melodypowell
New member
Hello, this is my first post, but have been reading it as a guest for some time. My husband and I are looking to buy a new home, but I am having a hard time deciding on the neighborhood. We are in our early 30s, we both grew up in OC (we met at UCI), I am Chinese and he is white, we have twin toddlers and are thinking of having more children. My husband runs a small company in Vegas currently, but will work from home when we move back to Irvine. I have worked in tax/finance my entire career and would love to continue to work. (I miss Broadcom's cafeteria lol) We own two small rentals in Irvine/CM, but they are too small to move back into now.
Here are what we are looking for:
1. Kids friendly neighborhood but not too crowded either. Both my husband and I played with neighboring kids when we were growing up, it's very important to us that our kids would have a similar environment. Yet, some of the new developments seem too crowded.
2. A development or neighborhood that's within walking distance to a good elementary school. (less than a mile). I would really like specific suggestions, such as street names or neighborhood names. (i.e. Concordia East in Turtle Rock)
3. Our budget is pretty open, the houses I like are mostly in the 1.5-2 range, we can spend more if needed. We are not looking for a show-off house. Fixer uppers or older houses are totally ok. I want whatever is convenient for my kids. Libraries, after school activities are way more important to me than how prestige a neighborhood is. I've recently toured some houses in The Summit of Turtle Ridge, I was disappointed to see no kids playing in their amazing parks on the weekends.
4. At least 5 rooms (doesn't have to be bedrooms, as long as it has a door) with 3 or more bathrooms. I really like Altair Celestial Residence 3's floor plan, but I am not sure about the location, and hate to pay 10K+ a year on mello roos. We do plan to go tour that on our next trip to Irvine.
5. Prefer guard gated, but not a requirement. A lot of guard gated communities seem to be in not so convenient locations, which is one of my difficulties.
6. Prefer somewhat a bigger yard with grass and/or somewhat a view (hubby's preference). No pool, but prefer to be close to the HOA pool.
If you were us, where would you buy and why? Thank you!!!
Here are what we are looking for:
1. Kids friendly neighborhood but not too crowded either. Both my husband and I played with neighboring kids when we were growing up, it's very important to us that our kids would have a similar environment. Yet, some of the new developments seem too crowded.
2. A development or neighborhood that's within walking distance to a good elementary school. (less than a mile). I would really like specific suggestions, such as street names or neighborhood names. (i.e. Concordia East in Turtle Rock)
3. Our budget is pretty open, the houses I like are mostly in the 1.5-2 range, we can spend more if needed. We are not looking for a show-off house. Fixer uppers or older houses are totally ok. I want whatever is convenient for my kids. Libraries, after school activities are way more important to me than how prestige a neighborhood is. I've recently toured some houses in The Summit of Turtle Ridge, I was disappointed to see no kids playing in their amazing parks on the weekends.
4. At least 5 rooms (doesn't have to be bedrooms, as long as it has a door) with 3 or more bathrooms. I really like Altair Celestial Residence 3's floor plan, but I am not sure about the location, and hate to pay 10K+ a year on mello roos. We do plan to go tour that on our next trip to Irvine.
5. Prefer guard gated, but not a requirement. A lot of guard gated communities seem to be in not so convenient locations, which is one of my difficulties.
6. Prefer somewhat a bigger yard with grass and/or somewhat a view (hubby's preference). No pool, but prefer to be close to the HOA pool.
If you were us, where would you buy and why? Thank you!!!