Where to live in Irvine?

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Pookie_IHB

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Hi all,



New to IHB! I grow up in Woodbridge, Irvine, and move to Foothill Ranch, about 10 or so years ago. Was kind of tired of Irvine at that point.



Now that I have a baby, I want to move back to Irvine, with all the great parks/facilities/schools around here. I do not want to move back to Woodbridge because it feels like it's kind of quiet now. With mostly elderly around.



Is there any part of Irvine, that has good facilities like Woodbridge, and still within Irvine School District? Hopefully houses within 20 years old, and no Mello Roos...etc. I know, probably everyone is looking for the same thing, but I am so lost with all these new development around and not sure where I should be looking.



Thank you!
 
[quote author="Pookie" date=1245809161]Hi all,



New to IHB! I grow up in Woodbridge, Irvine, and move to Foothill Ranch, about 10 or so years ago. Was kind of tired of Irvine at that point.



Now that I have a baby, I want to move back to Irvine, with all the great parks/facilities/schools around here. I do not want to move back to Woodbridge because it feels like it's kind of quiet now. With mostly elderly around.



Is there any part of Irvine, that has good facilities like Woodbridge, and still within Irvine School District? Hopefully houses within 20 years old, and no Mello Roos...etc. I know, probably everyone is looking for the same thing, but I am so lost with all these new development around and not sure where I should be looking.



Thank you!</blockquote>


LOL at all of you who think Irvine Schools are so great...
 
[quote author="26w100k+" date=1245809768][quote author="Pookie" date=1245809161]Hi all,



New to IHB! I grow up in Woodbridge, Irvine, and move to Foothill Ranch, about 10 or so years ago. Was kind of tired of Irvine at that point.



Now that I have a baby, I want to move back to Irvine, with all the great parks/facilities/schools around here. I do not want to move back to Woodbridge because it feels like it's kind of quiet now. With mostly elderly around.



Is there any part of Irvine, that has good facilities like Woodbridge, and still within Irvine School District? Hopefully houses within 20 years old, and no Mello Roos...etc. I know, probably everyone is looking for the same thing, but I am so lost with all these new development around and not sure where I should be looking.



Thank you!</blockquote>


LOL at all of you who think Irvine Schools are so great...</blockquote>
They aren't great? Maybe not the greatEST but they are pretty good. Or at least that's what the scores, the OC Register and many parents say.
 
Oh... and to answer the OP's question:



Anything built after 1995 is probably going to have Mello Roos, so you are going to have to avoid any newer development.



What facilities in Woodbridge are you referring to? If it's the lakes, well... there is no other community in Irvine that has that. If it's just the parks and pools... almost every Irvine neigborhood has that.



Driving around the other day, I actually like the older parts of Turtle Rock. I forgot that almost every mini-enclave had it's own mini-park. Northwood around Bryan and Trabuco are also okay.
 
[quote author="26w100k+" date=1245809768]



LOL at all of you who think Irvine Schools are so great...</blockquote>


As a graduate of the Irvine school system, I can tell you that the "great schools" are a myth (unless you're going into the science field).



[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1245810053]

They aren't great? Maybe not the greatEST but they are pretty good. Or at least that's what the scores, the OC Register and many parents say.</blockquote>


But I can tell you that I am a world-class multiple choice test taker. Just don't ask me to think for myself, spell correctly or compose grammatically correct sentences.
 
I still think "good schools" is, for the most part, really "good kids". And you get "good kids" via a combination of nature and nuture-that is, the right genes, plus parents who take an active interest in their kid's education.



If a parent is willing to pay Irvine prices for the mythical "good schools", that are also going to take an active interest in their kid's education. That is, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy-if everybody thinks that Irvine has good schools, eventually it will have good schools, because parents who take an above average interest in their kid's education are going to go out of their way to make sure their kids get into a good school, by doing things like buying an overpriced house in the Irvine School District. So, there will be an above average number kids with active parents in Irvine schools. Volia-Irvine's schools are good!
 
May be I didn't word my first post correctly :) I do like Irvine school system. (even though i graduated about 20 years ago!) but mostly it's the parks, pools, and the feeling that I can bring my baby out for a walk after dinner or go for a ride on the bike.



Where I live right now, when I step out of the house, the driveway is full of cars, so you have to be walking on the street. And after 1 or 2 turns, you are out on the big street, where people drives pretty crazily.



