Contemplating a move to OC...

OK, my company moved the Test & Development/Disaster Recovery system to Cypress (the corner of Katella & Valley View) and now they're making noise about moving me there, too, so I need to collect some info on the area so as not to be blindsided if they insist.

• Where can we find inexpensive rents (less than 1300/mo for 2 Bd, 1 Ba) within, say, 10 miles?
• My wife likes the city of Orange, is this a good place to look?
• Where are the best Trader Joe's stores in the area? The grocery stores with the best selection? The mechanics who'll do a good job without asking for an arm, a leg, and your first born?

Any help or info is appreciated.

On 2006-05-30 09:09, freddiefreelance wrote:

[list][*]Where can we find inexpensive rents (less than 1300/mo for 2 Bd, 1 Ba) within, say, 10 miles?

Something you already know living in San Diego, the farther from the ocean, the cheaper. I like OC except for the traffic. At least you are conditioned to that already.

On 2006-05-30 10:48, Unga Bunga wrote:

On 2006-05-30 09:09, freddiefreelance wrote:

[list][*]Where can we find inexpensive rents (less than 1300/mo for 2 Bd, 1 Ba) within, say, 10 miles?

Something you already know living in San Diego, the farther from the ocean, the cheaper. I like OC except for the traffic. At least you are conditioned to that already.

Unga, I found one apartment listed on Apartments.com in Orange that is under that limit, and one nice looking Craftsman Cottage on OCRegister.com in the same town.

Is Orange a good choice if I'm going to drive/bike to Cypress?

Can't give any advice on the commute, but found a map showing local bike paths that may be helpful:
OCTA Bikeways Map

I grew up in the City of Orange, Orange High Alumni, etc...

Orange is a great town. Good restaurants! You have Chapman University, so the college town thing, which is smack dab in the middle of the Orange historical district. The circle of Orange is home to a bum load of antique shops. Ever heard of Woody's in Orange (she has been selling vintage Heywood Wakefield for many moons)? The Block at Orange has numerous restaurants, movies & Hilo Hatties. Did I mention Disneyland is a hop, skip & a jump. Close to Anaheim, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Brea, Yorba Linda, Placentia.

A bunch of new apartments have opened by the Mainplace, bordering Santa Ana.

Orange is not too far from Cypress and you have access to 5 major fwys (55, 57, 5, 22 & 91). There are even a few A-frame apt buildings (not really the area where you want to live though).

But I'd rather live in San Diego!

~Cyndee :wink:

My brother's condo in Irvine is up for sale. He's had it on the market for two months and is get gettin' kinda anxious to unload it and move to France (where he's bought a nice old chalet in Normandy and is ready to move in).

On 2006-05-30 09:09, freddiefreelance wrote:
OK, my company moved the Test & Development/Disaster Recovery system to Cypress (the corner of Katella & Valley View) and now they're making noise about moving me there, too, so I need to collect some info on the area so as not to be blindsided if they insist.

liar!! ...you fell in love with that stupid teen show, the O.C. and now you want to move there and live the lifestyle!!!

OK, my boss was demoted and her boss is now my boss, and everything that was decided is now undecided until it can be re-discussed & redecided. Since he's got a different agenda than she did it looks like I'm staying here in sunny SD and don't have to put up with the OC's traffic & growing lack of Tiki (Bamboo Ben's shop is excluded form the previous statement)...

The thing that sucks the hardest about this is that I missed the Good-Bye to Sam's Seafood party so we could investigate neighborhoods & check out apartments. :(

just in case the topic gets revived by Freddie or someone else:
Orange is a good place. My wife's been there for 6 years, I've been there for 4. We both love it. There's a TJ on Tustin Ave in Orange, near the mall. It's the only one around us that I'm aware of. Rent can vary pretty wildly, mostly depending on how close you are to the Plaza/Traffic Circle/Historical Downtown/Chapman U. The farther you are from that area, the cheaper your rent will be (generally).

Cypress is between the 605 to the west, the 5/91 to the north, the 405/22 to the south. The address would determine which freeway you'd want to take, as you may be closer to one freeway than another, but assuming you take the 22 from Orange, your morning commute would be about 30 minutes, assuming you start work at 9. The 22 around 5 or 5:30 would take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes to get to Orange, with 60 minutes being pretty rare. Those numbers are based on my own experience driving the 22 every day for the last 4 years.
Traffic on the 22 HAS been a little worse lately because the 22 freeway construction has started interrupting traffic flows, so commute times might even be longer.

Because Orange is sort of on the outer limits of where you want to be, distance-wise, you might consider the Anaheim area. It's closer and there are some very cool mid-century buildings left in the area. Cerritos and Lakewood to the West are also nice. They're relatively quiet communities, again with some good midcentury architecture. Cerritos College is one of my favorite examples. All three of these areas would be closer to Cypress, and rent should (I emphasize should) be in your range. I would expect that Anaheim would be the cheapest of the three. I haven't checked much on rent in those areas lately.
You might also consider Buena Park, though I don't have much helpful advice for that area.

Not a lot of car mechanics around that I know of. I go to the Jiffy Lube on Katella.
Grocery-wise, wherever you are in North Orange County, you're never very far from Hi Times in Costa Mesa-- the best liquor store ever (http://www.hitimewine.net/)! There are at least a few BevMo's around, there's one in Orange almost right across the street from Trader Joe's. There is a good Ralphs on Chapman east of the 55 freeway that's never very busy, is always clean, well-stocked and has great selection.
Anyway, hope that helps anyone (Freddie or otherwise) who may need/want info. Of course, if anyone's ever in the area, let me know, and you can come over and have a Mai Tai!

[ Edited by: TikiJosh 2006-06-28 14:47 ]

[ Edited by: TikiJosh 2006-06-28 14:48 ]