Great place to live if you can afford it - 4/14/2020

As a retired senior who has lived in Lake Forest (formerly El Toro) since 1977 I think LF is a great place if you can afford it. When we moved here in June '77 homes were selling in the mid to upper five digits, $60 - 100k. May sound low today but a good salary back then was in the $15k - 25k range so relatively speaking houses were expensive but not as much as today. The Saddleback school district was fine back then and still is. Our two daughters went to local public schools and did fine, both going thru the Calif. public system thru grad school. Back then minorities, we're Asian, were a very small percentage but has now grown to a larger pct over all in all ethnicities. We have had no discrimination. Our multiple next door neighbors have been nice and friendly but not real close. Our circle of 12 -15 seniors encompass five ethnic groups and both political parties, we get along just great at our weekly get-togethers. The restaurant scene is very varied and just great, all price ranges. The local junior college, Saddleback College, offers an Emeritus program for seniors that provides dozens of free classes and lectures year round in numerous subjects from exercise classes, history, photography to philosophy and religions, etc. UC Irvine is about 20 min. away and is a premier 4-year university of very high caliber. There is also a branch of Cal State Univ - Fullerton in nearby Irvine. The brand new gorgeous Lake Forest city center has state of the art facilities including a beautiful, stand-alone senior center. There are numerous programs, facilities and parks for families, kids and seniors. So the positives are many including low crime, great weather, even during winter when it gets chilly (low 40's in the early hours) we get an occasional heat wave in the 80s. If you like gardening like me it is a year round activity, including all kinds of fruit trees and tropical plants. I'd say the negatives are the very high cost of real estate and the property tax if you are not moving from some other high priced county in Calif. as there are Prop 13 issues that can make the property tax low or high depending. Since I have not moved from this house in decades the property tax is just a bit over $1k a year, whoever buys my house some day will likely pay 6-7x that per year. So with low prop tax, no mortgage, a decent pension and SS plus a good retirement nest egg we live very comfortably. For new incoming families, it's a great living environment if you can afford it. Btw, one of my cars is an EV (Tesla) so with the sales incentive of free life of the car charging at the Tesla SC station in Mission Viejo 5 miles away my fuel costs are negligible. A family buying a house in LF should seriously consider installing solar panels, more so if the roof has a south facing exposure. Gasoline at Costco in Irvine (4 miles) is not bad for this area, there is also a Walmart there and another less than 4 miles distance, also a couple of Home Depots. The Irvine Spectrum shopping complex nearby is a massive area with dozens of stores, restaurants, 21 screen theater, giant ferris wheel and merry-go-round for the kids, first class place. Skiing in the Big Bear area is about 1.5 - 2 hr away. Beaches like Laguna Beach is about a 25-30 min. drive, Disneyland is 20 min away a bit more for the Knotts' Berry Farm entertainment complex. John Wayne airport is 20 min. away for flights thru out the US, LAX is 50 min. in non-rush hour, during rush hour about 1.5 hr. The Segerstrom center multi-venue complex is a world class venue for plays, and performances of all kinds, that's 18 min. away. There is also the beautiful performance hall at Soka Univ. of America 18 min. away in Aliso Viejo, wonderful year-round performances there as at performance venues at UC Irvine. One would be hard pressed to find all these amenities in easy driving distance elsewhere. I used to commute for 17 min. Those with a lesser income commute to LF from 30min - 1hr away, typically. So now you know why the real estate is high, if you can afford it and have a good income, working or retired, this is a really great place to live, otherwise you'd likely have a hard time. Note that the median income is currently about $92,800 and homes at $718k, both on the high side. Numerous high-paying professional jobs are in the surrounding area all within a 20-40 min. or less commute. LA is an hour north and a world away, San Diego is 1.5 hr south on I5.

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Lake Forest is a great place to live ACTUALLY - 1/13/2020

I’ve lived here for 2 years. Ok, it’s more like a 4 but there are so many idiots downplaying what it’s like here and giving Lake Forest ones and twos. There are a lot of good places to eat here and in the surrounding areas and there are a lot of great surrounding areas seeing as we are right in the heart of Orange County. The home prices are lower than surrounding areas as well. I’ve met many nice families that live here in the last two years. There are also a lot of great parks and playgrounds for our small kids to play and here. There also seem to be a lot of younger families moving in the area which is what we were hoping for. This is what we wanted.

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Dreary - 2/5/2019

I've lived here for 5 and a half years and it's the worst. There's no way to describe the inherent awful nature of Lake Forest without sounding like I'm exaggerating. The whole town is ripe with hatred of each other and indifference to our neighbors, even the weather which can hit 100 degrees in the summer cannot save us. If you want to have any fun at all you have to leave the city - as someone without a car, this makes every trip a 4 hours round trip time cost. Everyone has a sense of dreary pessimism and there's no escaping it without leaving. Do not move here.

