Irvine Vs Lake Forest

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Irvine Dweller_IHB

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I am trying to get your views on buying in Irvine vs Lake Forest. I have been searching houses in the $450k to $550k range for the past 2 months. Lake Forest definitely offers more house for the buck. However, Irvine has it's advantages too , especially with the school rating and neighbor hood safety.



Is the school district in Lake Forest really worse ? The high schools in Irvine & Lake Forest seem to have comparable API's. I don't think I can tell the same about elementary & middle schools, Irvine is much better.



The list of registered sex offenders is almost the same in both cities.



Any thoughts or other comparisions would be very helpful.



Thanks

Irvine Dweller
 
In case you want to read conversation we had on Foothill Ranch (in Lake Forest), there is a <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/5349/">thread here</a> with people's thoughts. You might have some luck typing Lake Forest into the search bar on the top-right of your screen. Welcome to IHB.
 
[quote author="Irvine Dweller" date=1254103553]I am trying to get your views on buying in Irvine vs Lake Forest. I have been searching houses in the $450k to $550k range for the past 2 months. Lake Forest definitely offers more house for the buck. However, Irvine has it's advantages too , especially with the school rating and neighbor hood safety.



Is the school district in Lake Forest really worse ? The high schools in Irvine & Lake Forest seem to have comparable API's. I don't think I can tell the same about elementary & middle schools, Irvine is much better.



The list of registered sex offenders is almost the same in both cities.



Any thoughts or other comparisions would be very helpful.



Thanks

Irvine Dweller</blockquote>


don't let the irvine folks convince you the way to value a neighborhood is based on api scores. the overwhelmingly greatest variable in how well your kids do in school is you, the parent. as long as you don't send them to an below average school (which by the way shouldn't be defined by api scores alone) they will have the opportunity for success academically. irvine has good schools. so does lake forest. pick the neighborhood you like the best.



the safety thing is way overrated as well. irvine is safe. and so are a whole bunch of other cities. at a point you are simply arguing around the edges. Heck there are neighborhoods in santa ana that are for are material purposes as safe as irvine.



the irvine folks would have you believe if you dont live in irvine you will likely be mugged and your kids are doomed to fail in school. I think they make the case because otherwise Irvine is just any other cookie cutter city with beige track homes and chain stores.
 
[quote author="Irvine Dweller" date=1254103553]I am trying to get your views on buying in Irvine vs Lake Forest. I have been searching houses in the $450k to $550k range for the past 2 months. Lake Forest definitely offers more house for the buck. However, Irvine has it's advantages too , especially with the school rating and neighbor hood safety.



Is the school district in Lake Forest really worse ? The high schools in Irvine & Lake Forest seem to have comparable API's. I don't think I can tell the same about elementary & middle schools, Irvine is much better.



The list of registered sex offenders is almost the same in both cities.



Any thoughts or other comparisions would be very helpful.



Thanks

Irvine Dweller</blockquote>
Thanks for posting up. I'm helping out one of my good friends and her husband look for a home in Lake Forest/Foothill Ranch. The prices of homes in the Lake Forest/Foothill Ranch area range anywhere from $250-$275/sf as compared to about $350/sf in Irvine for what they are looking for. I've already made the rounds in Irvine and they wanted to get more house for their money. They like the location of Lake Forest/Foothill Ranch (the wife works in Irvine and the husband works in Costa Mesa). I can't speak about the schools because the topic hasn't come up because they don't have any kids yet (but are planning on it in the next few years) but I'm sure my friend did some recon work on the schools as there are only certain pockets of LF/FR she wants to focus on. We are looking at homes built in the 80s and 90s for the most part and we have found that the lot sizes are much larger than in Irvine (also important for them). Let me know if you have more specific questions.
 
Personally, I like Lake Forest and do not know why it gets a bad rap. And I prefer Lake Forest to Foothill Ranch. I would also prefer LF to Irvine, if only for the reason you mention which is that you get a lot more home for your money. I was a big Irvine fan, but as prices decrease in other areas much more than prices decrease in Irvine, I would tend to consider other areas more favorably. From what I have heard, the schools in LF are fine.
 
Lake Forest has a "99c Only" store and Irvine doesn't. I live in Irvine, but I shop at that store...the perfect arrangement. ;-)
 
[quote author="jumpcut" date=1254120735]Lake Forest has a "99c Only" store and Irvine doesn't. I live in Irvine, but I shop at that store...the perfect arrangement. ;-)</blockquote>


Irvine has (2) 99 Ranch Markets and Lake Forest doesn't. My friends live in Lake Forest and shop at both markets.... The perfect arrangement.
 
[quote author="not a realtor" date=1254105270]

the irvine folks would have you believe if you dont live in irvine you will likely be mugged and your kids are doomed to fail in school. I think they make the case because otherwise Irvine is just any other cookie cutter city with beige track homes and chain stores.</blockquote>
Some of us just like Irvine better, regardless of API scores, safety, cookies, "tracks" or chains.



I lived in Lake Forest for 4 years and the more inland you go, the more "Irvine-like" it is. The only problem is it gets farther away from the freeways and that can get tiresome. If you work in Foothill Ranch, then FR is a great place to live but if you commute or have friends/relatives in other parts of SoCal, you may want to look closer like between Trabuco and Muirlands. Once you get closer to Rockfield, it tends to get older and the homes are a bit dated.



