where would you live? (Long Beach, Santa Ana: crime rates, houses, neighborhood)

[nouni7]

Hi there,
I am hoping I can get some input on where to live...

Things that are the most important to us:
- good schools
- good commute (work will be in long beach and irvine)
The house doesn't have to be fancy/updated but I would like some kind of yard with grass for the kids to play (the bigger the yard the better).

Any ideas?
Thanks!!

[Joe Van Fossen]

What's the budget?

[CAVA1990]

I'd live near a park where other people pay for the big grassy play area.

[bhcompy]

Basically any city(or parts of) along the 405 except Santa Ana.

[Coldjensens]

Even parts of Santa Ana will be fine if you use private schools or OCHSA and its feeder elementary. (Some of the fundemental public schools are still ok as well).

Personally, I woudl probably buy a house in Sliverado Canyon. Not much yard but you have hte whole Cleveland National forest to play in. LIke anywhere, through there are trade offs, You have to plan shopping trips carefully and get everything you need at once. Also, I would want a sports car for commuting on the twisty road.

UNless you are wealthy - really wealthy- the only place you will get much of a yard is in older communities. However the older communities tends to have less good schools, slightly higher crime rates, etc. Many of the older communities have at least a couple of good high schools. Santa Ana has OCHSA and Matre Dei, Orange has El Durado, the Lutheren school and Villa Park (Canyon is apparently good too), Fullerton has Troy, Anaheim has Oxford (actually in an adjoining district).

[ragnarkar]

Cerritos, Cypress, La Palma would be ideal (for schools and commute.)

If your budget is limited, go with Garden Grove (would also be halfway between Irvine and Long Beach.)

[bowneline]

Where in Irvine? Whether you are talking about being near the airport, or out near the Irvine Spectrum can be a big difference, commute wise.

I suggest Los Alamitos: Close to Long Beach and not too far up the 405 from Irvine, depending on where you need to be in Irvine. Nice family neighborhood with ranch houses and yards. Not far from the beach. Great schools (I think they have the highest rated elementary school in OC).

Los Alamitos, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[nouni7]

Thanks all! Some new suggestions I hadn't thought about, so thanks for the input!
Work would be close to the airport in Irvine.
I would need occasional access to Mission Viejo (once a week), in addition to Long Beach - couple times a week and Irvine a couple times a week.
Budget is 600's and I would need at least 2,000 sq ft. A yard with a minimum of 5,000 sq ft would be great. I know I am asking for a lot... but... who knows what you guys can come up with...

[Coldjensens]

My guess is Mission Viejo may be a good bet. It is older so there may be some homes with larger lots in your price range. Homes with no front yard at all may have 5000 s.f. back yards. If your kids are artistically talented I would suggest you look at Orange Park acres and get them into OCHSA.

[Joe Van Fossen]

Mission Viejo is a good suggestion. Lake Forest could possibly work too. No matter where you choose though, the availability of homes meeting that criteria on the market is slim right now.