What is the "INLAND EMPIRE" all about? (Los Angeles: middle-class, home)

[that1guy]

I actually have two job interviews in sales based in San Bernardino. 55K plus benefits...same as the coast. Not bad for straight out of college. Aramark and Worldwide Express (San Bernardino and Ontario respectively). Will be living in Sunnymead Ranch at parents house then planning on moving to Redlands (bars, single college girls, and walkable community).

[ConsideringLA]

That1guy - thanks for the update - good luck getting the deal inked!

I'm in the SFV -- a good number of my vendors are in the IE and trek out this way for a 30 minute or 1 hour meeting. I feel bad and do my best to get business done virtually/green, but sometimes meetings require 1x1 interface.

Originally Posted by Texasturkey

Many labor workers and sales reps work all over and spend most of the day driving to get there. There are a lot of people working at a desk doing project payday or some other work at home scheme. A lot of stay at home moms and trophy wives selling Avon, Mary Kay and Tubberware. That is the typical Inland Empire way of life. I will rather live in LA and have a shorter commute or take public transportation.

[orangeapple]

Originally Posted by ConsideringLA

Right. If your job is that specific, why extrapolate your experience to the entire region??

Because my specific job is not known for having many opportunities in this area, furthering my point that there are jobs where you think there aren't

[ConsideringLA]

Originally Posted by orangeapple

Because my specific job is not known for having many opportunities in this area, furthering my point that there are jobs where you think there aren't

Right. Secret jobs in the IE. So secret, hundreds of thousands are spending millions of hours and dollars (gas, time, opportunity cost, $10+ per day each on fastrak) -- and if they only knew about these hidden job opportunities...

Give me a break.

[claildes]

I have lived in the Inland Empire my whole life, Rancho Cucamonga to be exact. You are right, there is nothing here, most school districts are overcrowded by 1000+ students, there are MANY gangs here, including the godfathers of the Mexican Mafia were from Ontario. Everyday is the same thing, the people are rude, the gas prices are dumb. I was riding on my bike with my friend going down Haven Ave in Alta Loma, and I swear, you can't go down that street without someone throwing something at you from their car. Anyways, as in crime, there are different parts of town like every city. In the part I'm living in is mid-low crime. Although just 2 weeks ago a pair of drunks went around shooting in the air from their car til the helicopter started telling everyone to get down with their searchlight on. Fontana is crap, 75% hispanic, Leading with 2nd place with most gangs in the I.E. San Bernandino is a poor hell-hole, its like a mini-part of south Los Angeles, Colton leads with 3rd, 5 gangs in a 6 mile radius. Next is Upland, its worse than Rancho, trust me. Ontario/Moreno Valley are the same as Fontana, lots of crime, violence, and gangs. Police tapes are common in some parts of the I.E. If you want to live in a boring, white, mostly non-violent city in the I.E. come to Rancho. The whites that moved out of Ontario,SB,Fontana moved here. The city has close to no gangs, 2 or 3 gangs. Thats it, and their all in Cucamonga, which Alta Loma differs from.

[that1guy]

Originally Posted by claildes

I have lived in the Inland Empire my whole life, Rancho Cucamonga to be exact. You are right, there is nothing here, most school districts are overcrowded by 1000+ students, there are MANY gangs here, including the godfathers of the Mexican Mafia were from Ontario. Everyday is the same thing, the people are rude, the gas prices are dumb. I was riding on my bike with my friend going down Haven Ave in Alta Loma, and I swear, you can't go down that street without someone throwing something at you from their car. Anyways, as in crime, there are different parts of town like every city. In the part I'm living in is mid-low crime. Although just 2 weeks ago a pair of drunks went around shooting in the air from their car til the helicopter started telling everyone to get down with their searchlight on. Fontana is crap, 75% hispanic, Leading with 2nd place with most gangs in the I.E. San Bernandino is a poor hell-hole, its like a mini-part of south Los Angeles, Colton leads with 3rd, 5 gangs in a 6 mile radius. Next is Upland, its worse than Rancho, trust me. Ontario/Moreno Valley are the same as Fontana, lots of crime, violence, and gangs. Police tapes are common in some parts of the I.E. If you want to live in a boring, white, mostly non-violent city in the I.E. come to Rancho. The whites that moved out of Ontario,SB,Fontana moved here. The city has close to no gangs, 2 or 3 gangs. Thats it, and their all in Cucamonga, which Alta Loma differs from.

Yes, because Hispanics automatically equals crime. Why factor percent hispanic? God you are paranoid. Well, enjoy paying too much for a house where in the same type of neighborhood in Ontario and Fontana, adjacent to Rancho Cucamonga, is cheaper.

[orangeapple]

Originally Posted by ConsideringLA

Right. Secret jobs in the IE. So secret, hundreds of thousands are spending millions of hours and dollars (gas, time, opportunity cost, $10+ per day each on fastrak) -- and if they only knew about these hidden job opportunities...

Give me a break.

