question on place to live in oc (Irvine, Newport Beach: estate, housing)

[enigmadsm]

Well, the lady and i are planning on moving over to the area in about 2 months.
I have some relatives that live in costa mesa, and others living in Huntington.
They are both nice places, but just not for me. I prefer the Newport, Laguna beach/niguel, Irvine, Aliso Viejo area...So basically south county i guess. I like Dana Point as well, but i have heard there are some rough spots to it???



Anyways, What i am looking for is a rental with a garage....So more than likely a townhouse i suppose? It must be connected to the living area as well.

I dont care if the homes are attached/detached etc. I just need 1-2 bedrooms and at least a 1 car garage.

I would preferebly not spend more than $2300 a month. We have cats as well.

also a question i had, do most of these places come with a/c and heaters? I visited a friend at an apartment in costa mesa...no A/C???
Also, do any of them have laundry outlets within the home?



Does anyone know of some communities where this may be possible? or point me to a good website to search their ads?

As you can see, this is my first post.

A little about me. I'm 21 and my fiance is 22. We have been living in AZ most of our lives, however we travel to southern california at LEAST 6 times a year for various events/vacations etc. We have thought about vegas, but do not like the statistics of crime, and we have thought about oregon, but would like to stay reasonably close to family/friends.
We are down to earth, love to have fun...but don't really party a bunch or go bar hopping...we casually drink however.

I guess what draws us to the area is the climate and environment. You've got beaches, and mountains right next to eachother...its actually green, the people are mostly great, and there's plenty to do.

[enigmadsm]

anyone?????

[Jenali]

Originally Posted by enigmadsm

Well, the lady and i are planning on moving over to the area in about 2 months.
I have some relatives that live in costa mesa, and others living in Huntington.
They are both nice places, but just not for me. I prefer the Newport, Laguna beach/niguel, Irvine, Aliso Viejo area...So basically south county i guess. I like Dana Point as well, but i have heard there are some rough spots to it???

Not rough ,just lots of older homes in some of DP neighbourhoods ,and plz don't confuse older homes with historical homes.Other than this DP is a beautiful very safe coastal city ,great weather ,and close to everything unless you work in the north part of the county ,the commute might be hard during the rush hour.It has many beautiful newer subdivisions.The same can be said about Irvine. Personally ,I like DP more,flat Irvine is kina of boring for me .

Anyways, What i am looking for is a rental with a garage....So more than likely a townhouse i suppose? It must be connected to the living area as well.

I dont care if the homes are attached/detached etc. I just need 1-2 bedrooms and at least a 1 car garage.

I would preferebly not spend more than $2300 a month. We have cats as well.

other than in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach where $2300 might not get you a detached with good size,you should be able to rent a detached 2bdr/2bth/2garage anywhere in the south .All the cities you have mentioned are fine ,if you go few miles toward inland you can get more home for ur money in cities like Rancho Santa Margarita(around 15 miles from the Pacific,or MV around 10 miles from the pacific).All of these cities are equally beautiful ,safe,and have great weather.

also a question i had, do most of these places come with a/c and heaters? I visited a friend at an apartment in costa mesa...no A/C???
Also, do any of them have laundry outlets within the home?

Yes,some of the older homes don't have AC ,but all newer ones have .you just need to check this before signing the contract.

Does anyone know of some communities where this may be possible? or point me to a good website to search their ads

with 2300 ,it is almost possible anywhere in SoOC ,you should be just fine ,just keep looking till you find something you like .

try realtor.com

or the pennysaver for classified listings ,just choose the city you want at left side to get results:
http://www.pennysaverusa.com/search....94966179&Ne=31

also check the OC register :

http://www.ocrealestatefinder.com/apts/index.shtml

I guess what draws us to the area is the climate and environment. You've got beaches, and mountains right next to eachother...its actually green, the people are mostly great, and there's plenty to do.

I,too,have relocated from Az few yrs ago for the same reasons (the pacific,the green,the hilly topography, the gorgeous scenery,the weather,the amenities and the location),and never been disappointed ,it was the best decision we have made,I am glad we didn't listen to ppl telling us how horrible life in California is .Best luck .

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Enigmadsm,

A/C does exist in many apartment communities in OC. However, AC really isn't too much of a concern.. especially taking into consideration the areas you noted. The air remains quite relaxing throughout the summer without too much uncomfortable heat. A fan would suit some people just fine.

I recommend using www.craigslist.org to search for housing. It's the gold-standard. The whole 949 area noted is generally very safe and people are generally pleasant. Dana Point is a safe area(70% less crime than avg. city) and I would not advise you to avoid it due to a few disruptive apartment buildings. Best of luck.

[enigmadsm]

Thank you for your inpute! I will be visiting in the next week or so. I will check out rancho santa margarita as i have never been.

Also, the community doesnt have to be detached. just an attached single car garage is what i'm looking for.

Hopefully I will be joining you all in a few short months!

[nevercoldcall]

Congrats on your upcoming move!

My girlfriend and I recently moved here from AZ. I was there 7 years and she was there for 3 years. We lived in Scottsdale and got fed up with how snotty and stuck-up people were there, and thankfully, we have not run into that at all here. We live in Newport Coast and everyone is so friendly and down to earth compared to AZ. You're definitely making the right choice!!