Which would you choose: Woodbridge or PS?

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kayochan

Active member
Hello:

I would like some input between these two very different neighborhoods.  My pros/cons are as follows:

Woodbridge:

Pros: 
- lakes
- schools not as competitive and still very good
- curve appeal with real driveways
- lots more trees and open space
- more South so cooler
- a little closer to work

Cons:
- older homes
- not as many little kids (?)
- may have to do remodel
- asbestos?
- kids will have to change schools

Portola Springs:

Pros:
- New
- Floorplan we like
- more kids
- don't need to change school

Cons:
- schools are pretty competitive
- landfill
- lots of motor courts
- not as nice facade/curve appeal

What do you guys think?
 
For me I'll take plume over landfill, central over boonies, lakes over views(?).

I think Woodbridge has aged nicely, most homes show pride in ownership, and still carries a upper $350/sq ft premium over other villages except for  the obvious higher end parts of Irvine.  Some of the older floor plans are still functional (JM peters) and u can't beat high ceilings.  I can't look past Portola's exposure to fire danger/landfill combo. 
 
SunCare said:
SoCal78 said:
Neither, but if you held a gun to my head: Portola Springs.
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Why PS over WdB?
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- More tranquility
- Less traffic
- New home, less immediate maintenance (I've bought 2 older homes. It can be a real pain. Next time: only new for me.)
- Newer school facilities with technology
- Asbestos used in California construction & insulation until approx 1979. Not a huge fan of mesothelioma.
- PS has better curb appeal, imo.
- PS is not on top of a TCE plume
- Your kids get to keep their school routine and friends. Giving kids roots is important.

Source: I'm a former resident of PS
 
My parents tell me to go with WdB because of the better location (more South) and the overall feel/look of the neighborhood.  When I bring up the kids and their school, they say that kids will make friends anywhere and that they will be out of the house before we know it...

I still look at PS and think it can become a nice neighborhood when it is built out but would we want to live there forever?  I don't know...

I guess, if my kids already had friends in WdB and they felt good about a move there, I would be choosing WdB.  As is, I am really torn...

 
Totally opposite of SoCal... Woodbridge over PS... without hesitation, with the caveat of the south lake side since it's newer.

I prefer the older floorplans and the Cape Cod style of the WB homes. Additionally... the lake scenery and walkability of Woodbridge is probably one of the best in Irvine.

As for kids... not sure where people are looking but there are tons of them everywhere. I also like the diversity of Woodbridge over some of the newer neighborhoods (hot button topic!).

Plus PS has no Third Place or local Elem yet.

That being said, I do understand the appeal of newer homes. It's why I would choose Quail Hill over Woodbridge... over even Turtle Rock (although the topography of TR is awesome).

Disclosure: Have done 3 tours in Woodbridge

EDIT: Typos.
 
I think you should go with your gut.

What's important to me may not be important to you. Why are you moving? What are you looking for? For me, I wanted new construction, and I wanted the central OC area. I also wanted a house that I loved. That narrowed down the field incredibly (which is why I was looking for 3+ years). Lambert Ranch was the right choice for me. Yes, I know all the negatives. There were also the positives. I don't feel like it's in the boonies (maybe because of my current location). Woodbridge Town Center 5 min away has almost everything I frequently use, the only thing missing being 24 hr Fitness. Children is not an issue for me as it is for you. Kids will do well in school not so much because of the school but because of their parents, their values, and their peer influences.

Buying a house is one of the biggest decisions of your life that you may or may not make about a handful of times. It's going to be stressful. But for me it came to my gut. Trying to predict how home values will hold up, etc is an educated guess, at best, but generally a crapshoot.

That's my 2 cents.
 
