gypsyuma_IHB
New member
Hello everyone,
I just found this blog this morning, and I must say it couldn't have come at a more opportune moment. I had the pleasure of living in Turtle Rock in 2003-2004 I think it was, but I was only renting at the time. We did some browsing, but quickly ended our search when the best we could find was an 1800sf, 3BR TH with no patio in Aliso Viejo for $650k. I believe my husband's comment at the time was that he felt like he was in a coffin - the rooms were quite small. But then we had just moved to Irvine from Texas, so anything would have seemed small at that time.
Fast forward five years...... I have been moving around pretty much yearly, even overseas a bit, and now find myself living on the East Coast for the first time in Boston. To say that I am absolutely miserable only underscores the desperation I feel to get the hell out of here. But that has its challenges - mainly, for once my husband is in a stable job that looks to last more than a year (he is in IT industry). But given that I am not the "stand by your man" type and go where the wind takes me, I am not willing to let that detail rain on my escape, if I should decide that an escape is what is best at this time. Simply put, my husband would stay here for work and commute to visit once or twice a month.
Given that we both found Irvine to be the best place we have ever lived, naturally I decided that perhaps Irvine should be my destination for my escape. I then swtiched my sights to Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita once I saw how much more house I could get for my money. But my husband really prefers Irvine, and the other places lack of access to non-toll freeways makes me think he may be right. This time.
Keeping in mind that I am not nearly as sophisticated as any of you, based on what I have read in the past hour, I set about looking for a place for us. My top priorities were size (we have four kids), floor plan (we will never use a formal LR/DR combo), and price (four kids are expensive). After crunching the numbers, and adding in taxes, Mello Roos and HOA..... I am now getting cold feet. I still want to live in Irvine, but I am concerned that I am jumping the gun and will be owning a declining asset. At the same time, I have completely fallen in love with the Paloma 4 as it is absolutely my dream home.
So that is my dilemma. We leave Boston for CA on Wednesday to have a look around and make some decisions. I have no clue what I should do at this point...... but I am quickly seeing my escape likelihood dwindle....... big sigh.
I just found this blog this morning, and I must say it couldn't have come at a more opportune moment. I had the pleasure of living in Turtle Rock in 2003-2004 I think it was, but I was only renting at the time. We did some browsing, but quickly ended our search when the best we could find was an 1800sf, 3BR TH with no patio in Aliso Viejo for $650k. I believe my husband's comment at the time was that he felt like he was in a coffin - the rooms were quite small. But then we had just moved to Irvine from Texas, so anything would have seemed small at that time.
Fast forward five years...... I have been moving around pretty much yearly, even overseas a bit, and now find myself living on the East Coast for the first time in Boston. To say that I am absolutely miserable only underscores the desperation I feel to get the hell out of here. But that has its challenges - mainly, for once my husband is in a stable job that looks to last more than a year (he is in IT industry). But given that I am not the "stand by your man" type and go where the wind takes me, I am not willing to let that detail rain on my escape, if I should decide that an escape is what is best at this time. Simply put, my husband would stay here for work and commute to visit once or twice a month.
Given that we both found Irvine to be the best place we have ever lived, naturally I decided that perhaps Irvine should be my destination for my escape. I then swtiched my sights to Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita once I saw how much more house I could get for my money. But my husband really prefers Irvine, and the other places lack of access to non-toll freeways makes me think he may be right. This time.
Keeping in mind that I am not nearly as sophisticated as any of you, based on what I have read in the past hour, I set about looking for a place for us. My top priorities were size (we have four kids), floor plan (we will never use a formal LR/DR combo), and price (four kids are expensive). After crunching the numbers, and adding in taxes, Mello Roos and HOA..... I am now getting cold feet. I still want to live in Irvine, but I am concerned that I am jumping the gun and will be owning a declining asset. At the same time, I have completely fallen in love with the Paloma 4 as it is absolutely my dream home.
So that is my dilemma. We leave Boston for CA on Wednesday to have a look around and make some decisions. I have no clue what I should do at this point...... but I am quickly seeing my escape likelihood dwindle....... big sigh.
. I assume you mean Fountain Valley. Location is very important in Fountain Valley. Stay away from the part of FV that borders Santa Ana. The north/east side of Edinger St. between Brookhurst and Newhope is an eye sore with graffiti displayed on the block walls at least monthly. The high school in that part of FV (Los Amigos) is in the Garden Grove Unified School District, while FV High School is in the Huntington Beach Union School District and performs much better on CA standardized tests. I'm no expert on standardized tests, but more than 50% of the Los Amigos student body is Hispanic, and so its lower test scores could be the result of students who speak English as a second language [insert standardized test arguments here]. Anyway, I used to rent a house in the part of FV that borders SA, and I would never raise children there. Santa Ana is a little too close for comfort. 