And don't mind my spelling/grammar error. Didn't learn that from Irvine school though, ESL @ 15.... :)



Speaking of Irvine School System, I heard that they have extremely competitive parents? Is that true?
 
[quote author="Pookie" date=1245809161]Hi all,



New to IHB! I grow up in Woodbridge, Irvine, and move to Foothill Ranch, about 10 or so years ago. Was kind of tired of Irvine at that point.



Now that I have a baby, I want to move back to Irvine, with all the great parks/facilities/schools around here. I do not want to move back to Woodbridge because it feels like it's kind of quiet now. With mostly elderly around.



Is there any part of Irvine, that has good facilities like Woodbridge, and still within Irvine School District? Hopefully houses within 20 years old, and no Mello Roos...etc. I know, probably everyone is looking for the same thing, but I am so lost with all these new development around and not sure where I should be looking.



Thank you!</blockquote>


Ok I'll answer your question seriously. I'd say you might want to look at Oak Creek and Northpark. They both are in the Irvine School District and have lower Mello Roos/taxes then some of the other newer developments such as Woodbury and Portola Springs. They are both a bit newer.



I personally like West Irvine a lot for its balance between affordability, aesthetics, and facilities. Its in the Tustin school district but I'm pretty sure the Elementary school is still highly regarded, and Beckman High isn't too bad either.
 
[quote author="26w100k+" date=1245815907][quote author="Pookie" date=1245809161]Hi all,



New to IHB! I grow up in Woodbridge, Irvine, and move to Foothill Ranch, about 10 or so years ago. Was kind of tired of Irvine at that point.



Now that I have a baby, I want to move back to Irvine, with all the great parks/facilities/schools around here. I do not want to move back to Woodbridge because it feels like it's kind of quiet now. With mostly elderly around.



Is there any part of Irvine, that has good facilities like Woodbridge, and still within Irvine School District? Hopefully houses within 20 years old, and no Mello Roos...etc. I know, probably everyone is looking for the same thing, but I am so lost with all these new development around and not sure where I should be looking.



Thank you!</blockquote>


Ok I'll answer your question seriously. I'd say you might want to look at Oak Creek and [strike]Northpark[/strike] <strong>Northwood</strong>. They both are in the Irvine School District and have lower Mello Roos/taxes then some of the other newer developments such as Woodbury and Portola Springs. They are both a bit newer.



I personally like West Irvine a lot for its balance between affordability, aesthetics, and facilities. Its in the Tustin school district but I'm pretty sure the Elementary school is still highly regarded, and Beckman High isn't too bad either.</blockquote>


Correction? Northpark is also Tustin Unified.
 
[quote author="ABC123" date=1245811374][quote author="26w100k+" date=1245809768]



LOL at all of you who think Irvine Schools are so great...</blockquote>


As a graduate of the Irvine school system, I can tell you that the "great schools" are a myth (unless you're going into the science field).



[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1245810053]

They aren't great? Maybe not the greatEST but they are pretty good. Or at least that's what the scores, the OC Register and many parents say.</blockquote>


But I can tell you that I am a world-class multiple choice test taker. Just don't ask me to think for myself, spell correctly or compose grammatically correct sentences.</blockquote>


So coming from you as someone who grew up in the IUSD, are you saying that what is taught is only geared towards excelling at standard tests? You learn nothing that you can take with you into higher education and your future career? The IUSD scores don't reflect their actual education value?
 
I'm not suggesting they're bad - just not as great as some of they hype that people are led to believe, and definitley not worth the $250,000+ premium people are willing to pay to send their kids to school in Irvine. Being able to score high on standardized tests is an excellent attribute and helps getting admitted to the U.C. system (not so much for private universities) and will further help you if you wish to take your MCAT, GRE or GMAT. One thing I will say positive about Irvine is that it's safe. You probably will never have to worry about your kids getting jumped by a gang or getting stabbed or shot. So that's a plus I guess.



Sorry for derailing the question.
 
As a parent of 1st grader who attended Irvine school this year I would say that the school was OK, not great. We moved to Irvine specifically for the schools. Nevertheless, we are going back to private school next year.
 
[quote author="Pookie" date=1245814798]May be I didn't word my first post correctly :) I do like Irvine school system. (even though i graduated about 20 years ago!) but mostly it's the parks, pools, and the feeling that I can bring my baby out for a walk after dinner or go for a ride on the bike.



Where I live right now, when I step out of the house, the driveway is full of cars, so you have to be walking on the street. And after 1 or 2 turns, you are out on the big street, where people drives pretty crazily.

