Help - Where to Move in OC to Get Closer to Work??

So my general take-away is that this forum likes San Clemente but it's tooo far south from work to consider moving there.



Yorba Linda and Fullerton are the 'best' North OC options..Pasadena in LA (Love it but wayy too smoggy and too far away from the beach).



What about Ladera Ranch..Right at the end of the 241 toll road and we could jump on that and head to work and then close proximity to the train station off of Crown Valley?? If not Ladera Ranch, Las Flores or San Juan Capistrano on the east side of the freeway (albeit crappy school districts).



Appreciate the input..Tough to figure out where to move when we both work in such opposite directions..Would love to be by the beach but it's not in the cards with our careers, and not in the cards to leave our places of employment either.



Thanks.
 
I commute to Fontana every day from Irvine... about 50 mins door to door with average traffic. Against traffic each way (except along the 15.... 133>241>91>15>10). It's doable. Not ideal, but doable. 50 miles each way. It's a little under $10 a day with FasTrak (off peak). Then you count in gas. When gas was up to $5/gallon, things kinda sucked - almost $20/day just for the commute. Anyways... It's doable as long as you take these things into account.



Yorba Linda is nice, but it's far enough inland that there's effectively no difference from any other LA county equivalent. Unfortunately, it also has access only to the 91 and 57, and depending on where you live in YL, it can lengthen your commute by a good 10-15 mins just to get to the highway.



Pasadena is a viable option with the 210. For your husband, commuting to SB is against traffic, and there are no tolls. Many of my coworkers actually do this. Equal to my commute (50 miles abouts) but without the toll, and without having to deal with traffic on the 15. Would be alot better for you to get to Burbank, I'm sure. I would say this would be one of your best options if you're amenable to Pasadena.



But if temperatures and proximity to the beach are paramount to you, then I guess my suggestions are probably out.
 
Why not bite the bullet and just move to Corona/Riverside, wipe out the hubby's drive, you're telecommuting 3 days a week, pick up the train and buy a big, new, nice place with real yard for $200,000 and retire early?
 
[quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1237760768]Why not bite the bullet and just move to Corona/Riverside, wipe out the hubby's drive, you're telecommuting 3 days a week, pick up the train and buy a big, new, nice place with real yard for $200,000 and retire early?</blockquote>


Because Corona sucks? :) I'm sorry, that wasn't nice. However, it is the truth.



I think Pasadena rocks. It has nice weather in the evening, the resturant scene is off the hook, reasonable proximity to everywhere.
 
[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1237761814][quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1237760768]Why not bite the bullet and just move to Corona/Riverside, wipe out the hubby's drive, you're telecommuting 3 days a week, pick up the train and buy a big, new, nice place with real yard for $200,000 and retire early?</blockquote>


Because Corona sucks? :) I'm sorry, that wasn't nice. However, it is the truth.



I think Pasadena rocks. It has nice weather in the evening, the resturant scene is off the hook, reasonable proximity to everywhere.</blockquote>


I would agree, I always wondered why once you moved to the IE, one just didn't keep on going and head for Phoenix, Vegas, SLC or Santa Fe. The answer was jobs. With more and more pressure for telecommuting, it'll get interesting.



And of course, the IE black hole destroying equity and prices. If the IE ends up at $50-$75/sf, how much premium do people pay to live in North OC?
 
The IE has product (thanks to the bust, at cut rate prices) you can't get at all in OC.



If you are into "Redneck" activities (riding dirt bikes, sand cars al la Galamis or desert racing, rock crawling, Indian Casinos), want cookie cutter chain restruants and strip malls, and can work flexable hours (to avoid the rush hour 91 traffic nightmare) the IE has a lot of appeal.
 
I couldnt agree more about the IE..Not exactly desireable area to live in, especially when we have 2 young kids. It works for some people, but I'd rather do a 70 mile commute daily than move to the IE. Quality of life (depending on how you measure it) just isn't there..
 
If you have two small kids, I recind my recomendation of Pasadena. It's in LAUSD and the schools are horrible.



South Pasadena is the place for you! Awesome schools, but a modest premium over Pasadena. Kind of like Irvine vs Tustin.
 
[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1237769277]If you have two small kids, I recind my recomendation of Pasadena. It's in LAUSD and the schools are horrible.



South Pasadena is the place for you! Awesome schools, but a modest premium over Pasadena. Kind of like Irvine vs Tustin.</blockquote>


South Pas has a very good school district. It also has a high Chinese population. If you are looking for a city with good schools always look for Chinese population driving their less than 4 year old Mecedes, Lexus and Beemers. Chinese driving older cars live in El Monte and you do not want that as a gauge.
 
Husband says Pasadena is too far of a drive to San B and pockets of Pasadena aren't so great, especially with 2 kids under 5 years old..Private schools are 20k+/year..



1) Ladera Ranch

2) Fullerton

3) Yorba Linda

4) San Clemente and suck it up with long commute



???
 
If I buy the house I'm currently looking at I will halve my commute-from eight minutes to four. (Live in Riverside, work in Riverside). Don't dismiss Riverside completely-there are some nice places for cheap (you can get 4 bed/2 bath houses with 7,000 sq ft lots in good neighborhoods for less than the price of a condo in Irvine or Pasadena), you've got the Metrolink, and the schools are decent too, IMHO. But I'm biased.
 
[quote author="stone007" date=1237898727]Husband says Pasadena is too far of a drive to San B and pockets of Pasadena aren't so great, especially with 2 kids under 5 years old..Private schools are 20k+/year..



1) Ladera Ranch

2) Fullerton

3) Yorba Linda

4) San Clemente and suck it up with long commute



???</blockquote>


Fullerton for better schools and neighborhood characters.
 
If I were in the same situation, I think I?ll pick YL. Some areas in YL have easy access to 241 and those are nice areas in good neighborhood.
 
[quote author="Meatball" date=1237944509]If I were in the same situation, I think I?ll pick YL. Some areas in YL have easy access to 241 and those are nice areas in good neighborhood.</blockquote> Low water pressure and high fire fuel zone next the natural terrain and difficult accessibility are not ideal for housing.
 
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