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Saddleback Church - 9/12/2010

This church is huge. If you want depth into the christian faith, you won't get it here. It is a "seeker" church. It caters to surface depth christianity. You won't get in-depth bible studies or in-depth sermons. You'll get life-application sermons that are very general with encouragement for your week ahead. It is for those who know they should go to church, but don't want too much of a commitment to the church or the depth of Christ's teachings. When salvation is presented, repentance may not even be mentioned. They will make comments such as "decide to follow Christ," or "choose to go a new direction." Sin and it's consequences may be mentioned in passing, but man's sinful and fallen nature and the need to repent of that sin and nature and acceptance of responsibility for one's sin with a commitment to turn from that and accept Christ as the only son of God who died for those sins and to take up your cross and follow Christ would be considered too hard-hitting for this church. I don't think the size of the church is the issue as I was a member of one the largest Mega churches in the west with in-depth bible study and teachings and an inter-active and very affiliated to oneanother membership. It was the best church I ever attended. So, it's not the size of Saddleback, it's the choice of emphasis and presentation to cater to people too busy, too self-involved and lack of dedication to presenting all truth in the Bible.

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Beautiful.....with a big budget! - 3/2/2010

Love this place to death! Cost of living high, but can't beat the weather for outdoor activities. I like four seasons and for my dollar to go a little further, so we're looking for a new place to live. Anyone coming this way will love every part of it, but the cost. You name it, it's expensive. If you get a break here (e.g. property tax, low vehicle reg costs, etc.) you get killed with property values, gasoline and entertainment costs. Come this way, if you have an income well over the $150k mark and you're set. Come in with less and you're living paycheck to paycheck.

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COSTS, costs, costs... - 7/29/2008

Here in Lake Forest the cost of a gallon of milk is now the same as a gallon of gas...both about $4.50...The cost of living here has continued to rise since I moved here in 1997. The traffic in the city is fine, but if you want to go anywhere else, the cost of gas is a problem now...Housing is horribly expensive, with the madian price around $699,000. about the only really good points about LF is there is very little crime, and we are in SoCal, minutes from just about any recreation you like from ski to surf. Move here only if the costs are NOT an issue!

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great weather - 5/11/2008

Lake Forest has a wonderful climate pretty much year 'round.

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Sunny California - 4/28/2008

I have lived in Sunny California for most of my adult life and love its wonderful climate and the diversity of people and life.

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What a Place - 4/6/2008

It's Orange County CA personified - the best of all. Generally upper-middle class, mild climate (extended June gloom). Good schools that are likely to take a pretty big cut in the next year so we'll see some effect there I'm sure. We have mostly minor crime, few annual "violent" crimes. The city has like many others not taken as active of a role as many think it should in reducing the draw (popularity to) and population of undocumented immigrants. That places additional pressure on available resources especially when times are "lean".

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The Good Life - 11/3/2007

I grew up in Lake Forest and regard it as a very community-oriented city with residents who are proud and responsible. The cost of living is high, but so is the quality of life. No wonder the city's motto is "The Good Life".

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Location - 9/16/2007

Comfortable safe location, centrally located, with great access to many areas in So Calif. Location, location, location.

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It's all about the weather - 4/14/2007

As one writer said they longed for the change of seasons that was non-existent in San Diego, but after hearing about 6 months of snow and frigid weather, I will probably retire in a warmer climate. The problem with the nice climates, like San Diego, is that everyone wants to be there and that makes for crowds, high housing and constant traffic. I would agree that some times there is a lack of community, but if you are in a stable Southern California community, it can be achieved. You can keep the Minnesota winters, thank you very much. Steve Foothill Ranch, Ca. 92610

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Lake Forest?....*yawn* - 11/29/2006

Lived in OC all my life (42 years) and have been in Lake Forest for 8. If you like a place where everything looks the same, you've got to get in your car to go anywhere, which means leaving here if you desire any place that's got any soul, and where the right-wing Christian conservatives outnumber any liberals, you'll love it. It's only got about 5 decent restaurants...all of them ethnic. Not including the chain Wahoo's, which continues it's tradition of good food for cheap. Nothing but families, no place to be if you're single. If it's hot in OC, and it had been since June, it's even hotter here. Can't tell you how many days in a row that were over 90 degrees this looooooooooooooooooooong Summer. I'm looking to get the heck out, can't stand the mind-set, etc. anymore. If you're a progressive thinking, cool, genuine person...don't even consider it.

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2 year Lake Forest resident - 7/18/2006

Very warm in the spring Hot and a bit too humid in the summer Hot in the "fall" Warm in "winter"

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Beautiful Community; Beautiful Weather! - 6/14/2006

Beautiful community; beautiful weather

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