We need adivce! (Moving in 4 months) (Long Beach, Santa Ana: loft, crime, homes)

[Cincy2LA]

Hello!

My partner has been recruited to work at UC Irvine. We're interested in living in a diverse & inclusive community. Walkability is important to us. Older homes are a nice-to-have. It is one of the reasons we love Cincinnati's Northside community <http://northside.net/>.

Many people encouraged us to look at Long Beach for a home because of the GLBTQ community and the walkability of many parts of the city. We don't think the commute would work from LB to UCI and housing prices are high even for LA let alone compared to Cincinnati--major understatement!

Some others suggested Riverside and using the Metrolink. I liked downtown Riverside and it certainly seemed "walkable". We're thinking of looking for homes that are walkable/bikable/busable to the Metrolink station.

1. Is it realistic for him to use mass-transit and avoid driving to work? The Metrolink seems very compelling. People I spoke with said the trains have WiFi and companies like UCI have shuttles to/from the station.

2. Is the 92501 area of Riverside a livable area? There seem to be several projects as part of a "Downtown Renaissance" strategy that are interesting.

3. Any comments about the GLBTQ community or lack thereof in Riverside?

4. I haven't even thought about my employment yet. I have more than 14yrs of experience mostly in Telecom & IT with a bit of Healthcare tossed in. I have deep expertise in product, financial, & operational management with broad know-how in marketing & IT. Any thoughts on working locally in Riverside or in a commutable range via Metrolink? Yes, we are crazy! We hope to move to the heart of car-culture USA and continue to be a 1-car household that regularly uses mass-transit.

5. Anything I'm missing that I should think about?

Thank you VERY MUCH in advance for your help.

[SoCal Person]

I have lived in Riverside for about 17 years, and am a transplanted OC person. This area is much more affordable than OC. We've liked it here a lot, and although many on this forum will put it down, it's a nice place to live.

The downtown area you mention is one I'm familiar with and I have a friend who lives there. She's been very happy with her family there in their turn-of-the-century home. They enjoy walking in the downtown area and haven't had any problems with crime. For many years they only had one car, and they did just fine.

As far as your question on the GLB..community, I have heard there are many living in the downtown area, with a lot of acceptance. I think maybe as a whole the city is historically liberal compared to Orange County, so this group has been more at home here. I do know of several business establishments (bars, clubs) that cater to the group in the city. There was a hideous murder of a patron several years ago, but I suppose a hate crime like that can happen anywhere.

I do know a few people who ride the Metrolink into L.A. County daily, and they love it. It is feasible. The one person keeps a car at the L.A. station and uses it when he gets down there to work.

Riverside does have employment to offer. In some fields it's higher paying than in Orange County, while in most it is not as high paying. I work locally. My spouse drives 20 miles to work one way although when we first moved here in order to afford a home (I didn't work then) he drove 40 miles one way. It's very common here.

I hope this has been helpful. Good luck!

[Cincy2LA]

My thanks for the reply, SoCal Person. We are very excited about moving to Riverside. Doubly so, if we can make MetroLink work for at least his daily commute.

Do you have any advice about forums where MetroLink riders frequent? I would like to ask a few questions of people who use it daily. Also, any local Riverside forums? I'm curious about what streets we should house-hunt.

Take care!

[SoCal Person]

Hi,
Glad I could be helpful.

I know of no forums on the metrolink, nor of Riverside proper. I do know that the area near the Mission Inn(downtown) and Fairmont Park seem to have a higher percentage of alternative lifestyle couples/families, if that makes sense. Also the downtown area in general seems too, and it's closer for walking to places as well.

If I were you I would go to the CityData Riverside page and look at the various zip codes in Riverside for comparisons of education level, income, families, marrieds, etc. The 92509 zip is unincorporated and is not part of the city, so I wouldn't look there.

My gut instinct tells me you would like it better in the downtown area.

Good luck!

[Cincy2LA]

I agree about the downtown area around the Inn--which is a wonderful place! I'm focusing on the southern end of 92501, northwestern part of 92506, and the western end of 92507. I'll have to check out the Fairmont Park area. It is a bit further North than I have been looking, but it's worth checking out.

My thanks for all of your advice. I definitely owe you one!

[RobE]

Santa Ana is closer to UCI and there used to be some decent homes north of 17th street on Bristol. Anything to the south of that is pretty poor and gang ridden, though. There is a loft community in Central Santa Ana, but it is not a good place to be at night. There are also hoardes of illegal immigrants and gang members. Mind you, as bad as Santa Ana is, it is heaven on earth compared to places like Inglewood or Compton in L.A.

You should also look into Tustin. It borders on Santa Ana. Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed