Big Bear, Crestiline or Running Springs (Santa Ana, San Bernardino: section 8, real estate, insurance)

[photogal]

I am thinking of relocating from Colorado to Crestline, Big Bear or Running Springs. I love Colorado but wish to be closer to family in Orange Co. without giving up the mountains. Employment is a big concern being on my own. My current profession is Title Insurance (Real Estate). So, some questions, just answer for your area... and thank you!

Is most local employment in Big Bear Lake area?
How long to commute down the hill from Crestline or Running Springs?
Locally, is there a good grocery store? Shopping?
Are most homes on city water or well?
How congested does Big Bear Lake get from tourists?
How hot does it get in summer?
How much fire or earthquake danger?
What should I know that I don't?

[cleanfun]

I forgot all about these places.

Big Bear is "on the way" to Crestline. Crestline is the place where you'll want to be, in my humble opinion.

Crestline is up at the top of the mountain that Big Bear resides at the base of.

It takes like an hour, give or take, to get down and beyond the outskirts of Apple Valley from crestline. That doesn't necessarily mean that you're anywhere at that point either.

Crestline is beautiful year round. Good snow in winter, etc. But you're suddenly surrounded by these trashy little cities, like Apple Valley, Victorville, Hesperia, etc ... Eventually you wont want to come down from Crestline and ultimately, you wont be able to keep the surrounding cities' local population OUT.

You may want to consider asking your family to move a bit closer to you...

[cynwldkat]

OOPS...sorry , but you have that totally backward. Big Bear Lake resides in the valley at the very TOP of those mountains. 6,500--7,000+ ft. I know, I lived the first 18 years of my life there. Crestline is on the way up the hill the "front" way from San Bernardino.. Apple Valley is about 1/2 hour drive down the backgrade of the mountain from Big Bear. And it is beautiful up there in Big Bear...still a small town feel. Not to expensive to live there and all four seasons. I miss it terribly. Always will. It feels like going back to the womb when I cross the dam coming up the front grade (road) or drive up the back way into that valley!!!

[cynwldkat]

Originally Posted by photogal

I am thinking of relocating from Colorado to Crestline, Big Bear or Running Springs. I love Colorado but wish to be closer to family in Orange Co. without giving up the mountains. Employment is a big concern being on my own. My current profession is Title Insurance (Real Estate). So, some questions, just answer for your area... and thank you!

Is most local employment in Big Bear Lake area?
How long to commute down the hill from Crestline or Running Springs?
Locally, is there a good grocery store? Shopping?
Are most homes on city water or well?
How congested does Big Bear Lake get from tourists?
How hot does it get in summer?
How much fire or earthquake danger?
What should I know that I don't?

Now to try and answer a couple of your questions regarding Big Bear Lake....
Many of the local residents do commute down the hill for jobs, but there are just as many that work in Big Bear. They have a nice Stater Bros and other chain grocery stores. As far as other shopping goes, there is a Wal-Mart and some small independent clothing/gift stores. Many sporting goods stores. Most locals go down the hill for a lot of their clothing shopping needs. It's not that far and not a big deal. The majority of homes are on city water. It does get very congested with the tourists on week-ends and holidays---it IS a tourist town. That is the "bread and butter" for many residents. They depend on those tourists! It is a pain for the locals but it's only for a couple of days a week or a few more days on a holiday---well worth putting up with that to live up there in my opinion. Generally speaking the summers are terrific...80 degrees maybe a couple of days a bit warmer/cooler (this summer has been very unusual, like many other places as it has been hotter then the norm). The nights are cool--sometimes cold. Fire is a danger. In all 18 years I lived there we never had a fire get that close to Big Bear--that changed a few years back. It is the "forrest" and they have had a drought and problems with the Bark Beelte killing the pine trees---added fuel for the fires! Earthquakes..this is CA and there is always a danger of earthquakes. Again, in the 18 years I lived there we only had one 3.5 earthquake. And again, that has changed after the big earthquake they had up there a few years ago. I hope this is of some help to you.

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

A guy I work with used to live in the Running Springs area, and would commute to Santa Ana. It would take him almost 1 1/2 hours to get there. Now keep in mind he was working nights, and was going opposite of traffic. If you are working a regular job in the OC, then another option might be to take the Metrolink train from San Bernadino to OC. I take the Metrolink from Corona to Santa Ana, and I love it.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by photogal

Is most local employment in Big Bear Lake area?
How long to commute down the hill from Crestline or Running Springs?
Locally, is there a good grocery store? Shopping?
Are most homes on city water or well?
How congested does Big Bear Lake get from tourists?
How hot does it get in summer?
How much fire or earthquake danger?
What should I know that I don't?

I lived in Lake Arrowhead, which isn't far from Big Bear but ... maybe this info will help. We decided to move for various reasons.

I don't mean to be too negative but mountain living just wasn't for us. It can be very tough but, it sounds like you may be used to it.

The snow was really difficult, very tough on our car ... even though we had four wheel drive. Only the main roads were plowed so, we had to get our access road plowed to get out. It was basically a nightmare to get to work if the plow guy didn't show up on time every morning ... and lot of them charged a fortune for their services.

