Why are Riverside homes so cheap??! (Pomona, Orange: appointed, new home, neighbourhoods)

[TheYoungProfessorMan]

I am just leaving graduate school and I have a wife and 4 month old daughter. I am trying to take a job somewhere where the cost of life vs income will give us a good life.

A job prospect in area code 92504 near Riverside General Hospital has come up but only pays about 60K to start (really low for my field)

But as I start looking at the home prices here, it is highly unusually low for California. Up here in the Bay area you can't find squat for under $300,000, but down here you can find nice looking 2,000+ sq foot homes!

What gives??

[WunderPit]

Forgive my sarcasm, but have you read the news over the past year?! Better yet, just read through this forum!

[jasmine22]

there are nice pockets throughout the inland empire. i grew up out there, and left for college and graduate school, and have considered moving back with my husband. your money will go alot further out there than it will in orange/la county...and as long as you know which areas are nice...you will be fine. in riverside, look at the orangecrest area. there are also really nice, new homes being built in the corona hills area. 92880 zipcode. probably a 20 minute commute to the hospital. that is where we are looking. good luck!

[115db]

Originally Posted by TheYoungProfessorMan

I am just leaving graduate school and I have a wife and 4 month old daughter. I am trying to take a job somewhere where the cost of life vs income will give us a good life.

A job prospect in area code 92504 near Riverside General Hospital has come up but only pays about 60K to start (really low for my field)

But as I start looking at the home prices here, it is highly unusually low for California. Up here in the Bay area you can't find squat for under $300,000, but down here you can find nice looking 2,000+ sq foot homes!

What gives??

300k is cheap??? Yikes, no wonder I love the high desert, there are brand new homes going for as little as 119k in pretty nice neighbourhoods!

[antredd]

Originally Posted by TheYoungProfessorMan

I am just leaving graduate school and I have a wife and 4 month old daughter. I am trying to take a job somewhere where the cost of life vs income will give us a good life.

A job prospect in area code 92504 near Riverside General Hospital has come up but only pays about 60K to start (really low for my field)

But as I start looking at the home prices here, it is highly unusually low for California. Up here in the Bay area you can't find squat for under $300,000, but down here you can find nice looking 2,000+ sq foot homes!

What gives??

Riverside is actually pretty centrally located, being dead in the middle of the Inland Empire, about 25 miles from Pomona to the west, 25 miles from Temecula to the south, 25 miles from Rancho Cucamonga to the north and about 25 miles from Beaumont to the east. So in a sense, the traffic to and from those areas aren't that bad if you decide to live in any of those cities. Most of the traffic is leaving Riverside heading to the OC and LA Counties' job centers.

I lived in Riverside for 8 years before moving down to Menifee. I like the fact that it's truly an all American town. It's not a perfect town, but the very nice parts of the city are (Canyon Crest, Hawardian Hills, Victoria Grove, Orange Crest, and Mission Grove). One of the less desirable parts of the city is east of 91 fwy from 14th Street to the south, to Chicago to the East and to the 60 freeway to the north.

[BRinSM]

riverside does have much nicer weather than the desert though. it doesn't get above 100 that often in the summer and it certainly never snows in the winter. there are also a lot more jobs down in the IE compared to the high desert.

[booz30]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

riverside does have much nicer weather than the desert though. it doesn't get above 100 that often in the summer and it certainly never snows in the winter. there are also a lot more jobs down in the IE compared to the high desert.

snow is nice 2 days out of the year, we get 100 degree weather with no smog nice, but no jobs up here but I would rather drive 40 minutes down the hill and save 200k on a house

[serialdriller]

what kind of work do you do?? 300k for 2000 square feet is an ok price... bay area prices are way expensive...

[Twinkle Toes]

Orangecrest is overbuilt and there is so much traffic. At one point we were checking out the area and thinking very seriously about moving there so I could be closer to dance. Our house was in escrow and it turned out that they buyers didn't qualify and it fell out of escrow. I was disappointed because we found a gorgeous home in Orangecrest, but looking back on it now, it was a blessing in disguise. I drive to Riverside from La Quinta 6 days a week for dance and it's just so crowded in that area. I am used to the drive now so it doesn't bother me.

[flo2900]

Originally Posted by booz30

snow is nice 2 days out of the year, we get 100 degree weather with no smog nice, but no jobs up here but I would rather drive 40 minutes down the hill and save 200k on a house

me too!