Advice on specific neighborhoods (but in quite a few cities in S. Orange) (Irvine: rental)

[sahara910]

Hey all again
After much consideration we decided to rent a house and my husband has left today to begin his new job in Aliso Viejo.
We are used to living in the burbs of Atlanta & Tampa. We usually go as far away as is a comfortable commute to get more land/ house per $ and still be within good shopping/ dining out & recreation to do it regularly. It seems though that in CA more land/ house is relative as it comes at a much higher premium than FL/ GA obviously.
We are looking on Trulia/ Craigs List & the MLS for a home rental (found a realtor and I will fly out this weekend to look). We would like larger and updated and have found a couple listings in Tustin, RSM, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Irvine, Mission Viejo & Coto De Caza & sometimes I see one in Ladera Ranch. Seems like most all of the schools in these areas score between 8 - 10 on greatschools. So I guess I am looking for some recommendations on neighborhoods or even areas in those cities taking into account the drive to Aliso. I have a daughter in 7th (big into band & drama), a 5th grade son (big into fishing both lakes & oceans) & an almost 4 year old who I would want to get into a good preschool.
Now here's the nutty part: I am genuine concerned (and maybe I am off based and reading too much into what I am seeing online) about the schools in Irvine being "too good" and "too high pressure" I love Asian culture & my daughter secretly wishes she was Japanese lol, but it seems there is a concern of Irvine being heavily Asian (and super smart ones at that) and maybe my kids will not keep up (smart kids but have been schooled in 2 of the lowest performing states academically and still only pull Bs.. not gifted etc....) Am I nuts to even worry about that??? I have never worried about a school being too good before...
Besides that would love a neighborhood with a pool & tennis area and maybe some planned activities (Easter egg hunts etc) and nearby to Recreation activities, like parks/ baseball and so on. Don't mind a commute but hopefully less than 45 min at 6 pm.... Any insight before I book some appointments?
Thanks for all your help in advance

[loveorangecounty]

I think you are wise to question Irvine schools being "too good/kids too smart". I lived in Irvine for a very short time in between houses and loved the area but my kids were not in school yet. I do have friends who live in Irvine but are zoned for the Tustin School District (Beckman HS) and what they are not happy with is that the kids in their neighborhood have never socialized with each other. Their neighborhood is predominately asian and she says they are so booked with tutors, kumon, music lessons etc. that you don't see kids out playing outside. We live in Ladera Ranch and are very happy with the area and schools although land is not something you will usually find in your backyard. Although there are a lot of pocket parks, hiking trails, a beautiful sports park, water park and community activities all at your fingertips. Ladera Ranch is about 15 minutes from Aliso Viejo without traffic, could be up to 30 if traffic was bad. Coto de Caza would have more open space and depending on the house maybe more land but probably very expensive. All of the cities you mentioned would be good as far as schools and commute time. It probably just depends on personal preference on houses.

[sahara910]

I love the look of Ladera Ranch but we want to stay at or below $3800/ mo rent... I only found 1 4 bedroom. I always worry that with renting they will want to increase the rent or will end up wanting to sell their home and we will have to move. Was hoping to find a couple options so if we had to move we could afford another in the same area (even if those specific homes weren't available then).

[Electrician4you]

Are you renting a detached SFR or townhouse/condo?

[sahara910]

Detached SF

[Electrician4you]

Most LL tend to do a yearly increase. There are some who don't. Irvine USD is competitive. Seriously i think parents are more competitive than the kids are. I don't know much about south OC. I can tell you that at 6 pm you can range about 15-20 miles distance in your 45 min drive requirement if you use your husbands job address as the center point... That's fairly peak rush hr. It's all blown to hell if there is a good wreck.

[Cheektowaga_Chester]

Originally Posted by sahara910

my husband has left today to begin his new job in Aliso Viejo.

We are looking on Trulia/ Craigs List & the MLS for a home rental
looking for some recommendations on neighborhoods or even areas in those cities taking into account the drive to Aliso.
daughter in 7th (big into band & drama), a 5th grade son (big into fishing both lakes & oceans) & an almost 4 year old who I would want to get into a good preschool.

Any insight before I book some appointments?
Thanks for all your help in advance

I don't know why you just don't look in Aliso Viejo itself or the next cities on the AV border just for more selection.

[goozer]

Refreshing to hear OP refer to her kids as average. In the real world, most kids are. But in Irvine, probably 80% of the families work overtime to get their kids into gifted programs (and certainly consider their kids gifted even if they elect not to put their kids in advanced programs "for their own well being"). I lived in Irvine for a year and I think the hyper competitiveness is a little much. Some of it is cultural. Some of it is self selection where the families that choose to live there want that environment and do so primarily for the schools.

[sahara910]

Thank you all we found a house in Coto and signed for 2 years so hopefully all will be well for the average offspring (all special in their own way of course!!!)