Commuting to UC Riverside (San Diego, Irvine: apartments, rentals, condo)

[ucrstudent]

I've been accepted to UCR's doctoral program in philosophy, and my fiance and I are trying to figure out living arrangements. I've heard some bad things about the area (particularly in temrs of pollution, crime, and lack of things to do), and some have advised us to commute from either Pasadena, Irvine, or Orange County.

Does anyone have an idea of a decent place to live that has a moderate price and commute time to the UCR campus? (if you have info about what I should expect to pay for a 2 bedroom apt and about how long it would take to drive to UCR, that would be really helpful!)

Also, is the air quality noticeably different in Riverside? I have mild asthma, and live in Grand Rapids, MI now - I'm hoping that I wouldn't even notice a difference even it turns out that we do have to live on campus.

Someone also recommended getting an apartment in Canyon Crest, if I do stay in the UCR area. Anyone have any idea about specific prices or apartment communities to look into?

Thanks for your help!

[Niners fan]

No need to live that far away. Canyon Crest is a decent area, but the air can get bad. If I were you I would look into Menifee. It is a 25 minute drive south and the air quality is much better than Riverside, Moreno Valley, or Perris. Menifee is also more affordable than Murrieta or Temecula. Menifee is where I lived when I went to grad school at UCR.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

It's not the rest of your life; it's grad school. Why choose to live in Menifee or Pasadena (!) to go to a school in eastern Riverside? Plenty of reasonable choices in Canyon Crest (by the Town Centre), Box Springs (near the 60) and Mission Grove (on/near Alessandro and Van Buren).

[Twinkle Toes]

There's a lot to do in Riverside! Riverside is the hub of ballroom dancing in the Inland Empire!!!

[Niners fan]

Originally Posted by LivingLikeAGradStudent

It's not the rest of your life; it's grad school. Why choose to live in Menifee or Pasadena (!) to go to a school in eastern Riverside? Plenty of reasonable choices in Canyon Crest (by the Town Centre), Box Springs (near the 60) and Mission Grove (on/near Alessandro and Van Buren).

This is true. But if you find your asthma is bad in Riverside, Menifee is a reasonably close alternative with MUCH cleaner air.

[Unkllars]

I recently helped 3 brothers rent a new, 3 bedroom house 5-10 minutes from UCR. The air isn't fantastic at times, but if you are inside doing your grad program, I don't think you'll be affected by it. Just don't run to campus. The house I helped them to rent was $1800/mo and the house is nearly 1800 square feet. There are houses that can be rented out there for $1200 or even less, especially if its just you and your fiance and you only need 2 rooms. If you would like a list of condo and house rentals, I could email them to you. I'd be happy to do a quick search for a grad student, as I will be one in a year or so :-)

[ucrstudent]

I could be worrying too much - but I am just not sure how my asthma would be affected on the UCR campus. If it's going to be a major health issue, then obviously I should avoid the poor air quality of that area. Does anyone here have mild asthma (or know of someone else who does) and lived on or near the UCR campus with no complications? I'm not worried that I'll develop lung cancer in the five years I'm there - I'm worried about breathing troubles during the summers.

Niners fan, thanks for the great advice about better air quality areas to the south of Riverside! I'm looking into apartments in Menifee and Temecula - having a hard time finding apartment info for the former. If you guys would know how I'd go about looking for an apartment in Menifee, I'd appreciate the advice. The only place I can find is the Enclave(?) and it's expensive!

I am not interested in renting a house. I just need a two bedroom apartment - though thanks for the offer.

--ucrstudent

[Niners fan]

You can try this one:

Sun City California Apartments - Home - Villa La Paz

The address is Sun City but if you lived half a mile south it would be Menifee. It is a little cheaper than the Enclave but not far away from it. I don't think it is 55+. There is also a complex on the SE side of McCall and the 215 but I don't remember the name of it. I could probably find out because I have some friends who still live in the Sun City / Menifee area.

If the complex linked above is too expensive for you then you could try Hemet. But that is going to be 35 minutes or so from UCR. It is a bit cheaper, however, and the air is a lot cleaner than Riverside too. If you really want cleaner air then you will have to stay south of Perris or in Hemet unless you head to the coast but that will be expensive.

I have asthma. I can't say if Riverside and Moreno Valley (where we lived for a while) made it worse or not. It probably didn't help. I think that the heat and low humidity was probably as bad for me as the pollution because I didn't spend a lot of time outdoors. My guess is that your asthma would probably be okay if you weren't exercising outdoors. You'll be spending most of your time reading if your grad school experience is anything like mine.

[ucrstudent]

Niners fan, again you've been extremely helpful. Thanks a ton for your advice. I thought the apartments looked great, but my fiance wants to be somewhere with access to the train, so he can head to LA to look for work.

I know it's more expensive toward the coast, but that's where the trains run. I'm trying to get decent air quality while mitigating the expense. I've looked into Irvine (some UCR profs live there), and it's like $1600 minimum for a 2bdrm apartment. Orange, CA seems slightly less expensive, but is the air quality that much better than Riverside?

Basically, I'm wondering how close do I need to get to the coast before I can breathe?

Anyone have any ideas?

[etrnleclipse420a]

I don't know how bad your asthma is but I have it too and I am a UCR student. I am originally from San Diego so I do notice the difference in air quality when I go outside and do some kind of physical activity. But I don't have to take my inhaler every day so I will just use a few puffs before I do some activity and I am fine.