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I may be moving to Orange County, CA

1K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  2ndNatr 
#1 ·
What the heck am I going to do with 3 Mustangs (one is mostly in boxes) a Lincoln and an Expedition...not to mention my car trailer? The job looks like a great opportunity but I am torn between taking it and keeping my house/workshop in Flagstaff. I can't afford to do both so that is not an option. I've been looking at property prices there for some time now and it's very clear that I'll never find something that'll handle my toys and all my workshop tools for under $1MM. How do you guys in SoCal do it?
 
#2 ·
I believe they get a night time job at 7-11 to get by for those little extras! *LOL.

Just kidding! My brother just bought a small 3 bdrm. condo that has less than 1300 sq.ft. at a cost of $250,000. He's more down by San Diego, but still....Whew!

Have you thought about leasing yours out! and renting until your confident this will be a permanent move?
 
#3 ·
Bob, we have less toys and more bills....simple as that. If you do make it this way, give us a heads up and we will welcome you with open arms! Good luck either way.
 
#5 ·
Bob,
Check out Yorba Linda....low crime, horse friendly (both the four-legged and four wheeled *G*) and good value on property.

One of my wife's old high school friends bought a nice house on about .5 ac., with a finished shop (about 1800sq/ft) and room for his 5er and a couple of friends units, for 335K about 3 yrs ago...after he did some work (foreman at a lumber yard...lots of buddies in construction), it recently appraised in the mid 400's...

Still very affordable by SoCal standards...brand new, more upscale homes up in the hills are going for 600-900K (We went through some models when we were down there for FFF)

He also happens to have a drag/Bonneville racer living right across the street....I've taken some real trips down memory lane when we've gone down to visit....

If you're serious about buying down there, I'll bet he could hook you up with someone....fair warning though, living in Yorba Linda is known as living behind the "Orange Curtain"...very conservative...
 
#6 ·
I didn;t think about that option too long. My house would require a lease of approximately $4,000 per month and there's not too much demand for that in the local market here in Flagstaff. Most of the homes that are valued in my price range are usually sold to Phoenicians who want a summer home in the mountains.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Shannon. Maybe I should sell my 67 Clone after all! I had an offer two weeks ago that seemed fair. Wait, did I actually say that? I'd go nuts without that car! I just got it to the state of operation that I want. If I could unload the SCJ I would probably do that. But most don't want to buy a car that's partially restored and not fully assembled.
 
#8 ·
Wait a minute Shaun. Are we talking about the same Orange County where I have been commuting to for the last 30 months? Where are those open twisties that you speak of?
 
#9 ·
Oh crap, I forgot to mention the traffic! IT SUCKS!!! If you need to get ANYWHERE during rush hour, just forget it. Take public transport WHENEVER possible!

Only you can decide if the job is worth it...
 
#10 ·
Pat, thanks for the tip on Yorba Linda. I've been through there many times and always worried about the commute into Irvine. But I could take a toll road for part ofthe distance. As for the Orange Curtain...believe me, I would feel very much at home there. After living in the most liberal town in Arizona for the last 5 1/2 years I'm ready for some common sense in the letters to the editor! *G*
 
#12 ·
Prices aren't much better here. Put a 3,000 sq ft Mc Mansion on a postage stamp size lot and you have a $800,000 + home. Just around the corner from work a $1.1 mil house is being built. A couple in their 60's from NYC is buying it as "investment property"

My dinky 3 bedroom ranch on 1/3 acre lot is worth about $400,000 now!
 
#13 ·
I vouch for Yorba Linda too. Lived there for two summers (during college) at my brother's house. At that time (1983/84), the smallest lots size was 0.5 acre; think things have changed. I grew up in Orange Country, in Costa Mesa in fact.

I've lived for the past two decades in the South Bay (Torrance and Redondo Beach). We live in the home SWMBO grew up, so the mortgage is reasonable. Resale value is very high - much beyond my means!!

So Cal has many positives, especially to fellow Ford nuts, due to the local of restomod manufacturers. Traffic stinks, but IMHO is not as bad as the Seattle area (I work for Boeing).

I know I speak for all So Cal VMF'ers when I say we look forward to having you in Orange County!
 
#14 ·
After living in the most liberal town in Arizona for the last 5 1/2 years I'm ready for some common sense in the letters to the editor! *G*

Heh...

My wife says the same thing about Fresno.....it's not too bad out here in Kerman though....big ag tends to be pretty conservative...

Given your pony's, the one bad thing about Y/L is that the cops have very little to do so they spend most of their time giving out speeding tickets...and stopping cars which don't look like they belong in the area. That's why we always take Renee's Acura when going down there...*G*...they'd stop my old truck in a heartbeat...
 
#15 ·
funnier still is that they do not even have a P.D. of their own, so they rent Anaheim Hills and Brea's cops. Apparently the talent pool is shallow but the pockets are deep! *G*
 
#16 ·
Yo Mikey! When are we going to see you at a Beach Cities Mustang Club (BCMC) meeting? It's in Torrance even! Further, why dont you come out for a Mustang Cafe', which is our clubs monthly cruise night. If you would like any info about it, please PM me.
 
#17 ·
they do not even have a P.D. of their own

You know, I wondered about that...I've seen people pulled over and speed traps set up but wondered why the cars weren't marked Yorba Linda police or something like that.

Never once have I seen a motorcycle cop there except for the CHP's on the freeways. One would think, with all the horse trails, they'd have YLMP (Mounties *G*)

Truth be told, my wife would move back there in a heartbeat, if we could afford it....if she hadn't met me, she would have.... sure seems like a great place to live..
 
#18 ·
Bob,

well, I don't live in O.C. anymore, and quite frankly, wouldn't want to as I was brought up in O.C. in the 1960s and in fact graduated from Santa Ana High School in 1970. things have changed markedly since the 60s and more for the worse in my opinion. I live in Riverside (actually Moreno Valley which is right across the freeway from Riverside) and am able to handle Riverside's "problems" a bit more than those found in O.C.

my mom has owned a home in Yorba Linda right off Orangethorpe up Richfield since 1973. Even it has changed dramatically and the cost of homes there has risen considerably. I think the price Pat gave you from 3 years ago was still during the big slowdown when real estate was taking major hits in SoCal.

my son lives in Irvine as he works there also and is about ready to move back towards Riverside, probably Corona, because of the costs, traffic, etc. If I were you, I wouldnt confine myself just to O.C. there are some really bitchin comminuties outside of O.C. like Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, and even closer to me like Temecula and Murietta that offer lots of space for reasonable prices.....

randy
 
#19 ·
The commute to Irvine from any of the outlying areas, ie. out the 91FWY and beyond is a bitch. I simply do not know how people making that commute can handle it; the traffic is either stop and go bumper to bumper, or flat out bumper to bumper with a few people zig-zaging accross lanes. A real stress test taking up to two hours each way!

One of my lady friends, a realtor, showed me a 1,600 sq ft two car garage condo with a nice view for $400,000 in Laguna Niguel (5 miles south of Irvine) a couple days ago. They expect it will sell for the asking price or more. There is a real shortage of property in Orange County. People here are afraid to sell their homes before having a contract for a new home for a fear of loseing out in this musical chair game.

For almost thirty years people have talked about homes being overpriced in Irvine, and they are consistantly wrong.

What moving assistance will your company provide?
 
#20 ·
So-Cal is pretty pricy..but I found it a bit less expensive then the New York area on the east coast..over here a million dollars buys you a house that is considered a candidate to be knocked down to make room for a newer and larger one..*LOL*..GO FIGURE
 
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