Raymond Hills, Fullerton

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Mcdonna1980_IHB

Mcdonna1980_IHB

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Does anyone live/lived in the Raymond Hills area of Fullerton. If so, could you share your thoughts about the area?



I recently discovered this unique section of Fullerton called Raymond Hills and I think I'm in love. The neighborhood backs up to the Coyote Hills golf course and is between Fullerton JC and Cal State Fullerton. I am seriously considering leaving Irvine to move to this area. For all of you that might be in a similar situation as me, wanting to find good alternatives to Irvine, I will share some of the things I find appealing about Raymond Hills Fullerton. But, please do share if you have have any inside experience as I am only someone on the outside looking in thinking everything is rosy.



1.Most of the lots in this area are at least a quarter acre and have views. Some panoramic.`

2.No two houses are the same with the exception of a tracts at the bottom of the hill that are planned tracts. It appears that many of the homes were custom built through the years.

3. The architecture is diverse. A blend of old historically craftsman, and spanish homes, mid-century modern homes, and (for some with bigger wallets) Mc Castles.

4. Old Downtown Fullerton is a short walk away.

5. Many hiking trails & Trees

6. Schools are comparable to Irvine. I particular like Beechwood Elementary which is a small school of 600 students that is K-8. API 917. Half the neighborhood feeds into Troy (not Troy Tech, must test in for that program) the other Fullerton High. Fullerton High School District does allow open enrollment. However, I'm not sure how easy it is to get your school of choice. I know Troy and Sunny Hills are in High demand.

7. Last but not least! What will buy you a detached condo in Irvine will buy you a nice house with a huge yard with sweeping views of Orange County in Fullerton.



Anyone else intrigued with this area?
 
[quote author="asianinvasian" date=1231859226]Fullerton is overrun with Mexicans.</blockquote>


We are targeting Irvine next. Viva Azatlan!! Viva la Raza!!
 
[quote author="asianinvasian" date=1231859226]Fullerton is overrun with Mexicans.</blockquote>


I think you need a quick history lesson of Orange County to remind you of how you should be thankful that you live here in peace and are pretty much accepted as the Asians before you were not! The first major group Asians to populate Orange County were the Japanese. I'm friends with a number of people who were taken from their homes in Orange County and shipped off to internment camps. Back then many of the Japanese could only get jobs as gardeners very similar to the Mexicans emigrants now.



Your comment about Mexicans is disgusting. But I'm grateful for your comment, though, because it adds one more pro to my list of reasons to move to Fullerton- AsianInvasion will not live there.
 
Back in Highschool, we use to load up water balloons and drive up to the hills by CSUF and throw them at parked cars.

The hills by CSUF was a place to "park" with your date and we were envious jerks.



Sometimes the windows were opened up a bit to let out steam...and we would splash the people inside.



I'm not sure if those hills still have the "parked" cars.
 
[quote author="Mcdonna1980" date=1231899437]

Your comment about Mexicans is disgusting.

</blockquote>


What comment? I made a comment about Fullerton, not Mexicans.





qwerty's comment was clearly a complement about Irvine.



[quote author="qwerty" date=1231860215]Irvine is overrun with Asians</blockquote>


Thanks!
 
[quote author="asianinvasian" date=1231859226]Fullerton is overrun with Mexicans.</blockquote>


Had to reset my password to respond to this nonsense.



http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ocasian28-2008dec28,0,5233619.story





From the Los Angeles Times

Korean Americans find a home in Fullerton

A growing number have been moving into middle-class neighborhoods such as Amerige Heights. To accommodate the residents, Korean churches, grocery stores and restaurants have popped up.

By My-Thuan Tran



December 28, 2008



Perhaps the future of Orange County can be found in the rows of cookie-cutter houses in Fullerton's hillside neighborhood of Amerige Heights. On what used to be the site of the Hughes Aircraft plant, developers have built spacious homes, sprawling parks and landscaped roundabouts next to a large shopping center with a Target and an Albertsons.



But past the master-planned veneer is the changing face of Orange County. Next to Albertsons is a taekwondo studio; across from Target is a Korean tofu stew restaurant. Nearby are two of the largest Korean churches in the state.



Amerige Heights, just like the villages in Irvine and the newer housing tracts of Tustin, has become a destination for Asian Americans, drawn by high-performing schools, relatively crime-free neighborhoods and good jobs. According to recently released U.S. Census data, the Asian population in every city with available data in Orange County has gone up. Countywide, the Asian population has increased roughly 16% since 2000, a much faster rate than the Latino population and in the opposite direction of the white population, which has dropped nearly 8%.



Fullerton, once a traditionally white bedroom community in northern Orange County, has seen growing numbers of Asians moving into its middle-class neighborhoods such as Amerige Heights, where real estate agents estimate more than half of the residents are of Korean descent. To cater to them, smaller Korean churches have sprouted in the area, such as Crossway Community Church in Brea. Korean parents even started a Korean PTA at Sunny Hills High School, where Asian Americans make up half of the student body.



