Decent living cost in Aliso Viejo (San Diego, Laguna Niguel: for sale, real estate, apartments)

[kubicem]

I offers a job in Alison Viejo with gross salary of 130K annually. I have a son in 5th grade and a new born daughter. I wonder if we can have a proper life in Alison Viejo. We plan to rent an apartment with 3 bedrooms and we are open for advises.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by kubicem

I offers a job in Alison Viejo with gross salary of 130K annually. I have a son in 5th grade and a new born daughter. I wonder if we can have a proper life in Alison Viejo. We plan to rent an apartment with 3 bedrooms and we are open for advises.

Welcome. You will have no problem making it in Aliso Viejo. Three bedroom condominiums start at about $2400/month and SFR's at around $3000/month:
http:Find Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Apartments & Houses for Rent - realtor.com®



Other child-relevant things to know (Maybe more than you want, or maybe you already know these things ):

• The beach (at Laguna Beach) is 10-15 minutes away, depending upon where you live.
• There are about 23 parks inside the city.
• Aliso Viejo (AV) is very safe and kid-friendly.
• The schools are very good.
• AV is only about 7.5 sq miles in area, so its easy to make it from one activity to another.
• AV sponsors a number of free outdoor children's activities all year round.
• Kids seem to like to attend the annual Founder's Day festivities at the Aliso Viejo Ranch.
• AV has free outdoor movie nights during the summer months.
• The movies are located at Town Center. You'll also find an ice cream parlor, grocery stores, TJ's, etc. there.
• You can find both a Barnes and Noble bookstore, and the city library at Town Center.The library is on Journey, located a bit away from the shops.
• Indoor sports activities for kids, teens and adults: Aliso Viejo Ice Palace (Skating and ice hockey); Azarian National Gymnastics Center and Renaissance Club Sport. Of course, adults can also go to 24 Hour Fitness, etc.
• Kids seem to love watching the dogs romp around at PetSmart's PetsHotel. They have large windows, and the dogs can sometimes be seen at play. Parents often take their kids there to see them, or the other animals and fish on display. Some adults even stroll inside just to enjoy the animals.
• There is outdoor swimming at the AV Aquatic Center. I think it's open from about May-September. Additionally, your development will likely have its own swimming pool.
• There are tons of acting, martial arts, dance and other classes available at Town Center, but you would never know it because its usually on the second floor; and signage is strictly limited.
• There is an Urgent Care Center (for occasional scrapes, bumps and bruises) at Town Center.
• Saddleback Hospital, hopefully you will never need it, is about 1.5 miles away from AV.
• Emergency response time in AV is excellent.
• The closest Costco is about 1-2.0 miles away in Laguna Niguel.
• More info can be found at the city's website:City of Aliso Viejo > Home
• Just one more note about Town Center, especially important if you and yours want a local night out, it can be very crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. There is now valet parking available to help deal with this problem.

Other questions?

[pacific2]

I almost forgot another huge recreational perk for this area, Aliso and Wood Canyons. Even though there are some mountain lions and rattlers, you can also go on an organized and very safe tot botanical walk, so that your kids could really have a chance to know nature.


Aliso and Wood Canyon Wilderness Park - Wcities - YouTube

[kubicem]

Thank you for the information, great insight. Is there any school you can suggest ? My son's English is at beginner level and he needs to adapt to school and his friends. Is there any school offering an adaption program.

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by kubicem

Thank you for the information, great insight. Is there any school you can suggest ? My son's English is at beginner level and he needs to adapt to school and his friends. Is there any school offering an adaption program.

I understand your concerns, and there are definitely plenty of bilingual kids in the city. Most Aliso Viejo kids attend schools within the Capistrano Unified School District, and you may be able to get immersion program information from this site:
Capistrano Unified School District: Language Immersion Programs

Hopefully, others who are more knowledgeable about the topic will also chime in to help you.

[bigdaddy5]

$130k a year should be fine. In San Diego, making $100k is the minimum to afford a home. I don't expect it to be much different for you in OC. Just be selective and find something that won't break the budget.

[8to32characters]

Are you married? Is $130k your personal or household income?

[meameame12]

130k goes fast. 130k is around 4600-5000 take home a month

you probably can qualify for a loan around 640k so if you put 20% down then house price is around 800k
assuming no debt, of course

and this runs around 3500 a mth so imho you are strapped unless you find a house around 700k which means mthly payment is 3000 or so--not great but better

[meameame12]

Hi, just a few follow-ups, if you don't mind. BTW, AV is awesome. Totally beautiful area!

So...we are here right now...with 2 days remaining for house-hunting...

Is there capacity for new students or is there redistricting in AV school district? Accd to our realtor, there is plenty of capacity, and there is no redistricting, and ... some AV offers *some* public busing to some schools...but she needs to confirm this. Any idea?

Also...Do you know if there are there fires in this area? We see a lot on the media at home in NJ---so we are not sure if these areas are either susceptible or evacuated....we met with a realtor yesterday and we asked her about areas with:

mudslides
smog
drought
fire
earthquake

as we are from NJ.

she said mudslides are only on the coast, so no concern.
said smog never hits this area -- its just around LA itself + the SF valley
said drought is everywhere--entire state
said fire hits this area because there are a lot of trees + drought
said earthquake hits everywhere in CA, but AV is not on the fault line -- so no real serious issue so far

Her point re. fires were that MV is a better fit--or Rancho SM or Foothill Ranch--if that is a concern because there is much less vegetation to burn.