Give me a break. You're the one exaggerating, & being unnecessarily flippant & rude, not me. I said if you look hard & make the effort, you can find a job here. It appears you don't live in this area of Riverside, so I don't think you really know what it's like. Some people make a comfortable living here without commuting really far. Maybe not everyone, but it can be done.
With all the time & money spent on commuting, those "hundreds of thousands" would be smart to take a shot at looking for a job closer to home. They might come out ahead.

And when I said my job is specific before, I meant I don't want to reveal personal details, not that my job is something very specialized. Work on your reading comprehension.

[vegaspilgrim]

1. Let me ask an honest open ended question, and I don't mean this to be accusatory: Other than lower home prices, what, if anything, is desirable about living in the Inland Empire at all? What I've read here, the crime, traffic, and smog problems out there sounds horrific. I have a friend who graduated from UC Riverside and he told me the neighborhood there is more dangerous than around USC. He said his car was broken into 3 times at UCR! I also know someone who was originally from Fontana and left the state after her mother was shot working at night at a fast food restaurant. Fortunately she survived and recovered. The San Gabriel mountains themselves seem nice (as my pictures of my recent trip to Mt Baldy show), but the actual city on the ground sounds like a hellhole from what I've heard from others. And yet, I'm sure there must be some reason people live there-- what is it?

2. Even though home prices CAN be much lower in Riverside and SB counties (although looking at equivalent quality neighborhoods in equivalent kinds of areas, even that notion is somewhat questionable), why are apartment rental rates in the IE still sky high-- still twice as much as they are in normal cities-- and only slightly cheaper than rental rates in the core, western part of the LA metro area? Average home prices in parts of the IE may be equivalent or only slightly more than average home prices in Phoenix, but apartment rental rates are still easily twice as expensive. I don't get it.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

1. Let me ask an honest open ended question, and I don't mean this to be accusatory: Other than lower home prices, what, if anything, is desirable about living in the Inland Empire at all? .....
And yet, I'm sure there must be some reason people live there-- what is it?

Hey Vegas, me again.

I'm a Corona native (wasn't born there, but raised), and went to high school in Riverside. The IE isn't a bad place to live at all. You could even liken it to Aurora. The thing about the IE, is that it really is only better if you don't have to leave it. If one were to work in LA/OC, then life in the IE becomes sucky real fast.

While growing up, it kind of felt like growing up in Anytown, USA. My parents moved us there when I was 2, to supposedly escape the gangs of the OC, as my dad put it. But for some reason, we moved to one of the higher crime neighborhoods in the area http://www.city-data.com/city/Home-G...alifornia.html. In our time there, I think we got broken into three times, all in the late 80's-early 90's, and each time only our VCRs were taken. The gangbangers next door and around the neighborhood would shoot guns off on any holiday, forcing us under the kitchen table. Some guys/gals I grew up with got into gangs as they got older, and one guy I knew got killed in a driveby at the local carniceria. But, I strongly reaffirm these kind of things don't happen throughout the IE, the crime exists more in pockets, or certain enclaves if you will. I guarantee, most neighborhoods/cities in the IE are perfectly safe, even if the reputation heard here on the forum and elsewhere, would tell you otherwise.

The traffic is horrendous if commuting to points west (LA/OC). It simply isn't worth it to live in the IE if you still are going to work out of the IE. If you can find a job in the IE, however, life can be great. Smog sucks, but is something you gotta deal with in So. Calif, unfortunately. On summer days, you can't even see hills that are a mile or two away. Clear winter days make up for it though, believe me.

I think people (my parents included) were/are initially lured to the IE for the lower housing prices, mostly from Orange County. Some people choose to live there because they feel it's as close as they can get to being in LA/OC, affordability-wise. The IE is their last hope of remaining in California. For others, it is home, and the all too believed California ethos is that California can't be beat. Vegas, you already know why I left, but it is still "home" to me. That's a feeling most can't find anywhere but in the place they were raised. Many people I grew up with are still there. My brother and my best friend growing up are still there, and never have any intention of ever leaving. It's a LA/OC alternative, a much quieter one, but with the amenities and hustlebustle of it's neighbors a short (only on weekends) drive away.

I've said I'll never return there, but I always keep the IE in the back of my head. I miss the food, for sure. I miss the people I've known for my entire life. I miss my friends. I don't miss the suburban sprawl. Looking back, the IE wasn't a bad place to grow up, it did me well. If the climate ever changes to a climate more like Denver's, I'll be back. Heck, it's finally affordable again, but the IE is far from being a completely bad place.

[ConsideringLA]

Originally Posted by orangeapple

Give me a break. You're the one exaggerating, & being unnecessarily flippant & rude, not me. I said if you look hard & make the effort, you can find a job here. It appears you don't live in this area of Riverside, so I don't think you really know what it's like. Some people make a comfortable living here without commuting really far. Maybe not everyone, but it can be done.
With all the time & money spent on commuting, those "hundreds of thousands" would be smart to take a shot at looking for a job closer to home. They might come out ahead.

And when I said my job is specific before, I meant I don't want to reveal personal details, not that my job is something very specialized. Work on your reading comprehension.

orangeapple:
Read before you judge. And research the job sitch. Your experience isn't typical - sorry.