What's so Great about Orange County?

We went to check out one of the new housing developments in Irvine the other day. I had heard a lot of good things about it, and Irvine is consistently ranked among the top 5 places in the US to live.
Let me just say the hype lived up to itself and then some.
We spent most of our time there trying to pick our jaws up from off the gorgeous ground we were walking on.
This. Place. Is. Amazing.
I guess I can't speak for all of Irvine, we spent most of our time in Woodbury. One of our friends who works in realty development has looked at all the new housing developments in the country. He said that this is the best one he's seen in the US.
And quite possibly the world.

First of all, 30-40% of the community is park space. And not just brandnew, undergrown parks, they've got mature trees and grapevines climbing the pillars and shade canopies, playgrounds, picnic benches, BBQ pits, doggie bags, water fountains... I don't know how they did it.



And then there's a 40 acre recreation center right in the middle with a waterpark filled with all kinds of water features for the kids, several pools including an Olympic size pool for their swim team (what community has a swim team?),
tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts (all of which you can reserve online), a baseball field and soccer field, which was packed the day we were there. I saw people running home during play to grab drinks and head back to the field. Oh yeah, did I mention a 10-star elementary school was right next to the recreation center in the middle of all this? Down the street. Walking distance.

As if that wasn't enough, as we were driving along we hit the Town Center.

Okay, they had a Trader Joe's, a Ralph's, Staples, restaurants, a gym, dry cleaners... EVERYTHING! PEOPLE WERE WALKING HOME WITH THEIR SHOPPING CARTS!! Obviously, not everyone lives close enough to the Town Center do this, BUT STILL!!!
At the model home info center we found out about the gorgeous hiking 15 minutes away at Limestone Canyon, and the Jeffrey Open Space Trail actually RUNS THROUGH THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT!
I almost passed out as I realized you could literally go for a swim or take a hike, swing by Trader Joes' and grab dinner, pick up your kids at school, let them play in the park as you're walking home, eat dinner at the picnic tables, walk to church for Mutual, and then all be back in your house together before the sun set. Oh, because did I mention, a brand new LDS Church is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM EVERYTHING
O.M.G. (Gracious) And, it's 20 minutes from Disneyland, 10 minutes from the Ocean... We had to flee before we bought something right on the spot.



Over the next couple days, Ian and I, infatuated with Woodbury, looked hard at the 50 mile commute options. He would have to travel a lot of off hours and work a day or two from home, which is an option for him, but would be punitive in some respects for all of us. I rely on Ian's help at the beginning and ends of the day a lot right now, and losing him to a commute would be painful. And while the whole place reminds me a lot of Italy- the home design, lots of green common space- there's not much private yard space. The backyards barely warranted the name. There was room for a BBQ, outdoor furniture, and that was seriously it before you hit the shared fence. Many didn't even have grass. Ian and I love gardening and having the kids play in the yard while I watch them through the kitchen window as I'm chopping carrots is a must-have.
Another thing- it's pricey. Pricey areas usually draw 2-income families and not as many people to share the SAHM experience with. I was planning on seeing what the ward was like, but I didn't get around to it. Only one ward for quite a large area.
So... we decided this would be a great place to live when our kids are a little older, and they're not as interested in playing in the backyard and Ian's career is a little more settled. I think it would be amazing, but for now it's on the backburner.