It was a different place 25 years ago when Virginia Han moved to town. There were no Korean markets and few Korean newspapers and radio stations. "But now there are so many Koreans, it's like Korean, Korean, Korean," said Han, a real estate agent.



Most of Han's clients are Korean, some arriving directly from South Korea. "In Korea, they hear about Orange County from their friends and relatives," Han said. "They hear that Fullerton is the No. 1 city for Koreans. It's close to Korean shopping, but it's far away from low-income apartment areas. Also, it has very good schools."



Fullerton is now 21% Asian American -- a 35% jump since 2000, according to detailed U.S. Census data that averages surveys from 2005 to 2007. The increase puts Fullerton among the cities with the fastest growing Asian American populations in Southern California.



The numbers are further proof of Orange County's accelerating diversification -- Irvine, one of the model master-planned communities, is now dotted with Buddhist temples, Chinese banks and Asian grocery stores; central Orange County is home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of the country of Vietnam; and Santa Ana has one of the largest Latino populations in the nation.



Two forces appear to be shaping the population shift, said Paul Ong, a demographer and professor of urban planning, social welfare and Asian American studies at UCLA. One is that many Asian Americans are moving in from other areas, attracted to Orange County's thriving Asian cultural institutions and economic opportunities. The other is that many Asians are continuing to emigrate from their homelands, a result of "chain migration" in which relatives are allowed to sponsor other relatives here.



On the flip side, Ong said, the white population has decreased and become older, with lower birth rates than the county's Asians and Latinos.



Koreans make up the second largest Asian ethnic group in Orange County, after Vietnamese. But unlike Vietnamese refugees who built the thriving business enclave of Westminster's Little Saigon, where block after block is filled with Vietnamese mom-and-pop shops, the imprint of Korean Americans has been far more gradual.



In Fullerton, there are no overwhelmingly Korean enclaves or neighborhoods. Instead, pockets of Korean bakeries, travel agencies, banks and markets have taken root.



Korean entrepreneurs are purchasing entire shopping centers in Fullerton and remaking them, such as an old Pavilions market that gave way to a Korean travel agency and tutoring center, said John Godlewski, Fullerton's community development director. He predicts the future will bring similar developments catering to Asian Americans.



"I'm getting calls from some of the older neighbors saying, 'We cannot read the signs. It's not written in English,' " Godlewski said. "People see things are changing, that they are not the way they used to be."



Korean Americans who move to Fullerton say that the growing Korean business community is simply an added bonus. They are more drawn to the city for the same reasons as other residents. Real estate agent Douglas Kim said many of his clients in Amerige Heights are Korean residents looking for upgrades from their older homes.



"Most Asians -- and in fact most people -- look for neighborhoods with good schools and neighborhood amenities, and with low crime rates," Ong said. "What has happened to Asians is that as they become more acculturated, they are less tied or dependent on ethnic enclaves."



When Dok Kim, an attorney, moved his family to Fullerton four years ago, his priority was finding a new house within the bounds of the reputable Sunny Hills High School so that his 7-year-old could someday attend. He wasn't surprised when both of his neighbors turned out to be Korean.



"I really enjoy living here. Fullerton has nice schools, new areas and nice shopping malls," said Kim, 37. "I can walk to Starbucks and shop at Albertsons and Old Navy. And whenever I need it, I can get Korean groceries not far away."



Many Korean Americans in Orange County started off in Garden Grove because of its cheap apartments and proximity to Little Seoul, a stretch along Garden Grove Boulevard where Korean entrepreneurs began setting up shop in the 1980s, said John Ahn, former president of the Korean-American Federation of Orange County.



As a student in 1979, Ahn lived in Garden Grove but became turned off by what he said was an unsafe area. Like many Korean Americans who first got their footing in Garden Grove, Ahn was lured to some of the more posh areas of the county.



"A lot of people did what I did. Young couples look for a job in the Garden Grove area and live there for three or four years. Then their children grow up and people are looking for bigger houses," Ahn said. "They don't have a choice in Garden Grove, so they move to another city like Fullerton or Irvine."



Ahn now lives in a gated community in Anaheim Hills but still drives to Garden Grove every weekend for the grocery stores and restaurants.



my-thuan.tran@latimes.com
 
[quote author="asianinvasian" date=1231859226]Fullerton is overrun with Mexicans.</blockquote>


Actually, Fullerton is not overrun with Mexicans. You're thinking of the area of Fullerton below before the train station. That's where most of the Hispanics live in Fullerton. Anywhere past there is pretty diverse. Also, you say it like Mexican people are some sort of disgrace or something.
 
Every culture brings their own unique characteristics to a neighborhood. Of course, not all of those characteristics jive well with one's own culture. My sister in-law lives in S. Pasadena and all of the things the Asian population bring to her neighborhood are not necessarily welcome either. I live in an area with many Hispanic people and I enjoy many aspects of their culture, yet of course, we have our problems. There is good and bad depending upon your own perspective, but let's try a little more tolerance and a little less judgement.
 
