another question on help moving to oc (Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo: apartment complex, to rent)

[alicia128]

I would like to know the difference between aliso viejo and mission viejo, for example safety, schools, shopping etc. im very confused right now on what town would be the best for my children, i will be renting to start, because im coming from the east coast, and want to be sure california is where i want to stay. any info would be great thanks....

[ferretkona]

Both fine towns, might want to consider them the same town.

I would come out for a weekend first and see if you like it enough to move.

[Sage of Sagle]

I agree, although I would submit that Aliso Viejo (I lived there years back) has smaller newer mini-box homes and more greenbelts (more of a master planned feel but snug), and Mission Viejo has a lot more older (1970s-1980s) neighborhoods with larger homes. As a kid we lived off Oso by the golf course. I really liked that area, and friends of ours still live around the lake. If you can afford it, look at places around the lake. I would also suggest you check out some of the neighborhoods off Oso or La Paz on the ocean (west) side of the 5 freeway (Nellie Gail, etc).

[Jenali]

Both cities are safe and have excellent schools (check greatschool.com for school rating ) ,MV is within the Saddleback Valley district,and AV is within the Capistrano district.


MV's pros:
1.Get the MV lake membership privilege .
2.Unlike AV(where all houses have Mello Roos),most of MV houses have no Mello Roos.
3.More Parks in the area.
4.There's a YMCA in MV (AV has no YMCA in the city,so one has to drive to Laguna Niguel YMCA)
5.Houses in MV have larger backyards .
6.Less condos and townhouses in MV ,not that there is anything wrong with attached homes,but they make the area more crowded.
7.The Mall is in MV .
8.The 3rd safest city in the nation (good for resale),though I live in the area and I can tell you that both cities are equally safe.
9.Closer to the 5.

AV's pros:
1.Newer homes/subdivisions/shopping centers/everything .
2. 5-10 degrees cooler on average in the summer than MV .

[alicia128]

thank you for the info, although i will be looking to rent something first, for atleast a year... I do plan on coming out for about three or four days to look at the schools and for an apartment..

one other question, being that im probably going to rent something in an apartment complex, how are they with the bug situation, specifically roaches?
I lived in san diego when i was younger and all i remember was we lived in an apartment complex and the roaches were everywhere, even though the complex was sprayed on a regular basis.

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

A while ago, I lived in a Huntington Beach complex where the owners left the laundry room door open 24/7 ignoring what might get in. So yeah, there were a few roaches in there, but it wasn't a major problem.

[bigdaddy5]

Mission Viejo has a superior school athletic program over Aliso's. I think the YMCA's and parks might have something to do with creating a consistent pipeline of athletes every year. You'll notice that MV's football programs are usually one of the state's finest.

bd5