Lots of power outages also ... basically for up to eight hours in some cases, you could only rely on the fireplace for heat. Nothing would work except the phones.

Then the trees started dying from the bark beetle problem. We were surrounded by matchsticks that could go up in flames any time. Very scary.

Shopping was also difficult ... prices tended to be higher because there wasn't much competition. Going up and down the mountain for shopping and commuting just wasn't much fun for us.

Especially during the winter when it's dark, there's lots of cloud cover and visibility is very poor ... it's just downright dangerous sometimes. Especially since the mountain is eroding and you never knew when there would be rocks or boulders blocking the road. They often have to close the highway for repairs becuase of the erosion problem.

The last straw was when my husband skidded out on some black ice and the car literally went over a cliff. A tree was the only thing that saved him. Four months after we moved ... the big fire hit so, we were lucky with that. Fires, of course, are a constant problem with all of the dead trees. Especially since there hasn't been any rain this year.

Obviously mountain living does work for many people but, after all of that ... we were ready to get back to the convenience of suburbia.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by cleanfun

Crestline is beautiful year round. Good snow in winter, etc. But you're suddenly surrounded by these trashy little cities, like Apple Valley, Victorville, Hesperia, etc ... Eventually you wont want to come down from Crestline and ultimately, you wont be able to keep the surrounding cities' local population OUT.

Sorry but I can't resist commenting on this ...

Crestline is surrounded by trashy little cities? Uh ... Crestline is the Section 8 capital of the mountain ...

Not that I have anything against Crestline but ... it's certainly got it's fair share of trash, so to speak.

[ctguitarguy]

gosh....sheri257 makes me not wanna move there,i would be moving from CT to crestline with a friend of mine living near there. most of the things ive heard on this forum and others has been positive...im surprised to hear such a negative experience but its good to get both sides. its a long trip i would be making so...i wanna make sure its the right place.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by ctguitarguy

gosh....sheri257 makes me not wanna move there,i would be moving from CT to crestline with a friend of mine living near there. most of the things ive heard on this forum and others has been positive...im surprised to hear such a negative experience but its good to get both sides. its a long trip i would be making so...i wanna make sure its the right place.

I am really sorry ... it's not that I have anything against those towns per se ... There's just no point in sugar coating the fact that living up there can be very tough. There are hard core mountain people who really love it but I just wasn't one of them.

The problem, really, is the weather extremes. You either get tons of snow in years where we get a lot of winter storms or ... you get a lot of fire danger, water rationing, etc. during the drought years. (Lake Arrowhead and probably the other towns as well had to rely on lakes, etc. for their water supply so, when the drought came ... and the lake level fell ... that was also a constant concern).

You can't always count on basic conveniences when you're living up there. A friend of mine who still lives up there bought her own snow plow and her own power generator because you can pretty much bet on power outages during every storm. That's pretty much the kinds of things you have to do to live up there.

It's just not like suburbia where you can count on basics like road access, water supply, electricity, etc.

[115db]

Originally Posted by cynwldkat

Now to try and answer a couple of your questions regarding Big Bear Lake....
Many of the local residents do commute down the hill for jobs, but there are just as many that work in Big Bear. They have a nice Stater Bros and other chain grocery stores. As far as other shopping goes, there is a Wal-Mart and some small independent clothing/gift stores. Many sporting goods stores. Most locals go down the hill for a lot of their clothing shopping needs. It's not that far and not a big deal. The majority of homes are on city water. It does get very congested with the tourists on week-ends and holidays---it IS a tourist town. That is the "bread and butter" for many residents. They depend on those tourists! It is a pain for the locals but it's only for a couple of days a week or a few more days on a holiday---well worth putting up with that to live up there in my opinion. Generally speaking the summers are terrific...80 degrees maybe a couple of days a bit warmer/cooler (this summer has been very unusual, like many other places as it has been hotter then the norm). The nights are cool--sometimes cold. Fire is a danger. In all 18 years I lived there we never had a fire get that close to Big Bear--that changed a few years back. It is the "forrest" and they have had a drought and problems with the Bark Beelte killing the pine trees---added fuel for the fires! Earthquakes..this is CA and there is always a danger of earthquakes. Again, in the 18 years I lived there we only had one 3.5 earthquake. And again, that has changed after the big earthquake they had up there a few years ago. I hope this is of some help to you.

Are you talking about that big quake back in '98 or '99? I was out there house-sitting when it hit, and it was so strong that I turned on the local news radio out there and they had people calling in all the way from Scottsdale Az, asking about it, they felt it.
My daughter and her husband, at the time were in Vegas, staying on the 30th floor of a hotel and they called me to check if the house was still standing. She had a few drinks and thought the floor was kinda wobbly, till she was told it wasnt her, there was a quake. Lol.
Other than that, quakes arent as noticible or frequent as many people in other areas say they are. I lived there most of my life and wouldnt hesitate for a minute to go home, if the right door of opportunity opened up.