And... they have a Tommy's.
 
I am living in FHR right now and trying to look for houses in Irvine. My main reason I wanted to move to Irvine is the environment.



I want my son being able to ride his bike on the street, to school...etc but in FHR, at least where i live, this is not possible. I live in the corner of Alton/Portola behind Ralphs, and they drive very fast on those streets. And there is not as much smaller street, with green belt as Irvine.



I work in Irvine, and husband in Santa Ana, and going to work is a pain. It's easy enough to hope of the tollroad to get to work within 20 mins for me, but if i want to go to the freeway, on a weekday, it will take me over 45 mins to get to work. There is only one way (other than the tollroad) to go to the freeway, and everyone who lives around there is on it!



But on the other hand, FHR can be very convenient as well. There is a lot of choices in restaurants, and you get a walmart/target...etc right in front of your house. And during the weekend, it's nice and quiet, with hardly any traffic anywhere you go, unlike Irvine, places really get jammed during the weekend.
 
[quote author="Irvinian" date=1254198397]LF also has a strip club (used to have 2) and 3 marijuana dispensaries. Go LF!</blockquote>


Is that the one called "Captain Cream," or something like that? I always laugh when I see it.



Also, Lake Forest has The Hat, where you can get huge and delicious chili cheese fries.
 
Lake Forest is getting all the "sleaze" establishments that Irvine would not issue a business permit for. Irvine male residents and former police officer Park have been going to Lake Forest to satisfying and relief their cravings ranging from Pastrami, buffalo wings and much more.
 
Bk, is there a reason why Irvine doesn't have a Lucille's but both neighboring Tustin and Lake Forest do? or that just coincidence and nothing to do with the Irvine Company?
 
[quote author="25inIrvine" date=1254359030]Bk, is there a reason why Irvine doesn't have a Lucille's but both neighboring Tustin and Lake Forest do? or that just coincidence and nothing to do with the Irvine Company?</blockquote>
Because eating ribs is against the CC&Rs;.



I think at the time Lucille's was expanding... there wasn't space in a TIC center for them.



If they were looking now, I would think they would probably want to be where the Black Angus is in the MarketPlace rather than where they are in the District.
 
Lucille BBQ has a specific historic theming to its architecture. Their late 19th century agricultural plantation inspired aesthetic of distressed brick, wood sidings, porches, steep gable roofs, and ornate turnposts with pickets is totally against the grain of Irvine retail aesthetic.



Former Black Angus at the Marketplace is a bad architectural fit for Lucille and the lack of inviting window was one of the primary reasons restaurants died. Both French 75 and Black Angus had obsured glass where people can't see the activities inside.



Rule #1 for all retailers patrons must be able to see the inside of the space from the outside at a distant and its signage from far away.



If Ten is reading this then I hope he will post to confirm my thoughts.
 
He is reading, but I think he only comments on the blog now. But that big patio of Lucilles is very inviting.



Now if only 24 hour fitness would move into those vacancies at the Marketplace. The Compusa spot or the Circuit City spot seem like they would have more than enough space to handle a Sport one. Also, I think the Tustin Ranch plus West Irvine/Northwood area people would fill that place up!



Any guesses on what would get that Black Angus spot? I'm thinking not another restaurant or maybe just a fast food place to go right next to the In'n'out and Taco Bell.
 
[quote author="25inIrvine" date=1254361755]He is reading, but I think he only comments on the blog now. But that big patio of Lucilles is very inviting.



Now if only 24 hour fitness would move into those vacancies at the Marketplace. The Compusa spot or the Circuit City spot seem like they would have more than enough space to handle a Sport one. Also, I think the Tustin Ranch plus West Irvine/Northwood area people would fill that place up!



Any guesses on what would get that Black Angus spot? I'm thinking not another restaurant or maybe just a fast food place to go right next to the In'n'out and Taco Bell.</blockquote>


An experience of going to a higher price restaurant is for the ambiance of status and prestige not that Black Angus totally fit into that high price range. The experience of dining out starts when the gentleman opens the door for the lady out in the parking lot.



When the parking lot is full of cars from the fast food joints next door and seeing a roudy crowd at Taco Bell and In"n"Out that kind of robbed my experience. I never returned after that. Tenant mix and proximity to one another is crucial to the center's success.



SCP mandates their tenant to remodel the store every 10 years and also utilizes that opportunity to fine tuned the strategic locations of critical stores. Seggerstrom biggest regret was signing a very long term lease with Sears not knowing his center's future as a world class shopping destination.
 
[quote author="Irvine Dweller" date=1254103553]I am trying to get your views on buying in Irvine vs Lake Forest. I have been searching houses in the $450k to $550k range for the past 2 months. Lake Forest definitely offers more house for the buck. However, Irvine has it's advantages too , especially with the school rating and neighbor hood safety.



Is the school district in Lake Forest really worse ? The high schools in Irvine & Lake Forest seem to have comparable API's. I don't think I can tell the same about elementary & middle schools, Irvine is much better.



The list of registered sex offenders is almost the same in both cities.



Any thoughts or other comparisions would be very helpful.



Thanks

Irvine Dweller</blockquote>


Everyone on here knows that if you loved your child you would buy in Irvine because that is where the best schools are. Don't buy in another city (especially Santa Ana) because that would mean you don't love your child as much......Everyone knows this!!!!
 
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