Santa Ana - for hispanic family

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Tasksgirl

Can someone point me in the direction of the better area?

The area of Santa Ana near South Coast Plaza seems like one of the better parts. This is north of Sunflower,south of Dyer,west of Main and east of Fairview.


Santa Ana #1

There are some really nice houses in this part of Santa Ana.

Santa Ana #2

[ocexpo]

Anaheim is better, but it doesn't have the duplexes you are looking for, and the hispanic presence is much less prominant compared to Santa Ana.

[ocexpo]

Originally Posted by capoeira

The area of Santa Ana near South Coast Plaza seems like one of the better parts. This is north of Sunflower,south of Dyer,west of Main and east of Fairview.


Santa Ana #1

There are some really nice houses in this part of Santa Ana.

Santa Ana #2

Those parts of Santa Ana are no different than other middle class places like Huntington Beach, Tustin, or Costa Mesa. For some reason, I get a feeling that the poster is looking for a place in what has come to be known as "Santa Ana" not a place that is "technically" in Santa Ana but is characteristic of a nice place. They are looking for the real Santa Ana, the one with the duplexes and Spanish speakers. You wont find that near Sunflower. You have to stay in the central part and the directly southern area for the duplex, spanish speaking areas.

[Tasksgirl]

I do want a duplex and spanish speaking but I do want safety !! I will also look at those nicer areas and at San Juan Capistrano.. the thing is that everyone has different opinions I hear some say Santa Ana is the most dangerous city in the country and then others say it's just fine .. it's hard to REALLY tell what its like

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by Tasksgirl

I do want a duplex and spanish speaking but I do want safety !! I will also look at those nicer areas and at San Juan Capistrano.. the thing is that everyone has different opinions I hear some say Santa Ana is the most dangerous city in the country and then others say it's just fine .. it's hard to REALLY tell what its like

You should just come and stay in Santa Ana, it definitely has rough areas but by no means does it have the crime of a big city like L.A., New York or Miami.

People in OC think a traffic violation is a huge crime.

[Coldjensens]

Santa Ana can be a great place to live. It has a lot going on. If you get involved in your neighborhood and in your city, you will find it lively and fascinating. It certainly has more character than almost any other OC city.

You cannot divide by Zip codes. You have to look at neighborhoods. Even adjoining neighborhoods can change from nice to terrible in one street.

Floral Park, French Park, Park Santiago, Washington Square, Wilshire Square are all pretty nice. we lived in French Park for 9 years and liked it a lot. Get involved in your neighborhood and you can keep it nice. I am missing a few good neighborhoods. Down by South Coast Plaza is pretty nice too.

Schools are not very good, but there are some decent ones. Villa and Macarthur middle schools were pretty good when our kids went there, two and a half years ago. John Muir elementary was good, but it was sliding a little bit about three years ago. There is a new arts elementary school (charter) but I have no idea if it is any good. You will have to check into it. School choice can be a lot of work, but if you are diligent, you can get kids into reasonably good schools. Our oldest were educated mostly in santa Ana schools (John Muir, Villa, OCHSA) and they consistently tested above the 95 percentile on the national tests. They also stayed out of trouble and had mostly good wholesome friends. It helps if mom (& Dad) get involved in the schools. Floral park has a good elementary school.

OCHSA is one of the best high schools in the county. the new Segerstrom high is supposed to be pretty good. Santa Ana high is huge and has both good and bad elements. It has a substantial gang population, but we were told by students that the "good" students are pretty much segregated and do not mix withthe general masses who tend to take remedial classes and hang out in different parts of the school.

You can also live on the fringe of Santa Ana and get in the tustin School district. Foothill is pretty decent high school.

Look at Orange as well. it is very near Santa Ana, has a fairly substintial hispanic population and is really neat anywhere near the old town circle. Schools are pretty decent there.