Nervous military family moving to OC in August (Anaheim, Garden Grove: real estate, to rent)

[foreverbuckeye]

Hello everyone! My husband is being stationed in Garden Grove and wondering what places would be best to live in. Need decent schools and looking for home to rent around $2000-2500. My husband really wants to be within 10-15 mins. drive time. Is this even a possibility? Thanks for all your input!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Is he being stationed at the Reserve Center in Los Alamitos? That's at the west end of Garden Grove which is the nicest part. You could probably rent a house there around the high end of your budget.

California School Performance Maps

The above give a good snapshot of the quality of schools in the area. Aim for the blue areas. Keep in mind that good neighborhood have good schools and bad neighborhoods have bad schools.

[foreverbuckeye]

He is actually going to be in a commercial facility in dwntwn Garden Grove. I understand they will be building a new reserve center there w/in the year. What does Lakewood look like? It seems there are a number of affordable homes in the area.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by foreverbuckeye

He is actually going to be in a commercial facility in dwntwn Garden Grove. I understand they will be building a new reserve center there w/in the year. What does Lakewood look like? It seems there are a number of affordable homes in the area.

Lakewood is older but its close to some really shady areas so you have to pick your block carefully. Its definitely more than 10-15 minutes from downtown Garden Grove.

[phoenix_talons]

If you factor in local traffic, it can take more than 20 minutes to commute between Lakewood and Garden Grove. And that's after business hours and on weekends. During business hours, be prepared to burn an hour per commute.

As the previous poster has stated, real estate price varies with quality of neighborhood. Less shady the area, the higher the price. You might want to give Cerritos a look. Plenty of upscale locations, and good Asian restaurants (if you're into that).

[Coldjensens]

Fountain Valley or Orange might be good choices. Parts of Anaheim. Fullerton. In all of these citites you have to carefully pick your location.

HUntington Beach may be an option too. Get as far away from the beach as you can and you may find prices in your range. Plus further from the beach is closer to Westminister.

For a 20 minute commute, you probably need to be within 5-7 miles.

[bhcompy]

fountain valley, west garden grove(close to the los alamitos base), cypress, los alamitos, westminster(be selective, research the school first)

those are your best bets for schools and family areas close to garden grove

[pootie562]

I second Los Al, Cypress and West Garden Grove not so sure about Cerritos it is definitely the most expensive and its not an easy commute going to downtown garden grove. If you have more money you can check out Belmont Shores or East Long beach around el dorado park.

[Unkllars]

How close to the 22 is he? That could open up options for you if you are concerned about neighborhoods. Garden Grove is quite inexpensive compared to surrounding cities, but as an earlier post said, price spells out neighborhoods (most of the time, but not 100% true). First thing first, don't be nervous!! It's a lovely place to live an work here. You'll love it. Schools= kids? Also, do you need churches, hospitals, care facilities or any necessities that you should be proximal to?

[jayolm]

I agree with some of the other posters, except I would avoid the city of Lakewood and Garden Grove completely, if you can afford to. The other cities mentioned are good choices.