Ann@thebeach Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hi all, I had to laugh when I saw someone else post they were moving to Northern CA. I guess CA is the place to be ;) My husband is anticipating a move to the Tustin, CA (near Anaheim and Irvine) area in the next few months. We have been wanting to get back to the west coast (lived in Seattle area for 4 yrs) and are happy about the move. However, I know no one there so looking for some homeschool groups and input on the area. I think I'm comfortable with the homeschool laws since I've read things here about it and had a friend in the past that lived there. If anyone has any feedback on areas to look around the Tustin area for homes I would greatly appreciate it! My husband wants to keep it less than a 30 min commute but we also love the idea of being a short drive to the ocean. Not sure if that will happen but it's a nice idea. We are looking for a safe, established neighborhood. Larger lots would be nice but I know that may be wishful thinking. We have 4 kids spread out in age so we're looking for a 5 bedroom which may be challenging too. I still want it in a good school district for resale value and the value of the area that goes with a good school district-KWIM? Would love to be able to walk to the library and parks but that's just a bonus. We are big into camping and kayaking (though we've never ocean kayaked) so any ideas you'd like to share about areas to visit would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 There is a great kayak store in Irvine. http://www.southwindkayaks.com/ Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 There is a great kayak store in Irvine. http://www.southwindkayaks.com/ Bill Thanks! Looks like they do some fun tours and we'll definitely need some info on paddling in the ocean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thanks! Looks like they do some fun tours and we'll definitely need some info on paddling in the ocean. They have a great reputation for awesome tours. I've never taken one myself but have heard great report. They also have a lot of kayaks and have try-out days on the beach were people can demo kayaks in the surf, which is pretty cool. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 You know it's expensive, right? Just checking. I would look for houses in the North Tustin area. You would be close to dh' job, plus less than 30 minutes from the beach. There are nice neighborhoods with larger lots and established fruit trees. The homes are not new (70s maybe?) but a lot of them have been remodeled, if that's important to you. Since you are looking for nice areas with good schools, avoid Anaheim and Santa Ana. Irvine has excellent schools but the homes are newer and on smaller lots. Redfin is a good search engine for homes that doesn't make you register unless you want to save your favorites. re: Homeschooling. You will find more options for homeschooling than you ever knew existed. I sure did, when we moved here 5 years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Oh ya, we're well aware of the prices ;) We survived the sticker shock from Iowa to Seattle so it won't be quite so bad this time around. Gas will probably be the hardest thing to take! Where we live now in Iowa the housing is strangely high for the area. I've been on some real estate sites for OC and the prices are not that much higher than what we have now. Of course, it won't have 3 acres like we have now LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Oh ya, we're well aware of the prices ;) Oh good. Now you know why I limited the conversation to kayaking :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I know little about Orange County, but the California Department of Education website makes it really easy to find out information about every public school and district. California ranks schools by their test scores using API scores. Schools are rated from 200 to 1000, with the goal of every school to score at least 800. "Good schools" will have API scores in the high 800's, but even better are schools that are at least 900. Those schools almost always have a majority of students from higher socio-economic backgrounds and parents who are college educated. If you buy a house in a neighborhood where the local elementary schools AND the secondary schools (much harder to find secondary schools with high scores) are over 900 it will be much easier to sell your house and of course, much more expensive to buy the house! Here is a link to the API scores of all the Orange County Schools http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/AcntRpt2010/2010GrthAPICo.aspx?cSelect=30,Orange IF the link doesn't work google California Department of Education and then look for Dataquest. Then look of API scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) I agree with pp, N. Tustin is the best part of the city. There are some great houses out there. My favorite things to do in Tustin are Laxmi's for thalis and dosa: http://www.yelp.com/biz/laxmi-sweets-and-spices-tustin And shopping a Acorn Naturalist: http://www.acornnaturalists.com/ I've heard nice things about their new library: http://www.tustinca.org/library/index.html We're just south of Tustin, and while the houses aren't attractive on the outside, they can be big and funky. Our house is maybe 2400 sq feet, built in the late 60s, 3 bedroom, 2 livingrooms and fireplaces, a classroom, and a big (for the area) yard. We scored on the price. If you look