help a potential Southern CA transplant!

[d1gitman]

due to job circumstances, we may be relocating from Boston, MA to Irvine, CA. looking for any tips, hints, advice, etc.

I am looking at flying out to sunny CA in the next week or so for a visit.

i have been told to look at housing in Orange County. I have looked up house rentals and house for sale pricing and see that it can be all over the map. also, i have no idea what areas to avoid for either bad neighborhoods, traffic, etc...

i will likely have a realtor take us around to give us a flavor of what to expect.


i was also wondering what costs relative to insuring, registering, inspecting autos is like. also, house insurance or renters insurance, etc...

 

[eduk8r26]

Not sure because I don't live there, but I don't think there is a bad neighborhood in Irvine. It seems like a pretty good place to live.

 

[LavenderPeach]

We used to work in Irvine (about 5 years ago). I might be able to give you a little direction as far as where to look for housing. Orange County in general can be expensive but maybe Boston is too so it won't be too much of a shock for you. Irvine is nice but when we were looking for an apartment in that area the ones in Irvine cost more than some we saw further south and they weren't anywhere near as nice. Of course for enough money you could find lots of nice things in Irvine so it just depends on what you want to spend. I would say avoid Santa Ana. I'm sure there must be some nice places there too but when I lived around there it was sort of considered the "ghetto" of OC. I actually like the cities south of Irvine better than the area right around it but that would mean a longer commute for you. South of Irvine is Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch among others. We lived in Aliso Viejo which is VERY nice. I don't know that there is really a bad section of that town since it's so new. It's also only 10 min. from the ocean so you get some nice cool coastal air during the summer. Ladera Ranch is also really nice. It's very much a planned community and there are a lot of extra association fees for living there but we liked it a lot when we went to look at houses.

Does this help at all? Let me know if you have any specific questions about a certain area.

 

[d1gitman]

Does this help at all? Let me know if you have any specific questions about a certain area.

Yes it does help. Boston is pretty expensive, we live in Lexington, 20mi outside of Boston. Our home is a 40yr. old ranch, 1800sf. Current market value about $550k.

I did some looking around on realtor.com and google earth and came to the same conclusion that you had stated about going south of Irvine.

Some things i don't know are how long a commute from south of Irvine would i expect. Is it gridlock like they show on TV or is that just LA?

what are car insurance, registration, inspection costs like? what is house insurance costs like (i assume e-quake, flood, fire are common on policies?)
property taxes?
food?

 

[toocherie]

Hi there--I have lived in this area (Irvine/Orange/Santa Ana) since 1981 so am pretty familiar with the area.


I would echo that you probably should stay away from Santa Ana as a place to live, EXCEPT that there are some areas that are Santa Ana post office but very nice (and can be pricey!) And, believe it or not, there are some parts of Irvine that are "not so nice" and more "ghetto" as PP put it than the areas of Santa Ana I am talking about.

You really need a savvy realtor to help you ferret out where the best place for you would be--I am pm'ing you the name and phone number of the realtor I used to buy my house 10 years ago. He is wonderful and very knowledgeable. Your realtor needs to understand what type of home(s) you like and steer you to those areas. Keep in mind that the areas in Irvine and South of there tend to have very small lot sizes, so if you're not used to that it will feel very "crammed in"--some older areas that aren't necessarily as "chichi" as Irvine might be a better bet for your lifestyle. You also need someone to know where you work to tell you what your best commute would be. We do have some toll roads that can keep you off the busy freeways if you plan it out right.

Anyway, I'm pm-ing you his name and number. Feel free to ask any other questions. It also might help to know if you're coming out by yourself or with a family.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Yes it does help. Boston is pretty expensive, we live in Lexington, 20mi outside of Boston. Our home is a 40yr. old ranch, 1800sf. Current market value about $550k.

I did some looking around on realtor.com and google earth and came to the same conclusion that you had stated about going south of Irvine.

Some things i don't know are how long a commute from south of Irvine would i expect. Is it gridlock like they show on TV or is that just LA?

what are car insurance, registration, inspection costs like? what is house insurance costs like (i assume e-quake, flood, fire are common on policies?)
property taxes?
food?

When we lived in Aliso Viejo we commuted to Irvine and i would say it took maybe 30 minutes (40 if there was an accident or something). It's been 6 years since we lived there so i don't know what it's like now. But Aliso Viejo also has a nice toll road that goes right to Irvine (I believe it's the 73? I can't quite remember). An extra cost so we didn't use it all the time but we did use it fairly often and I don't remember ever having traffic on that road. I didn't find the traffic to be anything like I've experienced right in LA. Yes, there are a lot of cars on the road, and yes if there's an accident it can get pretty backed up but normal traffic seemed to move pretty well (again- this is my persepective from 6 years ago so maybe the other poster has more current info on this). I was sad to leave Aliso Viejo but our work moved east so that's where we went.

