Living in Anaheim?

[Amira]

We have a possible job offer in Anaheim (the office is next to Disney), but I've never heard that Anaheim is a great place to live. I place a very high value on not needing to drive much, either to work or for shopping or whatever, and if we lived in the US again we'd only have one car.

 

Is it possible to live near Disneyland and be in a reasonable neighborhood? Schools aren't an issue and we're happy to rent, although I suspect $1500/month would be the limit. We'd also consider living in an interesting and diverse neighborhood further from work if we wouldn't need a car for anything else.

 

Any advice?

[helena]

Anaheim can get a little funky... (and not in a disco way:001_smile:)

 

There are cute little neighborhoods though with older homes. If I remember right, you enjoy cooking? There are a lot of exciting markets and restaurants. On one street you can hit a Mexican, Vietnamese, and Middle Eastern market. These are also the places you'd get the best prices.

 

Orange County isn't known for it's public trans, but there's a lot of people who use it in Anaheim, it's very doable.

 

If you go just a little south, Westminster and Fountain Valley are a bit nicer.

Irvine is a very diverse but much safer, cleaner town. Sterile might be the word I'm thinking of... :D It might cost more than you want to spend though.

[Amira]

Anaheim can get a little funky... (and not in a disco way:001_smile:)

 

There are cute little neighborhoods though with older homes. If I remember right, you enjoy cooking? There are a lot of exciting markets and restaurants. On one street you can hit a Mexican, Vietnamese, and Middle Eastern market. These are also the places you'd get the best prices.

 

Orange County isn't known for it's public trans, but there's a lot of people who use it in Anaheim, it's very doable.

 

If you go just a little south, Westminster and Fountain Valley are a bit nicer.

Irvine is a very diverse but much safer, cleaner town. Sterile might be the word I'm thinking of... :D It might cost more than you want to spend though.

 

How long of a commute could we expect from Westminster or Fountain Valley, or Irvine?

 

I do love to try ethnic cuisines so having a lot of ethinc markets in one area would be great. And cute little neighborhoods would work, although that sounds tricky to arrange online when you can't check out the neighborhoods.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Amira]

Wow, I sounded really negative! I really do love Orange County and would love to be able to move back there. Every time I visit, I'm reminded first how beautiful it can be and second how incredibly expensive and intolerable.

 

Traffic really is bad. Especially on the 91 Freeway. If you can get as close to his work as possible, that would be ideal. Commutes can be hours or pay toll roads daily. There's tons of shopping. Shopping centers within walking distance just about everywhere. The buses do come every 10 minutes or so. If you don't mind the bus, it's not that bad. Housing is very expensive. Car insurance is high. State sales tax is at 7.75% and CA state tax is high as well. We miss it, but hate the traffic and cost of living.

 

Here's a sales ad from a grocery store in Anaheim CA. The ad prices are pretty good right now. Here's a look at their regular prices for all items to compare.

 

I looked it up and the Metrolink has a lot more stops than I thought.

 

We lived in Seattle before we lived here, so I don't think it would be terribly more expensive that we're used to. This also wouldn't be a long-term job (long story), but it might be interesting for a year or two. Thanks for your help.

[DawnM]

Can your husband work off hours and avoid traffic? We didn't live in OC, we were up in LA County, but Dh and I both worked somewhat off-hours to avoid the heavy traffic. He left at 9am from home and 7pm from work. I left at 6:30 to get to work and left work at 3:30.

 

If your DH has typical 8-9 start time and typical 5-6 leave time that is where the commute becomes problematic.

 

Irvine is quite a bit nicer (not cheaper however) but commute times will run between 30 min (with no traffic) to over an hour with traffic.

 

Anaheim is edgy, or was when I was there, and I wouldn't live there if I had a choice.

 

I don't know what rents are right now, but from what I have heard from friends still there, $1,500 may not be enough for you to get more than a 1 bedroom.

 

Dawn

[Willow Creek Academy]

I spent 28 years in Anaheim. I was intimately involved with the City of Anaheim itself, and in fact, my family was one of the first families in Anaheim when it became that City by the River. As I type, on the wall above me is a 70 year old picture of an Anaheim Ranch blown up and framed. The matchng photos adorn other walls.

 

Anaheim itself IS diverse.There are a couple of cute older neighborhoods near City Hall (called the Colony) that are nice and have a good police presense. It is well maintained because of the historic nature of the Colony. I could get you the name of a realtor who specialzes in the colony in a PM if you like. Or perhaps look at Anaheim Hills. It IS much nicer than you could rent a nice 3 bedroom house there for around $1500 and everything is close, especially in East Hills... I also know a few realtors there.

