Moving to OC (Orchard Hills?)

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tiffarew

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Hello and good morning everyone.  I am moving to the OC and wanted to hear the locals' opinion on OH.  My work will be split between the UC Irvine campus and the UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange (Chapman & I-5).  What kind of commute am I looking at from OH to both of these locations (eg is it with or against traffic)?

Reasons I like OH include
1. New construction
2. Gated
3. Looks family oriented with good schools

Having said that, would be appreciative if anyone could weigh in on if this would be a reasonable neighborhood given my commute.  Would also appreciate recommendations for neighborhood options as well.  Looking in the 1.5-1.6M range;  could theoretically go up to close to 2M if I found the perfect home but would prefer to stick to my range).  Also would like 4+ BR.  Yard would be a plus but I understand it's a rarity in Irvine at this pricepoint.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated
 
I'm going to take a guess that you work regular day shift hours and say your traffic to and from both locations going to be with traffic.  If you have traffic going to UCI med center you might want to drive what I call the back roads........ Jamboree to Chapman and then take Chapman to UCI med center.

If your work starts at 6 AM you're probably going to beat the morning traffic to UCI med center.
 
Yes, would probably leave the house around 7AM and come back around 6PM.  Any other advice on other areas of OC would also be appreciated if you think the commute would be long.
 
www.sigalert.com will give you a general idea of how traffic is flowing on the freeways real time. Set it for the area you want to move to and visit the site on the days and times you would be driving.

 
tiffarew said:
Hello and good morning everyone.  I am moving to the OC and wanted to hear the locals' opinion on OH.  My work will be split between the UC Irvine campus and the UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange (Chapman & I-5).  What kind of commute am I looking at from OH to both of these locations (eg is it with or against traffic)?

Reasons I like OH include
1. New construction
2. Gated
3. Looks family oriented with good schools

Having said that, would be appreciative if anyone could weigh in on if this would be a reasonable neighborhood given my commute.  Would also appreciate recommendations for neighborhood options as well.  Looking in the 1.5-1.6M range;  could theoretically go up to close to 2M if I found the perfect home but would prefer to stick to my range).  Also would like 4+ BR.  Yard would be a plus but I understand it's a rarity in Irvine at this pricepoint.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated
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In Tustin Unified School District you have two new home choices, OH and Greenwood
Traffic wise Greenwood will be the optimal choice for you.  Close to 5 to go to UCI medical Center and not to far from UCI.  If you have kids in elementary school next year a new school opens there.  You can easily get a nicely upgraded house for less than 1.5 m.

If you have middle schoolers or High Schoolers then OH would be a great option but to be within 1.5 to 1.6 you will have have stay within Capella (people thrash that here because of small yard size but a very good location within the community in my opinion) or Messina.  But if you go to 1.8 million then you could get Saviero and Vicenza and you might be able to negotiate incentive or price at these two development  There might be even a quick move -in Amelia for less than 2 million.

If you want IUSD, Beacon Park has lots of choices.
 
The commute to UCI campus is not horrible. Several of my neighbors here commute to UCI regularly, and they don't seem to have any problem with it. The commute could be ten minutes on a good day, and forty minutes on a bad day. Of course, as with all commutes, you learn to use the non-peak hours to your advantage as you become more accustomed to the traffic patterns. There is an option on Google Maps wherein you can check the typical traffic patterns for every ten minute interval for every day of the week, which definitely comes in handy.

I haven't had much trouble getting to the 5 from OH. I would definitely advise getting to the 5 from Culver rather than from Jamboree; the traffic at the Market Place tends to get a bit hellish. And the traffic on the 5, of course, is the traffic on the 5 ;). From OH, we've gotten to Disneyland as quickly as 20 minutes, and as slowly as an hour. But, again, you learn to use the non-peak hours to your advantage.

I think everyone here has already given some pretty good neighborhood recommendations for potential homes here. All I can say that may be useful to you is that everyone here seems to love it here! The homes are beautiful, the setting is stunning, and park amenities are great (not to mention that two more parks within the gates are going to be built in the near future).
 
Other areas to consider would be Lambert Ranch and Laguna Altera.  If you are new to Orange County and Irvine, I'd recommend renting first.
 
Why are you not interested in living in University Hills? 

Great schools, great neighborhood, no commute to UCI, about 25 min to UCIMC.

 
University Hills (for University of California employees) looks amazing.  The major issues are
-Up to a 2 year waiting list + mostly (granted not all) older homes
-Minimal appreciation

I would love to live in Turtle Rock.  However, comparable homes there are a lot more expensive.  My budget would get be a 30-40 year old home that needs a lot of work, which I likely wouldn't be able to afford.  If the right home became available in Turtle Rock I'd snap it up. 

Would love to hear people's opinions about other areas where I should look.
 
Why do you like the gated feature of OH Village I? It's a nuisance living in a gated neighborhood. We've lived in three, and I've always hated waiting for gates to open at every entry and exit. I hated the trouble it causes guests. And it doesn't provide any greater security. Irvine apt complexes have gates, so it's not prestigious/exclusive.

All the cool kids are buying in OH Village II without gates and spending $200K+ less thereby diversifying their assets.  ;) Do you need a 3K+ sq ft house? i.e. Do you have more than two adults and/or more than two kids in your family?
 