Also...is the weather in AV cooler than MV AV is closer to the coast? we always hear that on average its 10 degrees cooler in both summer/winter on the coast versus inland, and that inland is way too hot...im not sure if this is true or not, but still, would be good to know.

thanks!

Originally Posted by pacific2

Welcome. You will have no problem making it in Aliso Viejo. Three bedroom condominiums start at about $2400/month and SFR's at around $3000/month:
http:Find Real Estate, Homes for Sale, Apartments & Houses for Rent - realtor.com®



Other child-relevant things to know (Maybe more than you want, or maybe you already know these things ):

• The beach (at Laguna Beach) is 10-15 minutes away, depending upon where you live.
• There are about 23 parks inside the city.
• Aliso Viejo (AV) is very safe and kid-friendly.
• The schools are very good.
• AV is only about 7.5 sq miles in area, so its easy to make it from one activity to another.
• AV sponsors a number of free outdoor children's activities all year round.
• Kids seem to like to attend the annual Founder's Day festivities at the Aliso Viejo Ranch.
• AV has free outdoor movie nights during the summer months.
• The movies are located at Town Center. You'll also find an ice cream parlor, grocery stores, TJ's, etc. there.
• You can find both a Barnes and Noble bookstore, and the city library at Town Center.The library is on Journey, located a bit away from the shops.
• Indoor sports activities for kids, teens and adults: Aliso Viejo Ice Palace (Skating and ice hockey); Azarian National Gymnastics Center and Renaissance Club Sport. Of course, adults can also go to 24 Hour Fitness, etc.
• Kids seem to love watching the dogs romp around at PetSmart's PetsHotel. They have large windows, and the dogs can sometimes be seen at play. Parents often take their kids there to see them, or the other animals and fish on display. Some adults even stroll inside just to enjoy the animals.
• There is outdoor swimming at the AV Aquatic Center. I think it's open from about May-September. Additionally, your development will likely have its own swimming pool.
• There are tons of acting, martial arts, dance and other classes available at Town Center, but you would never know it because its usually on the second floor; and signage is strictly limited.
• There is an Urgent Care Center (for occasional scrapes, bumps and bruises) at Town Center.
• Saddleback Hospital, hopefully you will never need it, is about 1.5 miles away from AV.
• Emergency response time in AV is excellent.
• The closest Costco is about 1-2.0 miles away in Laguna Niguel.
• More info can be found at the city's website:City of Aliso Viejo > Home
• Just one more note about Town Center, especially important if you and yours want a local night out, it can be very crowded on Friday and Saturday nights. There is now valet parking available to help deal with this problem.

Other questions?

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by meameame12

Hi, just a few follow-ups, if you don't mind. BTW, AV is awesome. Totally beautiful area!

So...we are here right now...with 2 days remaining for house-hunting...

Is there capacity for new students or is there redistricting in AV school district? Accd to our realtor, there is plenty of capacity, and there is no redistricting, and ... some AV offers *some* public busing to some schools...but she needs to confirm this. Any idea?

Also...Do you know if there are there fires in this area? We see a lot on the media at home in NJ---so we are not sure if these areas are either susceptible or evacuated....we met with a realtor yesterday and we asked her about areas with:

mudslides
smog
drought
fire
earthquake

as we are from NJ.

she said mudslides are only on the coast, so no concern.
said smog never hits this area -- its just around LA itself + the SF valley
said drought is everywhere--entire state
said fire hits this area because there are a lot of trees + drought
said earthquake hits everywhere in CA, but AV is not on the fault line -- so no real serious issue so far

Her point re. fires were that MV is a better fit--or Rancho SM or Foothill Ranch--if that is a concern because there is much less vegetation to burn.

Also...is the weather in AV cooler than MV AV is closer to the coast? we always hear that on average its 10 degrees cooler in both summer/winter on the coast versus inland, and that inland is way too hot...im not sure if this is true or not, but still, would be good to know.

thanks!

I'm glad you like AV and I will try to answer a few of your questions. Mudslides are rare in AV because engineers took care to take steps to minimize that possibility when the city was being developed. On occasion, you may here of minor slope damage, but the city then acts quickly to make needed repairs.

I guess there is smog all over Southern CA, but we never experience anything like the weird stuff you see in LA. What you are seeing while here is typical for this area.

Unfortunately, drought is a problem for the entire state. AV is very actively green-friendly, and is in the process of removing water thirsty plants and replacing them with those that are drought tolerant. For example, take a look at the median on Aliso Creek Road near Town Center. It's fairly new, and the city deliberately placed drought tolerant plants there.

There are plants and trees everywhere and we get slope fires on rare occasion, but they are quickly extinguished (Fire Dept is at Town Center) and are not of major concern. I think the few small fires we do have start on dry brush slopes. I fail to see how MV, RSM or Foothill Ranch would have less of a problem with this since they also have plenty of vegetation. That said, we never have the major fires you view on television, although the entire region can be overcast if there is a fire nearby in say, northern San Diego County.

AV has never been at the epicenter of an earthquake, but we are just as likely as anyplace else in this region to feel one that has occurred far away; and to also experience aftershocks. Still, the city is relatively new and buildings are up to code.

Regarding the weather in AV, it usually feels much cooler here than in MV and RSM.

I can't answer the question about AV's ability to take on more students, but maybe someone else can chime in with that information.

My understanding is that school transportation is very limited throughout the entire region. I see kids waiting for buses, but I don't know if their parents must pay an extra fee for that service. Check this for more information:
Capistrano Unified School District: Transportation Services

Happy House Hunting!