How should you choose between Irvine and South Orange County with a $2 million to $3 million budget? Compare housing, commute, ownership costs, and coastal access in Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, and San Clemente.

One street has been there since 1794. One harbor town didn't exist until the 1960s. One city was drawn on paper before anyone lived there. Here's why real buyers — from Boston, from inland Orange County, and from right here — chose Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano, and Dana Point.