Ready2Downsize said:
I'm going to take a guess that you work regular day shift hours and say your traffic to and from both locations going to be with traffic.  If you have traffic going to UCI med center you might want to drive what I call the back roads........ Jamboree to Chapman and then take Chapman to UCI med center.

If your work starts at 6 AM you're probably going to beat the morning traffic to UCI med center.
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Would definitely take the "backroads" when going to UCI Med Center. OH is very convenient from this perspective--from Portola, take Jamboree North up to Chapman and then across Chapman. --its reverse traffic all the way,  Jamboree is a beautiful scenic drive going on average 60 mph in the AM with very few traffic lights, way less stressful than bumper to bumper on I-5 North.  Though if you leave the house at 7 am, you'll probably avoid the heaviest traffic on I-5 anyway.


 
I never understood the traffic pattern for 5N, it's bad during morning rush hour, it's bad during evening rush hour.  Makes no sense.
 
Perspective said:
Why do you like the gated feature of OH Village I? It's a nuisance living in a gated neighborhood. We've lived in three, and I've always hated waiting for gates to open at every entry and exit. I hated the trouble it causes guests. And it doesn't provide any greater security. Irvine apt complexes have gates, so it's not prestigious/exclusive.

All the cool kids are buying in OH Village II without gates and spending $200K+ less thereby diversifying their assets.  ;) Do you need a 3K+ sq ft house? i.e. Do you have more than two adults and/or more than two kids in your family?
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I too am looking at OH gated community. Why are the cool kids buying in Village II? Do they have SFR? It looks like all they have are attached and detached condos. I drove by at night and they all seem to be around ~2K sqft? I'm looking for 4 bdrms, each with bath and a decent size loft for adult and kid separation, SFR perferred, and 3K sqft min so we can grown into the house and not feel cramped (family of 4).

I agree gates will not prevent people who really want to get in, but I saw a guard shack so I'm assuming theres a guard? That should deter some % of riff raffs drifting from other cities, no? Versus just a regular street that random people drive thru?
 
Irvine or Bust said:
Perspective said:
Why do you like the gated feature of OH Village I? It's a nuisance living in a gated neighborhood. We've lived in three, and I've always hated waiting for gates to open at every entry and exit. I hated the trouble it causes guests. And it doesn't provide any greater security. Irvine apt complexes have gates, so it's not prestigious/exclusive.

All the cool kids are buying in OH Village II without gates and spending $200K+ less thereby diversifying their assets.  ;) Do you need a 3K+ sq ft house? i.e. Do you have more than two adults and/or more than two kids in your family?
Click to expand...

I too am looking at OH gated community. Why are the cool kids buying in Village II? Do they have SFR? It looks like all they have are attached and detached condos. I drove by at night and they all seem to be around ~2K sqft? I'm looking for 4 bdrms, each with bath and a decent size loft for adult and kid separation, SFR perferred, and 3K sqft min so we can grown into the house and not feel cramped (family of 4).

I agree gates will not prevent people who really want to get in, but I saw a guard shack so I'm assuming theres a guard? That should deter some % of riff raffs drifting from other cities, no? Versus just a regular street that random people drive thru?
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You will find that people tend to vociferously plug the communities where they themselves have bought or are buying. Its only human nature. I'm a little guilty of the same, since I'm buying in gated OH side. I don't care that much about gates personally,  but decided on Groves side, mainly to get the larger house and the larger yard which were available only on the gated side. Also, our hope  was that there would be fewer investment condo/rentals on the gated side, and a more stable long term owner population, since they are "move up" houses.




 
You can also try Villa Park and Orange Park Acre re-sales if new isn't so important.  Although Villa Park homes are all 1960s floor plans that are not as nice as present day designs.  Low Ceilings and abestos.

On the other hand, you do get 0.5 acres ~ 1.0 acre of land for $1.5 million.
 
Orchard Hills is beautiful and, unlike most other developments, is actually honestly named.  The Great Park Neighborhoods is still called that despite the fact the park won't be great any more after the Dec 14 council vote. There is no springs in Portola Springs.  There are no turtles in Turtle Rock.  There's no canyon in Hidden Canyon.  Lambert Ranch was Lambert's ranch but not anymore.
 
Happiness said:
Orchard Hills is beautiful and, unlike most other developments, is actually honestly named.  The Great Park Neighborhoods is still called that despite the fact the park won't be great any more after the Dec 14 council vote. There is no springs in Portola Springs.  There are no turtles in Turtle Rock.  There's no canyon in Hidden Canyon.  Lambert Ranch was Lambert's ranch but not anymore.
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The next development name should be "Coyote Crossing"  so the name aligns with reality ;D
 
Happiness said:
Orchard Hills is beautiful and, unlike most other developments, is actually honestly named.  The Great Park Neighborhoods is still called that despite the fact the park won't be great any more after the Dec 14 council vote. There is no springs in Portola Springs.  There are no turtles in Turtle Rock.  There's no canyon in Hidden Canyon.  Lambert Ranch was Lambert's ranch but not anymore.
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Well, in that case, OH should be renamed Pesticide Mist.
 
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