Down to Earth parts of Orange County (San Francisco, Oakland: low income, lease)
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If you are looking for more conservative population take a look at Los Alamitos. Or its beach front sister Seal Beach. Right on the Long Beach border. Very middle or upper middle class and quite friendly place. When my kids were in school there we use to have a gaggle of gals form in our driveway every morning. We lived next to the high school so they used our home to get together and then walk over to the high school as a group. We knew virtually all the neighbors and everyone was friendly. Used to run a progressive Xmas party where we would move through 7 or 8 houses.
If you are looking for more conservative population take a look at Los Alamitos. Or its beach front sister Seal Beach. Right on the Long Beach border. Very middle or upper middle class and quite friendly place. When my kids were in school there we use to have a gaggle of gals form in our driveway every morning. We lived next to the high school so they used our home to get together and then walk over to the high school as a group. We knew virtually all the neighbors and everyone was friendly. Used to run a progressive Xmas party where we would move through 7 or 8 houses.
Sounds nice. I heard that Los Alamitos Unified School District takes kids from certain parts of Long Beach. Belmont Shores seems like a nice area (not sure if that area qualifies). And if my kids could go to school in Orange County, that would be great. I'm a city guy...grew up in San Francisco, and I still like living in the city vs. suburbs. The problem is that the cities (at least in Northern California) are full of crazy people. Long Beach seems like it still has some of the city hustle and bustle that I like. So I would be open to that if I could send my kids to school in Los Alamitos.
Sounds nice. I heard that Los Alamitos Unified School District takes kids from certain parts of Long Beach. Belmont Shores seems like a nice area (not sure if that area qualifies). And if my kids could go to school in Orange County, that would be great. I'm a city guy...grew up in San Francisco, and I still like living in the city vs. suburbs. The problem is that the cities (at least in Northern California) are full of crazy people. Long Beach seems like it still has some of the city hustle and bustle that I like. So I would be open to that if I could send my kids to school in Los Alamitos.
Los Al was an agricultural suburb of Long Beach. Still had strawberry fields when we moved there in the early 80s. In general I would look at the newer suburbs of Los Al or at Rossmoor. Rossmoor is older but were nice large lot home many of which have been upgraded. Even were a couple of battles where people built McMansions in there.
The areas of Long Beach eligible for Los Al schools are all small. Left over parcels from the various incorporations. I agree Belmont Shores is nice. Used to eat and shop there. But virtually none of that would be Los Al schools.
Seal Beach is much like the newer parts of Long Beach. Nice area along the street to the pier.
Thinking of relocating to Orange County from SF Bay Area (Bay Area is way too liberal for me) but have heard people talk about how Orange County is all about image and showing off what possessions you have.
I was looking at area's in the Northern part of the county such as: Placentia, Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, Villa Park and West Garden Grove.
I was also looking at area's in the Southern part of the county such as: Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Coto de Caza.
In which area's are people more stuck up and superficial (Northern Orange County vs. South Orange County)? Any of those area's where kids play outside in the street regularly? What about friendliness of the people in those area's? Do neighbors talk to each other? Or do you just see the neighbor when they open their garage to pull their car out?
As with anywhere, the more blue collar areas of Orange County are the most down-to-earth.
Santa Ana, Anaheim (not Anaheim Hills), Stanton, Little Saigon.
If you're asking about upper middle class areas that are less flashy, I think older parts of Lake Forest are pretty good. Basically the older the neighborhood and the farther it is from the coast the less flashy it is. That's true for anywhere in the country.
Funny thing is you say OC is all about image and showing off what possessions you have (compared to the rest of the country, sure). But I actually have the same complaints about the Bay Area. It seems like everyone's dream there is to become a tech/VC billionaire, get a Maserati and a Tesla, a superyacht, and a private jet, and a mansion in Los Gatos. Let's not forget all the highbrow wine snobbery there, either. My roommate from Fremont talked about the AMEX black card like it was THE holy grail and THE meaning of life.