If you like peri peri sauce, there is a little African market in a strip mall just up the road from Fullerton college. Is it Chapman or Orangethorpe? you'd think I would know having gone to CSUF, but I just know it's the exit before CSUF if you're heading north. It's about 4 blocks towards the 5 from the college. Hubby always has me pick him up a year's worth on my way back from tomato plant sale.
 
[quote author="stepping_up" date=1231932789]If you like peri peri sauce, there is a little African market in a strip mall just up the road from Fullerton college. Is it Chapman or Orangethorpe? you'd think I would know having gone to CSUF, but I just know it's the exit before CSUF if you're heading north. It's about 4 blocks towards the 5 from the college. Hubby always has me pick him up a year's worth on my way back from tomato plant sale.</blockquote>


I think the tomato plant sale sounds great, every year our tomato plants are volunteers, just sprouting up where they like, we get some great tomatoes, but I think I'll try some "on purpose" tomatoes this year.
 
are your volunteers cherries? those things are so prolific. I grew them once on the patio and for several years they would pop up in all the pots... no water for months and the things would still be growing. Same thing here. I think the people who lived here before grew them, but the ones that I've let grow are all cherries.
 
[quote author="stepping_up" date=1231934459]are your volunteers cherries? those things are so prolific. I grew them once on the patio and for several years they would pop up in all the pots... no water for months and the things would still be growing. Same thing here. I think the people who lived here before grew them, but the ones that I've let grow are all cherries.</blockquote>




They're definitely not cherries, but I don't know what they are. They are more like beefsteak tomatoes, but there have been a few different varieties, one of them like romas. We have a very large yard and they pop up everywhere, we always try to just let them grow. We have a huge tomato plant right outside the back door right now, we took off the last big tomato about 1 month ago, but the plant is still large and very green. Actually, in that same area we also grew a one HUGE pumpkin this year that no one ever planted either. I think we are dropping seeds from taking out trash or something, I don't know. I have also heard that birds who eat other tomatoes are pooping out the seeds and that is why they pop up everywhere, kind of disgusting, I guess. We've enjoyed all of our volunteers though.
 
"we also grew a one HUGE pumpkin this year that no one ever planted either."



OMG. I don't know why that strikes me as so funny but I'm dying laughing. :-D
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1231943734]"we also grew a one HUGE pumpkin this year that no one ever planted either."



OMG. I don't know why that strikes me as so funny but I'm dying laughing. :-D</blockquote>


We laughed about it for the entire 9 months it grew, and that is even funnier.
 
I just found this interesting site <a href="http://www.fullertonheritage.org/">about Fullerton</a>. It gives a good overview of all the Architectural styles through the years. They also have a historical tour on the 31st if anyone is interested.
 
I'm a Fullerton JC & CSU Fullerton Alumni. Graduated from CSUF in 2001. Good times.



I visit the San Gabriel River horse trails in El Monte from time to time. There are many Hispanic folks there out for a walk or exercise. Majority of them are polite and will greet you.



In Irvine, where income and education level is higher, many people in my own neighborhood would ignore or pretend that I didn't exist when I greet them.



At the supermarket here, everyone waiting in line appear as if they're solitude monks or nuns, eyes down cast and keeping their small distance from each other. Almost as if they were afraid to offend someone by looking at them.



In the Philippines, you could chat with people while waiting to cross the street. People respond to you like normal human beings.



---------



Wealth and education doesn't necessarily make better people. Sometimes I have to go elsewhere to validate my own existence.
 
[quote author="momopi" date=1231985308]I'm a Fullerton JC & CSU Fullerton Alumni. Graduated from CSUF in 2001. Good times.



I visit the San Gabriel River horse trails in El Monte from time to time. There are many Hispanic folks there out for a walk or exercise. Majority of them are polite and will greet you.



In Irvine, where income and education level is higher, many people in my own neighborhood would ignore or pretend that I didn't exist when I greet them.



At the supermarket here, everyone waiting in line appear as if they're solitude monks or nuns, eyes down cast and keeping their small distance from each other. Almost as if they were afraid to offend someone by looking at them.



In the Philippines, you could chat with people while waiting to cross the street. People respond to you like normal human beings.



---------



Wealth and education doesn't necessarily make better people. Sometimes I have to go elsewhere to validate my own existence.</blockquote>


Interesting you mention this.. My family and I went on a hike in Fullerton and walked through the neighborhood we are considering moving to. At least a handful of people, out in their yards, greeted us as we walked by as did everyone else we passed on the trail and streets. I also noticed a significant number of children playing outside something I don't see much of in Irvine, especially given it is a city full of kids. I've too notice that adults keep to themselves more in Irvine. Glad to know I'm not the only one to observe this.



BTW, my husband and I are CSUF grads too!
 
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