Moving to Orange County

[jerrycat]

i am told Fountain valley is good, i know what you mean about plastic people i have been here 4 months and on arrival i thought that, now i don't i have met people that are okay and thanks to the forum i have learned alot about the area and its people. i am still not keen on Irvine.

[cassaka2]

Hi there...I live in Laguna Niguel, right across from Mission Viejo. I love it here. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It is extremely expensive, however I do think that you get what you pay for. I personally do not think that the Mission Viejo area is too far from anything. We have everything we need here and more.

People do commute from Riverside and San Bernardino counties to OC to work. The houses are a little cheaper there. I would absolutely hate it there (although I do know people who love it). It is much hotter and desert-like there. The worst thing in my eyes though is the commute. It is horrendous. Depending on where you would live in those counties the commute is 1.5 to 2 hours each way.....and if there is any accident of any kind.....forget it. My husband commuted from San Bernardino to Laguna Niguel for a week while we were waiting to move, and it took him 3 hours to get home. He was exhausted when he got home. I feel like my husbands time is worth the extra money to live in OC.

I would definitely look in Irvine.....close to Costa Mesa, and the schools are top-notch! Check out this website <http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/>. You can pull up the scores for schools all over California. I check out an area and look up the district. Irvine has outstanding scores.....possibly the highest I have seen as a district. The API scores are out of 1000. Anything over 800 is an excellent school.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your move. You'll love it here. (we are real people, not the crazies they show on TV)

[nanceesthay]

I have lived in OC for 20 years now, originally from OR

Affordable housing would be in Rancho Santa Margarita and Lake Forest- not too far from Mission Viejo. If you live in Rancho Santa Margarita, you will most likely have to take the toll road just to get anywhere in a decent time.
The good news is housing is going down still and will keep dropping as no one can afford the prices. I would rent for a year and not worry about finding a house to buy just yet. South OC is newer and nicer but more spendy and the closer you are to the beach the smaller and costlier your home will be.

I agree with you, staying at home with kids are important.
I teach high school and the kids who have the most support from their parents do much better in school and emotionally too.

You will have to make some sacrifices -like space.
Try not to live too far away from the work place-traffic is a bear here.

Overall, I love it here. The best weather in the world.
Laguna Beach is faabulous. There is so much to do here too.
There are a lot of private schools here for your 10-year old. I would recommend looking in to that.

Happy travels to you

Nancee
my personal email: nancee@visualsmart.net

[missionhome]

Since your husband is currently living in Mission Viejo, what does he think? Does he see your family fitting in the area if you could to live there? You are actually at a big advantage because you already have one spouse out here that can get a feel for the area. Mission Viejo has some great deals right now and the market is falling here. The smallest tract homes have sometimes fallen into the 400's which we haven't seen for years. It depends on what you think you can afford, but Mission Viejo is one of the best areas going right now for homes that are in a safe area, with good schools, and in a desirable clean community. Look at the sticky at the top of the forum titled "Orange County Pictures" and you will see a lot of photos of Mission Viejo in it. So, I would ask your husband if he thinks the commute is ok to Costa Mesa so far and if he would want to settle in there with you and your daughter or perhaps another city that he likes. Maybe while experiencing the area he has found a affinity for Tustin or Laguna Niguel or Huntington Beach or something and you may want to look at those areas. So I would ask your husband if he would want to live in MV as it is one of the most attainable cities right now in OC.

[Unkllars]

There are really a lot of options in North Orange County that are very nice, family oriented, and less expensive than South Orange County. Brea, Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton, and parts of Orange all have good school districts, fun things to do, and are more affordable. You can still get a relatively large lot for well under seven figures. You mentioned a 10 year old. School districts are something to look into. South Orange County has some great schools, but affordability is down. My wife and I love it here in North Orange County. I work here and she works in Mission Viejo, so we get both sides of the spectrum.

[OC1017]

Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda are not less expensive than south county.

Anaheim Hills is the second wealthiest place in the county only behind its southern neighbor, Villa Park. Yorba Linda is also in the top ten. Most south county cities are not (with the exception of Coto de Caza).

[missionhome]

The comment was on how affordable the homes were, not how much money the residents make. Currently the median home prices for South Orange County zip codes and North Orange County inland zip codes are very comparable. 92821 of Brea is $490,000 while Ladera Ranch is at $500,000. 92897 of Anaheim Hills part of Anaheim is $633,000 while 92692 of Mission Viejo is $620,000. 92887 of Yorba Linda is $690,000 while Laguna Niguel is $650,000. Basically the two areas are very comparable in afford ability right now. I wouldn't say one is a better value than the other.
Money: Orange County home prices and sales, February 2008 | www, http, median, ocregister, sales - OCRegister.com

[Lake Conroe resident]

Originally Posted by sherry60

I currently live in Austin Texas. My husband took a job in Costa Mesa in June. He lives in Mission Viejo. I stayed behind as I have a teen graduating HS in May. I plan to relocate in June/July and we are very confused about where to live. I'm not naive as to think I will get equal housing as to what I have now. (5 bedrooms/3 full baths) but I just don't know what is affordable. I really don't want to work as I still have a 10 yr old at home and I think it would be too difficult a transition for her if I worked immediately after moving. I have been looking at real estate prices in various cities in Orange County and they seem to be out of our price range, although I don't really know what our price range is. My husband's salary is in the low 100's. So, can anyone shed light on areas that are nice with good schools that don't cost an arm and a leg? Would it be possibly to move out of OC into another county with commuting being an option. Help, I'm so confused!!

More than likely you will love it in OC and you will certainly like the weather better! As far as moving from Tx to Ca it's like swimming backwards/upstream because 100 to 125K doesn't go very far in the better areas as your insurance, gas and utlities will be higher and unless you have lots of $ to put down on a home you can expect a house payment that will choke a horse if you want to be in the nicer areas... Hopefully your husband does not have to use the 405 or have to drive too far to work as the freeways there are "meat grinders". Good Luck & enjoy...