, I don't think there is a more perfect location. mod cut:

We live in AV too. Granted we are moving up north soon. We like it,but on the HOA issue I think you are still going to have HOA and Mello Roos in AV. That is why had we decided to stay we would have looked in Laguna Niguel. It is essentially the same as location and commute, but you can find older houses with no Mello Roos. Some have HOA, some don't.

[jenell]

When a Realtor inputs information into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) it auto-populates into Realtor.com. NAR owns Realtor.com from what I know and that information is always up to date for real estate.

[Benita Purohit]

Hello,
I'm a first timer on this forum. I appreciate helpful people like you and others with their knowledge and wisdom to share with others! :-) I do admit reading so many opinions on all the areas is quite overwhelming to say the least!! :-) I really am interested in Misiion Viejo. BUT.......

My family currently lives in the east coast, and just recently, my husband got a job in Fontana, Ca., to be close to his parents living in San Dimas, who he really misses.
Anyway, we (myself and our two children, my single mother/single sister and her daughters) are somewhat fond of Md, as we've established our lives here. Having said all that.....Hubby desires for us to move to CA.

It's a Big move but most likely a gradual move for us!
(I realize Fontana, Ca, will only be a place he gets his income from...not to live and raise a family necessarily!) lol

To move all the way across the US....I really desire a more ideal situation to go to:
most important is a safe, family friendly community, clean neighborhoods, great schools(elementary +), Churches, beach!! (okay that's my weakness!), nearby cultural activities for everyone (my single mom (65-70yrs) and newly single sister (35-40yrs).

One thing I haven't heard many good things about, is the air pollution in various places in CA?
How about MV? Also, would you have any idea about a possible commute time it would take coming from AV, MV or other nice nearby community, to Kaiser Perm. Fontana General Hospital??
(I'd rather not live inland.... or near San Bernadino (bad air pollution etc.), although my husband would rather move me and the children into his parents home or next door! LOL
I love my in-laws but (hard to believe) we've been married 8 yrs this November, and it's way too soon for that! LOL! (thankfully, we both actually believe in taking care of elderly parents, when the time comes!) :-)

I hope my intruding to ask you these questions was not terribly inappropriate. Any advice on the best areas, California life, and commutes would be so greatly appreciated! Thanks and God Bless!! -Benita

[bhcompy]

Commute to Fontana would be very bad from MV. And by very bad, I mean that suicide is a better option.

Best bet is to move west of Fontana along the 210 or 10 somewhere, or maybe somewhere like Chino Hills. Not great commutes, but it's what you can do to meet your criteria. Either way, you won't be by the coast.

Check out California School Performance Maps for school ratings. Generally, the better the school, the better the neighborhood as far as family type stuff goes.

[Wurzig]

To the original poster: when you cross I-5, the temps are higher.....A.V. is closer to the ocean......

To the newbie: I wouldn't commit suicide, (LOL--bhcompy!!!), but there is no way I'd live near the beach and commute to Fontana either..... In S. California, it's not the mileage/distance from one point to another......it's how long it takes to get there.....

[jenell]

Originally Posted by stockproipi

That's not true. Check out redfin.com or realtor.com and enter 92610. You'll find houses for sale in Foothill Ranch. Not too many but there some. I live in FR since 1994 and love it. I moved to FR so my daugther can go to Trabuco Hills HS. She is now a dentist.

My suggestion to Buyers is to use Realtor.com. That information is auto-populated from the MLS. Redfin is inaccurate information. Period. If you want a good buyer's agent, google me. Jenell Abernathy.