Tips on best cycling/living areas in northern Orange County, CA

[cabbagelookin]

Hey all :)

Career opportunities may arise that could see a move to California for me. I definitely see a lot of CA residents on here so thought I'd tap the hive-mind and see if anyone had any wisdom on potential areas for living/cycling.

If it happens, work will most likely be in the Brea / Yorba Linda / Fullerton area. While I don't want to say that the quality of cycling in the immediate area will be *the* most important factor in deciding where to live within a 30min or so commute, it would be a factor! I'm a pretty diverse roadie / gravel / CX / MTB guy, so open to all terrains.

Is it better to live in Costa Mesa for access to PCH, or look north of OC for access to Angeles National Forest? How is riding in Chino Hills and Limestone? Is there a sweet-spot for reasonable house prices, cool spots to live and great cycling?

All thoughts welcome!! And thanks!

JB

[weaponsgrade]

I don't live in the area, but I visit So Cal at least once a year. My vote would be something that gets you closer to the riding in Angels National Forest. My impression of riding in Orange County was mile after mile of suburban sprawl. I grew up outside Philly and used to ride Wissahickon a lot.

[Mike V]

If you want your commute to be around 30 minutes the you better live in the three cities you are working in. The areas you listed you are thinking of living in are 1.5 to 2 hour commutes to your work area during commute time.


FYI - Commute time is 5-10am and 2-7pm

[mtechnica]

I’d definitely try to live wherever gives you the best commute. There’s lots of places to ride.

[tbike4]

I’d definitely try to live wherever gives you the best commute. There’s lots of places to ride.

Good call. Traffic here sucks. The OP must already know the cost of housing is beyond expensive but that is not the question. I live in Tustin and can be on a bike path in about a 10 minute ride then go a very long way without stopping and be away from cars. I like that. PCH has some lights but you can go from OC to LA if you want. They got rid of the homeless camp on the SART, Santa Ana River Trail so that is also a long ride from the ocean to the mountains.

I figure I can afford to live here about 5 more years then retire and move to Ecuador. Hope there are some good bike paths there.

[old_fat_and_slow]

Hey all :)

... Is there a sweet-spot for reasonable house prices, cool spots to live and great cycling?

All thoughts welcome!! And thanks!

JB

In general, the farther you get away from the coast, the lower the prices get. (In general). Also, if you go any direction away from west-side L.A. county, housing prices tend to go down. That is, they go down from astronomical to outrageously expensive to too d@mn expensive.

Good luck, Happy Hunting!

[cabbagelookin]

If you want your commute to be around 30 minutes the you better live in the three cities you are working in. The areas you listed you are thinking of living in are 1.5 to 2 hour commutes to your work area during commute time.

FYI - Commute time is 5-10am and 2-7pm

Good feedback - I know it's awful, but I guess you can only know how awful by living there.

How about commuting by bike ;) I have a friend who lives in Laguna and mostly bike commutes up to Irvine (though 133 is a crappy road to ride on, from personal experience) - seems like a decent way to get around, though he is probably 50% faster than me!

[tylercheung]

If you're willing to drive to where you ride, I have seen people here organize rides to the Palomar, Julian area...there's always pacific coast highway too but traffic can be an issue

[PeregrineA1]

I’ll second the Orange, Tustin, and unincorporated County areas in 92705. Still some decent deals. Pretty easy to get to Brea/Fullerton area. Excellent access to good road, great MTB, and decent gravel riding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk