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You want to go much further south. Inland you want to be Irvine or further south. On the coast, Newport/Balbao or further south. That's the only way to not be a stones throw from problem areas.
Two possible exceptions inland are Yorba Linda and/or Anaheim Hills. Both are, of course higher priced though.
Anyway, there night life everywhere in SoCal, so I'd vote for "as far from LA as you can get" unless you have some overriding need for access to LA.
If you want to live away from trouble, bottom line is you have to ante up the price. Then if you have to go party in trouble spots drive to them, LOL!
You want to go much further south. Inland you want to be Irvine or further south. On the coast, Newport/Balbao or further south. That's the only way to not be a stones throw from problem areas.
Two possible exceptions inland are Yorba Linda and/or Anaheim Hills. Both are, of course higher priced though.
Anyway, there night life everywhere in SoCal, so I'd vote for "as far from LA as you can get" unless you have some overriding need for access to LA.
If you want to live away from trouble, bottom line is you have to ante up the price. Then if you have to go party in trouble spots drive to them, LOL!
I was unaware there aren't problem areas in Anaheim and Santa Ana which share borders with Irvine, Newport, and Anaheim hills.
I was unaware there aren't problem areas in Anaheim and Santa Ana which share borders with Irvine, Newport, and Anaheim hills.
Umm, OK, I guess that's true. So then really, you'd have to go even further south.
So let's see, that would be say, Laguna and further south on the ocean and what, Lake Forest and further south inland?
But at least the list I originally gave doesn't have the kind of patchwork quilt of good and bad areas that some areas do. Newport is a pretty solid block of wealthy, and Irvine is a pretty solid block of upper middle.
Anahiem Hills and Yorba Linda have always puzzled me as well. LOL!
Umm, OK, I guess that's true. So then really, you'd have to go even further south.
So let's see, that would be say, Laguna and further south on the ocean and what, Lake Forest and further south inland?
But at least the list I originally gave doesn't have the kind of patchwork quilt of good and bad areas that some areas do. Newport is a pretty solid block of wealthy, and Irvine is a pretty solid block of upper middle.
Anahiem Hills and Yorba Linda have always puzzled me as well. LOL!
I think my point is if you are going to live in southern california, you can cocoon yourself to some extent but at the end of the day this is not a farm in Iowa. Lake Forest has it's rough spots too. There are areas of San Juan Cap that have trouble. Even Irvine (which everyone on this board likes to say is the safest city in the US based on some statistics) is not immune to problems. Anyone who reads the most useless paper in the world (oc register) will be able to tell you that.
At the end of the day, if you live in one of the middle class or better areas you will almost assuredly not have problems. And if you are looking in the south LA / north OC area as this poster is there are plenty of great neighborhoods available including the "walkable" ones I mentioned (Belmont Shore, dowtown Orange, and downtown Fullerton).
I think my point is if you are going to live in southern california, you can cocoon yourself to some extent but at the end of the day this is not a farm in Iowa.
This is soooo true.
Its like every other thread on C-D is by someone whose criteria is better suited by living a mud hut in the forest than in society with the rest of us.
As far as this OP, he is coming to you from Oakland-and so he is not a virgin to the good and bad that exists in the world. Based on what I gather from his posts, he's even looking for somethin vaguely similar-only in a different locale.
I think my point is if you are going to live in southern california, you can cocoon yourself to some extent but at the end of the day this is not a farm in Iowa. Lake Forest has it's rough spots too. There are areas of San Juan Cap that have trouble. Even Irvine (which everyone on this board likes to say is the safest city in the US based on some statistics) is not immune to problems. Anyone who reads the most useless paper in the world (oc register) will be able to tell you that.
At the end of the day, if you live in one of the middle class or better areas you will almost assuredly not have problems. And if you are looking in the south LA / north OC area as this poster is there are plenty of great neighborhoods available including the "walkable" ones I mentioned (Belmont Shore, dowtown Orange, and downtown Fullerton).
True, someone was shot in the parking lot right here were I live. Over at The Shoppes at Mission Viejo, last year I think the police had to shoot a suspect who robbed a jewelry store in the mall.
But, bottom line is this, there's basically no "hood" between about Newport in OC and La Jolla or a little further south in San Diego.
Go north or Irvine or Newport and as you get closer to the LA county line, the worse it gets. It's pretty easy to see driving up I-5 or the 405. It gets progressively more concrete jungle as you go northward and that's all there is to it.
So you can throw stones at S. OC all day and say, "Yeah but there's this bad little spot here or there", but bottom line is, the further away from LA you get, in general the nice it tends to be.
