Rent or Buy in Orange County

[Cort Green]

I maybe moving my family to Orange County. If we want to buy, we'll need to spend about $1,000,000 to be in the area and in a house we want. I currently own two homes with about $250,000 in equity combined. I'd sell them both to assist with a down payment, and then have a mortgage of around $4,500. Or I can keep the houses as rentals, or sell them and invest that equity into rentals, and rent a home in OC for about the same as the mortgage payment. It's hard to stomach writing a $4,500 rental check each month, but its also hard to stomach sinking all my equity into a house that won't be providing any cash-flow or passive income. Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks.