Yorba Linda vs Irvine (San Jose, Anaheim: to rent, home, schools)

[pacific2]

Commuting 1 hour each way would not be possible and by default I guess we would have to choose East Lake.

Personally, I would go with Yorba Linda since the commute would be so much easier. Traffic on the 5 and 55 can be a real bear.

[bhcompy]

The toll road is a nice way to travel, but something like 5 dollars each way every trip.

[BRinSM]

much of OC is flashy, but irvine would probably be more so. i always got the impression that many people who live in irvine do so just to say that they live in irvine. i'm sure this happens in yorba linda as well, but to a much lesser extent. also, considering you'll be working in anaheim hills, yorba linda would definitely be the much better choice.

[OC Investor2]

Originally Posted by Asmth3432

Thanks for the info....Not too worried about housing cost we have found houses in both areas and they are significantly less than what we were expecting to pay, they are also much more updated/newer than the area we are moving from.

This might seem like an odd question but which area is flashier? We do not want to live in a pretentious community and are looking for an area that is low key. This is probably the most important criteria to us for choosing one over the other.

Commute wise the office is maybe 5-10 mins away from the East Lake Community and probably 25 mins from Turtle Rock. 25 mins personally is not that long of a commute if its worthwhile to live in that area. We are torn between the two and are just wondering about the intangibles and what type of people actually live in these two communities?

I don't know much about Yorba Linda, But I can tell you this much, Turtle Rock is the wealthiest part of upper middle class Irvine. I'm sure it has neighborhoods with houses - and therefore incomes - of various size as all villages in Irvine do, but until the Ultra-lux Shady Canyon opened up a few years ago, Turtle Rock was the Prestige address in Irvine. A doctor, lawyer, Corporate VP type area. And If you are in OC & talking about big bucks, pretension comes with the package. Not as flashy or crass as a Newport Beach/Coast, but still up there.

Also, not sure if you have kids, but the high school that Turtle rock feeds - University High - is a notoriously cutthroat and academically intense enviroment. The Elementary schools in the area are first rate though. My big knock on TR has always been that you have to drive to go anywhere. Unlike other Villages in Irvine it is all residentail - not a grocery store or shop or restaurant to be found in the entire village. I will say I have been in some really nice houses in TR, so if you have the money to spend, you probably find a beautiful house there.

Good Luck!

[guinness1022]

I will be the first to say Irvine. I have actually lived in both cities. I was brought up in Yorba Linda and then went on to college at UC Irvine. I'm now 30 years old, so what I am about to say about YL might have changed a lot since I lived there. Yes, definitely your commute from YL will be much, much better than living in Irvine. However, YL is a little bit out in the boonies away from everything. That however, might be what you are looking for. YL is not very diverse at all, and coming from the Bay Area, I'd think that might be something you are used to. I grew up in East Lake Village. A great housing community, but again, just not much out there. I think the real main distinction is the diversity that you'll find in Irvine. Also, that Irvine is closer to the beach I, myself and actually looking into purchasing a home in Irvine with my husband right now.

[prymel]

Originally Posted by Asmth3432

The Anaheim office is located off Weir Canyon, I am not that familiar with the area but when google mapped it shows as 23 Miles via 405 to 55 to 91, and 21 Miles via 241 Toll Road (From Turtle Rock). Is there heavy traffic on the toll road going this way? Is this a pretty popular commute route Irvine to Anaheim? Commuting 1 hour each way would not be possible and by default I guess we would have to choose East Lake.. Thanks for the help.

If you're working in Weir Canyon, then I STRONGLY recommend Yorba Linda. Your commute would be minutes. Don't get caught up in the Google information, that 23 mile 405/55/91 trip would be a traffic nightmare. The toll road would be better, but it still is no bargain, and can get very congested as it empties on to the 91 freeway at its terminus. You're still talking 40+ minutes.

