Work in Aliso Viejo, where to live? (Irvine, Orange: short sale, real estate)

[wegotworms]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums and have a question for everyone. My husband has been offered a job in Aliso Viejo and we are trying to decide if we should move across the country for it. It will be a big promotion and estimated salary is about $150k. I am currently not working and am home with our three children.

We live now in a very small town, but have lived in major cities before (Boston, etc.), so we know what that is like and that cost of living can be much higher than where we are now. Right now we are in a 3b, 2.5b home, 2,200sqft. with a nice yard which we bought for under $500k.

We would like to move into a home that is at least $1500sqft and are not looking to pay more than $500k. Is this even possible?

Our children like Cub Scouts, soccer, baseball, and running. Our two school-aged children (second and fifth grade) are currently in a gifted/talented program at their school and we are looking for a school that offers a similar program or a very challenging curriculum/opportunities for advanced or creative learning.

I do understand that we will probably not have a yard (which will be very difficult), but can everyone help me understand where I might find a home that could suit our needs? Where should we be looking at real estate? Is Irvine too far away if my husband will be working in Aliso Viejo? Are the schools in Irvine overrated?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much!

[Fontucky]

Mission Viejo's nice and offers the possibility of a large lot (large for the area). Here's one that meets your price point and offers a bit of space. Additionally, it's in a very nice section of MV.

24492 MONTILLA, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 | MLS# S622017

I own a rental in that part of town and wouldn't hesitate to live there if I still had little kids.

[wegotworms]

Good to know that that is in a nice area as I had found that one doing a search and wasn't sure what was "wrong" with it - seems like too much house and yard for the area at that price! I thought perhaps the area was bad or something. I will definitely keep this one in mind and that area - thanks!

[Socalpal]

ladera ranch

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Ladera-Ranc...4/home/5845847

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Mission-Vie...4/home/5936694 (REO)

[missionhome]

Mission Viejo is going to be best bang for your buck with big yards. Most look to not be a short sale either right now listed below $500k and above 1,500 sq. feet. Newer cities like Aliso Viejo cost about the same amount, but you can touch your neighbors window and most of the city is apartments. If you want advice on certain neighborhoods, schools, etc... let me know. I know all of South County well, lived here for a long time, I'm raising my kids here (one already off in college), and am involved with parent groups in Capistrano Unified School District, etc...

[Charles]

Originally Posted by wegotworms

Are the schools in Irvine overrated?

May or may not make a difference to you, but Irvine Schools have a larger Asian population than most schools in South Orange County.

Great Schools has a school comparison tool which you can use to check out demographics as well as test scores.

Other things are climate: closer to beach is cooler and usually more expensive.

Some neighborhoods have low HOA fees (like Wagon Wheel around $70/mo) other have pretty high HOA fees (like Canyon Crest, pushing $300/mo)

Check Mello Roos taxes for different subdivisions.

Distance from freeway.

After you've weighed all those out, it might just come down to House A versus House B. The upgrades, the location in the neighborhoods, and the orientation.

Originally Posted by wegotworms

We would like to move into a home that is at least $1500sqft and are not looking to pay more than $500k. Is this even possible?

That's $333/sqft. Irvine is around $300+/ft. Laguna Niguel is around $280/sqft. Ladera Ranch and Coto are around $260/sqft. RSM is around $240/sqft. These are just guestimates and there is a lot of variation but they are sort of accurate in a relative sense. The farther away from jobs, the lower the $/sqft.

[bhcompy]

I'd look in Irvine if you can afford it and pretty much any Saddleback Valley city(Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, etc). Areas of Tustin are also more affordable and free of increased property taxes/bonds

[pacific2]

Overall, Irvine probably has the best schools in the area, but houses are also more expensive there. Aliso Viejo is very family and kid friendly and you can purchase a 1860 sq ft townhouse for just under 500K. Some of the townhouses have small backyards. I don't know if any detached 1500 sq ft or greater homes are available in AV for that price. You might try homeseekers.com and use the "advanced" search option.

One nice thing about Southern Orange County ( Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, etc.) is that it is exceptionally easy to commute between cities for shopping, entertainment and other things. So, if you lived in AV you would find a skateboard park (Laguna Niguel), beaches (Laguna Beach, Dana Point), bike trails and hiking (AV and other cities), an ice skating palace (AV), a golf course (AV), a large community center with pools (AV) and other sports amenities, all within minutes of your home. AV also has 23 parks ( sort of makes up for the small back yards).

My advice is to just rent for a year while you get a feel for the area before you decide upon a city for permanent residence. Alicante Apartments in AV offers flexible lease options. You might want to try them.

Good luck.

[RoatanMan]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

I'd look in Irvine if you can afford it and pretty much any Saddleback Valley city(Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, etc). Areas of Tustin are also more affordable and free of increased property taxes/bonds

Aliso Viejo is not really a Saddleback Vally city besides the fact that they share a school system... If your husband is working in Aliso Viejo, why not move there...?

[wegotworms]

Thanks for all of the replies! Salary has been adjusted to be around $200k, so that seems like it would make it easier to live in the area! We are now looking at a max of $650k for houses, which also gives us more flexibility and a greater likelihood of finding homes that are big enough for our family of five (in addition to the school-age kids we have an infant).

As for why not just live in Aliso Viejo because my husband will be working there, we really just wanted to find out what everyone thought of the different areas and see if there would be a better place to live. We know absolutely nothing about the area except what we have seen on TV and we are really hoping that is mostly a caricature and not indicative of the actual lifestyle. We both come from smalltown New England and aren't looking to live a grand lifestyle, just comfortable and safe for our children. Also, he may not have to go into the office very often and could be traveling/working from home, so we're trying to figure out the best place for the family to live, not necessarily the easiest commute. Right now he has a 45 minute commute so that we can live in a nicer area than where his office is.

Can anyone help with this question as well - my husband is less than enamored with the faux-Mediterranean styles that appear to be very popular in this area. Are there towns with older homes that wouldn't have that style? We have found a couple in Mission Viejo, but if someone can direct us to where we should be looking, that would be helpful. We will be going out for a visit in late August and are trying to narrow down our areas that we want to see. Right now our home is over 100 years old, so we don't really care about the age of the homes!

Thanks so much for all your help!!