moving anchorage to corona - family friendly? (Santa Ana, Riverside: low crime, safe area)

[jenhere]

we are possibly relocating from Anchorage to a job in Santa Ana. Looking for affordable family friendly housing with good schools, low crime areas. Corona "seems" like it fits the bill, and the commute seems long but manageable on paper. What is the reality? Any suggestions of other communities is welcome as well.

[rickmccomb]

Originally Posted by jenhere

we are possibly relocating from Anchorage to a job in Santa Ana. Looking for affordable family friendly housing with good schools, low crime areas. Corona "seems" like it fits the bill, and the commute seems long but manageable on paper. What is the reality? Any suggestions of other communities is welcome as well.

used to live in chino hills next to carona it seems very nice there good luck in your adventures
rick

[MIKEETC]

The commute to Santa Ana from Corona and vice versa on the Riverside Freeway (SR-91) is one of the worst I can think of. I would be extremely reluctant to make that commute and would not recommend it . I absolutely refuse to consider any job that would have me commute on that freeway.

[jenhere]

Thanks for the info, what about the metrolink line for a commute. It looks like the metrolink station in santa ana would be just 1.1 miles from his new job. Does using metrolink make the commute work any better?

[jasmine22]

Yes! If you can use the metro, that is ideal. My husband commuted from South Orange County to downtown LA and it was one of the best things we could have done for ourselves. He was able to read and decompress on the train ride. Much better than cursing out all the bad drivers on the way home. My husband's office was close enough for him to walk to from the train station in LA. Many people ride bikes or invest in parking a crappy car at the station for transportation to and from the station/work. You'll have to figure that part out. I think the train is a good option because it allows for some consistency. You know that it will always take you X amount of time to get home...regardless of whether or not there is an accident on the freeway. I liked that sort of thing. They offer monthly passes, and some of the big companies get discounts too for their employees. Good luck!

[BRinSM]

have your husband check to see if his office offers any kind of vanpool from the train station to his office. also, he may consider bringing a bike with him. someone in my building has a real nice fold up road bike that would work real well. a mile on a bike will only take about 5 minutes. otherwise he'll have to figure out the local busses.

[calimd2be]

I've lived in Corona for the last 20 years and I can tell you that there are some great parts here. Since you will be working in Santa Ana, it's best to stay as far west as you can. I live in the Sierra Del Oro neighborhood which is a very quiet and a generally safe area. The cons of living there are that it is a little separated from the rest of they city as there is only 1.5 strip malls for the whole neighborhood and all the "action" is southeast of there. On the flip side you also have the option of driving to OC to do your shopping. For OC commuters, it's the best as it is the first exit when the Express toll lanes on the 91 Freeway start/end. If you are willing to pay the $8.50 one way during peak hours (or carpool and split the cost), then the commute could be about 40 minutes. Also, there is a Metrolink station there as well (West Corona). If you have little kids, there is a good elementary school in the neghborhood and the JR High and High Schools are further in the city. They aren't top notch but they are decent. Both my brother and I graduated from the public school system and both of us went to really good universities from there. Santiago High School is the best HS in the city, but Corona High School (which serves Sierra Del Oro) is next best. Then again I'm a believer that you always get out what you put in when you're in school. Best thing to do is come down and drive around the city. I would avoid living in the central areas (run-down) and the Corona Hills area (traffic is horrendous). South Corona is where are the newest and nicest developments are, as well as shopping but the traffic is bad, and your commute could likely go up an extra 20 to 30 minutes vs. living in Sierra Del Oro.