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Old 09-29-2008, 10:23 AM
 
7 posts, read 11,290 times
Reputation: 10

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My husband is being transferred to Orange County in a few months from Phoenix. Please offer some leads for us to start looking as far as nice yet affordable places to live. We are most interested in good school districts for our kids (7 years and 1 year) with a quality of life comparable to what we're used to in North Phoenix. Our annual income is $140K. Thanks!
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Old 09-29-2008, 10:38 AM
 
Location: South Bay
7,226 posts, read 22,150,283 times
Reputation: 3626
OC is big, where will his job be located?
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Old 09-29-2008, 11:36 AM
 
Location: Grosse Ile Michigan
30,707 posts, read 79,581,771 times
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What do you want? On 140k you will have limited options. WHat is most important to you size/quality of housing; space, parks yard etc.; School; distance to work; crime rates; proximity to beach; etc. Do you have any special needs children? Do you have a huge downpayment to sink into buying a house? Are your cars good for another five to ten years? If you can live in a tiny condo or possibly a trailer, yuo might be able to live near the beach or in a community with better schools. You will have to prioritize your desires before anyone can help you much.
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Old 09-29-2008, 01:54 PM
 
Location: Orange County, California
1,016 posts, read 3,051,441 times
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Rancho Santa Margarita, lots of clean parks, pools and very family oriented. Nobody drives through our community unless they live here. I love it.
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Old 09-29-2008, 03:52 PM
 
Location: RSM
5,113 posts, read 19,726,301 times
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renting, buying, house, condo, what city is the job in, etc
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Old 09-29-2008, 04:32 PM
 
7 posts, read 11,290 times
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Depends on whether our home in Arizona sells or not... We are looking for a single family residence. We don't mind small and older, as long as it's in a good neighborhood and good school district. We're coming from a very upscale master planned community in Arizona and feeling a little overwhelmed by the vastness of options in SoCal, as well as the increased cost of living. Any helpful leads would be appreciated.

My husband is a pharmaceutical sales manager, so we don't have to live anywhere specifically -- just as long as it's in SoCal.
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Old 09-29-2008, 04:40 PM
 
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
2,498 posts, read 11,419,879 times
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If you want a similar master-planned look and style as your Arizona community, you might consider southern communities like Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, or Ladera Ranch. All of these are very clean, have virtually no crime, are masterplanned, have nice shopping, and good schools. For around $500k you could get a single family home in these cities, but expect square footage somewhere in the 1,000's only. As you move up in price you get more square footage and remodeling. There are properties under $500k in the 400's and some are nice, but def not as much inventory in that range. Usually the 400k homes are smaller and not remodeled.

I invite you to check out the "Pictures of Orange County" sticky thread at the top of our OC subforum and see pictures of the area. It is very family friendly and I think it may be what you are looking for.

Best of luck.
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Old 09-29-2008, 04:45 PM
 
7 posts, read 11,290 times
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Thank you for your kind and informative reply!
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Old 09-30-2008, 08:52 PM
 
624 posts, read 1,245,131 times
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All Orange County schools now have an open enrollment period. You do not have to live within a or school's boundaries. I personnally would not put my child in a public school in OC. Missionhome gave you good advice. I would tell you to move anywhere south of the 405 freeway (405 to the beach)
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Old 09-30-2008, 09:26 PM
 
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
2,498 posts, read 11,419,879 times
Reputation: 1619
Quote:
Originally Posted by slowbill View Post
All Orange County schools now have an open enrollment period. You do not have to live within a or school's boundaries. I personnally would not put my child in a public school in OC. Missionhome gave you good advice. I would tell you to move anywhere south of the 405 freeway (405 to the beach)
You DO have to live within a school district though. For example, I know transfers between the Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified School Districts are very strict. You can't just put in and say you want to go from Aliso Niguel High School in CUSD to Laguna Hills High School in SVUSD. There are a few loop holes but there is not open enrollment between districts.

There IS open enrollment between schools within a district, but I don't believe every district guarantees that you will get in to the school you put in for. My kids went from private school into public high school and a few of my daughter's friends tried to transfer to her high school so they could go to school together, but two got rejected and two got in.

Good advice on open enrollment though. It is an option, but in many districts it isn't for certain you get the school you want.
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