Seeking Info on LA & Surrounding area (Riverside, San Bernardino: real estate, renting)

[AMT660]

Hello,

I'm considering a relocation to LA or the surrounding areas such as San Bernardino, Orange, or Riverside Counties from NY. However, I'm looking for information as to which is a better county to live in.

I have two school age children so schools are important. Second, I will be looking to commute to work in LA with 1 to 1.5 hr. of commuting time (door to door) by rail. Third, I'm looking for housing prices between $275k-$350K with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.

Can anyone offer any advice?

[BRinSM]

for those housing prices, you will need to look into inland empire area (ie corona, rancho cucamonga, ontario, etc.). there are a few commuter trains that run out that way from LA. you can check www.metrolinktrains.com for the routes. If you end up working in downtown LA, this will be an alternative to driving. however, LA is a huge city with jobs located all over, so public transit isn't always an option. your best bet is to find a job first, then look for housing second.

[timelesschild]

What is your line of work?

[AMT660]

My line of work is in transportation and it will be just relocating but staying with the same company.

[hsw]

Public schools in LA region are generally far worse academically and less safe (gangs, etc) than comparable public schools in suburban NYC...or suburbs of many other Eastern cities or Chicago/Detroit...

Best public schools are in OC...Irvine and suburbs South like Mission Viejo...

May want to explore renting a townhouse/small house in these suburbs....housing is more costly than NYC suburbs and, given unstable economy and real est/credit mkts, buying may not be smart choice...

LA region, like most of US outside NYC, is built around commuting via own car...unlike NYC, freeways do move rather quickly in covering vast distances...and much better weather means fewer winter weather slowdowns...

And much depends upon where is one's office...LA region is decentralized, so, for ex., many live and work in Irvine area and have 10min drives to office....for many who've intelligently chosen where to live vs office, vast parts of the LA region and its traffic snarls are irrelevant.....

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by hsw

And much depends upon where is one's office...LA region is decentralized, so, for ex., many live and work in Irvine area and have 10min drives to office....for many who've intelligently chosen where to live vs office, vast parts of the LA region and its traffic snarls are irrelevant.....

Yes, people who can afford it live where they work. My husband gets on the freeway to get to work, but only has to go up two exits so despite the fact the traffic is moving only about 20mph, he still gets to work in twenty minutes because he is on the freeway such a brief amount of time.

For the OP's price range, the Inland Empire is about the only area I can think of where you will be able to get a detached single family home. Anywhere else in the Southland most likely means a condo or townhouse for that price.

[timelesschild]

Even a condo or townhouse is going to be difficult to find in a good school district at that pricepoint. Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and those towns might be a good possibility though.

I will add the disclaimer that I haven't checked schools that far out. Greatschools.net will be key.

[AMT660]

Thanks for all the replies. Curious to know how's the quality of life is in the Inland Empire area? What is the crime rate in the area, and what is the gang activity in this area?

[timelesschild]

It varies city-by-city. You can check the city-data pages for individual cities. I do know that we checked out Upland and Rancho Cucamonga several months ago when my husband was looking at a job out that way, and they were fine. Real estate prices are dropping like stones out there, too.

There is a separate board (you probably already know this) for San Bernardino/Riverside Counties, and another separate board for Orange County. The people there will know lots more about those areas.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by AMT660

I'm considering a relocation to LA or the surrounding areas such as San Bernardino, Orange, or Riverside Counties from NY. However, I'm looking for information as to which is a better county to live in.

I have two school age children so schools are important. Second, I will be looking to commute to work in LA with 1 to 1.5 hr. of commuting time (door to door) by rail. Third, I'm looking for housing prices between $275k-$350K with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.

Can anyone offer any advice?

You might add to your consideration north L.A. County cities such as Santa Clarita, and east Ventura County, perhaps Simi Valley. Housing there is less expensive than its counterpart, Thousand Oaks. Also, Simi is connected to L.A. via commuter rail, Metrolink and Amtrak. Thousand Oaks has lousy public transit and commuter options, though a 10-mile drive to Moorpark connects you to the trains. Santa Clarita is also connected by commuter rail, but housing can be expensive. Schools in these areas are good. Best of luck to you.