</blockquote>
Oak Creek is good as it's newer and you have access to the bike trails... and it's gated (don't know if that is a pro or con for you).



Westpark II is also newer and more central and has walkways through the neighborhoods... and is probably on the lower end of Mello Roos costs.



West Irvine is also good and even though it is Tustin schools district, the schools that service that area are on the same level as Irvine ones.



And you will be suprised that Woodbridge still has younger families. The last boom saw a lot of turnover where new families moved into houses that were owned by empty nesters... the only problem is they may not be there long if they overpaid and financed beyond their means. I think the biggest issue with Woodbridge homes are the dated floorplans.
 
IMHO



1. Shady Canyon

2. Turtle Rock

3. Turtle Ridge

4. Westpark

5. University Park

6. South Lake

7. El Camino Real

8. Quail Hill

9. Northwood

10. North Lake

11. Woodbury

12. Oak Creek

13. Portola Springs
 
I picked turtle rock over some other neighborhoods specifically to avoid mello roos. I think housing prices do not reflect the mello roos.
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1245816423][quote author="26w100k+" date=1245815907][quote author="Pookie" date=1245809161]Hi all,



New to IHB! I grow up in Woodbridge, Irvine, and move to Foothill Ranch, about 10 or so years ago. Was kind of tired of Irvine at that point.



Now that I have a baby, I want to move back to Irvine, with all the great parks/facilities/schools around here. I do not want to move back to Woodbridge because it feels like it's kind of quiet now. With mostly elderly around.



Is there any part of Irvine, that has good facilities like Woodbridge, and still within Irvine School District? Hopefully houses within 20 years old, and no Mello Roos...etc. I know, probably everyone is looking for the same thing, but I am so lost with all these new development around and not sure where I should be looking.



Thank you!</blockquote>


Ok I'll answer your question seriously. I'd say you might want to look at Oak Creek and [strike]Northpark[/strike] <strong>Northwood</strong>. They both are in the Irvine School District and have lower Mello Roos/taxes then some of the other newer developments such as Woodbury and Portola Springs. They are both a bit newer.



I personally like West Irvine a lot for its balance between affordability, aesthetics, and facilities. Its in the Tustin school district but I'm pretty sure the Elementary school is still highly regarded, and Beckman High isn't too bad either.</blockquote>


Correction? Northpark is also Tustin Unified.</blockquote>


Good call. I should say Northwood (5? is it?)? The newer part of northwood is quite nice. $$$ though.
 
[quote author="ABC123" date=1245811374][quote author="26w100k+" date=1245809768]



LOL at all of you who think Irvine Schools are so great...</blockquote>


As a graduate of the Irvine school system, I can tell you that the "great schools" are a myth (unless you're going into the science field).



[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1245810053]

They aren't great? Maybe not the greatEST but they are pretty good. Or at least that's what the scores, the OC Register and many parents say.</blockquote>


But I can tell you that I am a world-class multiple choice test taker. Just don't ask me to think for myself, spell correctly or compose grammatically correct sentences.</blockquote>
A great test taking Irvine robot, huh?
 
[quote author="LoudRoar" date=1245823339]IMHO



1. Shady Canyon

2. Turtle Rock

3. Turtle Ridge

4. Westpark

5. University Park

6. South Lake

7. El Camino Real

8. Quail Hill

9. Northwood

10. North Lake

11. Woodbury

12. Oak Creek

13. Portola Springs</blockquote>
You put El Camino Real in front of Quail Hill???
 
[quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1245826091][quote author="LoudRoar" date=1245823339]IMHO



1. Shady Canyon

2. Turtle Rock

3. Turtle Ridge

4. Westpark

5. University Park

6. South Lake

7. El Camino Real

8. Quail Hill

9. Northwood

10. North Lake

11. Woodbury

12. Oak Creek

13. Portola Springs</blockquote>
You put El Camino Real in front of Quail Hill???</blockquote>


If money is no issue then Quail Hill, but for the price you pay at Quail Hill, you could be in Turtle Ridge. That is why its low on the list. In terms of value, El Camino Real is a great area. Quail Hill just reminds me of Woodbury on a hill. Turtle Ridge gives me the same vibe, but not as much as Quail Hill. Don't get me wrong Quail Hill is great but it was built during a time when real estate was skyrocketing and everyone was acting fast to get the project finished so it could be sold. When you're going fast, improvisation is inevitable.



(Of course this is all subjective)
 
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