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Old 12-08-2012, 09:09 AM
 
2 posts, read 3,739 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello,

My family and I are moving to Orange County in July 2013. I will be working at UC Irvine for 2 years.
We are a young bilingual Spanish/French family (I'm French and my wife is Spanish) with a 3 years old little boy and we are looking for advice regarding housing areas and education.

Our initial idea was to rent a furnished flat/house in Irvine and we considered the French school Lycee International (LILA) in Santa Ana for our son. Until my wife finds a job, we can expect around 4,500$-5,000$ net income depending on the euro-dollar exchange rate as I'm paid in Europe (and pay taxes and SS there). It seems that the budget will be tight considering school fees (1000$/month), rent (2000$), a car, etc. What do you think?

Can anybody offer advice on where to live with that budget?

I heard that French children can get a French scholarship to cover school fees when living abroad. Does anybody have experience with LILA and/or the french scholarship?

Many thanks in advance.
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Old 12-08-2012, 09:40 AM
 
5,381 posts, read 8,688,440 times
Reputation: 4550
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg2CA View Post
Hello,

My family and I are moving to Orange County in July 2013. I will be working at UC Irvine for 2 years.
We are a young bilingual Spanish/French family (I'm French and my wife is Spanish) with a 3 years old little boy and we are looking for advice regarding housing areas and education.

Our initial idea was to rent a furnished flat/house in Irvine and we considered the French school Lycee International (LILA) in Santa Ana for our son. Until my wife finds a job, we can expect around 4,500$-5,000$ net income depending on the euro-dollar exchange rate as I'm paid in Europe (and pay taxes and SS there). It seems that the budget will be tight considering school fees (1000$/month), rent (2000$), a car, etc. What do you think?

Can anybody offer advice on where to live with that budget?

I heard that French children can get a French scholarship to cover school fees when living abroad. Does anybody have experience with LILA and/or the french scholarship?

Many thanks in advance.
That's an extremely challenging budget. I can't help with any info about LILA, but you might be able to save on rent by leasing an apartment in nearby Lake Forest, or Laguna Hills. There are one bedrooms listed from about $1280 and two bedrooms that start at around $1500. Irvine rents are the second highest in OC.

Laguna Niguel is another option. I have a friend who recently signed a lease on a renovated one bedroom in LN with a great view and pays about $1345/month.

Given that you are overseas, using a realtor might be your best bet.
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Old 12-08-2012, 10:15 AM
 
Location: LA/OC
1,083 posts, read 2,170,652 times
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With a net income of $4500-5000 a month and $1000 of that going to the school, you probably won't want to budget $2000 for your rental. That won't leave you with much room for gas, groceries and other expenses, let alone saving for emergencies (remember our health care system is very different here)...

As pacific said, finding a place in Lake Forest or Laguna Hills will save you a lot over Irvine. Other areas worth taking a look at could be Tustin, Orange or the South Coast Metro area (Costa Mesa/Santa Ana).
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Old 12-08-2012, 11:20 AM
 
2 posts, read 3,739 times
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Thank you, both, for your prompt responses!

The idea was to find a place at a biking distance from work (UC Irvine campus) to save money on gas. Don't you think that the money I would save finding a place in these cheaper areas would be spent on gas & 2nd car? Plus, the time in traffic and time driving.

LILA school in Santa Ana is probably an option only if we can get a scholarship or if my wife finds a job. Otherwise, we might need to find a cheaper school/kindergarten. Since our son does not speak English, we are afraid he might have language/integration difficulties...
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Old 12-08-2012, 12:01 PM
 
Location: LA/OC
1,083 posts, read 2,170,652 times
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A second car and gas could run you about $400-500 a month, so you would definitely be saving on that if you lived closer. You might also want to look into this: International French American School Of Irvine - Irvine

There's a handful of 2 bedrooms rentals in Irvine going between 1650-1800 right now, so you likely won't have to spend the max $2000/mo budget.
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Old 12-09-2012, 08:26 AM
 
Location: Everywhere and Nowhere
14,129 posts, read 31,253,676 times
Reputation: 6920
The university has a housing program for staff and faculty. You may want to reach out to them for assistance:

Faculty and Staff Housing Program at the University of California, Irvine
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Old 12-11-2012, 12:53 AM
 
671 posts, read 1,190,621 times
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Did you investigate if the UC Irvine housing for faculty and some employees was an option for you? You pay, but it is less than the private market, and it is just up the hill from the campus and just over the hill from Newport Beach. While UC Irvine is a victim of 1960's planning and examples of brutalist architecture and a lack character to the cookie cutter homes and shopping centers in the area (the better looking buildings on campus with flair were built only in the last 20 years) The Newport Beach area is a beautiful part of south Orange County and just minutes away. Your proximity to Newport Beach and the rest of south Orange County is what will make it worth it.
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Old 12-13-2012, 09:16 AM
 
Location: MO->MI->CA->TX->MA
7,032 posts, read 14,483,506 times
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Let's see.. you'll be working at UC Irvine.. your son will be going to school in Santa Ana (hopefully).

Since the public transportation here isn't great, you'll need at least 1 car no matter where you live.

Irvine is a much better area than Santa Ana and not significantly more expensive in rent so I'll suggest living within walking distance of UCI.

Living somewhere cheaper and getting a second car is definitely an option you could consider but keep in mind these budgets:

1) A reliable used car will generally go for $3000+.
2) Insurance will be about $50 - $150/mo depending on whether they will consider your driving record in Europe.
3) Gas will be about $50 - 100/mo.

Taking advice from your own countryman on the Frugal Forums ( //www.city-data.com/forum/fruga...f-you-can.html ), I'm still leaning towards the 1 car and live near UCI option.

Welcome to the US!
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Old 12-16-2012, 07:56 PM
 
Location: Corona del Mar, CA - Coronado, CA
4,477 posts, read 3,301,369 times
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Get them into any public school in CA and Spanish won't be a problem. You can teach them French at home. If you send him to public school in Irvine he can pick up Mandarin as well.
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Old 01-03-2013, 05:37 PM
 
72 posts, read 200,866 times
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I am french and have moved in the US 9 years ago for 3 years... You had our 5 year old enroll in a US school and she did fine, it was though for the first 4 months but the school had ESL ( English as a second Language) and that helped a lot. This will save you a lot and you can always get the CNED to teach french at home if you want.
Good luck and you do need a car in the US very difficult to move around in buses, train etc...
Pecosbill
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