Where to live in Southern California (Riverside, Garden Grove: fit in, renting, house)

[rambutan316]

Hi, I am a reservist who is transferring to March Air Force Base in Riverside. I won't be living on base, so I have to look for a place to live. It doesn't have to be within commuting distance, but I would like to be able to be within 3 hours of the base (Riverside).

I was thinking Irvine, because I am an Asian American so it would be easier to fit in. But the cost of living there seems so high. Where would be other good options for an Asian American like me? I am also a nursing student, so I would like to be within commuting distance of a nursing school if possible. Thanks.

By the way, I will be renting since I am a broke and single student, so I'm not worried about finding a house or anyting like that.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Are you Chinese? Korean? Vietnamese? Filipino? Japanese? Irvine and the San Gabriel Valley are Chinese. Alhambra, Monterey Park, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Diamond Bar are mostly Chinese. There's lots of Koreans in Fullerton and Garden Grove in Orange County. Fullerton's much nicer. Westminster is home to Little Saigon. Hmm, I'm not sure what areas might have lots of Filipinos. Maybe Cerritos. I know there's a Golilock's there so there must be a reason its there. There seems to be a lot of Japanese stuff in Costa Mesa for some reason. There's two Japanese markets as well as book/video stores, restaurants, etc. Its weird because I don't actually see a lot of Japanese people and think of it as a Japanese neighborhood, but there's definitely a lot of businesses there and they're always doing a good business.

[Humanoid]

With the exception of some inland areas, I don't think you'll have a hard time fitting in anywhere in Southern California. There are Asian markets, restaurants etc pretty much everywhere you go.
But as EscapeCalifornia noted Irvine is Chinese (usually from Taiwan and Hong Kong), so if you are not Chinese you aren't going to fit in there anymore than you would in a more white community.

Since you're broke you may want to think about moving to where its relatively cheap (Most places in Southern California are within 3 hours of Riverside).

Its weird because I don't actually see a lot of Japanese people and think of it as a Japanese neighborhood,

Yeah, I've had the same thought before.