Property Management Blog

Orange County is in Southern California and is home to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Angel’s Baseball team. Not to mention some fantastic beaches. There are nearly 40 cities found in Orange County, and for this reason, we have broken them down into “regions” to not bore you with bios on 40 cities.

Let’s talk about the cities and all the fun found in North Orange County.

Anaheim

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. It’s home to the famous Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, Anaheim Ducks Hockey Team, and the Angels baseball team. It is the second-largest city in Orange County. Anaheim was found in 1857 by fifty German families and remained an agricultural community until Disney landed opened in 1955. This led to significant construction of several hotels and motels around the areas and residential districts soon followed.

Anaheim’s city limits are expansive ranging from Cypress in the west and to Riverside County line in the east. Anaheim Hills is a master-planned community located in the city’s eastern stretches. You will also find three mixed-use historic districts; the largest in the Anaheim Colony. Second, the Anaheim Resort, which includes the Disneyland Resort and a retail district. The third district is the Platinum Triangle, a redevelopment district surrounding Angel Stadium. Fun Fact about Anaheim: Milo Ventimiglia, from This, Is Us, and Greg Burson, the voice of Yogi Bear, both called Anaheim home.

Brea

The name Brea means “oil” or “tar’ in Spanish. It became the 8th city official city of Orange County in 1917, with a population of 752. The city was a center for crude oil production, then later propelled by its Citrus production. It’s now home to the large Brea Mall. Carl N. Karcher, the founder of Carl’s Jr. restaurants, opened the first two locations, one in Brea and one in Anaheim.

Brea was built around the oil industry and Union Oil Company of California. Baseball legend, Walter Johnson, grew up in the area and worked in the oil fields as a youth. As oil production declined, agricultural development took over. About 30 years later, the citrus groves gave way to industrial parks and residential development. Followed up the Orange Freeway. Enjoy the weekend walking Downtown Brea featuring movie theaters, a weekly farmer’s market, sidewalk cafés, and more.

Buena Park

Buena Park was incorporated in 1953 and at the time was an agricultural center, particularly dairy, wine, and citrus products. Today, more than 80,000 people call Buena Park home.

Buena Park’s E-Zone district, located along Beach Boulevard, is home to many attractions: Knott’s Berry Farm, Soak City, Pirate’s Dinner Adventure, and Medieval Times Dinner. Los Coyotes Country Club, a 27-hole championship golf course is in the northeast section of the city. Looking to enjoy the beautiful So. Cal weather, be sure to check out The Ralph B. Clark Regional Park.

Cypress 

Cypress was initially nicknamed “Waterville” due to the preponderance of artesian wells in the area. In 1956 it was incorporated at Dairy City by local dairy farmers as a means of staving off developers. After World War II, the land became too valuable for farming and ranching and slowly, the dairies sold out to housing developers during the 1960s, by 1970 all dairies were sold. The City was renamed from Dairy City to Cypress, after the Cypress trees that were once built around the elementary school to protect it from the Santa Ana winds.

Annually the city hosts the Cypress Community Festival, currently the largest single-day birthday celebration for a city, on the 4th Saturday in July at Oak Knoll Park. A few notable natives called Cypress home including John Stamos and Tiger Woods.

Fullerton

Founded in 1887, it was famous for Valencia Orange Groves and other citrus crops. It is home to Cal State Fullerton and Fullerton College. Fullerton is said to be the birthplace of the electric guitar, due in large part to Leo Fender. Thanks to Fender Musical instrument company, the music business was great revolutionized and contributed to the rock and roll scene. Great such as Gwen Stefanie and Singer-Songwriter, Tim Buckley grew up in Fullerton. 

Fullerton is home to more than 50 city parks including Hillcrest Park, the Craig Regional Park, and Ralph B. Clark Park. The Fullerton Arboretum comprises 26 acres of sculpted gardens and unusual plants. The city features approximately 200 acres of recreational land in the Brea Dam Recreational Area, plus an equestrian center and trails, two golf courses, a tennis center, and a swim complex. 

La Habra

Founded in 1896 and was famous for being the largest producer of avocados. Specifically, ReadHaas avocados…Yum! An interesting the fact that you may not know La Habra has an annual Corn Festival, usually held the first weekend in August at the El Centro Lions Park. Another exciting fair to check out is the La Habra Citrus Fair. 

Need something for the kiddos to do? La Habra has a great children’s museum inside a 1923 Union Pacific Train Depot and was the first of its kind west of the Mississippi. Looking for something sports-related? Check out the La Bonita Sports Complex featuring a baseball diamond and skate park. Not to mention over 20 parks with walkways, picnic areas, and bike paths. Get out today and check La Habra. 

La Palma

La Palma was incorporated in 19655 as Dairyland and was one of the three dairy cities in the region. In 2013, La Palma was ranked 31^st in the “Best Places to Live” among small cities (50,000 or less in population) in the United States. According to the City Website, La Palma prides itself on a responsive government and a strong sense of community, with one of the lowest crime rates in Orange County. 

La Palma hosts several community events annually including the Halloween Carnival, Hometown Heroes Concert; the Fitness Run for Fun and the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony. The goal of the city is to promote “hometown living.” Where residents feel safe, and everyone knows your name. If you are in the market for a home, check out La Palma. 

Placentia

In 1971, Placentia was honored with the prestigious “All American City” award, given out annually by the National Civic League. Currently, the city is part of a Metrolink project and will assist in the revitalization of the area. The project is slated to include the building of housing for those that commute but don’t want to live in the “city,” along with retail and entertainment. This is excellent news if you are looking to purchase an investment property or two, or three, or four! 

Placentia is home to the Heritage Festival held in October each year. On Tuesday evenings, you will find the Placentia Certified Farmers Market at the Town Center. Here you will find approximately 30 vendors offering yummy treats and more. 

Yorba Linda

Known as the “Land of Gracious Living” is a city with a strong sense of community and small-town character. More than likely, you have heard of this city once or twice, especially if you were alive when Nixon was President. Yorba Linda was his birthplace and is a National Historic Landmark, thanks to his presidential library and museum. During the early years of the city, you could farmers growing barley and sheep grazing. Followed by citrus groves and avocado trees. Today, residents oppose further urban development and have organized to reduce traffic. In 2012, Yorba Linda was ranked 42^nd on Money magazine’s list of America’s best small cities. 

There is plenty to keep you busy in this “small-town” from the Black Gold Golf Club to the Nixon Library and Equestrian Center. The city is home to over 100 miles of trails for use by hikers, bikers, and equestrians. Looking for a place to hang your hat, Yorba Linda might just be the city for you.