 

I personally left because I couldn't handle the city life any longer. But it isn't a bad place to live and there is always a ton to do. Don't let the naysayers get to you. Is it my first choice? No. But I love Anaheim will all my heart and soul and she has a lot to offer.

[LAmom]

A 3-bedroom house for $1500? Today? I don't know. We had to rent a small 2-bedroom apartment temporarily in a not so great part of LA and it was $1200 a month. Orange County is more expensive isn't it? The parts I know, Orange and Irvine and great! I don't know about Anaheim. Looks nice from the highway. :D Let's just say I live in a half a million dollar home and in Grand Rapids, MI where I moved from it would be worth about $130,000!! :glare: Prices are much higher here as is tax. I am in LA county, not Orange, but have heard Orange is higher. Much nicer overall but I am sure it varies area to area.

 

Live as close as possible to your husband's work so commuting is not as bad. The roads are all busy during rush hour. I can avoid them thankfully! I definitely can be mistaken, but I believe prices to be much higher than Seattle. Maybe I am wrong...it is possible. :001_smile:

[CAMom]

How long of a commute could we expect from Westminster or Fountain Valley, or Irvine?

 

I do love to try ethnic cuisines so having a lot of ethinc markets in one area would be great. And cute little neighborhoods would work, although that sounds tricky to arrange online when you can't check out the neighborhoods.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Depends on the time of day.;) You could be looking at 30-45 minutes for each of those places.

 

I've lived in OC for over 30 years and border Anaheim. There are nice places in Anaheim and not so nice. There are some good neighborhoods near Disney. We have friends who live very close to there and my in-laws use to live really close in a nice neighborhood.

 

It is really hard to live here without driving quite a bit. You won't have to drive far, though, if you don't want to.

 

Check out Fullerton, Brea, Placentia and Orange as well. Those are easily doable commutes to the Disney area.

 

There are definitely tons of things to do here! Lots of educational experiences.

 

I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you might have.:)

[CAMom]

Is it possible to live near Disneyland and be in a reasonable neighborhood? Schools aren't an issue and we're happy to rent, although I suspect $1500/month would be the limit. We'd also consider living in an interesting and diverse neighborhood further from work if we wouldn't need a car for anything else.

 

Any advice?

 

BTW, I don't think you'll be able to rent a house for $1500. Possibly a one or two bedroom apartment.

[Amira]

With a little more information in hand now, it looks like $2000/month would be reasonable, and from what I've seen online, finding a 3-bedroom place is possible for that amount. I'm happy to rent an apartment if a house is too expensive; I care far more about the location than the house/apartment or its size. The Colony looks like a really interesting option and the location would be perfect for all the things we'd need to get to.

 

So another question: how walkable is downtown Anaheim/around Disney? Are the sidewalks decent? Plenty of crosswalks? Are drivers used to pedestrians? Is the freeway a major barrier to walking? I'm used to walking several miles a day to run errands, etc, but the last three cities we've lived in have been very walking friendly.

 

I really appreciate all your help.

[Running the race]

With a little more information in hand now, it looks like $2000/month would be reasonable, and from what I've seen online, finding a 3-bedroom place is possible for that amount. I'm happy to rent an apartment if a house is too expensive; I care far more about the location than the house/apartment or its size. The Colony looks like a really interesting option and the location would be perfect for all the things we'd need to get to.

 

So another question: how walkable is downtown Anaheim/around Disney? Are the sidewalks decent? Plenty of crosswalks? Are drivers used to pedestrians? Is the freeway a major barrier to walking? I'm used to walking several miles a day to run errands, etc, but the last three cities we've lived in have been very walking friendly.

 

I really appreciate all your help.

 

I'd say immediately around Disneyland is walkable, but it's all touristy stuff. I actually lived in Anaheim for awhile, but not near to Disneyland. Right now I live about 20 min. via surface streets to Disneyland. It takes about the same amount of time on the freeway also, depending on traffic and construction.

 

I can't imagine living here without a car, but I suppose it can be done. Where we live in West Garden Grove, I live within a couple of blocks of the library, grocery store, restaurants, a movie theater, and a bowling alley. We also live right off the freeway.

 

I recommend that you do not live more than five minutes from a freeway. It makes life MUCH easier here. We live right where two freeeways (close to another) come together.