The general lack of a "hood" for some 60 to 80 miles as mentioned above is a strong positive for S. OC.
As for living in a mud hut, nah. Estate living is top on my list. From least attractive to most attractive to me is roughly:
Ghetto
Urban
Suburban
Rural (but non agricultural)
Estate Living
I.e. the more space you can have, the less density, the better. Problems come from too many people being crammed into to many small living spaces, and of course, a lack of wealth.
Unfortunately "urban" typically means high density, and sooner or later it gets run down. (Though I'm sure someone can point out some uber-wealthy high density places that aren't run down. But those generally share the trait of "wealthy residents".)
In short, for me anyway, urban sux and the OC/LA continuum, in general gets more urban as you go north towards LA. I believe the lines I've drawn would keep any newcomer pretty much in the nicer areas.
BTW, if OP has lived in Oakland, I suspect they really aren't looking for a repeat, unless I missed that line, LOL! Isn't that the place where they riot over important things, like football games. LOL!
I never suggested cocooning either. That's someone's interpretation. Socialization is much nicer when the hood is far, far away, LOL!
True, someone was shot in the parking lot right here were I live. Over at The Shoppes at Mission Viejo, last year I think the police had to shoot a suspect who robbed a jewelry store in the mall.
But, bottom line is this, there's basically no "hood" between about Newport in OC and La Jolla or a little further south in San Diego.
Go north or Irvine or Newport and as you get closer to the LA county line, the worse it gets. It's pretty easy to see driving up I-5 or the 405. It gets progressively more concrete jungle as you go northward and that's all there is to it.
So you can throw stones at S. OC all day and say, "Yeah but there's this bad little spot here or there", but bottom line is, the further away from LA you get, in general the nice it tends to be.
The general lack of a "hood" for some 60 to 80 miles as mentioned above is a strong positive for S. OC.
As for living in a mud hut, nah. Estate living is top on my list. From least attractive to most attractive to me is roughly:
Ghetto
Urban
Suburban
Rural (but non agricultural)
Estate Living
I.e. the more space you can have, the less density, the better. Problems come from too many people being crammed into to many small living spaces, and of course, a lack of wealth.
Unfortunately "urban" typically means high density, and sooner or later it gets run down. (Though I'm sure someone can point out some uber-wealthy high density places that aren't run down. But those generally share the trait of "wealthy residents".)
In short, for me anyway, urban sux and the OC/LA continuum, in general gets more urban as you go north towards LA. I believe the lines I've drawn would keep any newcomer pretty much in the nicer areas.
BTW, if OP has lived in Oakland, I suspect they really aren't looking for a repeat, unless I missed that line, LOL! Isn't that the place where they riot over important things, like football games. LOL!
I never suggested cocooning either. That's someone's interpretation. Socialization is much nicer when the hood is far, far away, LOL!
the hood is not 60 miles from south oc. It is more like 10. And as I said there are problems within south oc too. Mission Viejo has a gang injunction for goodness sake. No need to tell me how safe MV is either. I know it is. i am just saying no area is not immune to problems. my ultimate recommendation is pick a place that is close to work, at least middle class, and fits your social tastes. For some that may be south oc. for others it may not be.
Well I've never lived in Oakland but have spent time there and although I was on the west side, I never really felt in danger. I have lived in Redwood City and thought it was tolerable. I'm not one of those people that is paranoid about crime. I know just about every urban area has crime. I just want to make sure I'm not looking at places that are in significantly bad areas or places that border those areas. From reading post on here I'm getting the feeling that there are a lot of rough areas that are next to nice areas and that seems somewhat strange to me. In the bay area it seems it's much easier to differentiate between good and bad areas, ie. east bay is generally known for bad areas and everything else generally safe.
the hood is not 60 miles from south oc. It is more like 10. And as I said there are problems within south oc too. Mission Viejo has a gang injunction for goodness sake. No need to tell me how safe MV is either. I know it is. i am just saying no area is not immune to problems. my ultimate recommendation is pick a place that is close to work, at least middle class, and fits your social tastes. For some that may be south oc. for others it may not be.
What "hood" would you say is 10 miles from South OC? (Meaning Irvine and further south for sake of discussion.)
Most cities in the county are less than 2% black, so I find it hard to call almost anywhere in OC the "hood", LOL!
On the other hand Oakland runs what, about 36% black and riots over football games. Comparatively I'd say Oakland is the hood, LOL!
Go "Google on Mission Viejo safest city". No comparision at all.
Again, bottom line is the closer you get to LA the worse it is. It's just a fact. I'm sure statistics that are easily found can back me up here.
