Irvine vs Newport Beach (Orange, Costa Mesa: rentals, neighborhood, buy)

[LAexplant]

Thank you. Agree beach beats mall any day.
I had heard some claim that Irvine schools were far better than NB, in which case education would trump the beach, but it does not sound like that is the case.
I would also like a good neighborhood feeling were people know their neighbors, kids hang out after school, do sports together, carpool etc.
Since we have never lived in OC before my initial plan is to lease a home for a year, then ideally buy in same area so we don't switch schools again.

[LuvSouthOC]

I am curious as to why you chose only Irvine and Newport Beach as destinations.

[LAexplant]

Not too far south, close proximity to 405 as husband will still need to travel to LA, good schools, safe neighborhoods, sports for kids
I may be missing some areas... Let me know your thoughts

[NativeOrange]

Originally Posted by LAexplant

Not too far south, close proximity to 405 as husband will still need to travel to LA, good schools, safe neighborhoods, sports for kids
I may be missing some areas... Let me know your thoughts

Like others have said, Huntington Beach is a pretty good option and it's very family friendly for the most part. Schools are "ok", not great or terrible, but housing will be much cheaper than Irvine or Newport. I grew up and currently reside very close to here, so I may have a hometown bias.

One piece of advice if you look at Huntington Beach...if you lease first, stick to the Single Family Residences. The apartments, aside from the few built in the last 5 years, are pretty outdated and not so nice. They are mostly concentrated in the northeast portion of the city.

The SFH hoods were all tract homes at one point, so they are all very similar in floor plans and sq footage, but each neighborhood will be slightly different, and 40-50 years have gone by since they were originally constructed so they all look different from upgrades, and you would never know they were originally just "boxes made of ticky-tacky".

Each one of these walled off neighborhoods in HB's almost perfect street grid has a park and/or elementary/middle school tucked inside.

[veritasveritas]

I would go look at La Palma, Cerritos.

[glowinthedark]

Originally Posted by LAexplant

Thank you. Agree beach beats mall any day.
I had heard some claim that Irvine schools were far better than NB, in which case education would trump the beach, but it does not sound like that is the case.
I would also like a good neighborhood feeling were people know their neighbors, kids hang out after school, do sports together, carpool etc.
Since we have never lived in OC before my initial plan is to lease a home for a year, then ideally buy in same area so we don't switch schools again.

There's plenty of neighborhood feeling in Irvine too. I suppose it just depends on whether you think you fit in the neighborhood. Roy Andersen (port streets) elementary is something like 95% white. That's why we decided against it; thought it was too homogeneous.

[blam]

Originally Posted by LAexplant

Not too far south, close proximity to 405 as husband will still need to travel to LA, good schools, safe neighborhoods, sports for kids
I may be missing some areas... Let me know your thoughts

I'd rather kill myself than commute to LA from newport beach every day. You better rethink your plan.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by NativeOrange

Irvine is primarily upper middle class asian families. This leads to schools there being extremely competitive. Be that as it may, white families have been pulling there kids out of these schools because of how intense it has been getting.
The New White Flight - WSJ

The "new" white flight? That article was written a decade ago.

[NewbieHere]

My brother's kids went to Newport public schools. I think my brother advised me against Irvine but at the time I didn't listen to him. The TR neighborhood is very competitive. I would go with Newport, less competitive. All his kids did graduate as valedictorians and lots of ECs. The reverse would be true had they went to University High, TR neighborhood.

[NativeOrange]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

The "new" white flight? That article was written a decade ago.

It was meant with a grain of salt because of that, however the same holds true today. I work in the heart of Irvine with over 1,000 local families every week. I hear this from their first hand experiences.