outdoor space instead?

illinoisjoe

New member
Hi all, new to the forum and new to Irvine. My basic question is, is there anywhere in town that offers more in the way of private outdoor space instead of indoor luxuries and property amenities?

We're moving here from Santa Cruz soon and have been doing a lot of virtual rental shopping online. Everything seems to be not really what we're looking for. We are much more interested in having nice quiet outdoor space (as private as possible) than having a sweet club house with poolside wifi cabanas. It seems that even when apartment complexes advertise a yard, they invariably have lots of shots of their palatial lobby and rental office, but not a single shot of the yard. When we do see a "yard" it looks more like a walled-off alley with a concrete slab on it and is the size of a walk-in closet. It seems like the only way to get a yard here is to rent a 4 bedroom full house, which we definitely don't need and can't really afford.

I would much prefer a funky/ semi-run down place with lots of privacy and outdoor space than a state-of-the art resort style condo with access to a community hot tub. We only need one bedroom (not opposed to two). We like to cook (strongly prefer gas stoves) and garden and we have indoor/outdoor cats that we'd like to let roam. Is that possible? where should we look? I've tried creative searches like "in-law unit", "back yard", "private yard", "cottage", "garden/er/ing", but I'm not finding much on craigslist, hotpads, trulia, zillow or any of their clones.

Oh, and while I'm dreaming, we also hate commuting, so close to work is better. My wife's work will be just north of the Orange County Great Park. I'm still looking for work but being close to UCI is probably a good bet for me.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
 
You should try the older parts of Irvine. They look less planned and are probably like more traditional neighborhoods that you are used to with homes on 5000 sq ft lots with a two car garage and driveway in front of the house. I would look at rentals in college park (south of walnut and west of culver). We used to rent a 1300 sq ft single story for about $2,300/month. You won't get a yard in an apt. Perhaps a concrete patio like you have been seeing. College park is about 15 minutes from both oh the areas you mentioned.
 
Stay away from Orchard Hills, where your roaming cats will become coyote feed. Unless of course, the cats are your girlfriend's, and you're interested in "losing" them.
 
It sounds as if schools isn't on your priority list?

If so, why limit yourself to Irvine?  You are much more likely to find what you describe in the older areas of Tustin, by downtown, or in Costa Mesa.  Or if being close to great park/spectrum is a priority, then areas of Lake Forest.
 
freedomcm said:
It sounds as if schools isn't on your priority list?

If so, why limit yourself to Irvine?  You are much more likely to find what you describe in the older areas of Tustin, by downtown, or in Costa Mesa.  Or if being close to great park/spectrum is a priority, then areas of Lake Forest.

This
 
freedomcm said:
It sounds as if schools isn't on your priority list?

If so, why limit yourself to Irvine?  You are much more likely to find what you describe in the older areas of Tustin, by downtown, or in Costa Mesa.  Or if being close to great park/spectrum is a priority, then areas of Lake Forest.

No kids at the moment. I should have mentioned that we are definitely town indifferent and have mostly been looking at Tustin, Costa Mesa, Lake Forest, and Santa Ana.
 
Perspective said:
Stay away from Orchard Hills, where your roaming cats will become coyote feed. Unless of course, the cats are your girlfriend's, and you're interested in "losing" them.

Lol, we both love them both but we have separate favorites. Also we don't believe in feeding wildlife  :D

Are SoCal coyotes more savvy? Our cats have had a pretty good track record of avoiding them in Santa Cruz, and we see/hear them around all the time.
 
A lot of the older homes on Michelson between Culver and Jeffrey have decent yards and walkways. Back when I rented there, the prices were pretty reasonable. Our home had a small private front courtyard and a small backyard along a greenbelt.
 
freedomcm said:
It sounds as if schools isn't on your priority list?

If so, why limit yourself to Irvine?  You are much more likely to find what you describe in the older areas of Tustin, by downtown, or in Costa Mesa.  Or if being close to great park/spectrum is a priority, then areas of Lake Forest.

San Clemente, and apartment rents are less, but it might be too crazy of a commute for some folks......
 
That's great. Someone gets bitten and they go out and catch two or three random coyotes, kill them without even knowing if that coyote was responsible and then call it a day. Nice.
 
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