Irvine vs Tustin Schools??

kcmkane_IHB

kcmkane_IHB

New member
<p>I've gone through these boards and found a couple of comments on schools, but found nothing which really helps make up my mind. Wondering if anyone has any strong feelings one way or the other regarding the quailty of the Tustin schools serving Irvine??</p>
 
<p>I'm not sure what the API scode is (oh, I see it now)... perhaps this site will help you if you were not previously using it...The State of California tracks and posts (http://star.cde.ca.gov/) the testing results for each school, district, grade level, etc. for Math, English, etc... When you compare Irvine to Tustin, there is a difference in test scores across grade levels and subjects. I for one, grew up in Irvine, and I can speak first hand about the school system - which is about as good as a public system gets (which means it still has its short comings) but test results speak for themselves. But, didn't Tustin just get a new magnet type school in South Tustin?</p>

<p>Of course, whether any child does well in school has much more to do with parent involvement than anything else. IMO.</p>
 
Thanks for your thoughts...and I do agree with your point on parental involvement. We should probably just move to the neighborhood we like best --- and everything else will fall into place. Besides, we are going to have some time before needing to make our "final" decision ---- after taking the day off yesterday and spending nearly the entire day researching every RE site I could find, I have definitely come to the decision that 2007 will NOT be the year we jump into the housing market as 1st time home buyers. Too risky, and I might just find that in another year or two my $750K or so will get our dream home, rather than a compromise.
 
<p>CK: "<em>I have definitely come to the decision that 2007 will NOT be the year we jump into the housing market as 1st time home buyers."</em></p>

<p>Good call. You will not regret this decision.</p>

<p>Alright, who's next?</p>
 
I respect your opinions - some of my best friends and family share your thoughts. But what IF you're wrong? Wouldn't it be worse to not be able to get back in (at the location you wanted?). Whereas, if you can afford your dream place (or almost dream place) now, worst case scenario is that you just live there? It was a tough decision to carry a $900k mortgage - but I am in LOVE with this house (Astoria Plan 1 in Columbus Square). If your budget is in the 700s, you should check out Verandas in Columbus Square, the biggest floor plan is in the 7s and they are detached (similar portola units we looked at were in the 900s. And the builder may reduce the price like they did for us (they reduced 2x) for us. Also, the City of Tustin website shows that new elementary schools and a high school will be going in to service the area....
 
If we are wrong, who says its so bad to not buy back in? Half the PITI on a $900K mortgage will rent a detached home in some of Irvine's best neighboorhoods. You can put the difference (which slowly declines as rents rise) in the stock market and watch it grow into a couple mil over 30 years. Doesn't sound so bad.
 
<p>That's funny you say that, bigmoneysalsa --- as I complained to my father today about how painful it was going to be to sign yet another lease, he rattled off this laundry list of pains in his you-know-what homeownership has been for him over the past 31 years --- and reminded me how easy our lives were in our leased townhome...And he wrapped by telling me not to feel so bad because all these people with the interest only mortgages are only renting money anyways --- so would it be so bad if I rented a house forever? </p>

<p>Now, I don't really buy all that (I know he was just trying to make me feel better) --- and I remain a bull on owning a home ---- but am also a bull on not doing anything stupid. After being all but ready to sign on the dotted line at least 5 times in the last few months, I have finally decided to wait it out at least another 12 months --- because the more and more I learn, the more I realize this is NOT the year. I'm holding out for Orchard Hills.....By then, we'll know what's really going on...</p>
 
<p>CK: Wait and watch is a good approach in this market. I think most of us who congregate here in this forum are longer term bulls on the housing market but the disconnect between prices and reality is what irks us the most and has turned us into cheerleaders for a correction in the short to medium term (2-5 years).</p>

<p>hbunny: <em>"Whereas, if you can afford your dream place (or almost dream place) now, worst case scenario is that you just live there?"</em></p>

<p>The flaw in this rationale is that you are assuming that when house prices go down, everything else will remain the same, and therefore this statement is of the best case scenario. Anyone who has taken Econ 101 will tell you that there are a number of scenarios of possible outcomes. The two that economists (and our Fed) are most worried about are (1) decline is consumer sentiment related to housing price decline (i.e. inability to use home equity as ATM - cha ching) and (2) loss of jobs in the RE industry leading to a domino effect of job and consumer sentiment loss elsewhere.</p>

