Moving to Irvine!

I'm so excited for you! Irvine is such a wonderful place to live. I loved living in Woodbridge. If I ever moved South again that's where I'd be headed! The lake and surrounding area is so beautiful any time of year. The people were friendly and the shopping was convenient but not 'in my face'. Enjoy!

Any neighborhood is a good neighborhood in Irvine! It really depends what you're looking for. There are some VERY new neighborhoods and then you have the older neighborhoods. Woodbridge has the lake, great elementary school and HS. Westpark is newer and has a great elementary school which is also newer. A friend of mine moved to WP last year right across form the school and she LOVES it! There is a new neighborhood off Laguna Canyon Road but I really don't know much about it. Irvine is a large city with diverse neighborhoods. It spans from Laguna Canyon Road to the Orange County airport to the Irvine Spectrum all the way to the 241 Toll Road where it meets Northwood. It has grown in mass proportions in the last 10-15 years. The great thing about Irvine is it has TONS of parks, community pools and lots of shopping! It's very much a family oriented City!You should check out the City of Irvine website =-)
Best of luck with your move and congrats!!!

I grew up in Irvine and just moved back here last summer after 14 years in LA. I LOVE it. One of the greatest things about Irvine is you are almost always within walking distance of a park (or 2 or 3) and you can usually walk to the elementary school as well.

If you want an older neighborhood, with bigger yards (relatively speaking) and no mello roos, check out Northwood. The houses are nice - mostly built in the late 1970's - and the schools are great. We go to different parks all the time. Turtle Rock and Woodbridge are also good if you want older neighborhoods; Turtle Rock is the most expensive of these. The schools up there are the best in the city (among the best in the state), but not all of the houses are walking distance from the park and schools.

If you want a newer neighborhood, I think Northwood Pointe is the best, followed by Woodbury. If I could have afforded it, we probably would have moved to Northwood Pointe.

We are in Northwood and are extremely happy. Feel free to send me a private message if you want more info about specific schools or neighborhoods.

***One more thing I want to add - there are a few neighborhoods in Irvine that are really nice, but are actually in the Tustin school district. So if you're moving here for the schools, keep that in mind about certain neighborhoods. Northpark, Northpark Square, Orchard Hills, & West Irvine are all TUSD. The schools are good, but don't have the reputation of Irvine schools.

K.
http://oc.citymommy.com

I went to U.C Irvine and I have relatives who have brought up their three daughters in what is the ideal family-friendly neighborhood with a park, lots of kids, safe, clean, and with great schools nearby. They live on street called Shasta and another relative on Klamath near University Park, currently being upgraded. It's a development with lots of families, and shares a huge pool not frequented often by others. I know since I've been there many times. The elementary school is University Park, an award winning school- named California Distinguished School for 2010. I don't know the name of the development, but if you located University Park, all thea areas directly around that are great.

HI K.,
Irvine in itself is a beautiful city with lots of parks and excellent elementary schools. However, I would say that I am partial to the Woodbridge area of Irvine. There is a beautiful lake, lots of community pools and parks, and there are shops and restaurants all within walking distance.

FYI there isn't a bad part of Irvine. I like the area closer to the medical campus. and my uncle lives in turtle hill, or something like that. He is a snob, so i try to ignore his bragging.