Southern Orange County question.....

[cal-air]

quick question for those of you with intimate knowledge of the Orange County area. I just landed a job in Mission Viejo and don't necessary like the idea of commuting from San Diego. So here's my question: Where can I get the most bang for my buck in regards to living? I want to be as close as possible to Mission Viejo, but want it semi affordable as well. What are your sugggestions?

[78Eliminator]

What is the longest commute you would tolerate?

[Back To Havasu]

Nice affordable homes in Lake Forest too.

[cal-air]

Back To Havasu:
Nice affordable homes in Lake Forest too. That is what I've heard, some of the other employees at this company live there. How many miles from Mission Viejo?

[cal-air]

78Eliminator:
What is the longest commute you would tolerate?I would like to have no more than 20 minutes, but would probably deal with 45 minutes under the right circumstances.

[HM]

CAl Air - What is your budget? Buy or rent?
I know I am 909, but I lived in souther OC for over 20 years. I Lived in San Clemente for 12 years, Yorba Linda for 10 Years, Irvine for 2 years, Orange for 3 years, and Placentia for 1 year.
There are actually really good buys in Mission Viejo as it is one of the older communities in that area and there are NO mello roos. If you don't know what mello roos are, it is just a typical ass reaming from the gov't for more property taxes that gets around Prop 13 - so far.

[THOR]

I am the only one of my friends from HB (besides HBJet) that hasnt moved to south county yet. I have been to there houses and Lake Forest is nice with some bigger houses. But, I would have to say that Ladera Ranch (I-5 & Crown Valley Pkwy) is a new community with nice homes. So, if you want new, go that direction. If not, then go Lake Forest/Irvine area. Either way, it is newer than HB/Newport/Costa Mesa area, for less money. I will say that Rancho Santa Margarita is hot in the summer. Not kind of hot, HOT. More so than the aforementioned places.
Email me if you want to know more. Good luck.

[Steamin' Rice]

Rancho Santa Margarita (RSM) will give you a lot of bang for the buck, if that's even possible in SoCal. You can also check out Lake Forest, Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills and Trabuco Canyon...
I live in Aliso Viejo and I really like it here. For the same price, you will get a smaller home in Aliso Viejo compared to RSM, but you are closer to the beach in Aliso Viejo.
I almost forgot..There are some resonably priced homes in Mission Viejo....If you don't mind something a little bit older, Mission Viejo has a lot of nice homes, and you usualy don't need to pay the mell-roos taxes. I pay mello-roos in Aliso Viejo and it adds about $100-150 per month to my bill...
[ November 26, 2002, 11:44 AM: Message edited by: Steamin' Rice ]

[cal-air]

HolyMoly:
CAl Air - What is your budget? Buy or rent?
Initially I'm going to rent, then buy in about a year or two. I was planning on paying about 1500 dollars a month for rent. Can this get me anything decent or am I smoking crack?

[cal-air]

By the way, thanks for all the responses!