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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
question on Costa Mesa
We are looking for a house in Orange county from another state. The housing price in Costa Mesa is surprisingly affordable compare to a lot of places in OC. So we are wondering what's the catch, is there something wrong with Costa Mesa? Schools are not good? I saw some 4 bd/3th houses are only $450k -650k range, we used to live in SF, you know those houses there would be costing over a mill. So can someone tell me more about Costa Mesa? Thanks.
Re: question on Costa Mesa
I just looked those both up on the map.
The first one is in a decent area. Not the best in CM, but not a bad area either. In fact I was just driving by it the other day and thinking I wouldn't mind living there at all.
The second one is in a nicer area, which is why it is more. It's right on the border of Huntington Beach.
Woa that commute is insanity in my opinion :P
I just realized wasn't helpful at all in my last comment.
Santa Monica and Downtown LA are not super far but the commute is BAD because of the traffic. With no traffic you'll be there in 30 mins. But with traffic on the 5 or 405 it can be pretty bad. It's taken me 2 hours to get there a few times in traffic. Usually it would be about an hour or so in traffic though.
Costa Mesa to Santa Monica says per google maps is:
San Dimas to Costa Mesa is per google maps is:
Agreed. Unless you're going to be working off hours. But even that, I've heard, is craziness.
I live in Irvine and like it. If you'll both be going into LA though, looking north, like Huntington Beach (or further north) might be best.
if your H is working in DT LA, he might want to look into taking the train. the nicest station (IMO) is probably in irvine, but there is also one in anaheim and san juan capistrano (probably too far south though). there are some nice areas in anaheim but there are also many sketchy parts, too.
or you might want to check out long beach - although there are definitely some questionable areas.
yeah, I'm probably of no help - sorry! you can always give us addresses/intersections of houses that look interesting and we can try to tell you yay or nay. GL!
I just wanted to add to this conversation. THe commute from CM or Irvine to Santa Monica is not one that you want to do every day, or even more than 2 times a week. I did it for about 3 months and I was so miserable. I'd leave Santa Monica at 530am and get to Irvine at about 7am or a little earlier even though I didn't have to be at work until 830.
Good luck to you but I really hope you spend a lot of time not just looking at the neighborhoods in OC, but trying out the commute a few times before you make any commitments as far as location.
Irvine and CM are super central to a lot of things, I agree. I live in south OC though and I lub it.
Yes I would consider San Dimas, La Varne and Glendora. But DH only knows about OC so he is more interested in OC. I also think South Pasadena is close to downtown also close to sister but South Pasadena is too expensive.
If you have family in San Dimas and jobs in LA, there is really no practical reason to look in OC. The commute to LA will be terrible and there are areas that are affordable that will be closer and easier for you.
This.
My ex-husband commuted from Anaheim Hills to Chatsworth (where his business partner found it to be cheaper to run an office than OC) every day for seven months and it was complete and total hell. The wear & tear on the car, the hours he spent in traffic (it was not uncommon to take him 3.5 hours to come home), the hours he had to keep to make it to work in the AM without sitting in two hours of traffic... I wouldn't wish that upon anyone (or their spouse). The train hours unfortunately did not match up to his work schedule.
If my business was not tied to AH, we would have moved towards Pasadena in a heartbeat.
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In addition to all of the really good info above, you should check out city-data.com, they have forums there too and statistics on schools.
I live in and work in L.A. and I wouldn't wish a commute to the OC on my worst enemy, even with a vanpool that drive is miserable if you aren't used to spending 3-5 hours per day in traffic. I used to work near Long Beach and my commute was over an hour each way if I didn't work off hours that day.
The cost of gas alone is going to negate any savings in living expenses you may get by living in Costa Mesa.
There are some communities in the South Bay that are really nice and MUCH closer to Santa Monica and DT LA. Redondo Beach, Torrance, and Manhattan Beach are all great communities by the beach. Also, check out San Gabriel Valley.
My final suggestion is to come out here and check out your options. Visit during the week and drive during rush hour traffic on purpose to see if you two can deal with it. Check out neighborhoods during day AND evening hours.
You need a house to put your stuff in and receive mail? Have you considered storage and a PO Box for the purposes that you say?
If you're going to be living in Asia for a while, I would not even consider wasting your money on CA real estate. They haven't seen the market bottom out yet, and as pp said a storage space and PO box are MUCH cheaper and practical if you don't need a home to live in.
Also, vacation homes are taxed differently if I'm not mistaken?
ditto all of the above. just adding my own personal experience.
i used to commute from long beach (just north of huntington beach) to santa monica, and it was totally miserable. i worked early and stayed late (got in around 7 AM, would leave around 7 PM-8PM), and even then, i'd hit traffic both ways. costa mesa (or irvine!) to LA is insane.
hubs used to commute from san dimas to downtown LA about 10 years ago, and even then, when traffic was a bit lighter, it wasn't fun. he'd go in at 6 AM and leave at 3 PM to avoid the worst parts of it, but not all jobs offer that kind of flexibility.
i would suggest southpas, pasadena, or other areas of the san gabriel valley that are slightly more affordable and still have good schools. try arcadia, temple city, alhambra, san gabriel, south san gabriel, san marino (expensive but nice). the commute from these areas to downtown is doable, and to santa monica is not fun but doable, too.
however, like everyone said, if you're going to be living abroad for most of the next five years, you should look at renting and checking areas out first.
Ditto, I used to commute from Irvine to Pacific Palisades M-F
.
I nearly went crazy.