Is Woodbridge more diverse than PS? I honestly don't know. If it's true, that could sway my decision. I know that at Stonegate Elementary, I could easily pick my son out of a crowd from a distance as he was literally the only one of his kind in the class and a head taller. At least it made pickup time easy.  ;) I would have been happy to find a suitable location where he wasn't the "Ausl?nder".  :( (He was shunned altogether by one Muslim kid who was his best friend because of a ridiculous problem the mother had with me.) However, my gut says Suncare is Asian so this doesn't apply. I never felt I fit in the P.S. community and don't know enough about Woodbridge other than the housing stock.
 
If I had to pick between the two, I'd pick Woodbridge. I like the location, and the lakes (although artificial) are pretty. I also tend to like older homes, rather than brand-new, and I wouldn't want to live too close to non-coastal mountains or hills.

The one thing that is a deal-breaker about Woodbridge for me is the toxic plume underneath it. I don't know if it truly poses a health risk, but just in case, I would steer clear.



 
I rented a house in Woodbridge for 3.5 years.  You can't beat the location.  Yes- some of the floorplans are outdated, but it really wasn't that bad.  I personally think anything on the "other side" (North) of Irvine Center Drive is too far and Portola Springs is definitely the boonies
 
I'd pick PS. Two main reasons:
1. The landfill is not leaking yet and you won't smell anything once you bought there. But TCE plume is already there.
2. Northwood HS > Woodbridge HS

It really depends on your preference and life style. You just need to assign weight to each pro/con category and compare the total score at the end.
 
I drove around PS not to long ago and it reminds me of the inland empire so i would chose woodbridge.  but then again your kids having to change school complicates things...
 
I'd pick Woodbridge in a heartbeat!

In 7 years or so, PS will lose its "newness" and it'll just become yet another densely-packed newer community in a relatively poor location toward the outskirts of Irvine.  Tens of thousands of similar units will be built over the coming years.  Poor investment IMO and not nearly as nice to live in as Woodbridge.  There's also a lot of uncertainty as to the school system, zoning, and surrounding areas, especially now that the Great Park lost its main source of funding and there are talks of doubling the residential density in the area or selling off parcels, at the expense of park and commercial space.

Woodbridge, on the other hand, is a secure bet in one of the best locations in Irvine, with much lower unit density, private amenities like the lagoon pools, lakes, parks, etc. that no new community will be able to come close to (due to the price of land these days compared to when Woodbridge was developed, it will never be able to be replicated in such a prime location again).  I don't know why it was said that the schools are not as good... perhaps that depends on the part of Woodbridge.  For example, the southwest part of Woodbridge has some of the best rated schools in the country, and its Middle School just got rated the top middle school in all of Orange County a few weeks ago.

When you consider that Woodbridge has no Mello Roos, and is a staggering 30% under rental parity (!), it's just a no brainer IMO.  I strongly believe that Woodbridge is one of the best bargains right now in Southern California, whereas PS will lose its lustre in just a few years.  Best of luck with whatever you decide!
 
IrvineMBA said:
When you consider that Woodbridge has no Mello Roos, and is a staggering 30% under rental parity (!),
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id like to see that calculation - you have to be referring to some crappy condo? seems way to low under rental parity.
 
qwerty said:
IrvineMBA said:
When you consider that Woodbridge has no Mello Roos, and is a staggering 30% under rental parity (!),
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id like to see that calculation - you have to be referring to some crappy condo? seems way to low under rental parity.
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Ditto that.  A few of my buyers bought those small crappy condos and they were under rental parity but not 30% under (more like 10-12%). 
 
irvinehomeowner said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
A few of my buyers bought those small crappy condos
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Whoah... did you tell them they were buying "small crappy" condos?
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Should have quoted Qwerty, my bad.  One man's crap is another man's gold.  Those buyers were well aware of the condition of the condos, including their age, and will be move up buyers and keep the condos that they bought as rentals.  Great strategy if you ask me since they got low primary residence rate pricing on their loans (both are in the process of refi'ing into a 30-year fixed loan at 3.50% at par).  If they bought a rental after they had their larger primary residence, their interest rates would be 3/8% to 1/2% higher (2pt adjustment on the loan side). 
 
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