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Life in Laguna Hills, California

Laguna Hills Reviews California Message Board
City/State
tad brunton's review of Laguna Hills California
Are you thinking of moving or relocating to Laguna Hills, California? Would you like to know what the quality of life is like living in Laguna Hills?
WeatherSafetyNeighborhoodsPeople
Laguna Hills has beautiful year-round weather. It rains once in a while, but never enough to inconvenience anyone, and there are never any snow storms, tornados or hurricanes to worry about. One nice feature about the perfect location of Laguna Hills is you get a pleasant breeze from the Pacific Ocean, which is only eight miles away. Summers are warm and winters are just slightly cold every once in a while, but the light ocean winds diminish any harshness that one could get farther inland.This part of Southern California is a pretty peaceful place to live in. There aren't any really big crimes to speak of but there are the annoying petty instances of thievery and vandalism to be concerned with. These take the form of bike thefts, car break-ins and the occasional home burglary. Once in a while you might see some graffiti, but home owners and shopkeepers usually paint over those disrespectful signatures immediately. These small crimes can be prevented quite easily, for the most part. Never leave anything of value in a car and always roll up your car windows and lock your car when you park it, no matter how long you intend to be away from it. Lock your bike with a Kriptonite type lock instead of a chain and you should be fine. As far as your home goes, Keep lights on in the house at night and lock windows and doors and you can feel much more secure.Laguna Hills has a lot of nice areas to live in. It's a relatively new development so there are a great deal of newer style homes. Some of the nicer places in this cozy little town are on the east and north sides, bordering Mission Viejo. The areas near Cabot Road on the east and the 5 freeway on the north have very nice homes that are a bit newer and larger with more accommodations than other areas. They are also close to great shopping and dining in both Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo. Some of the less desirable sections of town run along Ridge Routs and the 5 freeway. There are a great deal of apartments in that zone and many of the tenants don't seem to have a vested interest in how the city prospers or appears.Laguna Hills is mostly white, as far as the population goes, and there are a lot of retired people here also. This town is not upper middle-class, but lower middle-class to middle class seems to fit the people here. If you are homeless and jobless, you are not going to be welcomed with open arms in this community and if you have an old clunky broken down car, you are definitely going to feel out of place here. The Hispanic community in Laguna Hills is expanding and they are developing a middle class here also. It's a conservative community, over all, so if you're a socialist or even a left-leaning Democrat, you may want to move to Costa Mesa, which is just down the road.
Downtown AreaRestaurantsSchoolsSingle life
The Laguna Hills mall is always busy and it is arguably the centerpiece of the town's shopping district. There are plenty of strip malls in this city, but this mall beats them all out as far as brand name big box stores, restaurants and movie theaters.King's Fish House is not only famous, but the food and service are excellent. If you crave vegetarian cuisine, then Mother's Market & Kitchen is the place for you.Laguna Hills has several high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. None of them got the highest score of 10 from greatschools.org, which is a shame.If you live in Laguna Hills, chances are you're not there for its singles action. There is none, unless you want to hang out at Laguna Hills Mall and meet people. Singles usually go out of town to meet other singles, such as Newport Beach or Laguna Beach or Costa Mesa. They are all freeway close and there are plenty of venues that are more than accommodating to singles.
NoiseCompared to other placesBest hospitalTourist attractions
Stay away from the 5 freeway if you don't want noise pollution. Otherwise, Laguna Hills is a really quiet town that basically closes down after ten o'clock at night.Laguna Hills is a nice place to live, if you like a lot of quiet. It does have a pretty good shopping mall and there's a first rate hospital right across the street from it. It's a little more expensive to live in that its neighbor Lake Forest, but cheaper than its famous neighboring town of Mission Viejo. Mission Viejo is the first place people choose to live in around that area, simply because it has more. More trees, more lake, more shopping and dining and a nationally known major hospital. Lake Forest, on the other hand, is a place you live in because you can't afford Mission Viejo or Laguna Hills. A lot of strip malls and apartments and condos. Laguna Hills is staid, conservative and colorless, except for the green that surrounds it, which in itself is an attraction.Saddleback Memorial is a great hospital and it's right across the street from the Laguna Hills Mall. How's that for convenience? This is a highly reputable and efficient hospital that provides emergency and critical care to the community.The most interesting place to visit in Laguna Hills is the Laguna Hills Mall. it's a fun place to hang out for a day. You can go to lunch and dinner and to the movies and shop all day long if you like - all in one place. Macy's is the anchor store there and there is also a Sears and J.C. Penney, among numerous other places to shop and eat.
If you want to enjoy the beach, its only ten minutes away and
General comments   
It's a nice cookie cutter town with buildings and streets and homes that look like so many other Southern California towns that were developed in the 1980s and 90s. The people don't want to stand out in any way and no one wants to be different. It's similar to Irvine in that way. People just want to be quiet and anonymous. However, if you took away all of the khaki-painted buildings and the colorless people, the land and the rolling hills are quite stunning to take in. There's a lot of green beltways and trees to soothe your frenzied nerves when you get off the 5 freeway.   
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