Nice area to live near Irvine, CA

[Dervacumen]

Weighing moving there from the Bay Area, but I haven't been there for about a decade.  Any ideas where a nice place to buy a house might be?  Probably in the $600-$800K range.  Like to spend less but not going to commute 1.5 hrs to work.

Thanks for some ideas.

[Dmod]

Here are some suggestions for South Orange County (where I live).

Aliso Viejo (5-10 minutes)
Mission Viejo (10-15 minutes)
Laguna Niguel (15-20 minutes)
San Juan Capistrano (20-25 minutes)
San Clemente (25-30 minutes)

Unfortunately, they're still very expensive areas but less costly than Irvine, Newport, and Laguna Beach.  Mission Viejo is probably the most reasonable of the above.

[somunny]

Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley are generally nice.

[Dervacumen]

Thanks for some ideas.
I've been to Huntington beach a few times a decade ago, but I'm not too familiar with the locations Dmod listed, although I'm familiar with the names.

What's the traffic like on the 405 and the 5 nowadays?  I spent most of my time a little up north on the 405 and it sucked 10 years ago so I can't imagine it being any better.  And I think there are some widening projects in the works for the freeway system down there.  Any ideas on the commutes?

By the way, I travel 50 miles to work now, but it's pretty quick, relatively speaking at about 1:00 to 1:15, with bad days at 2:00.  I just don't know if I want to keep doing it if I can afford to live closer to John Wayne airport.

[somunny]

What's the traffic like on the 405 and the 5 nowadays? 

Gah!    Terrible!

Still, it should only be a half-hour commute from HB and FV (there's always surface streets, too).  I grew up in HB and my Dad worked at John Wayne for twenty years.

[Dmod]

The times I listed are for freeway driving with little to mild traffic.  I live in San Clemente now.  For rush hour, it's typically only about 15 minutes longer.

You're commute now is *LONG*.  Very few people that I work with down here have a commute over an hour.  If you're willing to drive longer, you can also check out areas like Yorba Linda.

The benefits of South Orange county are that most areas are *VERY* safe and many areas are newly developed (less than 10-15 years old).  The newer areas are dominated by a lot of young families, and therefore typically areas with lots of kids and lots of activities/parks for kids.

I know a lot of single people prefer living closer to LA and commuting down to Irvine as it fits their lifestyle better.

[boykster]

Ugh...this thread reminds me of 10 years ago when I spent the better part of 24mos in Orange County (mostly Irvine area).....

Not my part of the country....but really made me appreciate Seattle!

 

[Dervacumen]

Ugh...this thread reminds me of 10 years ago when I spent the better part of 24mos in Orange County (mostly Irvine area).....

Not my part of the country....but really made me appreciate Seattle!

 

Spent 3 years in Seattle and  it really made me appreciate the Bay Area.
Except between July 5 and October 1, when the sun is out.  There's no place better.

[boykster]

Ugh...this thread reminds me of 10 years ago when I spent the better part of 24mos in Orange County (mostly Irvine area).....

Not my part of the country....but really made me appreciate Seattle!

 

Spent 3 years in Seattle and  it really made me appreciate the Bay Area.
Except between July 5 and October 1, when the sun is out.  There's no place better.

I do like the Bay area a lot, especially if you can afford to live in the city, or up north across the bridge. East bay is "eh?", but overall its a great part of the country.

The company I used to work for was based in Emeryville, so I spent a fair bit of time down there...

[RayB]

anywhere south of Irvine is fine / safe. North of it, is touch and go and depends on the specific neighborhood. Even Fountain Valley and HB have their  problem areas. (Friend of mine in FV had his car constantly broken into until he gave up, made room in the garage and swore never to park in the driveway ever again).