<p>When and if these scenarios play out, by making a statement like you did above, you would be helping CK for example, get into a place that he may not adequately be able to afford with reasonable monthly cash cushion (i.e. overstretched), and in a declining market, expose himself to a negative equity situation over the next 12-24 months. If, heaven forbid, he or his significant other may be somehow negatively impacted by any of the possible sconomic scenarios outline above, he would not be in a postion to sell his house without paying out his own pocket to unload it. He would have you to thank for this situation. This, of course, could lead to several outcomes, which would be covered in detail in my forthcoming book... </p>

<p>So the bottomline of what I am trying to say is this: Not only should one be worried about declining prices evaporating any home equity (i.e. down payment) but also of possible recession/job loss putting one in a postion where he or she may not be able to get out of it without major financial damage, the worst outcome of which would be personal bankruptcy.</p>
 
<p>Oh, so <strong>that's</strong> what the little "thanks" link does. They should just make it say "do not click here" -- then everyone would click it!</p>

<p>Now what were we talking about? Schools? </p>
 
<p>CK,</p>

<p>You can check the schools at <a href="http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/template_plain/advanced/CA/#address">http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/template_plain/advanced/CA/#address</a>. If you put in an address it will show both the nearby Tustin and Irvine schools. You can then compare schools. All of the schools in the area have really good test scores. There are also parent comments on the sight, so you can read opinions from people who have children in the schools. </p>

<p>According to this site, the Tustin schools serving Irvine are as good or better than the Irvine schools. We are currently renting in Northpark. The neighborhood school is Hicks Canyon. Because we moved here in July (after the initial registration period), our child was put on a waiting list for Kindergarten. At the time, there were over 20 Kindergarteners from Northpark and Northpark Square on the list. All of them were sent to Ladera (they decided to keep them all together, which was nice because they are still in school with friends from their neighborhood). Ladera is a very good school. According to the great schools site, it had higher test scores than Canyon View. There is tremendous parent involvement. Parents are encouraged to help out in the classroom, which is a great experience.; You can really see the teachers at work and how your child is progressing. The school is also less crowded than Hicks Canyon.</p>

<p>We have met parents who have had their children at both Hicks Canyon and Ladera. The only complaint we've heard about Hicks Canyon was that it is overcrowded. We've been told that Northpark Square was supposed to have its own school, but that it was never built. As a result, the Northpark Square kids also go to Hicks Canyon which led to the overcrowding.</p>

<p>If you look at the test scores and parent reviews, I don't think you can really go wrong in either the Tustin or Irvine Schools. As someone else said, the main thing that will help your child succeed is your involvement.</p>

<p>Hope this helps! Good luck!</p>
 
Waiting till 08: Thanks so much for your comments, and that supports what I was already thinking, but was hoping for some validation from someone with first-hand knowledge. By the way, I also agree with you on "waiting until 08".
 
IMO it's important to choose a good school district, but API scores isnt' everything. Too many parents today dump their kids to schools like daycare centers and spend little time with their kid's schoolwork. Some kids can be self-motivated, but others need a little "push". Another alternative -- doesn't work for everyone, is the home school option where you (parents) have more control over the kid's schoolwork. Irvine home school program (949) 936-6304.





There's a lot of articles out there on pros and cons of rent vs. buy. I'll list a few (holistic?) points that I've learned over the years:





(Warning: long rant, skip if desired)





1) A "home" should not be treated as an income/investment property. Buying a home is an emotional decision, you should only buy and live in a home that you feel good about. If you live in a "bad" property it'd affect you in many ways and make it difficult for you to move away.





I made a mistake once, buying a condo for investment and lived in it. I didn't like living there but ended up staying for 4 years. During that time I was mentally, emotionally, and physically degraded -- and once you're in a rot, it's like a pit that's hard to climb out. It was a property that I didn't feel good about, and living there caused depression to slowly creep in. I stopped working out, gained 30 lbs, worsened my chronic tension headache, had a skin infection, back problem, broke a good relationship that should've developed into marriage, got on very bad terms with my parents, etc. Prior to living there I rarely visited the doctors. After living there, I was visiting the doctors every 2 weeks. Finally, I forced myself out of that pit and I've been better since.





