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Old 03-30-2010, 12:16 AM
 
6 posts, read 43,566 times
Reputation: 10

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I'm new to the forums. I've been reading other posts for a week now and I can see a WEALTH of information here. I've read many other threads somewhat pertaining to the information I'm looking for, but none really gave me specific answers. I'm hoping I can get some advice specific to my situation.

I've been living in the South Bay for the last 25 years (Hawthorne/Lawndale). I've always rented and now I'm being forced to move. I've spent the last 6 years as a field tech and I'm used to driving long distances everyday. I've really enjoyed the areas I've visited in Orange County and I'm hoping to buy a condo/house somewhere in Cerritos, Buena Park, or Anaheim. My current job is in Carson, just off the 91 freeway. So a drive to any of these cities is no problem for me.

I have kids in elementary school. My priorities are like any parents priorities... safe neighborhood, good schools. I know every city has it's "good" parts and "bad" parts. And sometimes they're only a block away from each other. I'm under no illusion that any city or neighborhood is completely safe. But there's always neighborhoods that have less crime than others or better schools than others.

I'm working with a small budget (approx. $250k-$300k). Can anyone with knowledge of Orange County give me some advice as to which sections of Buena Park, Cerritos, or Anaheim are more desirable or safer? I know it's a bit of a loaded question, but I feel I can get the best information from people who live in these cities.

Also, if you want to suggest other cities around these areas, by all means do so. Although with my price range, I don't think I'll be finding much in the South OC County.

I've spent weeks trying to research each city's demographics/crime statistics/school API scores/etc... and I figure it'll save me a ton of time to just ask residents of OC what they think.

Thanks in advance to everyone who answers. Your input truly is greatly appreciated!
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Old 03-30-2010, 01:55 AM
 
Location: RSM
5,113 posts, read 19,695,580 times
Reputation: 1927
Cerritos is pretty good all around, but the places you'll be looking at are probably north of the 91, which is the "worst" area of Cerritos. Still fine, still ABC school district, but borders the worst part of Norwalk(The One Ways).

Can't really answer for the rest of the cities, but another nearby city in your range that has excellent schools is Los Alamitos. There are condos in the city that fit your range and condos that are technically 90740(Seal Beach), but situated inside of Rossmoor(Los Alamitos/90720) on the back side of Rossmoor Center that are well within your range(there were a half dozen or so listed under 250k last time I checked a week or two ago). There are no bad areas of Los Alamitos and none of the city borders bad areas of other cities.

You may also want to check out western Garden Grove. The schools are good and the area is safe. There are a lot of condos on the western side of Valley View around the Chapman intersection.

As far as South OC, if that is what you wanted considering the fact you mentioned it, I believe there will be condos in your range in Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, but they will be among the oldest housing in the area as far as I know
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Old 03-30-2010, 12:08 PM
 
6 posts, read 43,566 times
Reputation: 10
@ bhcompy... thanks so much for your input.

This will help me greatly with my home search. I wasn't looking at Los Alamitos since I knew nothing about the area, but now I definitely will be checking it out. As far as South OC, I would've liked Irvine but it seems to be out of my price range. I don't particularly want to drive that far, but if it means finding a safer neighborhood with good schools, I'm definitely willing to make the sacrifice.
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Old 03-30-2010, 12:21 PM
 
1,963 posts, read 4,967,205 times
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Anaheim Hills or East Anaheim are the only places that I would live in Anaheim.
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Old 03-30-2010, 04:55 PM
 
6 posts, read 43,566 times
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How about the neighborhood in Anaheim that's just east of Harbor Blvd, between Orangewood & Chapman Ave? It seems about a mile SE of Disneyland. I drove by and the area didn't look too bad. Anyone have experience with this section of Anaheim?
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Old 03-30-2010, 07:20 PM
Status: "I am a dude." (set 22 days ago)
 
Location: Anaheim
1,962 posts, read 4,460,384 times
Reputation: 1361
Quote:
Originally Posted by tolbyn View Post
I'm new to the forums. I've been reading other posts for a week now and I can see a WEALTH of information here. I've read many other threads somewhat pertaining to the information I'm looking for, but none really gave me specific answers. I'm hoping I can get some advice specific to my situation.

