Chill neighborhoods in OC that is close to shopping and restaurants? (Huntington Beach: apartment complexes, condos)

[laneyg]

Our kids are leaving for college in 2 years and we would like to downsize. We currently live in Ventura and are considering moving to Orange County.

Which cities/neighborhoods in OC has the following (in order of priority)?

1. Walkable to shopping and restaurants (not living right in town but ideally no more than a 10 min walk).
2. Not too crowded/busy/loud; chill vibe
3. High rise or condo with little or no yard, 1500-2000 sq ft with at least 3 bedrooms (so each kid has a room when they come home)
4. Not right on the water, but not too far as my husband surfs almost daily.
5. Not too far from an airport

Traffic isn't a consideration as we work from home. Our budget is around $3M.

We do love Ventura, it has almost everything we want, but it's a little too sleepy for us, and Main Street doesn't have a lot of options for shopping/dining.

Thank you!

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by laneyg

Our kids are leaving for college in 2 years and we would like to downsize. We currently live in Ventura and are considering moving to Orange County.

Which cities/neighborhoods in OC has the following (in order of priority)?

1. Walkable to shopping and restaurants (not living right in town but ideally no more than a 10 min walk).
2. Not too crowded/busy/loud; chill vibe
3. High rise or condo with little or no yard, 1500-2000 sq ft with at least 3 bedrooms (so each kid has a room when they come home)
4. Not right on the water, but not too far as my husband surfs almost daily.
5. Not too far from an airport

Traffic isn't a consideration as we work from home. Our budget is around $3M.

We do love Ventura, it has almost everything we want, but it's a little too sleepy for us, and Main Street doesn't have a lot of options for shopping/dining.

Thank you!

Parts of Newport Beach fit what what you are looking for. Corona del Mar, Heights some of what you are looking, however there will be trade-offs. For example, CdM has relatively few condos and no high rises, but wins on walkability and quietness.

[Coldjensens]

Balboa Villiage and Balboa island (Newport Beach). Laguna Beach. You might like Old town Orange. Parts of Huntington Beach might also appeal to you. Dana point. Possibly San Clemente (not much there though) A couple of parts of Tustin. A small part of Fullerton.

[allpeopleunite]

I'd say you might want to look at Irvine and Costa Mesa if you really want a wide selection of condos and larger apartment complexes, though the walkability there is pretty low despite the high number of commercial developments and density of those cities. Orange County as a whole is pretty car-centric (and very beautiful but not exactly "chill" traffic and pace of lifestyle-wise) so it's going to be hard to find something that has a Santa Barbara or Monterrey type-vibe. From my understanding, the above mentioned areas of Newport Beach, and some of the longer-established South County cities like San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano are pretty much it in terms of truly walkable areas for grabbing coffee or strolling around. So getting a nice condo in West Side Costa Mesa in a beautiful development and hanging out in Newport Beach (right next door) might be a good fit.

[mikesparrow]

Definitely worth checking - parts of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. Both seem to tick most of the boxes. Although Old Town Orange is beautiful.

[teeej]

I live in San Clemente and have a walk over score 90. It's great. I've been here almost a year and still haven't tried all the restaurants. Not a whole lot to do though. And definitely no high rises or 3 bedroom units.