MaybeSecondThoughts

Hi there,

I m relocating to Orange County and have been looking at several areas but I'm really looking for recommendations for the best schools (as i'm sure everyone does)
We can basically be based in anywhere in OC as i need to be at Long beach up to 4 x a month but the rest i can use a home based office.
Areas we like Temecula, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Dana Point to name a few but this is all internet research to be fair......
Looking for a house up to $3k per month 4 bedrooms with a pool or in a gated community with facilities.............(if near beach this is not so important)
Schools:
1 x 14 year old boy (most important for a great school)
! x 4 yr old girl, so flexible here as it is the 14 year old we need to get the right place for initially....
Arriving april/May/June 2017 time................

Please does anyone have any recommendations....

1 thing that has put me off is a programme i saw about housewives in orange county, please we are praying that not everyone is like this there as we would not last 5 minutes. We are not that naive to believe it but i must admit it is very bad publicity for OC........

Thanks

Marc_ely

Hi

OC is not like the TV program at all. There are a lot of show-off ladies-wot-lunch, but most of it is culturally diverse with big ethnic populations. There's loads to see and do for families.

Unfortunately you have a balancing act to do based on these places, only one of which is in Orange County by the way.

Temecula is in the middle of nowhere with pretty crappy schools, and a wine industry, but the houses are as cheap as chips. But it's quite a way from Long Beach! The roads in SoCal are all dire in rush hour.

Oceanside and Carlsbad have a mixed array of schools, but the houses are expensive.
Again, it's quite a way from Long Beach!

Dana point is waaaaaay expensive but the schools are good and it's a really nice place.

What has led you to those specific places?

I'm in Mission Viejo, which is very family orientated and has good schools. As does Rancho Santa Margarita, Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills... all of this area actually.
All of those are easier to get to Long Beach when you have to. Long Beach itself is nice too. All of the beach towns are nice but very very expensive. I think Newport Beach has some of the most expensive houses in the USA.

Apart from Temecula you wont get a house with that spec for $3k a month. My last rental is now $3700 a month and only has a small spa. Most places come with the rights to use communal pools though and some of these are heated all year round.

MaybeSecondThoughts

Marc,

Ok so the OC programme part was a bit tongue in cheek
Thanks for getting back to me with this information it is most useful.

I have been looking further down towards San Diego also. I don't mind the long drive once a week so i am fine being within a 2 hour drive of long beach.
The good intel here is re temecula, i don't want the family to get bored....

I am checking out the suburbs that you suggested...
I am using Trulia.com as a guideline, is this one of the better websites?


Thanks for your guidance it is much appreciated......

username.exe

Oceanside and Carlsbad are in San Diego County. Oceanside is a bit more downmarket and cheaper. Carlsbad has very good schools. Dana Point is on the same level as Carlsbad for schools and col.
I like all of the coastal towns in North County San Diego, as well as San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano in Orange County.

Carlsbad to Long Beach can be a bit of a trip, though. Traffic often bottlenecks at Camp Pendleton, and then you have to grind through the Orange County freeways which are basically parking lots for most of the week. Recommend you check out Costa Mesa, too. It's nice, and near the beach without the traffic that balboa peninsula brings. My BIL was renting a 2 bed there for $1300 per month so I think you could easily find something in your budget.

Alan17

All the ones you're looking at (except Temecula) are in the south. Wondering if that's deliberate? You'd definitely pay more for a rental the closer to the shore you are.
We are in north OC. Good schools in Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills. Also good school rankings in Irvine but I'm told lots of Tiger Moms there pushing their kids beyond reasonable expectations.
My other half knows one of the women in the OC Housewives show and the reputation is deserved. But it's definitely not like that in the main in this area.

Marc_ely

I don't think we can really emphasize enough how bad the traffic can get in Southern California. We've been for day trips down to San Diego and the way back up can take hours even though it's really not that far.

As Alan points out if you go further inland there are other nice areas with good schools too.