I've been living in the South Bay for the last 25 years (Hawthorne/Lawndale). I've always rented and now I'm being forced to move. I've spent the last 6 years as a field tech and I'm used to driving long distances everyday. I've really enjoyed the areas I've visited in Orange County and I'm hoping to buy a condo/house somewhere in Cerritos, Buena Park, or Anaheim. My current job is in Carson, just off the 91 freeway. So a drive to any of these cities is no problem for me.

I have kids in elementary school. My priorities are like any parents priorities... safe neighborhood, good schools. I know every city has it's "good" parts and "bad" parts. And sometimes they're only a block away from each other. I'm under no illusion that any city or neighborhood is completely safe. But there's always neighborhoods that have less crime than others or better schools than others.

I'm working with a small budget (approx. $250k-$300k). Can anyone with knowledge of Orange County give me some advice as to which sections of Buena Park, Cerritos, or Anaheim are more desirable or safer? I know it's a bit of a loaded question, but I feel I can get the best information from people who live in these cities.

Also, if you want to suggest other cities around these areas, by all means do so. Although with my price range, I don't think I'll be finding much in the South OC County.

I've spent weeks trying to research each city's demographics/crime statistics/school API scores/etc... and I figure it'll save me a ton of time to just ask residents of OC what they think.

Thanks in advance to everyone who answers. Your input truly is greatly appreciated!

I currently live in Anaheim and can tell you about that city.

You asked in your last post about the area between Orangewood and Chapman, near Harbor. West of Harbor is FAR better than east of it between Orangewood and Chapman. You won't really hit a residential area going west for a few blocks (starts around West and goes to Euclid and beyond; actually this borders city of Garden Grove) East of Harbor (to Haster/Anaheim Blvd and somewhat beyone) are apartments and Ponderosa Park. I would not recommend that particular area in general; cheap motels with druggies are not far away and the park was notorious in the past for gang and drug problems. It's possible some clean-up has taken place, but be aware.

I'll do everything else by zip:

92801--eastern part of this zip is part of the old downtown (which is framed by North, South, East and West Sts. The rest of it is "newer" but not especially attractive (better if you get away from the intersection of Euclid/La Palma)...Housing along La Palma Ave. looks really cheesy but varies from tract to tract....can't say about crime but area should not be a problem if you've lived in Hawthorne or Lawndale.

92802--area around Disneyland already partially described above. The farther away from the park and closer to Garden Grove you are, the better.

92804--southwestern side of town. Nice middle-class neighborhoods generally but there is also an area known as "La Colonia Independencia" which is not part of the city but shares the zip code....there are county islands that are not part of the Colonia.....around Brookhurst between Lincoln and Ball and points east to Euclid and west to the city border.

92805--downtown and north/east central--Oldest part of the city but there are newer neighborhoods and infill. Extends to State College. HEAVILY Hispanic but the houses are generally pretty solid; it's some of the apartments that are a problem. I'm thinking around Anna Dr/La Palma Ave. is probably the worst (Anna Dr becomes Acacia Ave. after crossing north of La Palma Ave. Some areas along Santa Ana St. east of Harbor are not good either. Broadway has some really cool older neighborhoods, and a lot of the refurb in the area is a harking back to older styles.

92806--East of State College to Tustin Ave. About half of this area is industrial but the residential is between State College and a few blocks east of the 57 freeway. The residences are quite nice for the most part and there is a HUGE area of apartments along Frontera (close to the 91 fwy). Beware of Underhill St, at least just east of State College; I don't if the gang named after the street is still operative in the area.

92807--East of Tustin Ave. Part of it is in the Anaheim Hills Subdivision (expensive) but there are other areas such as "Riverdale" (along that Ave between Tustin Ave. and Lakeview...where I live :B and areas around Orangethorpe and also La Palma east of Imperial (known as Woodsboro to some). Nice areas.

92808--Way out there above Santa Ana Canyon; part of the Anaheim Hills Subdivision and a lot of condos. Wildfires are a bigger problem here than crime; one is literally, in some spots, at the edge of the wilderness here. Very nice and safe but not very convenient to everything.

