Relocation from Chicago to Orange County Help! (Long Beach, Santa Ana: for sale, rent)

[bolson]

Hi Everyone. I need help getting a better understanding of Orange County. I am being tranferd to Orange County. My office will be in Garden Groove aka Garbage Groove from what I'm told. It is at 22 and the 405. I will be in the office about once a week and my sales territory will be Southern California. Where should I live?

My wife and i found out we can"t afford newport and we didn't find anything we liked in Huntington beach or Costa Mesa. We are looking for a detached single family 3 bed 2 bath min price range would be 600-700 max. We looked also in Lauguana Niguel mission viejio and Ladera Ranch. Is Ladera Ranch to far from the Freeways?Did I mention I'm a staunch Democrat? Any help and/or advise would be appreciated.

[bhcompy]

ladera is very far from that area.

that are of garden grove is actually a good area. you should also look in neighboring cities of los alamitos, rossmoor, seal beach(college park east), cypress, la palma, cerritos, eastern long beach, fountain valley, westminster, etc. the part of huntington beach close to there off bolsa chica is also very nice. those are all decent to great areas in your price range. if you want something new like they have in ladera ranch, there are parts of cypress that are very recent and possibly in your range. also some in fountain valley as well. otherwise, most of this area of the county has been built out for a long time. most homes were built in the 70s and 80s.

those areas also give you good access to freeways that can get you down to san diego, out into the inland empire, or up into LA and ventura. anywhere inbetween/around the 91/405/605/5 area would be a good spot to pick for commute to your office and across socal.

as far as being a democrat, well, oc is more conservative place outside of the poorer areas. people arent jackasses about it here though. no in your face stuff here(which in my experience is more of the problem the further east you go in the US). apathy rules the world here

[Mach50]

Do you have kids?

Check out Fullerton, Brea or Orange IMO if you want a reasonable commute in a more democrat urban environment, which may be something you would like coming from Chicago.

Newport is very conservative-expensive. Irvine is family cookie cutter, but very safe. Mission Viejo is very familyish but nice and moderate.

I don't know about Ladera Ranch besides it having insane Mello Roos Taxes.

Anything south of Mission Viejo is going to be a hellish commute IMO, even one time a week.

Another place I would recommend, but it is in L.A. County is Long Beach Belmont Shores...very cool place, diverse, safe, and urban.

[bolson]

I forgot to mention my wife is 12 weeks prego. It look like the move would only be for 3-5 years. Should I rent first? Like I said I will only be in Garden Groove maybe once or twice a week and will be traveling all over Southern California for sales. How bad is the traffic?

[BRinSM]

Your budget should find you a nice home almost anywhere in OC or surrouding communities. Since you'll only have to be in the office one per week and your sales area is so large, I would find a central location for the whole region. Personally, I think you would be best off in the northern sections of Orange County like Fullerton, Placentia, or Brea. All three are nice cities with good to excellent schools. They also offer plenty of dining and shopping options that other areas of the city don't have. You may also want to look into the eastern portions of Long Beach, which will give you easier access to LA while still be close to much of OC. Crossing into LA county (which is where Long Beach is located) will probably also make you feel a bit more comfortably politically. However, I've noticed that the further north you get in OC, the less people care about your political party. Good Luck!

[Investornut]

Costa Mesa has several homes priced below$650. Great school system with close access to everthing you need.

[missionhome]

Stick closer to Garden Grove. South Orange County (Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, RSM, Ladera, ect...) is just WAY to far away for a daily commute to Garden Grove. You will go insane. The farthest north most South OC people have pleasant commutes to is about to the 55 freeway, farther north just pushes it to far.

There are many nice areas of North OC, perhaps Fullerton, Fountain Valley, Cypress, La Palma or something.

[CTNative73]

Your time line is too short, you should seriously consider renting. Not only are house prices going to continue to decline in this area, you will have the opportunity to take your time and familiarize yourself with Orange County and Long Beach. Then you can make a more informed decision based on you and your wife's personal preferences and most definitely score a house that was cheaper than when you first got here anyway.

[Coldjensens]

Democrats belong in Santa Ana. Sorry no room for you elsewhere.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by bolson

I need ...

Garden Groove aka Garbage Groove from what I'm told.

Where should I live?

We are looking ...

Is Ladera Ranch to [sic] far....


Any help and/or advise would be appreciated.

"I need...", "Where should I...", "we are looking...", "Is ladera..", I want, Gimmie,

I'm surprised people were nice enough to provide responses after an initial post which insulted a city.