irvinerealtor
Well-known member
akim997 said:
+1
North park versus Woodury
- Thread starter OCMommy
- Start date
+1
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Sorry... did I dunk left or right handed?akim997 said:
Just kidding... I only dunk donuts... with BOTH hands.
It was even in my youth... but it actually happened a couple of times. The one engrained in my memory was on a fast break, because the guy even screamed "ahhhhhhhhhh" right before he threw down... another happened on a rebound where i jumped up, only to see what i initially thought was a helicopter grab the ball a foot over the basket and slam down with two hands. The silver lining is, realizing the limits of my athletic abilities, I took up golf at an earlier age which I enjoy more today...
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
If I had to choose....I'd pick Northpark over Woodbury.
Lived in NPark Square for 6 years, NPark for 3 years, and am now in Woodbury. Somewhat agree with the Korean/Chinese distinction.
I miss being close to the Marketplace and will certainly miss being closer to Mitsuwa once it's built. But I won't miss the traffic on Jamboree (or Culver for that matter). If you end up primarily using the Irvine Blvd entrance, Hicks elementary traffic is really annoying.
I like the Irvine Costco better. I like the proximity of Woodbury Towncenter and I really like being so close to the Great Park having 2 little ones. Love the Lagoon Pool/Water park at Woodbury. Being Chinese, I like being closer to the Walnut/Jeffrey shopping/dining area.
I miss being close to the Marketplace and will certainly miss being closer to Mitsuwa once it's built. But I won't miss the traffic on Jamboree (or Culver for that matter). If you end up primarily using the Irvine Blvd entrance, Hicks elementary traffic is really annoying.
I like the Irvine Costco better. I like the proximity of Woodbury Towncenter and I really like being so close to the Great Park having 2 little ones. Love the Lagoon Pool/Water park at Woodbury. Being Chinese, I like being closer to the Walnut/Jeffrey shopping/dining area.
MonsterMom
New member
Just moved in a Northwood Pointe house (rental, across Culver to NP) a couple weeks ago and we are aiming at buying possibly either North Park or Woodbury. I think I am in the minority here prefer Woodbury (just slightly)... First, I hate GATED community. 
Right now I am living in one and hate the feeling of segregation... I mean, this is Irvine! Why do I need this kind of security? The Culver/Jamboree traffic is so horrible that my husband spends about the same time driving to work at Huntington Beach from here as from Aliso...
For now, I'd say NP is a more completed community. You buy a house here and you get what you want. As for Woodbury, its future is more obscure. The schools have a room for improvement (Woodbury Elementary doesn't have the best reputation here. And with upcoming 5th high school it is possible that Woodbury will be rezoned). And we don't know after Stonegate/Portola Spring/Great Park are built out what it would look like...
However, I do LOVE Hicks Canyon Trail. A. LOT. Right now I have direct access to it and love it. If I have over 1m budget I would like to buy the place I currently rent. Yes, even it's a gated community.
Right now I am living in one and hate the feeling of segregation... I mean, this is Irvine! Why do I need this kind of security? The Culver/Jamboree traffic is so horrible that my husband spends about the same time driving to work at Huntington Beach from here as from Aliso... For now, I'd say NP is a more completed community. You buy a house here and you get what you want. As for Woodbury, its future is more obscure. The schools have a room for improvement (Woodbury Elementary doesn't have the best reputation here. And with upcoming 5th high school it is possible that Woodbury will be rezoned). And we don't know after Stonegate/Portola Spring/Great Park are built out what it would look like...
However, I do LOVE Hicks Canyon Trail. A. LOT. Right now I have direct access to it and love it. If I have over 1m budget I would like to buy the place I currently rent. Yes, even it's a gated community.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
@MonsterMom:
Congrats on the move to Irvine... I don't think it's common knowledge that I love living in this city (/sarcmark).
Did you end up selling your Aliso home (no answer required if you prefer)?
I see you ended up renting which is probably a smart move considering that prices are still unstable... is this a test period before you decide on where you actually plan to live/buy?
Congrats on the move to Irvine... I don't think it's common knowledge that I love living in this city (/sarcmark).
Did you end up selling your Aliso home (no answer required if you prefer)?
I see you ended up renting which is probably a smart move considering that prices are still unstable... is this a test period before you decide on where you actually plan to live/buy?
MonsterMom
New member
@irvinehomeowner
Yes we sold our aliso house. We once considered keeping the house and renting it out but a buyer came up with a reasonable offer and the rest is history. Luckily we have a friend who owns a very nice house which happens to be available for us to rent month-by-month at a discount price.
And we are in the full house hunting mode. I know a lot of ppl probably would tell us wait for a while. But for me, I asked myself,"are the houses within my price range (650K~750K) going to be cheaper by 40K (roughly the full year rent I am paying) in a year?" The answer is "Probably Not"! And right now we don't have that many competitors around so I think we might get pretty good deal in the end. But the downside is that inventory is also low at this moment. My strategy is actively seeking but also passively waiting for my dream house coming along.
Back to the NP vs WB battle. I think the price of NP is quite "perfect". That means you pay what you get fair and square. And the inventory with my price range is low. WB seems having a lot of short sales going on which hurt the current house value and just like I mentioned previously that its future is not as clear as NP. On the other hand it may have more potentials. Anyway both are pretty good communities. My verdict comes up with personal preference (not liking gated community) I guess.
Yes we sold our aliso house. We once considered keeping the house and renting it out but a buyer came up with a reasonable offer and the rest is history.
Luckily we have a friend who owns a very nice house which happens to be available for us to rent month-by-month at a discount price. And we are in the full house hunting mode. I know a lot of ppl probably would tell us wait for a while. But for me, I asked myself,"are the houses within my price range (650K~750K) going to be cheaper by 40K (roughly the full year rent I am paying) in a year?" The answer is "Probably Not"! And right now we don't have that many competitors around so I think we might get pretty good deal in the end. But the downside is that inventory is also low at this moment. My strategy is actively seeking but also passively waiting for my dream house coming along.
Back to the NP vs WB battle. I think the price of NP is quite "perfect". That means you pay what you get fair and square. And the inventory with my price range is low. WB seems having a lot of short sales going on which hurt the current house value and just like I mentioned previously that its future is not as clear as NP. On the other hand it may have more potentials. Anyway both are pretty good communities. My verdict comes up with personal preference (not liking gated community) I guess.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
If you have an idea of which floorplans you like, you should grab the bull by the horns and work with your realtor by sending out letter to home owners to see if you can flush out someone who was thinking about selling. It worked for one of my buyers and I before so you never know. Hopefully it'll work for the buyer that I'd doing that for as we speak. ***FINGERS CROSSED***MonsterMom said:@irvinehomeowner
Yes we sold our aliso house. We once considered keeping the house and renting it out but a buyer came up with a reasonable offer and the rest is history.
And we are in the full house hunting mode. I know a lot of ppl probably would tell us wait for a while. But for me, I asked myself,"are the houses within my price range (650K~750K) going to be cheaper by 40K (roughly the full year rent I am paying) in a year?" The answer is "Probably Not"! And right now we don't have that many competitors around so I think we might get pretty good deal in the end. But the downside is that inventory is also low at this moment. My strategy is actively seeking but also passively waiting for my dream house coming along.
Back to the NP vs WB battle. I think the price of NP is quite "perfect". That means you pay what you get fair and square. And the inventory with my price range is low. WB seems having a lot of short sales going on which hurt the current house value and just like I mentioned previously that its future is not as clear as NP. On the other hand it may have more potentials. Anyway both are pretty good communities. My verdict comes up with personal preference (not liking gated community) I guess.