Army husband being transferred to Mission Viejo... (Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest: sale, foreclosures)

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by Wurzig

I am suddenly very thirsty and in need of a giant pretzel......and I have NO CLUE as to what brought this on!

Join the Army and you might be able to LIVE there.

I have a buddy who went there 15yrs ago, found his wife now he never wants to come back...actually he gets to spend his last 5 years in the Army "there" (Iraq, Afghan too).

[Tuff*Army*Wife]

Thanks to all for the info! I hadn't found Hotpads.com, so thanks to you Mach50 for that website. I'll be checking it out very soon. We're hoping to be fairly close to the ocean. How far is it from MV to the coast? I'd definitely rather be closer to dh's work and drive a little when we choose to go to the beach.

I think travel would probably be the biggest selling point of the Army (or military in general) to the young people there. And I agree about Germany!! My brother was over there for about 8 yrs, found a wife, and I believe would've lived there forever too if the Army hadn't finally moved him. My husband and I got to live in Panama during the drawdown there right before they turned the bases back over to the Panamanian government and for 2.5 yrs prior. It was amazing!!!

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by Tuff*Army*Wife

Thanks to all for the info! I hadn't found Hotpads.com, so thanks to you Mach50 for that website. I'll be checking it out very soon. We're hoping to be fairly close to the ocean. How far is it from MV to the coast? I'd definitely rather be closer to dh's work and drive a little when we choose to go to the beach.

You should be able to find something in Mission Viejo for $3000 and under with 4-5 bedrooms. Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, Ladera Ranch, etc... in South OC are all within 15 minutes or so of each other if you NEED to look outside of MV. Having kids, I think a great part for MV is the lake. We moved here when my kids were younger and they LOVED it. I literally took them there probably every other day in the summer and with young kids it is nice because they can swim without the risk of being swept into the ocean by a rip tide at 6 years old. Plus teaching them to fish, sail, kayak, windsurf, etc... are all fun activities to do.

The main beaches you will go to are Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point and the beaches in San Clemente just north of the pier and then down to San Onofre. Doheny Beach in Dana Point is not clean for swimming in, but has bonfire rings so is popular for having a beachside fire. Salt Creek and the northern San Clemente beaches are 20-25 minutes away. San Onofre is about 25-30 minutes away. I get my haircut in downtown San Clemente, we went to church in San Clemente for years, my kids are down surfing at Salt Creek and San Onofre probably twice a week so I'm well aware of how long it takes. Its not that far at all. Salt Creek doesn't require the freeway so you don't need to worry about traffic.

Spend some time looking through the Pictures of Orange County thread at the top of the OC Forum here. There are many pictures of Mission Viejo and San Clemente, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest, Irvine, etc... are all in there as well.

[DooheeHowser]

You should definitely consider Ladera Ranch. It is a new city with many new families.

[Susan Parker]

Hello........... You listed several great cities to live in. Mission Viejo , Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, and San Clemente are all beautiful coastal reas in Southern orange county. You shouldn't have a problem finding suitable housing withing your budget. These cities are close to the San Diego county line. I live in northen San Diego county near MCAS Miramar.
Huntington Beach is awesome too, afterall it IS SURF CITY !!. Anaheim in Orange County is the home to Disneyland. All I know about Placentia is that it's up in northen OC. Thanking you for your service to our county and wishing you the best in your relocation to Sunny California!!

COOKy

[OC Investor2]

Originally Posted by Tuff*Army*Wife

Hi all! First time poster w/many questions. One thing at a time though. My husband is an Army recruiter & is about to be transferred to Mission Viejo. We're trying to decide where to live. Neither of us know anything AT ALL about CA. We're in the process of selling our house here in VA, and are planning on renting in CA.

He's willing to drive a bit every day, but no more than 30-45 minutes each way. We have 4 small children from 8 yrs down to almost 2 yrs. We will be homeschooling though, so the local schools will not be an issue for us. I would like an area w/other young families w/children, parks, etc. for the kids to enjoy.

Our budget for rent is about $3000/month max. I've found decent rental homes in the following areas that aren't too far from Mission Viejo as far as I can tell. But, I know absolutely nothing about these areas, and I know pics of a nice house doesn't necessarily mean the area is nice. Any advice/input about these areas?

-Plancentia
-Aliso Viejo
-Huntington Beach
-San Clemente
-Santa Ana
-Orange
-Laguna Niguel
-Yorba Linda
-Anaheim

Thanks so much in advance for any advice!!

Army Wife -
Welcome to the OC from a former Redleg!

My takes on your mentioned locations:

-Plancentia - not to familiar with
-Aliso Viejo - Newer and little more affordable then some of the other south county cities, but less likely to have the 5 bdrms you are seeking. Good access to the beach
-Huntington Beach - Would be a decent choice, but would be a long drive for hubby.
-San Clemente - Good choice. Also would give you good access to the exchange. etc. at Camp Pendleton.
-Santa Ana - not the best area, would not reccomend. Gangs, crime, etc. This is a case of you get what you pay for. It's cheaper for a reason....
-Orange -Little bit of a stretch commute wise, but would be an area with some homes that may have more sq. footage/ bdrms you seem to be looking for.
-Laguna Niguel - Good location, but pricey.
-Yorba Linda - To far
-Anaheim - To far

In addition to the places you mentioned, I would check into Tustin. It's 20-30 Minutes North of MV. If your hubby will be covering a territory, Tustin has good access to many freeways. Schools are ok but not great but that does'nt seem to be an issue for you right now. Also Lake Forrest next to MV. An older burb, but a bit more affordable. If you can swing anything in MV, jump on it, its a great family town. Another south county option would be San Juan Capistrano. Nice beach town. Be sure to get pretty granular on your research on that city though as it does have some small pockets of hispanic gang activity, but not so much I would wave you off from looking at it.

One other thought - you may want to check into North San Diego county. Don't know if you would consider being close to a major base a good or bad thing, but North County has a butload of marines & marine families due to Pendleton and all the family support infrastructure that goes with that. Drive to MV would be 30-45 minutes from Carlsbad (avoid Oceanside) but it is a nice area.

Lastly, don't know if there are any websites, etc. that have forums that cater to military families and spouses deraling with relo, but I am sure if there is you can get some good recon on south county from the Marine wives that live near Pendelton. South OC has a very strong Marine presence because of them and also a large retiree community from the old bases at Tustin and El Toro that got BRAC'ed in the early 90's.

Good luck!

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by OC Investor2

South OC has a very strong Marine presence because of them and also a large retiree community from the old bases at Tustin and El Toro that got BRAC'ed in the early 90's.

Yep, very strong Marine and military community in general here in South County. My husband is one of many former Marines from Tustin and El Toro and there is an active community. He still sees some of the men he flew with at El Toro at a monthly get together they have and will do things like go to Disneyland, go bike riding in the canyons, have lunch, etc... once a month.

[bhcompy]

not to mention Pendleton is not very far away

[Wurzig]

Originally Posted by Mach50

Join the Army and you might be able to LIVE there.

I have a buddy who went there 15yrs ago, found his wife now he never wants to come back...actually he gets to spend his last 5 years in the Army "there" (Iraq, Afghan too).

I'd look like Porkie Pig if I lived there, Mach. Have been there a few times....always a nice trip...did however, get a parking ticket in Heidelberg one time.......my husband was stationed there, too, and became fluent during his stay, so it's always nice to have a personal tour guide.......

[dfarmer002]

Also add foothill ranch (92610) as well as portola hills and ladera ranch. All next to mv.

we just rented a 1600 ft home detached in foothill for 2300.