 

You're welcome to contact me with any questions I can answer. I love living in Orange County, but it took me some time to adjust. :)

 

I haven't rented recently, but $2000 should definitely get you something decent.

[Hen]

I live about 10 minutes by freeway from D-land. We go to church down the street...I would advise you to not get a house right next to it, it's not a very nice area. I wouldn't let my kids walk around our church by themselves.

 

You could live close, but outside the near area (our cities are actually all really close together) I would suggest looking in Villa Park, Orange, Floral Park (Santa Ana) or if you want to be in Anaheim, then Anaheim hills. These areas can all be gotten to by side streets, though the freeway is usually quickest. Rush hour is usually not fun, but not impossible, LA is way worse, I won't drive into it. Most of our church lives around the church, and we tried looking...but I just didn't feel safe. There are some nice-ish 50's tract homes there, but there are also a lot of apartment houses in the area, this has brought down the safety. The streets themselves, around Disney look very nice, they have really done a lot with landscaping.

 

I agree with another poster, public transport doesn't really work here, you will need a car.

[Amira]

If something more concrete comes through in the next few weeks I'll definitely be contacting those of you who've offered more help. I really appreciate those who've taken the time to respond.

[TravelingChris]

We used to go to Brea weekly or more one of the times we lived in Southern CA. Now we moved from there 19 years ago but Brea was not a walking friendly area. Things were widely spaced. Most of Southern CA isn't really a walking friendly area although coastal Long Beach is, as well as some other coastal cities. They are much more expensive, though and not that close to Anaheim.

[QumaCote]

We moved from the Seattle area to Orange County (Villa Park) about a year ago. (Villa Park is very nice, but there are virtually no homes to rent.) In my opinion Seattle is a much more pedestrian/bicycle friendly area than Orange County. The drivers here seem to ignore some of the basic rules of the road like stopping for pedestrians, stopping at red lights, etc.

 

With the exception of a few places, many areas have good areas and bad areas, so looking for places on-line can be very deceiving. My parents moved here to be closer to the grandkids, and I really struggled to find them a place to rent. Some homes looked o.k. on-line, but the neighborhood was not fine when I went to look at it. Anaheim Hills is a nice area, but I don't think you will find much for $2000. My parents are paying $2,500/month for 1,700 sq ft in Orange. Their street is decent, but you go over a few streets and it isn't nice. They originally only wanted to spend $1,900, and I couldn't find anything for them that would fit the piano and be a decent neighborhood. They currently live about 4 miles from Disney.

 

Wishing you the best,

[CAMom]

We used to go to Brea weekly or more one of the times we lived in Southern CA. Now we moved from there 19 years ago but Brea was not a walking friendly area. Things were widely spaced. Most of Southern CA isn't really a walking friendly area although coastal Long Beach is, as well as some other coastal cities. They are much more expensive, though and not that close to Anaheim.

 

Depends on where you live in Brea. :)

 

If you live near downtown, you could walk to the grocery store, drug store, Starbucks, the movies, restaurants, etc. all within the Downtown Brea complex. And, less than a mile the other direction is Sprouts, more restaurants, the mall, the library, civic center, etc.

 

I will say that living in OC will present some challenges if you like a pedestrian lifestyle.:)

[Willow Creek Academy]

A 3-bedroom house for $1500? Today? I don't know. We had to rent a small 2-bedroom apartment temporarily in a not so great part of LA and it was $1200 a month. Orange County is more expensive isn't it? The parts I know, Orange and Irvine and great! I don't know about Anaheim. Looks nice from the highway. :D Let's just say I live in a half a million dollar home and in Grand Rapids, MI where I moved from it would be worth about $130,000!! :glare: Prices are much higher here as is tax. I am in LA county, not Orange, but have heard Orange is higher. Much nicer overall but I am sure it varies area to area.

 

Live as close as possible to your husband's work so commuting is not as bad. The roads are all busy during rush hour. I can avoid them thankfully! I definitely can be mistaken, but I believe prices to be much higher than Seattle. Maybe I am wrong...it is possible. :001_smile:

 

I own a 4 bedroom + loft with a 3.5 bath that I rent for $2200 even. My parents old house, which is a 3 bed 1 3/4 bath in Anaheim Hills, albeit the flat portion near the freeway, get $1425 and that was a struggle. And it is totally remodeled. My brothers rents a 2 bedroom 2 bath in HB 3 blocks for ocean for $1100.