Relocating to Riverside... (Orange, Corona, Laguna Niguel: mortgage, apartment, incomes)

[Mrs.Rankin]

My husband and I are thinking about relocating to Riverside. We grew up in Laguna Niguel Orange County. I know that it is cheaper, so we will be able to afford more than in OC. We are both in doctorate programs, so money is really tight. We don't want to keep throwing money away into an Apartment and would like to buy a house. Is this a good area to raise kids when we have them? Is the city of Riverside safe for a young girl to walk alone at night? Does it smell like cows still? ANY advice or information is much appreciated! Thanks everyone!

[MyShell]

Hi... Well, I would not let my teens walk around in Riverside at night. No way. I wouldn't even walk around in Riverside at night. We lived in the 92509 area.

I mean, of course there are better areas in Riverside, if you can afford them. And since you are both in a doctorate program, you will probably be able to live in the best areas one day.

As for us, we moved out of Riverside because I didn't think it was a good place to raise our kids. But, we coudn't afford to live in the better areas. We moved all the way to North Dakota. We've been gone for a little over a month. North Dakota is amazing. And affordable...

Good luck with your move.

[Temeculite]

How about Temecula? You would need to commute to Riverside, but many people do, except most commute to SD (we border SD county line) or OC for jobs. But you are going to school and think that Temecula is an ideal area for you because it is a family oriented area kind of sleepy-town feel but with many amenities and events to attend to pass the time. And it is not rowdy, people are friendly. Housing is less expensive, I myself came from Lag Nig in 99. Missed OC a lot at first, but now am content though miss the beach. Look in an area called Village Grove (saw a cute house for <$320K), which is in the heart of Temecula but still minutes from the freeway and shopping, restaurants (walking distance) and wine country and lakes and many parks. And a casino, if that's your thing. Check it out!

[nay624]

most of the cow smell gone cuz now their building homes in norco, over old cow pastures. some very nice pricey new homes on riverside/corona border. from 400K-900K. I would absolutely not ever walk in town after dark. 92503/4.
considering leaving CA to relocate to a better place to raise our daughter 2 1/2 now. good luck.
riverside not so fast paced as OC, but all of OC are spreading into corona and Riverside. IMO corona is the now the"new" OC.

[Livewire]

I lived in a few areas of Riverside and it didnt used to be that bad. But now there are many areas one would be afraid to walk in daylight. Maybe, just maybe, the outskirts near Tyler might still be 'country' but dont know if 'progress' has hit there too. I had friends out on Stover and it was pretty quiet, serene, horse country, out there back then.

[Mel2882]

Corona is the new OC? Haha. I just moved from OC, then Corona, now somewhere else, but I would never compare Corona to any part of OC.

[sgvkev]

There are still some very good areas in Riverside (the "three crests" Canyon Crest, Orangecrest, and Woodcrest to be specific) but there are lots of areas you should avoid like Casa Blanca which has a huge gang problem, Arlanza (around Arlington and La Sierra) which is more of the same, and eastside (around the university and downtown) which has an unemployment rate of around 25%! If you're in one of the three crest areas you should be fine but be careful anywhere else...

[karel balderas]

Me and my husband lived in california for 30 yrs ,we also thought it would be a good idea to move out of state to raise are last son,we we're worried about gangs and crime.Well folks ,things are not better out of california ! We have lived in utah for 16 months and we're moving " BACK " to california "riverside ".These other states might seem cheaper to live in and less crime but they mask other issues,minimum wage in utah is $ 5 bucks an hour,there housing prices are going up but wages are down,they have terriable law inforcement ,the cop's rather pull you over for a tailight being out then dealing with gang active. people are extremely prejudice against any color but white{ and I'm white }.my son right now is being taught at home because he is picked on for not being mormon and for being have hispanic and white.I much rather live in a diverse community and teach my son to love all cultures and I think with the way I have raised him he will grow up to be a fine young man in the community ! Also where we live in utah thier is a high teen pregnancy rate, lots of drug problems and lots of rapes.I would rather walk through riverside california then the state of utah !!!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by karel balderas

Me and my husband lived in california for 30 yrs ,we also thought it would be a good idea to move out of state to raise are last son,we we're worried about gangs and crime.Well folks ,things are not better out of california ! We have lived in utah for 16 months and we're moving " BACK " to california "riverside ".These other states might seem cheaper to live in and less crime but they mask other issues,minimum wage in utah is $ 5 bucks an hour,there housing prices are going up but wages are down,they have terriable law inforcement ,the cop's rather pull you over for a tailight being out then dealing with gang active. people are extremely prejudice against any color but white{ and I'm white }.my son right now is being taught at home because he is picked on for not being mormon and for being have hispanic and white.I much rather live in a diverse community and teach my son to love all cultures and I think with the way I have raised him he will grow up to be a fine young man in the community ! Also where we live in utah thier is a high teen pregnancy rate, lots of drug problems and lots of rapes.I would rather walk through riverside california then the state of utah !!!

It sounds like you didn't think your move through very well. Did you not expect to be an outsider in Utah if you're not Mormon? If the minimum wage in one state vs. another is an issue for you, you're going to struggle no matter where you live.

[Humanoid]

We don't want to keep throwing money away into an Apartment and would like to buy a house.

You want to instead throw your money into a depreciating asset? It rarely makes sense to purchase a home while in graduate school, unless of course you plan on staying in it after you graduate. The buy vs own calculations usually don't show a benefit until after 4-6 years of ownership, its even worse for an area like Riverside which is seeing big declines in home prices. Also, what makes you believe you can even get a mortgage with your low incomes?

Anyhow, if you purchase a home for the short term you are going to be gambling on the rate of appreciation. If you predict it wrong, you're going to lose a lot of money.