moving to OC, need some advice! (Irvine, Orange: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[Orange C bound]

I'm relocating to Orange County from the midwest in a few months, and am taking a new job in Aliso Viejo. I'm married, and my spouse will be joining me in a few months after he finds an IT job and sells our home. I need to know where I should look for apartments.

I am comfortable paying aprox $1500-1700 for a small apartment with a short term lease. After the house sells, then we are happy paying about 2000-2500/mo to rent a 2-3br apt or condo.

We are 29 and 31, and we don't have any kids. We love doing outdoor stuff like running, biking, and playing with our little dog. I'm not fixated on being on the ocean or anything. I'd like to live somewhere that is more urban, but still close to my job. Ideally, it would be somewhere that is close to some night life.

Please give me an idea of a place to rent now (for 3 months) while I'm by myself, and a place that would be good for us once my husband is out in OC with me!

thanks everyone!

[AKgirlinCA]

The best piece of advice I feel I can give you is to live close to your job. There are plenty of nice apt. and condo rentals in every OC community. Aliso Viejo has plenty of them and is very nice. Aliso is a new community with everything you need. You aren't too far from Newport or Laguna which have plenty of nightlife. Your price range should give you plenty of options. Check out the Irvine Company's website - they have lots of apts. in OC that are very nice and you could afford them. You may want to just rent a room or something until your husband gets out here. Or just get your original place from the beginning. Again, while you will love the weather based on your lifestyle, I'm still going to HIGHLY recommend living near your job when you move to SoCal - to keep your quality of life high welcome to Orange County - if you are seeking year round sunshine and the opportunity for year round outdoor activities - you will love it. ( I'm also saying this b/c it sounds like you can afford to live here - so you should love it! ).

[OC Investor2]

Short term rentals for traditional apartments are not easy to find. Unless you are willing to sign a 6 or 12 month lease, you may find it hard to secure one of these at a reasonable cost.

Newport Beach (and Laguna to a lesser extent) have lots of houses (Duplexes/triplexes/ places w/ Mother in Law Rooms) that are rented out for weekly or monthly vacation rentals in the summer. You mentioned you are coming out "in a few months". If your stay will be over before the summer tourist season starts, You may want to investigate an off season rental of one of these places. Not really sure on the cost, but there's probably a landlord/owner out there that would work with you in exchange for a 3 or 4 month lease in the slow season. Check on Craig's list & google some realtors in Newport to check it out.

If that does'nt work out, you may want to look at getting a room for a short time. With the high cost of Real Estate here having a roomate is a much more common practice (although usually reserved for singles) then in other places and there is a thriving roomate/ Room for rent market out here.

Given your rent range for the second part of your scenario, after your husband joins you, You have a plethora of good options. As AK noted, living close to work is a key driver of happiness in traffic-clogged so cal, so you may want to wait until your better half secures a job & finds out where he will have to commute to before commiting w/ any one place. You'll probably end up living in between your workplaces.

Good Luck & welcome to "The OC".

[CoastalHomeSeekers]

Sevaral of my relocating clients have stayed at The Bluffs and been quite happy with both the location and the facility. The community address is 32400 Crown Valley Parkway, Dana Point, CA 92629. Phone: 949-661-4002