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View Poll Results: Would you use a Realtor in Orange County to sell your home?
Yes, without a doubt! 7 58.33%
My last realtor was not worth the money. 2 16.67%
I'm buying a For Sale By Owner sign 2 16.67%
I liked my last Realtor And I will use him/her again! 3 25.00%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 12. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 06-19-2009, 01:09 PM
 
23 posts, read 61,547 times
Reputation: 20

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I am a Realtor and my wife is in Insurance. We both can work from home and we are thinking of moving to the OC (if im allowed to say that). We are considering some areas to lease a home in.

Areas included in our search are:

Costa Mesa, Ladera ranch, Laguna nigel, Mission Viejo, Lake forest, San Clemente, NewPort Beach, San juan capistrano, Santa Margarita, Irvine.

Also, we have heard that there is no sales tax on food and insurance is cheaper than where we currently live. We are counting the pennies and hoping we will have the funds to make this life long desire to move to Cali! Looks like there as many people moving to Cali as are moving out.

Also, we are open to other more inland areas if they are considered safe and the temps dont exceed 95.

Your thoughts are appreciated...
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Old 06-19-2009, 01:55 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,489,598 times
Reputation: 17827
Why don't you lease a beach house in Newport Beach? It is safe and it stays below 95F.
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Old 06-19-2009, 02:11 PM
 
23 posts, read 61,547 times
Reputation: 20
To answer your question why no beach house---I forgot to mention that my spending limit is 3000-3500/month and I need a 4b 2+ bath home at least 2300 sqft. living. I am sure a beach house would be nice but Im doubt I could find one with the sqftg I need and for the price I can afford.
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Old 06-19-2009, 02:14 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,489,598 times
Reputation: 17827
HousingMaps
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Old 06-19-2009, 04:48 PM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,703 posts, read 79,436,554 times
Reputation: 39436
Of your list, I personally like Costa Mesa and parts of Newport Beach best. The neat parts of Newport Beach (Balboa villiage) are probably too expensive. I like Costa Mesa because it is more down to earth and less pretentious than a lot of other areas. Not real good schools, but if you do not have kids, it does not matter. Laguna Beach is a neat place to live if you do not have to commute, but it might be hard to find anything in your price range.

Do you have kids? If so, then school quality will make a difference.

You might want to consider Anaheim Hills, Orange Park Acres, Villa Park, and possibly Old town Orange as well. These are less trendy, older places, but they are all very nice and offer things not generally avialable elsewhere (you can keep horses at some properties in Orange Park Acres, Old town is really quaint and friendly, Anaheim Hills tends to give you more space and more house for your money and some places have great views). All of these places will give you more for your moeny than the places on your list, but they are less new and lack the conformity that some people seem to crave. Being older they are more interesting and well settled (real trees, established landscaping, etc) and that appeals to some people.

Watch out financially. Although some things are cheaper, other things are a lot more expensive. Income tax is pretty high. Gasoline prices are high. Dining and entertainment are very exspensive. Movies cost more than many other areas, parking can be astronomical, car registration is very expensive and likely to become outrageous, even McDonalds charges more for the same food than many other states.

I am not saying don't move. You will love it. There is a lot to do and see and the weather is great to many people. But be careful about getting caught short of funds. OC is a wonderful place if you have money. It can be wonderful, but very difficult if you do nto have money. It can be miserable if you get caught with a lifestyle that exceeds your income.

Get used to traffic and crowds. If you are not used to these conditions it will be a shock. If you have kids, . . . .well. . . . . be sure you know what you are getting them into. Read around these boards, go talk to people, visit the schools etc.

A little side suggestion: Do not use the cutsie, out of stater terms like "Cali" or "The OC" This says, I am not from here, but I am trying to seem cool and hipand fit in. However these terms do the opposite, they brand you as an outsider. Some people do not care, but a lot of people who live here get offended by these cutsie names. they do not like outsiders using cute names of familarity as if they are in the know about the place when most residents would never use these terms (and many hate those terms). There are exceptions, but you will find an awful lot of people who get offended by these Cutsie titles.

There was a book that was pretty neat and funny called "How to Californ" I had a copy years and years ago. If it has been updated, it might be useful to you. If it is not updated, it will still be funny, but not rel useful.