There's no doubt that by the time you get to Long Beach you have a higher density of problem areas.
We're not talking social taste here (you and I) we're talking urban crime rates.
To the original poster, come and see it. Rent a hotel room for a couple of weeks and drive around. See if I'm right or wrong. (As an aside, before I moved to OC I spent several months driving and examining the whole area from Long Beach all the way down to San Clemente and as far inland as Corona.)
Geezus, I was in Mission Viejo one night late. Decided to stop and look around a Lexus dealership. No fences... cop drove by, didn't even ask what I was doing on the lot. It was close to midnight. Just in general, the expectation of problems is low there.
AFAIK, there's not really any defending anything over the LA county line unless you are truly in a rich "cocoon". I'm sure police stats will back that view up.
Anyway, c'mon down and look. Folks who are all enthralled with the concept of "urban" (which I just cannot fathom) may say northward is better, but if you are not one of those I think you'll find southward nicer.
Can't say I know the local real estate prices anymore. But one guy I worked with had a house in Anaheim worth about 1 million. I think we determined same house in Laguna Beach would've been priced at about $3 million. If you believe in market values as indicators or relative value I think the boundaries I mentioned are defensible.
What "hood" would you say is 10 miles from South OC? (Meaning Irvine and further south for sake of discussion.)
Most cities in the county are less than 2% black, so I find it hard to call almost anywhere in OC the "hood", LOL!
On the other hand Oakland runs what, about 36% black and riots over football games. Comparatively I'd say Oakland is the hood, LOL!
Go "Google on Mission Viejo safest city". No comparision at all.
Again, bottom line is the closer you get to LA the worse it is. It's just a fact. I'm sure statistics that are easily found can back me up here.
There's no doubt that by the time you get to Long Beach you have a higher density of problem areas.
We're not talking social taste here (you and I) we're talking urban crime rates.
To the original poster, come and see it. Rent a hotel room for a couple of weeks and drive around. See if I'm right or wrong. (As an aside, before I moved to OC I spent several months driving and examining the whole area from Long Beach all the way down to San Clemente and as far inland as Corona.)
Geezus, I was in Mission Viejo one night late. Decided to stop and look around a Lexus dealership. No fences... cop drove by, didn't even ask what I was doing on the lot. It was close to midnight. Just in general, the expectation of problems is low there.
AFAIK, there's not really any defending anything over the LA county line unless you are truly in a rich "cocoon". I'm sure police stats will back that view up.
Anyway, c'mon down and look. Folks who are all enthralled with the concept of "urban" (which I just cannot fathom) may say northward is better, but if you are not one of those I think you'll find southward nicer.
Can't say I know the local real estate prices anymore. But one guy I worked with had a house in Anaheim worth about 1 million. I think we determined same house in Laguna Beach would've been priced at about $3 million. If you believe in market values as indicators or relative value I think the boundaries I mentioned are defensible.
Woodbridge (popular Irvine area) is 7.5 miles from Santa Ana, not 60 miles. And yes, most people would consider parts of Santa Ana (not all) the hood. You do not need a large black population to define an area as the hood.
Comparing Laguna to Anaheim is not apples to apples. I always say the divider is not the LA/OC line or even the north oc/south oc line. The divider that means something is coastal vs. inland. Irvine, MV, etc. have a lot more in common with Torrance than they do Newport and Laguna.
As far as real estate prices go, you need to look at $/sq. foot to get a fair comparison. I live in the 90803 zip code of Long Beach and the $/sq ft is a lot higher than almost all if not all inland oc zip codes whether they are in north or south oc. So in my opinion the boundaries you mentioned are in fact not defensible according to market values.
I am talking about personal taste. MV is ranked a very safe city. So is Irvine. By statistics, my neighborhood in Long Beach probably is not ranked as high. However, nobody I know feels unsafe living in Naples. In my opinion, there is a bar to meet for safety and then you are just arguing around the edges. However there is a dramatic difference in personal taste. I hate the idea of every house looking the same except for a different color of beige. I hate garages as the frontal facade. I would hate not being able to walk to a cafe or shop. I would hate living more than a few miles from the ocean. I would hate doing all of my shopping at a cookie cutter shopping center and eating at nothing but chain restaraunts. I have said this before on these board that I also think while there is a lot more wealth in my neighborhood than inland south oc, there isnt nearly as much materialism. for these reasons, inland south oc is totally unappealing no matter how safe it is supposed to be. would i live in a ghetto? of course not if I didnt have to. but I guess I just disagree that if you dont live south of Irvine you are asking for crime infested neighborhood.
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