And PP had a good point about the yards being very small. The good thing about a small yard is that it's less maintenance but then you are closer to your neighbors and it might seemed cramped if you're used to more space. We never owned a home in OC and I live in a different county now so i don't have info on the cost of various things but I do know that earthquake insurance is extra. They don't just automatically put it on the regular policies. We actually don't have earthquake insurance on our house because we didn't want to pay the extra so know that not everyone gets it but it's available if you want it. You just have to decide which way you want to gamble on that.

 

[toocherie]

When we lived in Aliso Viejo we commuted to Irvine and i would say it took maybe 30 minutes (40 if there was an accident or something). It's been 6 years since we lived there so i don't know what it's like now. But Aliso Viejo also has a nice toll road that goes right to Irvine (I believe it's the 73? I can't quite remember). An extra cost so we didn't use it all the time but we did use it fairly often and I don't remember ever having traffic on that road. I didn't find the traffic to be anything like I've experienced right in LA. Yes, there are a lot of cars on the road, and yes if there's an accident it can get pretty backed up but normal traffic seemed to move pretty well (again- this is my persepective from 6 years ago so maybe the other poster has more current info on this). I was sad to leave Aliso Viejo but our work moved east so that's where we went.

And PP had a good point about the yards being very small. The good thing about a small yard is that it's less maintenance but then you are closer to your neighbors and it might seemed cramped if you're used to more space. We never owned a home in OC and I live in a different county now so i don't have info on the cost of various things but I do know that earthquake insurance is extra. They don't just automatically put it on the regular policies. We actually don't have earthquake insurance on our house because we didn't want to pay the extra so know that not everyone gets it but it's available if you want it. You just have to decide which way you want to gamble on that.

It would be hard to quote earthquake insurance unless you knew a specific address. The rates are based upon "zones"--for example, my house is apparently on a bedrock so the rates are very low--where if you had a house in an area that was fill the rates would be much higher. It is something you have to request extra--any good insurance agent will run over all of the options with you.

The location will also affect your car insurance (along with how far you drive, etc.). Just know that most people think SoCal is more expensive to live in than a lot of other areas in the U.S. (but in my mind--very worth it! Even if only for the access to Disneyland!)

 

[LavenderPeach]

Just know that most people think SoCal is more expensive to live in than a lot of other areas in the U.S. (but in my mind--very worth it! Even if only for the access to Disneyland!)

So true! It's nice to only be an hour away from DLR but it was even nicer living in OC and living only 30 minutes away!

 

[jlmarr]

There are also some nice areas north and west of Irvine, such as Tustin and Villa Park. Don't rule that out.

 

[toocherie]

Yes--I live in the Orange Hills which is in between Tustin and Villa Park and I love the area. And I'm only 20 min. to Disneyland!

 

[tracys2cents]

are you familiar with Zillow.com? you just put in an address, and the house pops up in front of you. You can see what the neighborhood is like, and see houses for sale nearby. Click on a house that's for sale and information such as property taxes 2007 will come up for that house.

 

[d1gitman]

I returned this past saturday from a whirlwind 3 day trip out to Irvine. It was my first time in CA and I have to say it was nice!

The weather was phenomenal and the people were great.

The hardest thing i think for our family to get used to is the real estate. The houses are so crowded and there are virtually no yards. Prices are still a bit higher than where we currently live, Lexington, MA. However, you get a lot more land for the price in MA.

The thing that I see as a housing challenge, besides price, is to find a house on a street that is relatively flat. I drove thru Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo and all the neighbohoods were hilly. Not condusive to kids playing in the street. The planned communities with community pools, parks, etc seem nice, but this yankee is hard pressed to give up having his own back yard to do as he wishes.

My biggest fear is that we go out now, during a 'down' market and everything is okay for cost of living, but then the market shoots back up in a few years and we can't afford to buy something.

 

[jlmarr]

The hardest thing i think for our family to get used to is the real estate. The houses are so crowded and there are virtually no yards. Prices are still a bit higher than where we currently live, Lexington, MA. However, you get a lot more land for the price in MA.

The thing that I see as a housing challenge, besides price, is to find a house on a street that is relatively flat. I drove thru Mission Viejo and Aliso Viejo and all the neighbohoods were hilly. Not condusive to kids playing in the street. The planned communities with community pools, parks, etc seem nice, but this yankee is hard pressed to give up having his own back yard to do as he wishes.

You should check out the older (but still nice) areas like Tustin, Orange, and parts of Santa Ana, anything not "south county". I agree about the yards - with newer developments if you fall out of an upstairs window you'll land in the neighbor's yard.