2) Generally speaking I wouldn't recommend people to buy a property in current local (Irvine) market. However if you find a home that you REALLY like and feel REALLY GOOD about living there, and you could afford it with a conventional 15 or 30 year fixed rate mortgage, then go ahead and buy it. This is assuming you rarely find property that makes you feel that way. But if you can visit 20 homes and feel that good in 5, then disregard my advise and just wait for market correction.





Living in a home that makes you feel "good" will improve your mental and emotional well being, which will also eventually improve your physical well being. The feeling of waking up in the morning and feeling really good about your home and environment has a value that cannot be matched in dollars. After I moved back to Irvine into a condo that I liked -- and I mean just "liked" and feel a little good about, I felt much better and started working out within the month. By the 2nd month I had a female friend over to help me throw out about 70% of my crappy old cloths and take me shopping at Macy's for Men at South Coast Plaza. I had my car cleaned/detailed, got a hair cut, and cleaned up. By the 3rd month I was feeling better, dressed better, smiled more, and many of my old friends noticed the change and wanted to hang out with me more. My social life improved by 200% and I look forward to every weekend.





3) If you found a home that you like and felt good about, but cannot afford to buy it, you can still rent it. A home can be bought or rented, versus an investment property usually requires purchase. If you opt to rent a home, you can invest your $$ elsewhere -- buy property in another location, another country, buy mutual funds, etc.
 
(cont. from previous msg)








4) If you're buying a pure investment/income property, you should ditch the emotion and just look at the numbers. Remember this is the property that you should NOT live in yourself (unless if by chance it's one that you like). It's okay to buy an income property that you don't want to live in, if the numebrs look good and you're renting to other people anyway. Maybe your renter has totally differnt outlook on life and is a goth chic who loves the gloomy house and want to put a coffin-bed in the master bedroom and paint the walls black. Read "rich dad, poor dad" by Robert Kiyosaki, and remember that you don't have to buy income property in your area. Since you're not living there anyway, you can invest in as far away as Eastern Europe.





5) Never manage rental property by yourself unless if you're very experienced. Hire a GOOD, experienced property manager. They have a "feel" for bad tenants and have the experience that you do not. Just pay the management fees and you can sleep easy at night. I know several friends who bought investment properties and tried to manage it themselves, most of them got burned by bad tenants. I've owned income properties for years and always used good managers and have never been burned.





6) An investment property is not something you should be attached to. Like people who bought stocks that went into a decline and held it beacuse they "hope" the value will come back up (or worse, "hey if I hold this for another 2 months I'd save x% on taxes"), the termites at your rental house aren't going to move by themselves. If it's looking bad, SELL IT. Don't try to save $1 and end up losing $5. Don't try to be cheap. Spend money where you need to and sell when you should.
 
Excuse me! Can we puhlease talk about the Tustin and Irvine schools? Let me break it down for ya: without getting too inflamitory demographic. Tustin schools and Irvine Schools, probably equal in terms of opportunity. Tustin schools (of which yours truly is a product) have a large, uh, unmotivated, low ses, etc population. So that drags down their numbers a bit. There is a warehousing component to these schools-- a fact of life (sorry bleeding heart liberals). On the other hand, the vast majority of students in Irvine are motivated. So, you get a superstar school like University. From people I've known there, and teachers, they say it's no better an education, but you've got everyone from Albert Anh to Zach Zhang working very hard. So, all of the Irvine HS's have great numbers. In Tustin Unified, Foothill and Beckman are great, Tustin High is questionable-- so just around the old construction that feeds into that school. Keep the faith! -- Irvine Soul Brother
 
Thanks for your thoughts, Brother. I just wrote on another post here that I moved to Irvine specifically for the schools, and ironically after a year here, we have found our favorite neighborhoods are in the Tustin school district. Go figure. It seems that regardless of which side of Culver I end up landing on in Northpark/Northwood, my little princess won't be suffering....The schools all seem to be great there --- probably a reflection of the emphasis the parents living in that area put on education. Since I am now zoned in on Orchard Hills for next year, and it appears about half of it will be in TUSD and half in IUSD --- both with brand new schools --- how can I go wrong? I will be interested to see if the pricing differs between the two sides of the development, however...
 
<p>Thought that this may be helpful to those considering school issues... talks about the "growing" schools controversy in TUSD & IUSD?</p>

<p>http://www.simby.org/</p>
 
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