Yorba Linda is very nice, has more personality than Irvine, and is not 'flashy', as you described. The only downside relative to Irvine is that, in the fall during Santa Ana wind season, that whole East canyon area is a brush fire danger.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

There is no toll road to Anaheim, only through(or east of) Anaheim Hills. 25 minutes on paper turns in to 60 minutes in reality. My commute says 25 minutes on Google and Yahoo Maps. In reality it is 60 minutes. The 55 and the 5 are both very heavily traveled freeways for commuters and both congested all the time

Anaheim Hills is still part of the city of Anaheim, so....whatever. I just wanted to show the OP what he COULD do, and apparently it looks like he'll go with Yorba Linda.

[mrsltd]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

much of OC is flashy, but irvine would probably be more so. i always got the impression that many people who live in irvine do so just to say that they live in irvine. i'm sure this happens in yorba linda as well, but to a much lesser extent. also, considering you'll be working in anaheim hills, yorba linda would definitely be the much better choice.

As I am becoming fond of telling people, only SOME of Orange County is flashy. I don't think most of Yorba Linda or Irvine could be called "flashy". When I think of Irvine, the word "corporate" comes to mind, especially around the Spectrum. The older neighborhoods seem actually quite human, but I'd be afraid to fart in some of the newer developments. I'm sure the HOAs have rules against that sort of thing.

[Asmth3432]

Originally Posted by guinness1022

I will be the first to say Irvine. I have actually lived in both cities. I was brought up in Yorba Linda and then went on to college at UC Irvine. I'm now 30 years old, so what I am about to say about YL might have changed a lot since I lived there. Yes, definitely your commute from YL will be much, much better than living in Irvine. However, YL is a little bit out in the boonies away from everything. That however, might be what you are looking for. YL is not very diverse at all, and coming from the Bay Area, I'd think that might be something you are used to. I grew up in East Lake Village. A great housing community, but again, just not much out there. I think the real main distinction is the diversity that you'll find in Irvine. Also, that Irvine is closer to the beach I, myself and actually looking into purchasing a home in Irvine with my husband right now.

Thanks for first hand information, couple of questions:
The area we live in now is pretty much a bedroom community, we are basically looking to transfer a similar type of lifestyle down to Orange County. We really like the housing stock in both of these neighborhoods (large lots, well kept yards etc) What we liked about Eastlake was the walking distance to the lake and shopping center. When we visited last month, it seemed like a lot of people were walking around/running in Eastlake etc.

We didn't notice much neighborly activity around Turtle Rock, although we liked the interesting housing stock in this community. The way houses our laid out in Turtle Rock remind us a bit of our neighborhood in Cupertino, so that is another reason why we were drawn here.

When you say Yorba Linda is in the boonies does this mean we will have to drive the 1 hour to go to the Irvine area to find decent restaurants, shopping etc?

Do the same types of people live in the same neighborhood or is one area older (demographically) than the other?

Originally Posted by prymel

The only downside relative to Irvine is that, in the fall during Santa Ana wind season, that whole East canyon area is a brush fire danger.

Thanks for the information, this never crossed my mind.

Originally Posted by mrsltd

As I am becoming fond of telling people, only SOME of Orange County is flashy. I don't think most of Yorba Linda or Irvine could be called "flashy". When I think of Irvine, the word "corporate" comes to mind, especially around the Spectrum. The older neighborhoods seem actually quite human, but I'd be afraid to fart in some of the newer developments. I'm sure the HOAs have rules against that sort of thing.

Thanks for the information, our main concern is if either of these two areas are "snobby." Where do you think Turtle Rock and Eastlake fall into this realm? My wife is afraid of falling into this "Real Housewives" type of community where everyone is fake and judgemental.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Asmth3432

My wife is afraid of falling into this "Real Housewives" type of community where everyone is fake and judgemental.

That's a TV show where they carefully cast "real people", then carefully edit their "lives" to tell the story the director wants to tell. Fearing OC because of a TV show like that is like being afraid to move anywhere in the Bay Area because "everyone is gay there". It makes no sense.