Possible relocation to OC from East Coast - any advice? (Santa Ana: transplants, apartment)

[mikieguns]

First of all - thank you in advance! Considering a possible family relocation for a job opportunity for a few years and it would be a BIG change, going coast to coast. Never been to OC (only LA). Am planning a visit in advance to check out the area and prospective places to live. Any advice would be appreciated! Some background info and key criteria:

1. Looking for good family town (we have small kids) - safe, good school system, etc.
2. A walkable area would be nice but I have no idea how it is out there. We currently live in a small town with a nice main street and a small town community feel, but we are not far to access major metro areas either. So it is a nice balance. Not sure if we can find a similar vibe or not in OC. At the very least would like to be a close drive to retail, restaurants, good medical care, parks etc.
3. Not too far from the coast / beach would be a plus! Again, the ability to walk sounds ideal but might be too much to ask for or out of budget (or bad commute). A 15 - 20 minute drive to the beach would be fine.
4. Commute - I would prefer to keep it under 30 minutes (with traffic). This is important to me as I do not want to spend hours on the road in traffic. The job location would be in Santa Ana, southeast side near Irvine.
5. Would likely be looking to rent a nice condo or townhome, maybe 2 or 3 BR as I doubt we will find a single family home in a decent price range ($2000 - $2500 a month or so should work). Plus apartment / condo complexes tend to have nice, convenient amenities (pool, gym, etc) which would help.

In my initial visit I am planning to drive around, test out some commutes, and visit some towns. Irvine is the first one on my list and is where we will be staying, as it seems very central to everything else and also appears to be a desirable town to live in with a short commute to work. It looks big though - I am not sure if some areas are more desired than others. I would love to check out something closer to the coast as well, perhaps Newport Beach area.

Thanks!!

[LuvSouthOC]

How about Tustin?

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-50260#photo13

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by mikieguns

First of all - thank you in advance! Considering a possible family relocation for a job opportunity for a few years and it would be a BIG change, going coast to coast. Never been to OC (only LA). Am planning a visit in advance to check out the area and prospective places to live. Any advice would be appreciated! Some background info and key criteria:

1. Looking for good family town (we have small kids) - safe, good school system, etc.

Most cities are ok for families, they ALL have good and bad points.


2. A walkable area would be nice but I have no idea how it is out there. We currently live in a small town with a nice main street and a small town community feel, but we are not far to access major metro areas either. So it is a nice balance. Not sure if we can find a similar vibe or not in OC. At the very least would like to be a close drive to retail, restaurants, good medical care, parks etc.

Walkability is really not something that’s gonna happen in most OC cities as none have a traditional “downtown” area. There are plenty of walkable places but most shopping places are clustered in malls or strip malls so as long as you don’t mind driving you can shop. But walking to go shopping is not really happening here for the most part.. You’ll be close to all that retail restaurants medical care etc. it’s just not going to be all next to your house. There can be shops within walking distance but it’s not prevalent



3. Not too far from the coast / beach would be a plus! Again, the ability to walk sounds ideal but might be too much to ask for or out of budget (or bad commute). A 15 - 20 minute drive to the beach would be fine.

You’re looking at Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Seal Beach. We have rentals in costal cities and they are all either beach close or within 8 miles of the coast. Unless you’re going to Irvine which isn’t beach close.



4. Commute - I would prefer to keep it under 30 minutes (with traffic). This is important to me as I do not want to spend hours on the road in traffic. The job location would be in Santa Ana, southeast side near Irvine.

You’re going to be pretty limited to the cities I listed above unless you’re going to do Irvine



5. Would likely be looking to rent a nice condo or townhome, maybe 2 or 3 BR as I doubt we will find a single family home in a decent price range ($2000 - $2500 a month or so should work). Plus apartment / condo complexes tend to have nice, convenient amenities (pool, gym, etc) which would help.

That’s pretty much going to be close to impossible if it’s even feasible for a townhouse. You may swing a condo in the 20/2500 range but a townhouse or SFR will be tougher. Right now rentals are trending up too.

In my initial visit I am planning to drive around, test out some commutes, and visit some towns. Irvine is the first one on my list and is where we will be staying, as it seems very central to everything else and also appears to be a desirable town to live in with a short commute to work. It looks big though - I am not sure if some areas are more desired than others. I would love to check out something closer to the coast as well, perhaps Newport Beach area.

You’re going to have a tough time find8ng cheap townhouse in Irvine.

Thanks!!

Personally my advice

Live as close to work as you can afford to. You wont be going to the beach that much.

What can and may work against you is you’re a transplant. Lots of LL do not want to deal with transplants with new jobs or not ready to move in immediately. Some LLs do work with out of staters.

[loveorangecounty]

Take a look at Ladera Ranch. It has a very strong community feel and somewhat walkable to a few places. It is about 15-20 minutes drive to the beach but probably longer than 30 minutes to Santa Ana at rush hour. Also you would probably need to increase your budget to live in Ladera Ranch.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by loveorangecounty

Take a look at Ladera Ranch. It has a very strong community feel and somewhat walkable to a few places. It is about 15-20 minutes drive to the beach but probably longer than 30 minutes to Santa Ana at rush hour. Also you would probably need to increase your budget to live in Ladera Ranch.

5. Would likely be looking to rent a nice condo or townhome, maybe 2 or 3 BR as I doubt we will find a single family home in a decent price range ($2000 - $2500 a month or so should work).

So you're saying #5 is possible in Ladera Ranch?

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by Fern Stimulus

Ladera Ranch 15-20 from the beach? LOL maybe at 2am in the morning but no way in the day time. More like 30-35 minutes

Yes, Ladera Beach is about 20 minutes to the beach and not at 2AM.

[SportyandMisty]

You can get what you want if you increase your budget. Ask for a raise.

[mikieguns]

Thanks all! Actually I see a lot of condos in this price range. I could likely take it up a little if needed, or perhaps for a townhome. I will do research.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by mikieguns

Thanks all! Actually I see a lot of condos in this price range. I could likely take it up a little if needed, or perhaps for a townhome. I will do research.

Don't forget to factor in HOA's. In many cases the monthly HOA would be the same in total as buying a home $100,000.00 higher than the condo and potentially have the deduction.

[mikieguns]

Thanks, I am talking about renting though.