People in the Bay are very materialistic in mindset, IMO. But housing is simply through the roof there. So much so that 99% of Bay Area folk are broke after paying their rent/mortgage and the fanciest ride they can buy is a Corolla.
Down to Earth parts of Orange County
Thinking of relocating to Orange County from SF Bay Area (Bay Area is way too liberal for me) but have heard people talk about how Orange County is all about image and showing off what possessions you have.
I was looking at area's in the Northern part of the county such as: Placentia, Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, Villa Park and West Garden Grove.
I was also looking at area's in the Southern part of the county such as: Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Coto de Caza.
In which area's are people more stuck up and superficial (Northern Orange County vs. South Orange County)? Any of those area's where kids play outside in the street regularly? What about friendliness of the people in those area's? Do neighbors talk to each other? Or do you just see the neighbor when they open their garage to pull their car out?
I've been to Villa Park and I really like it. It's so nice and clean and the homes all look so nice and spacious. thought it might be a little stuck up there because homes cost a little more. Is this not the case?
All of the folks I know in VP are not stuck up. But I'm pretty sure there are some, but that can be said for most areas. I think it helps having things in common with folks. Good luck in your search.
As with anywhere, the more blue collar areas of Orange County are the most down-to-earth.
Santa Ana, Anaheim (not Anaheim Hills), Stanton, Little Saigon.
If you're asking about upper middle class areas that are less flashy, I think older parts of Lake Forest are pretty good. Basically the older the neighborhood and the farther it is from the coast the less flashy it is. That's true for anywhere in the country.
Funny thing is you say OC is all about image and showing off what possessions you have (compared to the rest of the country, sure). But I actually have the same complaints about the Bay Area. It seems like everyone's dream there is to become a tech/VC billionaire, get a Maserati and a Tesla, a superyacht, and a private jet, and a mansion in Los Gatos. Let's not forget all the highbrow wine snobbery there, either. My roommate from Fremont talked about the AMEX black card like it was THE holy grail and THE meaning of life.
People in the Bay are very materialistic in mindset, IMO. But housing is simply through the roof there. So much so that 99% of Bay Area folk are broke after paying their rent/mortgage and the fanciest ride they can buy is a Corolla.
Not sure where I said that Orange County is all about image. Reading through a lot of forums on Orange County, a common thread that I read is that people try to outdo each other, or try to live above their means to make themselves look wealthy. So I do think that there is probably some truth to that, but I don't think that everyone there is like that. I was just trying to find out which area's are less likely to have those types of people.
In all honesty, whenever my wife and I have gone around Orange County outside of the tourist area's, we've always commented on how much better quality the people seem there vs. the Bay Area (particularly the Eastbay). Seems like there's more things for kids too v.s the Bay Area where everything is for people in their 20's and 30's. That's the outward appearance that I get about the people and places that I see in Orange County.
As for your comments on people in the Bay Area, I would agree with you about the Silicon Valley crowd. Many people in the Bay Area judge other people's worth by the where they work and what their position is. I see parents of 2nd graders enrolling them in all kinds of activities that fill up every weekday after school, plus weekends because those activities will look good on a college application. I would rather let my kids enjoy their childhoods and have them worry about college when they're older. But in the Bay Area it's all about what career you have. I tell my kids that if the teacher is school asks them what they want to be when they grow up to just say that they want to bee a good person.
Not that I want them to grow up to bums, but career can't be the only thing that matters in life. I have what would be considered a good job at a very prestigious company in Silicon Valley, but I don't think that makes me a good or bad person. I was a contractor for about 15 years prior to what I do now, so I know about doing real work also. I actually think that people who do blue collar work usually are doing something more useful and important than people who sit in an office and type all day. At the end of the job, the person who just built a house or remodeled a bathroom or assembled a car can actually have something to show for all of the work that they did. What does the white collar worker have to show? A stack of papers and how many headaches they produced for other people?
