Moving to the Rancho Cucamonga or Redlands area (San Bernardino, Highland: apartment complex, rentals)

[QuiddityOcean]

Hi folks,

Later this year, my better half will be pursuing an internship opportunity at a facility just northeast of San Bernardino. We know San Bernardino proper is out for us, so we've zoned in on either Rancho or Redlands as our center point. Both are very easy commutes to where she needs to go (right near Highland).

We've always been apartment people, and while I see a ton (to the point of choking out any owner/renter listings) of "apartment farm" complex places, I don't see much else. While I know it makes us total apartment snobs we're loathe to live in one of those prefab complexes with questionable security, paper thin walls, and screaming children everywhere. We don't need much space at all, but the space we do want has to be quiet and safe.

Are there alternatives to these big complex apartments (or nice versions of them)? We've budgeted 1500 for rent and are even considering a house rental if we can find a little bungalow type of space. We're planning to be on the ground in July for a few days to try and rent ahead of time but any suggestions would be super helpful. Personally, I like the look of Redlands more than Rancho, but I'm concerned that I'll have a little tougher time looking for work (I work in IT) the further out I go. I already commute an hour each way currently, so I'm not looking to start that process all over in again in SoCal.

Thanks for letting me ramble!

[QIS]

Since I live in Redlands, I can only speak to that area. The qualifier in your post that I see is: are you OK with older complexes?
Redlands has some nicer, small complexes. The older the complex,the greater chance that it has plaster walls. Older complexes may also have outdated or ineffective heating and cooling systems. I would say that the southern part of Redlands is where I would look. There are also some quaint older, smaller homes that you could rent. Redlands is closer than RC. Welcome!

[QuiddityOcean]

Originally Posted by QIS

Since I live in Redlands, I can only speak to that area. The qualifier in your post that I see is: are you OK with older complexes?
Redlands has some nicer, small complexes. The older the complex,the greater chance that it has plaster walls. Older complexes may also have outdated or ineffective heating and cooling systems. I would say that the southern part of Redlands is where I would look. There are also some quaint older, smaller homes that you could rent. Redlands is closer than RC. Welcome!

Oh definitely. Those are exactly the kinds of places we'd be looking into first. Happy to hear they do exist! When you use craigslist for Inland Empire it's just hundreds of corporate listings every day: impossible to sort through.

We're thinking about paying for a month or two of Westsiderentals.com before coming down. It served us well in LA, but I'm not sure if it translates eastward.

Thanks!

[QIS]

I am one of those that HAS to shop in person for my home so I can't say what alternatives to that would be appropriate. I can see how it would be easy for an apartment complex manager to develop misleading verbiage and post ingratiating photos.
Sometimes the old school landlords of small complexes still use the local paper (Redlands Daily facts) or the Greensheet local advertiser...may your shopping be rewarding!
Also: there seem to be a lot of leased and rented homes, condos, and townhouses lately; maybe you could check with local RE companies and property management companies(?). Google street views and satellite view is a great resource!

[Dunbar42]

You aren't going to find a house for $1500 a month in the area. You might be able to find one for $1800-2000. Almost all of the inland empire apartments are going to be complexes (many big, some small.) If you're concerned about noise pick a top floor unit and make sure it isn't near a pool. Also, do your homework and make sure the place isn't ghetto. At $1500 the 1BR apartments you'll find will be pretty nice (2BR's will be pretty decent too.) The apartments I rented at large complexes in the inland empire were better built and quieter than most of the older apartments I've seen on the west side of LA. So don't assume older is better when it comes to apartments.

BTW, I like westsiderentals but I wouldn't bother paying for it to find a place in the inland empire. You can browse the site for free and see for yourself how little it has to offer out there. I would just use a site like apartments.com to find the complexes and Craigslist for condos or townhomes that individuals are renting out.