around, there are deals out there. I have friends who kayak in Newport's back bay, it's supposed to be lovely. There's a Newport-Mesa homeschool group, and an Irvine group which used to meet in a park very close to Tustin. I don't know if you use charter schools, but a lot of folks use Sky Mountain because they allot so much money, and the parents get to choose the curriculum. Feel free to pm me if I can answer any questions for you. I have a 9yo too. :001_smile: Edited March 23, 2011 by helena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'm just SW of Tustin, I agree w/ OC Mom, North Tustin is nice. I live in a nice- wonder years type neighborhood w/ lots of trees..but a bad school district. There are so many homeschool groups here, activities, classes- you'll find a lot to do :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 How exciting-I didn't know the Acorn Naturalist store was there. I LOVE their catalog. Thanks for the school ranking info, that will be very helpful. I'm looking forward to a more diverse homeschool community again (I'm assuming it will be more similar to Seattle) because while we have a lot of homeschoolers in Iowa, it's all very conservative and a fairly closed community. I'm from this area, but I still only have a very small group of hs friends because if you don't belong to their church, other hsers will not welcome you into their group. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMom Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 How exciting-I didn't know the Acorn Naturalist store was there. I LOVE their catalog. Thanks for the school ranking info, that will be very helpful. I'm looking forward to a more diverse homeschool community again (I'm assuming it will be more similar to Seattle) because while we have a lot of homeschoolers in Iowa, it's all very conservative and a fairly closed community. I'm from this area, but I still only have a very small group of hs friends because if you don't belong to their church, other hsers will not welcome you into their group. :001_huh: Love the Acorn Naturalist store. It's so cute! As for homeschooling groups...I'm part of a small, Christian group with a definite classical/Charlotte Mason bent if you're interested in more info. Try looking in Orange for housing, too.:) You'll be really close to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 How exciting-I didn't know the Acorn Naturalist store was there. I LOVE their catalog. Thanks for the school ranking info, that will be very helpful. I'm looking forward to a more diverse homeschool community again (I'm assuming it will be more similar to Seattle) because while we have a lot of homeschoolers in Iowa, it's all very conservative and a fairly closed community. I'm from this area, but I still only have a very small group of hs friends because if you don't belong to their church, other hsers will not welcome you into their group. :001_huh: I don't think you'll have that problem here. There are a lot of groups, activities and classes here, I'm sure you'll find a nice group. Another great spot in Tustin is Claro's Italian Market on Main St. http://store.claros.com/ Also, if you get Disney annual passes (or not) there's a homeschool thing at Disneyland every September/February http://ochomeschooling.com/disney/. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I don't know much about Orange county (we're North, in Valencia). I just wanted to say Hi :seeya:! My DH and I grew up in Nebraska, then lived in Kansas City for 9 years before moving to CA. We like it here very much. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 we used to go to the acorn naturalist often, I need to go back! It's built in a craftsman style, which I love, love. Villa Park is a nice area, too- it's north of Tustin. I mis-typed when I said where I live, I'm actually more NW of Tustin, I'm in Tustin all the time though for different things, like Trader Joes and my fav bagel place it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QumaCote Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Ann, I just moved from Kirkland, WA to Villa Park, CA (close to Tustin, Orange, Anaheim, etc). We also wanted a yard and a decent garage--those can be very difficult to find. I would recommend that you look at any properties on a satellite map. (Some real estate sites such as Zip Realty have this feature, but you can also use Google or MapQuest.) Many of the homes with larger lots are on hills, so much of the property isn't usable. Also, we found that some of the homes with better pricing were either in TERRIBLE condition or next to massive power lines, on a major road, next to a school, etc. You definitely want to be aware of HOA dues and the Mello-Roos (spelling) tax. Not all areas have these, and it can make a big difference in your monthly expenditures. A big difference that I noticed between the Puget Sound area and Orange County is there is a much bigger difference between the quality of schools and neighborhoods within the same city. When I lived in Kirkland, WA, there were no bad schools or bad neighborhoods. (This was true of all the Eastside.) However, in Orange County you can go from a great school and great neighborhood to terrible schools and terrible neighborhood within the space of a few miles. This can make real estate shopping on-line difficult. Regarding homeschooling, I personally think homeschooling was easier in the Seattle area. Hen Jen was very sweet and helpful to me, and I really appreciate her help!! I found it much easier to find rigorous homeschool groups in the Seattle area. (I don't know if that was the Microsoft influence or what.) Many of the groups that I have found down here also seem to have ALOT of rules that seemed to have nothing to do with homeschooling. I wish you the best in your adventure. Moving is so much work, and I trust it goes very smoothly for your family. Feel free to ask me any other questions. I am the newbie here, but we looked at homes from San Juan Capistrano to Yorba Linda and everything in-between! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Oh good. Now you know why I limited the conversation to kayaking :D Bill :lol::lol::lol: I noticed that! OP, the N. Tustin area and parts of Orange are great. And like everyone else has said, there is tons out here for you to do. You also might want to look into signing up for a PE class through EMH Sports. The classes are fun (my boys ask to go back but right now the timing of our local class doesn't work) and there are tons of families usually around to meet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara R Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Are you planning to buy or rent? Don't buy without running the numbers through a rent versus buy calculator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Are you planning to buy or rent? Don't buy without running the numbers through a rent versus buy calculator. We will ultimately be buying a house but may have to rent in the beginning if our house here doesn't sell right away. Our current house has a very small market here so it may take a while to sell which is the bad part of moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Ann, I just moved from Kirkland, WA to Villa Park, CA (close to Tustin, Orange, Anaheim, etc). We also wanted a yard and a decent garage--those can be very difficult to find. I would recommend that you look at any properties on a satellite map. (Some real estate sites such as Zip Realty have this feature, but you can also use Google or MapQuest.) Many of the homes with larger lots are on hills, so much of the property isn't usable. Also, we found that some of the homes with better pricing were either in TERRIBLE condition or next to massive power lines, on a major road, next to a school, etc. You definitely want to be aware of HOA dues and the Mello-Roos (spelling) tax. Not all areas have these, and it can make a big difference in your monthly expenditures. A big difference that I noticed between the Puget Sound area and Orange County is there is a much bigger difference between the quality of schools and neighborhoods within the same city. When I lived in Kirkland, WA, there were no bad schools or bad neighborhoods. (This was true of all the Eastside.) However, in Orange County you can go from a great school and great neighborhood to terrible schools and terrible neighborhood within the space of a few miles. This can make real estate shopping on-line difficult. Regarding homeschooling, I personally think homeschooling was easier in the Seattle area. Hen Jen was very sweet and helpful to me, and I really appreciate her help!! I found it much easier to find rigorous homeschool groups in the Seattle area. (I don't know if that was the Microsoft influence or what.) Many of the groups that I have found down here also seem to have ALOT of rules that seemed to have nothing to do with homeschooling. I wish you the best in your adventure. Moving is so much work, and I trust it goes very smoothly for your family. Feel free to ask me any other questions. I am the newbie here, but we looked at homes from San Juan Capistrano to Yorba Linda and everything in-between! Thanks for the info! I may contact you for more info when we get closer to the official move date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Tustin has a wonderful farmer's market on Wednesday mornings. It is down the block from the Acorn Naturalist store that someone else mentioned, and also near Claro's, the Italian deli someone mentioned, where you can buy all sorts of wonderful pasta shapes. Tustin has a great old town area, too. We live in Orange, but if we could afford to move, I'd move to Tustin in a heartbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QumaCote Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Ann, You are very welcome. Do not hesitate to contact me. When is your official move date? Our home is Washington sold within 2 days, so I definitely was in panic mode for awhile! Warmest Regards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) Ann, I walked through this house recently, I would have bought it when we were looking. It has a good sized yard for So. Ca, but lost some because they built a rec room/exercise room w/ bathroom off the separate garage. Dh was drooling over that room, he wants a real workshop. I hope this link works. The neighborhood won a best in America award a few years ago, has a newsletter and community group but no HOA dues or rules. The west side has ranch style houses, the east side has older vintage houses that run into the millions. The neighborhood elementary school is award winning and very nice, but most people either do private school for Jr. high and up, or put their kids into the top scoring performing arts charter school nearby. I would love homeschooling neighbors :) Edited March 29, 2011 by Hen Jen link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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