There is also a sizeable group of people in the Bay Area who may make good money, but try to act like they're poor. They dress sloppy and want to live in the ghetto so they can pretend that they're "real" people. You see that group a lot around Oakland, Berkeley and parts of San Francisco. If they own a house, they let the front yard become weeds and they paint the house purple or black or some other weird color.
The Bay Area is full of people from other states (as I'm sure Southern California is) who came here because they want to make money for a few years and then leave or they're oddballs who think that their lifestyle is embraced only in the Bay Area. Neither of those groups is really that great at making a neighborhood good for families to grow up in. The first group doesn't want anything to do with anyone else unless it can get them ahead at work and their kids are barely home because they're either at daycare or doing some activity. The second group only wants to be with other people in their clique of like-minded people and only wants their kids to be around kids of their adult friend who may live across town.
25 years a go it was different. Those two groups were much smaller and there were still a lot of normal people in the Bay Area. As home prices have gone up, many of the more family oriented people have left. I'm sure that some of that has happened in Orange County too.
I would like to get away from the people, traffic and expensive housing costs in the Bay Area, so that is why I am looking at Orange County.
Last edited by mr_california; 04-16-2020 at 11:58 PM..
All of the folks I know in VP are not stuck up. But I'm pretty sure there are some, but that can be said for most areas. I think it helps having things in common with folks. Good luck in your search.
Yeah, I wasn't sure if people were friendly or not there. Of all of the cities in Orange County, I like how Villa Park looks the best. It's such a nice, clean looking area. Are there a lot of kids playing in the street there? Is it pretty easy for kids to make friends there? Are the schools still okay there?
Los Al was an agricultural suburb of Long Beach. Still had strawberry fields when we moved there in the early 80s. In general I would look at the newer suburbs of Los Al or at Rossmoor. Rossmoor is older but were nice large lot home many of which have been upgraded. Even were a couple of battles where people built McMansions in there.
The areas of Long Beach eligible for Los Al schools are all small. Left over parcels from the various incorporations. I agree Belmont Shores is nice. Used to eat and shop there. But virtually none of that would be Los Al schools.
Seal Beach is much like the newer parts of Long Beach. Nice area along the street to the pier.
Yeah, I have been to Seal Beach. It's not too bad and it is close to Long Beach, which is a plus. I grew up in San Francisco, so I'm a city guy. I'll probably never be completely at home in the suburbs but Long Beach has a little more of that city feel. I know a couple of good old-school Italian restaurants in Belmont Shores and haven't really found anything good like that in Orange County. Maybe I don't know where to look. What about kids playing in the street in Seal Beach? Does it seem like people are pretty friendly? Easy for kids to make friends?
My cousin lives in Sacramento and his kids walk home with their friends every day after school and they go out and ride their bikes around the neighborhood. Where I live, none of that goes on. I would move to Sacramento, but there are no jobs in my field (there are in Orange County though). Where I live parents all pick up their kids from school and you see them pull in the garage and close the door behind them. No kids are ever outside and none of the parents are interested in their kids making friends with other kids in the neighborhood. The kids are only exposed the kids of their parents adult friends who may live on the other side of town and they only see them once every two weeks or so. All of the parents around my neighborhood are like that. As for my kids friends from school. Both parents work and the kids are picked up from after care in school. Those kids never go out of their house. They just play video games all day. It's a huge production to get those kids together with mine as the other parents are always too busy. My wife stays at home, so our kids have lot's of free time in the afternoon.
I don't think that where I live is a very good place to be a kid. All of my family (very large family) lives in the Bay Area or Sacramento though (and nowhere else), so it would be quite a big deal to leave as I don't know anybody anywhere else. I want to do right by my kids though and I want them to have a normal upbringing, so if I have to move then so be it. I just want to make sure that where I would move to has what I am looking for.
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