Lake Forest, CA?
A friend of mine (late 30s with 2 <5 yo kids) has an opportunity to move to their company HQ in Lake Forest, CA. They currently live / work in a small town in Europe (with a median house price of under $200K). They asked me (probably the only person they know in California) what I thought of the area. Anyone who live / work in the area know anything about the area? I think Google has an office in Irvine. Do any Googlers live there and can recommend it?
It's a pretty safe and nice place to live. Just south of Irvine, just north of Laguna Niguel and Laguna Hills, a bit boring surburban housing area, but just a 15-20min drive to Laguna Beach. Lake Forest is also very close (5-10 min drive) to Irvine Spectrum, the large open air shopping, movie theater, dining/entertainment complex. Good public schools, a good place to raise kids. They could also live in Laguna Niguel, Hills and Irvine since those cities border Lake Forest, but housing in those places will be more expensive.
Lake Forest is in Orange County, so its quite beautiful. I worked there for a while. Its a master planned community, very safe and rich. Its close to places like Laguna Beach (beach), Irvine (shopping). Reasonably priced homes are in Mission Viejo. The Google office is in Irvine by the way (not so nice cause its mostly commercial real estate there) but lots of condo rental opportunities available.
There is a small office in irvine. But that doesnt mean you can work there. You have to sit with your team wherever that may be.