One other thing. get out and about. Too many people ust stick to their one area. There are so many great things to see and do within 400 miles that you will be awestruck. Even within Orange County (note: "Orange County" , not "the OC"). You wiull find a lot of really neat things that you wll never hear about if you stick to one locality. Not too many people know about the mud park if they never leave the beaches. Inland people often do not know about the tide pools down by Laguna. People who sitck only to Orange County will not get to hike to the Bridge to Nowhere. Then as you get futher out, it gets better. Camp on both sides of Big Bear Mountain. Go to Utah (about7 hours) and hike the trails at ZionNaitonal Park. Go the the river and water ski. visit catalina Island when the flying fish are .. . well. . flying. Try to get around a lot or you will miss out.

Have fun.
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Old 06-20-2009, 02:10 AM
 
Location: Flower Mound, Texas
1,837 posts, read 4,136,115 times
Reputation: 575
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
Of your list, I personally like Costa Mesa and parts of Newport Beach best. The neat parts of Newport Beach (Balboa villiage) are probably too expensive. I like Costa Mesa because it is more down to earth and less pretentious than a lot of other areas. Not real good schools, but if you do not have kids, it does not matter. Laguna Beach is a neat place to live if you do not have to commute, but it might be hard to find anything in your price range.

Do you have kids? If so, then school quality will make a difference.

You might want to consider Anaheim Hills, Orange Park Acres, Villa Park, and possibly Old town Orange as well. These are less trendy, older places, but they are all very nice and offer things not generally avialable elsewhere (you can keep horses at some properties in Orange Park Acres, Old town is really quaint and friendly, Anaheim Hills tends to give you more space and more house for your money and some places have great views). All of these places will give you more for your moeny than the places on your list, but they are less new and lack the conformity that some people seem to crave. Being older they are more interesting and well settled (real trees, established landscaping, etc) and that appeals to some people.

Watch out financially. Although some things are cheaper, other things are a lot more expensive. Income tax is pretty high. Gasoline prices are high. Dining and entertainment are very exspensive. Movies cost more than many other areas, parking can be astronomical, car registration is very expensive and likely to become outrageous, even McDonalds charges more for the same food than many other states.

I am not saying don't move. You will love it. There is a lot to do and see and the weather is great to many people. But be careful about getting caught short of funds. OC is a wonderful place if you have money. It can be wonderful, but very difficult if you do nto have money. It can be miserable if you get caught with a lifestyle that exceeds your income.

Get used to traffic and crowds. If you are not used to these conditions it will be a shock. If you have kids, . . . .well. . . . . be sure you know what you are getting them into. Read around these boards, go talk to people, visit the schools etc.

A little side suggestion: Do not use the cutsie, out of stater terms like "Cali" or "The OC" This says, I am not from here, but I am trying to seem cool and hipand fit in. However these terms do the opposite, they brand you as an outsider. Some people do not care, but a lot of people who live here get offended by these cutsie names. they do not like outsiders using cute names of familarity as if they are in the know about the place when most residents would never use these terms (and many hate those terms). There are exceptions, but you will find an awful lot of people who get offended by these Cutsie titles.

There was a book that was pretty neat and funny called "How to Californ" I had a copy years and years ago. If it has been updated, it might be useful to you. If it is not updated, it will still be funny, but not rel useful.

One other thing. get out and about. Too many people ust stick to their one area. There are so many great things to see and do within 400 miles that you will be awestruck. Even within Orange County (note: "Orange County" , not "the OC"). You wiull find a lot of really neat things that you wll never hear about if you stick to one locality. Not too many people know about the mud park if they never leave the beaches. Inland people often do not know about the tide pools down by Laguna. People who sitck only to Orange County will not get to hike to the Bridge to Nowhere. Then as you get futher out, it gets better. Camp on both sides of Big Bear Mountain. Go to Utah (about7 hours) and hike the trails at ZionNaitonal Park. Go the the river and water ski. visit catalina Island when the flying fish are .. . well. . flying. Try to get around a lot or you will miss out.

