Raising kids in south Orange County

[mrwumpus]

I'm South OC poor (rent a condo in Lake Forest and drive an old car) and would love to hear of a less shallow and materialistic place that is as safe and as kid-friendly as South OC where I might find a job and buy a real house. Does such a place exist? It's pretty nice here.

Last month in the course of a few days my 1st grader a) threw a Halloween party at our condo with three of her friends (one of them 'rich'), b) went to a big free Fall Fest carnival held by a church that included free food and prizes, c) went trick-or-treating with me in our nice and friendly condo neighborhood, d) went to Dana Point beach and played for hours in the sand and water in perfect weather at low tide, e) went to her excellent gymanstics class, f) went day-camping with her local Daisy Girl Scout troop, g) went to the Irvine Spectrum with me and rode the carousel and played on the fountains, h) rehearsed her part in musical at the huge Saddleback church, h) went to a Halloween festival at the local wildlife sanctuary and learned all about bats, i) went to Disneyland on a Monday with perfect weather and hardly any crowds (we have annual passes).

That's not everything, and not much money was spent to do all that and the furthest we drove was about 25 miles to Disneyland. When I escape the materialism and Barbie moms where do I go to get the same choices, the beautiful weather, and the safe environment?

Naturally Mom and Dad would sure love to really put down roots and own a real house that isn't attached to two others ones, and has a real yard so we can get a dog, but we know the only way we'll get that is to move out of CA. So we get it but what then? I have relatives who have that in Southern Oregon and for them it's a day trip just to go to Chuck E Cheese. And where they live the public libraries are all closed due to a lack of funding.

Until someone tells me I'll just have to keep enjoying what's good here while suffering through the questions about why our house isn't bigger, why we can't get a dog, and why certain friends have much better and bigger toys.

[JustJulia]

Originally Posted by mrwumpus

I'm South OC poor (rent a condo in Lake Forest and drive an old car) and would love to hear of a less shallow and materialistic place that is as safe and as kid-friendly as South OC where I might find a job and buy a real house. Does such a place exist? It's pretty nice here.

Last month in the course of a few days my 1st grader a) threw a Halloween party at our condo with three of her friends (one of them 'rich'), b) went to a big free Fall Fest carnival held by a church that included free food and prizes, c) went trick-or-treating with me in our nice and friendly condo neighborhood, d) went to Dana Point beach and played for hours in the sand and water in perfect weather at low tide, e) went to her excellent gymanstics class, f) went day-camping with her local Daisy Girl Scout troop, g) went to the Irvine Spectrum with me and rode the carousel and played on the fountains, h) rehearsed her part in musical at the huge Saddleback church, h) went to a Halloween festival at the local wildlife sanctuary and learned all about bats, i) went to Disneyland on a Monday with perfect weather and hardly any crowds (we have annual passes).

That's not everything, and not much money was spent to do all that and the furthest we drove was about 25 miles to Disneyland. When I escape the materialism and Barbie moms where do I go to get the same choices, the beautiful weather, and the safe environment?

Naturally Mom and Dad would sure love to really put down roots and own a real house that isn't attached to two others ones, and has a real yard so we can get a dog, but we know the only way we'll get that is to move out of CA. So we get it but what then? I have relatives who have that in Southern Oregon and for them it's a day trip just to go to Chuck E Cheese. And where they live the public libraries are all closed due to a lack of funding.

Until someone tells me I'll just have to keep enjoying what's good here while suffering through the questions about why our house isn't bigger, why we can't get a dog, and why certain friends have much better and bigger toys.

We moved from Lake Forest last year and now live in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago. We bought a pretty four-bedroom house with a two-car garage and big backyard. I just looked on Redfin, and there are only two houses in 92630 for under $400,000 (we paid less than that), and neither location is somewhere I would move. House prices are falling, but not enough. My parents live in Serrano Park, a nice enough subdivision, and the three houses there are listed at $675K, $725K, and $799K. That is not in our budget. That will never be in our budget. Not only that, but our house is as nice as my parents', although it's older. It's a good house.

The schools here are excellent, much better than my girls went to before. There are plenty of local events and community programs. We belong to the Arboretum and the zoo (About $150 each for an annual membership, plus free guest passes) and go once or twice a month. I know Lake Forest has very little crime for its size, but so does Naperville, which has almost twice as many people. Our library is one of the top libraries in the country.

Although our neighbors are nicer and friendlier than those we had in California, this is an affluent area, and there is definitely the same materialism as in Orange County. The schools do well because they make a ton in property taxes and have money to spend. Likewise, we have a lot of money for the police force, and our crime is low. There are upsides and downsides to living in an affluent area. No place is perfect.

Plus it snows here. Some people hate that. It was worth it for us, though.