After House Hunting in OC ... (San Diego, Huntington Beach: houses, neighborhoods, schools)

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

Also, no offense, but Miami would give you more for your money. It's in FLA. Long summers. It's in FLA. Humid. It's in FLA...
...Sounds like you enjoy living in Miami-but I'm just sayin'.....My $.02.

Should we tell her that Laguna Beach has its share of Section 8 housing, a few run-down looking areas on Laguna Canyon Road, and some homeless folks?

You can't beat perfection , so Florida does sound like the best fit for her.

[marcellamiami]

Yes I looked at Laguna Hills High and the area was nice. If I went inland, Nellie Gail would be my first choice.

No I didn't look at San Juan Capristano. I don't think their high school rates well?

I got mixed reviews of Los Almitos? Didn't look there.

My husband keeps saying lets just live where we want or can afford more house and pay for private school but then you have to choose:
A- Buy a bigger cheaper house and pay for private school for 2 kids for 8 years
B- Buy a smaller more expensive house in a great school zone (which I think will appreciate more)

Miami=fun
and yes it's hot... so you just stay wet if you are outside, pool, warm ocean, sandbars, etc. But Miami is very diverse too and many areas are seedy too. Actually many nice areas are bordered by seedy neighborhoods. I basically live next to the ghetto. Sick of it. Druggies, strip joints, homeless, not safe... My girls are coming into teenage years so I would like to get away from that if I can. Kids can't even ride a bike too far without me.

Yes one home I saw that I loved was in TOP OF THE WORLD area. Up the hill but on flat land and near the park and trail. A beautiful oasis. I will have to add higher insurance to the cost of living in Laguna Beach. How is this area for families?

Does the traffic for day to day life with kids make Laguna Beach impractical? What do locals do for parking when they run their errands?

Laguna Beach won my heart but Newport Beach may be more practical for day to day family life?

[DinsdalePirahna]

SoCal certainly does not have the lushness of green vegetation that you find on the east coast. I do miss that.
But we also do not have high humidity and bugs.

[scgali]

Originally Posted by marcellamiami

Yes I looked at Laguna Hills High and the area was nice. If I went inland, Nellie Gail would be my first choice.

No I didn't look at San Juan Capristano. I don't think their high school rates well?

I got mixed reviews of Los Almitos? Didn't look there.

My husband keeps saying lets just live where we want or can afford more house and pay for private school but then you have to choose:
A- Buy a bigger cheaper house and pay for private school for 2 kids for 8 years
B- Buy a smaller more expensive house in a great school zone (which I think will appreciate more)

Miami=fun
and yes it's hot... so you just stay wet if you are outside, pool, warm ocean, sandbars, etc. But Miami is very diverse too and many areas are seedy too. Actually many nice areas are bordered by seedy neighborhoods. I basically live next to the ghetto. Sick of it. Druggies, strip joints, homeless, not safe... My girls are coming into teenage years so I would like to get away from that if I can. Kids can't even ride a bike too far without me.

Yes one home I saw that I loved was in TOP OF THE WORLD area. Up the hill but on flat land and near the park and trail. A beautiful oasis. I will have to add higher insurance to the cost of living in Laguna Beach. How is this area for families?

Does the traffic for day to day life with kids make Laguna Beach impractical? What do locals do for parking when they run their errands?

Laguna Beach won my heart but Newport Beach may be more practical for day to day family life?

You will love Laguna. Residents can purchase permits for parking so you won't have to pay the parking meters all the time. Permits are $80 for 2 years for first 2 per household, then price increase to $150 each after that. The top of the world is very nice with amazing views. Yes it is a big hill but you will get used to it. Flat land is a plus as well. It sounds like you found your home
There definitely is going to be traffic and sometimes no way around it. BUT you will learn the good times to run your errands as well as the best routes to take. It is easier to drive around Newport but if you feel more connected to Laguna I say go for it! It is a great area for families as well. The city puts on many fun events.

[LuvSouthOC]

Ok, here are my 2 cents, or my dime, as the case may be. Laguna Beach, we can all agree, is fantastic. I am not disputing the good points. But here is why I don't think it will work for you:

Commute time/traffic
On a good day, the way up to the Top of the World is a fairly long drive which requires some care, and therefore, takes time to even get to. Add to this the fact that already hard-to-reach Laguna Beach suffers frequent back ups on PCH and the 133, and therefore, hubby had better like it a lot if he's going to spend that much time on the road.

Teenage daughters
I assume they already drive, or will soon. Do you really want them driving up and down that hill? I will leave it to your imagination to guess what I am talking about.

