Relocating to South Orange County CA (Irvine, Mission Viejo: real estate, 2015, rent)

[jennseo]

Hi,

We are relocating to South Orange County CA from NY, and we are trying to buy a house there, about 30 minutes driving distance south of Irvine. My real estate agent recommended Aliso Viejo over RSM saying the house price in Aliso Viejo will rise more rapidly than that of RSM in the future. We actually prefer RSM though because the city has many amenities such as free pools for residents, bike trails, lake, etc for residents. We have four children in elementary grades and would like to do many outdoorsy activities nearby our house after school, preferably walking-distance from home. Of course, a good school district is a must.

Any helpful information regarding these two cities would be much appreciated, such as : schools, parks, recreational facilities... etc. Do you think my real estate was correct in what she said?

FYI, we are considering 3 bedroom condo under the price range of 550,000. We are open to moving to other cities such as Ladera Ranch, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo.. that have great schools and amenities, however, they seem more expensive..

Thanks for reading.. and for your helpful suggestions.

[Electrician4you]

Seriously my suggestion

Rent for the first year. This will give you time to research and look for a house without the added pressure of trying to buy long distance. Heck rent a month to month. You will pay more monthly but you are paying to have the flexibility/convenience of moving with 30 day notice.

Sorry but your realtor knows as much as anyone else where the house prices will rise. There is no sure thing about prices going up and where they will go up. AV is closer than RSM to Irvine, Will the prices go up there? Nobody knows.

I’m assuming you work in Irvine? Look into lake forest or Tustin too.
Why do you care if the prices go up? Unless you plan on doing the trade up every year or refi and pull equity the house value is nothing more than bragging rights.

[saibot]

I agree with renting for a while first, but I highly, HIGHLY recommend RSM for a family with young children. We have raised our three kids there and it couldn't be better. To make the most of it, look within walking distance of the lake. Then you'll also be within walking distance of several parks, a community pool, the elementary and middle schools, O'Neill Regional Park (wilderness park), Trader Joe's plus a couple of other supermarkets, Target, the library, a number of restaurants, and probably some other places I am forgetting.

Aliso Viejo is closer to the beach, but you won't be walking there in either case. I have no idea where housing prices will rise more in the future, but that wouldn't be my first priority in looking for a location to raise my family.

[pacific2]

You won't go wrong with either city of Aliso Viejo or Rancho Santa Margarita. They're both family-friendly and I can't say that one is more so than the other. I also don't know which will see the highest appreciation in home values.

Aliso is safe:
Aliso Viejo again recognized as one of the safest cities in the nation
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/01/2...in-the-nation/

AV also has entrepreneurial energy with a number of tech and biomed firms:

Aliso Viejo is a hotbed of entrepreneurship among Southern California cities, study finds
https://www.ocregister.com/2015/05/0...s-study-finds/


To be honest, though, I think AV is tiring of the "family-friendly" label since a new demographic, single millennials, is the fastest growing group of newcomers, and Aliso is scrambling to try to meet their needs. This is an economic concern because Aliso Viejo wants, as much as possible, to keep the bulk of their discretionary spending within the confines of the city. As I understand it, projections are that young single professionals and older empty nesters will make up the bulk of the city's population in the future.

DPZ has been commissioned to help guide Aliso Viejo in radically remaking its Town Center:
DPZ

Regarding amenities / activities for people with kids, again, I can't say which of the two cities has more. Here is a partial list of what's available in AV, a densely populated area of 7.47 sq miles and about 51K people. This means that everything is either a very short drive or walk away from home.

1. 21 parks:
https://www.google.com/search?q=alis...w=1366&bih=656

2. Ready access to the adjoining and overlapping 4,500 acre Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park:
Orange County, California - Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park

3. Ice Palace (Ice skating and hockey for kids and adults):
https://www.google.com/search?client....0.X0Syyxha5lM

4. Aquatic Center:
https://www.google.com/search?client....0.9qW2w891CoA

5. Aliso Viejo Country Club:
Golf | Aliso Viejo Country Club| Aliso Viejo CA

6. Aliso Viejo Ranch (Historic, small and scheduled to undergo major improvements):
https://www.google.com/search?q=alis...w=1366&bih=599

https://www.ocregister.com/2017/06/2...of-discussion/

7. Adult and youth sports with Adult Softball, Aliso Viejo Girls Softball, Aliso Viejo Little League, American Youth Soccer Organization, FIT4MOM, Tennis, and Youth Volleyball ( Aliso Viejo Community Association

8. Children's concerts & movie nights in the park, plus seasonal celebrations including an annual snow fest:
http://www.avca.net/editor_upload/Fi...Newsletter.pdf

9. The city has produced at least one Olympic Gold Medalist and is also home to Azarian US Gymnastics Center, a large privately owned gymnastic center which caters to both kids and adults:
Azarian Gymnastics - Orange County's Premier Gymnastics Facility

10. Renaissance ClubSport Aliso Viejo-Laguna Beach. This is a large privately owned sports hotel with a wide variety of sports activities and classes for kids and adults:
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en...Bw4QoioInQEwCg

11. Summer Youth All Sports Camp at Soka University:
Soka Athletics - Summer Youth All-Sports Camp

12. Babysitters from Soka University of America Babysitters:
https://www.care.com/babysitters/sok...ity-of-america

13. Soka University Preforming Arts Center:
Performing Arts Center Home - Soka University

14. Plus, there are a large number of privately run dance, acting and music classes for kids in AV like the Center Stage Studio:
Orange County Performing Arts for Kids. The Center Stage Studio.

