About Mission Viejo's Califia

The housing tract Califia is telling a story.

It is a place where people like to stay. If you look at the recent sales, and listings they are few and far between. Home owners have an average stay of over 10 years in this housing tract. Story told. People like to live in Califia. The housing tracts in Califia are Bel Air, Bellagio, Bel Mira, Ashton and Greystone.

The tract is convenient to school- you can walk to the elementary school- Bathgate, the drive to the middle school is a little over 10 minutes- Newhart and the commute to the high school Capistrano Valley High School is a bit longer but worth it. The classes are great, they have a great IB program, they offer ROP, they have a wonderful pool facility, they are building a performing arts center. The school is over 25 years old but it is holding it's own and offering a wonderful environment.

There are two great parks in the tract. One is right next to Bathgate and it offers a wide open field for soccer , walks or picnics. Being right next to the school there is a playground, basketball nets and picnic tables available. The other park is down at the bottom of the tract overlooking O'Neill park. It boasts wonderful peaceful views, picnic tables, a great playground and lots of grass for enjoyment.

The neighbors in these tracts are friendly, there are always block parties going on. The association sponsors a picnic in the park with bouncy house and a band. This tract Califia is also a member of Mission Viejo Lake so within 10 minutes you can be sitting on a boat and fishing, or on the sand watching the sunset. There are summer concerts, fishing, swimming, boating- and even annual fire works.

So as you can see Califia is a great place to live... and a great place to stay. If you would like to know more about the homes available here, give me a call and I can show you around.

Rita

Have you found this wonderful little secret in Califia? It is the Matt Davis Park.

For years this area was just a weed patch. The builder of the community - Bramalea went bankrupt in the early 1990's and left the park unfinished. The city was the beneficiary of the land but didn't have the funds to do anything with the property.

For years it sat empty, weeds grew- kids played. There were many skate ramps built by kids, lots of " fun " happened up in this unkept area.

Then the city started having planning sessions with the neighborhood. The ideas flowed from a swimming pool, to soceer fields, to just plain open space. These planning sessions went on for months and then nothing.

Several years later again the planning sessions started. Apprarently some of the bond money that was set for the park was available. The area residents again had some great ideas. The architect came up with this plan- a playground surrounded by a walking park and rolling hills. The cost was 1.5 million dollars. I went home that night after looking at the plans and couldn't believe this simple park was going to cost so much to develop.

Months went on- grading happened, plants were planted, grass was growing, boy scouts helped, it was an effort. The chain link fence didn't allow the residents to go in- there was mystery!

Well now it has been about 2 years that the park has been open and it is a beauty. The views are phenomenal, the walking path is lighted and if you do the whole loop- up the hill and around it is 1/4 mile so do four loops and you've walked a mile. The park is shared by kids on the playground, people enjoying the seats and tables with the views, walkers, dogs, even deer are seen early in the morning grazing on the beautiful landscaping.

It is truely a unique park- because of the rolling green area there can't be a baseball or soceer game played- it is just a park for enjoyment of all.

The city did a grand job of it and if you live in Califia and haven't discovered this gem- head on down to the bottom street and walk to Camino Largo and check it out. You will find Mocha my black lab and I there twice a day - everyday- we LOVE IT! Thanks to the city of Mission Viejo.

PS It is also a memorial park to Matt Davis a motorcyle policeman who lost his life in Misison Viejo while on duty- I am sure his family is proud of the park also!