Irvine is very heavy on Asian influence. Some schools are predominantly filled with Chinese for example. We have friends here (she's a Brit married to a Japanese guy) and they chose Irvine for this aspect. I also know someone that moved house to get their kids into a more mixed environment. I love the multi-cultural aspect of my kids growing up with all sorts of different looking people with different customs.

Trulia and Redfin are both good.
Renting here really requires a realtor. You can apply to the rental listings yourself but the realtor working for the owner wont always take you seriously. Like many aspects of American business there's a scratch-my-back culture. There's a lady on here that is a realtor in Lake Forest, she might be able to help (although I don't know her etc)
When you come to rent you'll need a months deposit and the first month up front. We rented twice before buying earlier this year. The first was a disaster with a landlord that wanted top dollar for a decaying house that she didn't want to fix. The second was great, with a really nice helpful guy that wanted to keep his property nice.

If I had geographical freedom I would look in San Diego or the areas around it. San Diego has a more laid back feel and is not so full of "perfect" plastic people. There is loads to do there for families. You just have to be extra careful with schools as there is a wider spread of scores down there compared to OC.

MaybeSecondThoughts

Ok sorry for the delayed response, I have been relaxing in Thailand for the break.

This collection of information is fantastic so thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond....
I am leaning more towards the southern OC/North SD area as travelling to LA can be managed and im not time restricted. The job will take me all over the USA anyway, the main areas i need to access are Long Beach Port and Miami port......

As for the Asian influence i really don't mind that as my daughter is at a Chinese pre-school now and learning Mandarin. We thought that we would lose that so that could be an attractive option to my family........
We are a very multicultural family ourselves and been in that environment all of our lives.

Once i have the kids sorted all i will need is a good pub to watchrugby and footbal and then we will be sorted

Very excited about the new chapter.........

Once again thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice

Happy new Year

ecpb1992

We have just moved to Dana Point and of course it's beautiful but VERY expensive. Average budget: $2500 for 2 bedroom condo - think $1100 per bedroom and that's the sort of level you would be looking at.

As many others have said, the further inland you go, the lower the prices are but not by much! San Clemente generally has lower prices and places like Laguna Hills, Costa Mesa. It's really hard to make a decision just off internet research. I would suggest a visit to come and check out all of these areas and see which one you prefer.

taradem

Re the traffic. We live in Rancho Santa Margarita and my husband commutes to San Diego near Poway everyday. It should only take 1hr 10mins but most days its closer to 2 hrs, the 78 is very bad if you move in land and as already said the border control after Pendleton is a bottleneck as is the volume of traffic going into South OC. Friends have just rented a 3 bed in Lake Forest for $3200 per month, no pool and I think that might be a more cost effective area. Saddleback Valley School District and Capistrano School Districts are which cover RSM, Mission Viejo, Laguna's and south have excellent rated high schools (Im guessing your son will be going into 9th grade?). I believe one of the Capo district schools offers the International Baccalaureate which may be of interest if you are thinking of going back. Each High School will also have different emphasis, some are known for sports, others for the arts .... for example Mission Viejo High School has a 4H programme which is basically raising animals on a farm. We have a school of choice system here whereby you can apply to any school in your district. The rub is that you can only register when you can prove residency in the district and then school of choice applications for 2017/18 are already open. If the school is undersubscribed you should still be able to get in but it is a lottery unless you live within the boundary for that school - hope that makes sense? My daughter is in 7th grade so High Schools are creeping up our agenda!

S Folinsky

In the FWIW department, I have had friends with children who live in Long Beach and adjacent areas and really like it.

amydls

Just my two cents as someone who lived in OC... and wishes she still did!
The Best Cities for Families in Orange County this article is a year or so old now but.. SEAL BEACH... yes, La Habra is fairly priced and close to the beach.... theres a few good options on this list. I lived in Newport Beach and it was wildly overpriced, had a lot of friends who lived ten minutes inland from there though and I liked the neighbourhoods.