Costco/big box
I assume you shop at these stores. If not, which is unlikely, please disregard. But if you need access to more price concious stores such as Target, Costco, Walmart, Sprouts etc., you will find that you must make frequent trips to Laguna Niguel, or Aliso and Laguna Hills. Unless you are wealthy and have no use for these stores, you may grow tired of not having these nearby. I heard this very thing from a friend who used to live off of Nye's Place. She got sick and tired of the drive. Be aware that each one-way drive to a place like Laguna Niguel that has these stores can take you at least 15 minutes with no traffic.

Climate/outdoors
Let's just tell it like it is. We all love Laguna Beach. However, let me remind you about the climate. The water here is not like Florida, it's cold. Therefore, if you or your girls enjoy the outdoors including swimming, you'd need a swimming pool. And you are not getting a swimming pool in LB for 1.5 million. And if you did, expect giant heating expenses since Laguna Beach is pretty chilly.

Moreover, I am not sure if you realize this, but Top of the World is often entirely covered by clouds, and not infrequently, has dense fog. I just want you to be aware of this. Four miles inland and one avoids these issues. It is also quite windy. One often wears a jacket for much of the day in summer up there.

Little itsy bitsy house
Do you really see yourself living in a cottage? Is that realistic? Will there be places for you and hubby to park? Will the girls, when they get older, have a place to park? Will the girls get their own rooms?

Newport is more realistic geographically for your husband to commute, but some of the same problems i.e. price will become apparent.

And then there is Nellie Gail or other areas you weren't thrilled about. Nellie Gail makes the most sense in my opinion, just as I said some weeks ago. You see, we all start at the beach and see what we can get here and there, often ending up just a few miles Island. I think you might come to the same conclusion. I will wait patiently and see.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

And then there is Nellie Gail or other areas you weren't thrilled about. Nellie Gail makes the most sense in my opinion, just as I said some weeks ago. You see, we all start at the beach and see what we can get here and there, often ending up just a few miles Island. I think you might come to the same conclusion. I will wait patiently and see.

Agree. There are some absolutely gorgeous homes in Nellie Gail Ranch and no, you don't have to have horse to live there.

[marcellamiami]

I hear you and I totally get it. In the end practicality (or my husband) might win We might have to give in and go inland to get more house. Thing is, I have already lived that, a great big house with all the maintenance that goes with it. Smaller seems so appealing to me now and how often do we get a chance to reevaluate and start all over? I don't know, but I'm leaning towards being impractical and following my heart. We only have one life to live no? And if we hate it, then we can always sell the house and move inland. It will always be there.

Will keep you posted. Need to sell my high maintenance, large, architecturally unique, waterfront, pool home in Miami before I can afford my tiny cottage on the hill in California! If the sell doesn't go as expected, inland it is after all. Wish me luck!

[goozer]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

Well, I do think san clemente and dana point have that old-school seedy vibe mixed in with the newer stuff and gentrification aspect. They both have old surf town, old CA aspect to them. Similar to Leucadia area of Encinitas in SD.

But yea, not really super seedy but decidedly not LB or NB.
OP: C'mon now-Laguna Beach!!!!! Live all of our dreams for us! [okay, not everyone, but some of us. Incredible little town that really WAS/IS an artist's colony to begin with. Reminds me of Santa Barbara in that way-where although it's quite affluent, it has a lot of character and authenticity to it, b/c they take their art, design and architecture seriously. Not just wealthy for wealth's sake/not flashy.]

Also, no offense, but Miami would give you more for your money. It's in FLA. Long summers. It's in FLA. Humid. It's in FLA.

In OC, you can be outdoors year round comfortably in OC. LA, and SD are day trips at your doorstep. In less than 8 hours drive or 1 hour flight, you are visiting SF or napa/sonoma wine country. A few hours to world famous places like Joshua Tree, Sequoia national park, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, Big Bear for skiing. Day's drive to AZ/grand canyon/sedona, tucson, zion national park, etc etc etc. It's worth the premium, IMO.

Sounds like you enjoy living in Miami-but I'm just sayin'.....My $.02.

Good luck and enjoy your move!

This really nails what is so great about living in Southern California. Is it perfect? No. But it is a pretty great place to live if you like spending time outdoors.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by goozer

This really nails what is so great about living in Southern California. Is it perfect? No. But it is a pretty great place to live if you like spending time outdoors.

Yeah, I have to admit, Irmsd has a way with words. I suggest a career in sales for Irmsd! Just don't mention Carmel Valley/Torrey Pines in San Diego. (Which by the way I like!)

[DewDropInn]

Well, that's the first time I've ever heard Dana Point described as "seedy".