I hope this helps!
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Old 03-30-2010, 07:24 PM
Status: "I am a dude." (set 22 days ago)
 
Location: Anaheim
1,962 posts, read 4,460,384 times
Reputation: 1361
Quote:
Originally Posted by tolbyn View Post
I'm new to the forums. I've been reading other posts for a week now and I can see a WEALTH of information here. I've read many other threads somewhat pertaining to the information I'm looking for, but none really gave me specific answers. I'm hoping I can get some advice specific to my situation.

I've been living in the South Bay for the last 25 years (Hawthorne/Lawndale). I've always rented and now I'm being forced to move. I've spent the last 6 years as a field tech and I'm used to driving long distances everyday. I've really enjoyed the areas I've visited in Orange County and I'm hoping to buy a condo/house somewhere in Cerritos, Buena Park, or Anaheim. My current job is in Carson, just off the 91 freeway. So a drive to any of these cities is no problem for me.

I have kids in elementary school. My priorities are like any parents priorities... safe neighborhood, good schools. I know every city has it's "good" parts and "bad" parts. And sometimes they're only a block away from each other. I'm under no illusion that any city or neighborhood is completely safe. But there's always neighborhoods that have less crime than others or better schools than others.

I'm working with a small budget (approx. $250k-$300k). Can anyone with knowledge of Orange County give me some advice as to which sections of Buena Park, Cerritos, or Anaheim are more desirable or safer? I know it's a bit of a loaded question, but I feel I can get the best information from people who live in these cities.

Also, if you want to suggest other cities around these areas, by all means do so. Although with my price range, I don't think I'll be finding much in the South OC County.

I've spent weeks trying to research each city's demographics/crime statistics/school API scores/etc... and I figure it'll save me a ton of time to just ask residents of OC what they think.

Thanks in advance to everyone who answers. Your input truly is greatly appreciated!

As for Buena Park, it is far smaller than Anaheim and less varied. The middle is the oldest part of town (Beach Blvd between Orangethorpe and Stage Rd) and the least "polished"); the southern part below the 91 freeway is newer and more middle class; the far north (north of Stage) is condo country and the northern edge is expensive and exclusive (and next to Fullerton). The old area is probably the least safe but is nothing like LA or even Santa Ana.
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Old 03-31-2010, 12:29 PM
 
6 posts, read 43,566 times
Reputation: 10
@ mrsltd... Outstanding! Thanks for the detailed post! I appreciate you taking the time to type up all that information. This will be a great resource.
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Old 04-04-2010, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Chicago
53 posts, read 160,284 times
Reputation: 41
I grew up and went to school in Cerritos. Almost all of Cerritos north of the 91 (and there are a number of city blocks, including where I live and went to high school, north of the 91) is fine. Cerritos' main city park, Cerritos Park East, where the Independence Day and similar celebrations are held, is also north of the 91.

In general, I'd say that Cerritos has a very cohesive feel to it, and even if you were within a block of not-so-nice areas, you wouldn't know. This obviously cuts both ways -- there are really no parts of the city that I'd say are significantly bad (and nothing like parts of Los Angeles), but I guess it also means that you can be close to areas like Norwalk's One Ways and you might not be aware.

Also, you mentioned schools -- just FYI, almost all of Cerritos is located in the ABC district, except for the portion that's between Artesia and South streets and west of the San Gabriel River. That part's zoned to the Bellflower Unified school district, which I know nothing about so I can't comment, but it's just something to be aware of.
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Old 04-07-2010, 01:28 AM
 
6 posts, read 43,566 times
Reputation: 10
@andrewesque... thanks for the info.

I'm currently looking at a few condos that are just north of the 91, right off the Bloomfield exit, on the west side of Bloomfield. It's practically right off the freeway. I didn't have time to drive around and look at the surrounding areas, but the parts I did see looked very nice. It seemed clean & quiet. Tree-lined streets with people jogging down the sidewalks. And if I go south on Bloomfield, just across to the south side of the 91, I'm right next to the Cerritos Towne Center and Cerritos Public Library.

Does anyone have any knowledge of the communities at Bloomfield Ave & 166th St.? Is it a pretty safe area? Is this part of the ABC school district?
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