15. K-8 IB School, St. Mary's:
https://www.smaa.org/

[pacific2]

Oh, if it matters, since Aliso Viejo is closer to the ocean, our average summer highs are cooler:

Aliso Viejo
Intellicast - Aliso Viejo Historic Weather Averages in California (92656)

Rancho Santa Margarita
Intellicast - Rancho Santa Margarita Historic Weather Averages in California (92688)

Also, a lot of people in AV are involved in water sports (Swimming, surfing, boating, etc.) and the local men's high school surf team is quite competitive. They get in plenty of practice since the ocean is only about 10-15 minutes away.

Aliso Niguel, San Juan Hills surfers win state titles
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/04/2...uan-hills-one/

[saibot]

I'll just add to the above that Aliso Viejo and RSM (and a few other South County cities) are close enough to each other that you can easily go back and forth between them.

For example, RSM doesn't have an ice-skating rink, but I used to take my kids skating at the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace every Monday. There's another Ice Palace nearby in Lake Forest.

RSM has two large gymnastics facilities, Cal Elite and World Elite. I took my kids to World Elite (one or two US trampoline team members came from there), but years ago when I was a gymnastics coach, I taught at Azarian in Aliso Viejo. Actually, it was under different ownership then and had a different name, but it was the same location. It was about a 20-minute drive.

The best swimming/diving center is the famed Nadadores, in Mission Viejo. Quite a few Olympians from there as well. It's a short and easy drive from either AV or RSM.

Speaking of pools, the four RSM community pools and Beach Club (swimming area at the lake) are free for RSM residents and open year-round. Most South County cities don't have free pools.

Aliso Viejo definitely wins for beach access, though.

[Wurzig]

I lived in Laguna Niguel for over 25 years; semi-retired to the peaceful Rockies several years ago. We moved there several years before AV and RSM existed...(in fact, LN wasn't even a 'city' yet either....half of the time our mail was addressed to 'South Laguna Beach')..if you don't think we saw the changes in that area over the decades.......wow! RSM and AV were just brown hills and the RSM area had a lot of rattlesnakes and a few cougars. Now, like everywhere else, it's full of strip malls, move theaters, pet stores, etc.

I no longer keep up with housing prices, but what others are saying is very true......AV is closer to the ocean and quite a bit cooler. Use I-5 as your divider.....anything on 'that side' is going to be hotter......this means MV, RSM, Lake Forest, Coto, Dove C, on and on..... LN, AV, Dana Point, etc., will get ocean breezes during the evening, (on average, we only used our a/c in LN for maybe a week or two, first part of September), so be sure to think about a/c bills if you move to 'that side' of the freeway. Winters are mild, (and coming from NY, you will laugh because it is all what you are used to and people start freezing in S. CA. when it gets below 60---when you tell your kid to 'put on a jacket', the kid will only put on a hoodie), but you will use more summer a/c in the RSM area, and electricity is $$ in S. CA.. So consider the whole picture, not just the house/rent payment. If you are buying, ask to see yearly average utility bills from the current owner. ALSO, most places have HOA monthly dues, so add that in... (I lived in a multi-million $ development and my monthly dues was $700 when we left and now it is $1,000).

On top of an ice rink and gymnastics, (I would assume that the gymnastics place is still there since it produced a few famous kids), AV is very close to Laguna Niguel Regional which has a nice lake if your kids like to picnic or fish--(they stock the lake every year and fireworks are shot right above the lake every 4th), the yearly sticker is not that much..

Also, Laguna Niguel YMCA is close to AV and it is wonderful! Lots of supervised activities for kids, great pool, (recreational and swim and diving teams), workout rooms, nice park, etc......can't beat the membership price. (You can park at the YMCA, take a short walk and be in Laguna Niguel Regional in about 10 minutes). You can get to the ocean several ways from AV and never have to be on a freeway.

The closer you get to the ocean, the higher the price....but the air quality is much better.

Good luck in your decision.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by Wurzig

but you will use more summer a/c in the RSM area, and electricity is $$ in S. CA..

Depends on your heat tolerance, I guess. We don't have central a/c (technically we do, but the unit has been broken since before we moved in 20 years ago). We have one portable unit that we turn on for maybe a total of 2 weeks per year.

Now, most people here in RSM do use their a/c regularly in summer. In fact, I'll wager that most people in AV also use their a/c a lot more than we do. But if you can put up with a little warm weather and don't need your house to be 72 all the time, you can keep your electric bill down without much trouble.

[jennseo]

Thanks y'all for your replies! They were very, very helpful!

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by jennseo

Thanks y'all for your replies! They were very, very helpful!

You're welcome. One thing to keep in mind is that since South County cities are all clustered together, residents freely take advantage of what neighboring towns have to offer without giving it any thought.

You just effortlessly drive from one to another in running errands. For example, I live in Aliso, but shop at Ralphs in AV or Costco in Laguna Niguel, get most of my organic produce at Mother's in Laguna Woods, walk my dog at an AV park, sometimes walk her at the Dana Point Harbor, take her for vet visits in Laguna Niguel, take her to see her internist in San Juan Capistrano, drop her off at Doggie Day Camp in Aliso......