Have fun.
Good post, but I don't understand the speech about the OC and Cali words? My 23 and 27 year old son and daughter live in Orange County and they use the terms all the time. My daughter works for the Police Department and my son is a graphic designer. I guess they aren't "cool" then? I don't understand this comment at all. Who cares if you feel like shortening a word? Just wondering and a little confused. And by the way my kids were born and raised in Orannnnnnnnnnge Counnnnnnnyty
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Old 06-21-2009, 12:39 AM
 
2 posts, read 9,444 times
Reputation: 11
Default Plenty to choose from.

A lot of what your looking for in size of house and price does exist but probably not right along the beach as was said before. Like anywhere else, where you live will depend on what type of family you are, with kids or without. For kids your best bets are in the south orange county areas.

Anaheim hills, Tustin, Irvine, Orange, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Aliso viejo, laguna hills, laguna niguel are all very safe kid family friendly areas with really good schools. These cities are clean, very little crime and relatively easy to get around once you know the area and travel around not during peak traffic times. General rule of thumb is(not always) closer to the freeway, less clean, less safe but cheaper. Farther away from freeway, safer, cleaner, cost more.

As far as your budget goes, yes housing costs are more, gas is more, 'some' groceries are more, car registration is expensive and going up(thanks govenator), but other things are moderately prices. Theres plenty of places to eat out for relatively cheap, since there are a lot of people, there are also a lot of choices to choose from for shopping and groceries. And as far as lots of people, one of the greatest things about southern California is there are also many great place to get away from people. There are many natural wilderness parks in the area, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, etc. During the off season (september - may) there are very few people at the beach - which is great concidering you can pretty much go to the beach all year long, or do any outdoor activity all year long. Just dont be scared away by the 'too many people' thing - you can get away from it if you know where.

There are just tons of activities to do...and you get to do them all year long. Surf in the morning at huntington beach, go see an angels game in the afternoon, go night skiing in big bear...all in the same day. You can also search the web for plenty of activities. City-data.com is great as you can see, ocregister.com, everydayhouse.com, latimes.com..the list goes on and on.

Hope this helps you out.
Enjoy.
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Old 06-21-2009, 07:39 AM
 
23 posts, read 61,547 times
Reputation: 20
I'm looking a little closer at Irvine. Any specific areas to stay away from? I do have 4 kids. 16,12,10,8. We want a nice area that wont be a culture shock for them. Thanks for the great links and website suggestions. A little side suggestion: Do not use the cutsie, out of stater terms like "Cali" or "The OC" -Also, I did figure that saying things like OC and Cali are cutsie and demeaning to the Locals. Will try to minimize their use as long as my fingers can handle it.
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Old 10-29-2009, 05:43 PM
 
Location: Ladera Ranch, Orange County, CA
81 posts, read 366,184 times
Reputation: 32
Area's That are near Irvine:
Irvine (almost perfect, but not much style in the city)
Tustin Foothills (great; also not much style)
Santa Ana (bad)
Santa Ana Heights (wonderful);annexed to Newport Beach
Newport Beach (rich and expensive)
Aliso Viejo (I think this would be the best choice for you)
Laguna Hills (good; but older)
Lake Forest (nice; but different style of homes)
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:00 PM
 
Location: Yawn Town, WA
39 posts, read 106,612 times
Reputation: 29
I live in Irvine and it's BORING. The city is planned into different neighborhoods and most have pool access, there are lots of parks which is nice, and while they're clean, they're just parks, nice bike trail (I hear, never been on it), shopping centers that 'have it all'; movies, restaurants, clothes, etc., the beach is kinda close. The city has community classes; art, some music, cooking, dance and the like, there's a nature center near Bonner Canyon; kinda small, but can be interesting. There's a roller hockey center if that's something your kids are interested in. Of course there's the little league and soccer. The library system is OK; you get a free card at one branch that works at several locations. Sounds good until you *need* a book and can't take the time to drive all over. side note: Huntington Beach-about 15 minutes away-has a FANTASTIC library that's one stop shopping.

It gets HOT in Irvine and generally in this area it stays hot for months. No ocean breezes to cool it down. Usually it's warm on Christmas. Not ideal to me. Irvine is clean, and looks good on paper, blah, blah, but not exciting. Too planned for me.

As for schools, in any area, beware the 'Blue Ribbon School'. It doesn't usually mean anything (we pulled our son out of said type of school to homeschool him...school system isn't so hot here). That's not to say you won't find a decent school, but just be as involved in your child's school as you can possibly be.

Good luck with your search.....
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