Contemplating a move from NYC to Riverside (for PhD) (San Diego: ski resorts, apartment complex)

[nycz]

My boyfriend was accepted to a PhD program at UCR and decided to go for it since the other universities that accepted him did not good enough financial packages (UCR's was more than decent).

He's asked me to think about going with him but love issues aside, I'm not sure it is a smart move. UCR vs. NYC, doesn't seem like a fair fight to me.

My understanding is that living in Riverside is boring, polluted, expensive, and dangerous. Not to mention that I'm not confident I could find a job in Riverside. I figured, however, that I ought to do more research before saying no.

1. How much is your average, not totally crappy, 1 bedroom apartment in Riverside itself?
2. In a perfect world we'd be able to live in LA and he could commute, but that seems insane given CA's notorious traffic. True or false?
3. Are there any job opportunities in Riverside? I truly mean *any*, I'd be willing to work at a Starbucks for awhile just to bring in some income (a lot of good my college education has done me, eh?)

We are both rock climbers so the proximity to Joshua Tree would be nice, and I surf so being 1 hr from Huntington Beach would be nice too, but I'm not sure that those upsides outweigh having to live in Riverside.

I love New York City and I love my guy, but I wish he'd gotten into a school in a better location. Suffice it to say that if he was going to UCSF I'd move with him, no questions asked.

So, in addition to the above questions (1-3) can any Riverside residents give me some insight on what it is like to live there now? I know people have asked similar questions in other years, but the economic climate is very different now than it was in 2006 so I assume some things have changed.

Thanks everyone!

[willoughby86]

1) I would say 1100 would get you a decent apartment. If you want to stay really close to UCR it might be slightly cheaper. If you head more west toward Arlington Heights or Corona it will become more expensive. I'm not an expert on apartment prices though, so prices could vary.

2) I currently live in Arlington Heights and go to Cal State San Bernardino. It is 23 miles away and takes me about 35 minutes to get there in light/moderate traffic. In severe traffic it takes me 50 minutes. LA is triple the distance and would require traveling on more heavily congested freeways, so unless your boyfriend had incredible patience with traffic, I would not recommend the commute.

3) The job market is not as bad as everyone says it is. I admit that it is a challenge to find work, but hourly jobs are always going to be available. Companies might not be hiring additional workers, but their current workers are still getting fired or quitting/moving, or retiring, so I think with some perseverance and luck you should be able to find something, maybe even in your field of expertise (you degree field).

With all that said, I have been living in Riverside for 22 years and have really grown to love it. I always feel safe, the weather is nice (I like it hot), and it is only an hour away from Newport beach, the mountains, LA, and San Diego. Sure living in LA might be better, but only if it is in WeHo or other parts of the westside, which would mean high rents and constantly dealing with outrageous traffic. Good luck!

[nycz]

Thanks for the tip! The boyfriend is not happy about leaving the city but it sounds like we'll be able to make it work. Nice to hear it isn't as bad as everyone says.

[BRinSM]

i spent much of my childhood in the riverside area and after finishing college in orange county i moved myself up to LA. riverside will certainly be boring compared to NYC. in fact, riverside is boring compared to orange county which would also be boring compared to nyc. however, if you are in the relationship for the long haul, you could make it work. in the winter there are multiple ski resorts within an hours drive, the beach as others have mentioned, and the desert (since you mentioned joshua tree). since your b/f will be doing a lot of studying, i'm guessing you guys won't be party animals, but if you do need your fix, you could always get a hotel in LA for a weekend. good luck!

[BennyPhoenix]

It's only boring if you are boring. There is plenty to do if you are willing to take the time to find things. It's not NYC so you are not going to see broadway quality shows without traveling to L.A. But there is plenty of other stuff to do. Outdoors stuff is leagues better than NYC. You can go skiiing and surfing in the same day from riverside.

IMO, the only serious downside to Riverside is the smog.

[LA4444]

Riverside is awful, I would not move there for free....It is basically the redneck area of southern California...although phd programs are hard to get into and aid is even harder...so even I am applying to there phd program for a fall-back school. As for surfing, If you are an east coaster, you probably get excited about riding your longboard in 2 ft swell, so all of us near the coast will be glad that you are far from the beach.

[Bunjee]

Well...it's not New York City. On the other hand, if you live walkable to downtown it's not so bad either. On University Ave you'll have a coffee shop, some bars--one dive right next to a gay bar, even--the arts community, a somewhat foot-traveled area.

For $1100 (probably less) you should have no problem finding a 1BR. Check into the area they call Heritage Square. Older houses with rentals, walkable to downtown and less than 3 miles, I think, to UCR. There's also The Woods area and places around Evergreen Cemetery. It's perfectly safe and pleasant suburbia; don't let anyone scare you into thinking otherwise. There's been some development in the downtown area. Because they're older neighborhoods, there might be 2BR houses available for a song. Otherwise, a 1BR in a standard apartment complex would be an easy get, with the added bonus of a pool.

For a couple hundred more you could probably score a house in a more tract-home neighborhood, maybe around Canyon Crest. Usually they're 3BR/2BA. If you're used to living in cramped city quarters, all that space including a backyard might be an enticement. Further out in tract house limbo a lower price can get you the same.

As for activities, I think there is some bicycling culture. The UCR botanical garden is a good place for local hiking. Lake Arrowhead/Big Bear are only about 50 miles away. Coachella and Joshua Tree are each less than 100. Palm Springs is even closer and Desert Hot Springs closer still. But I'm someone who loves the desert, so... My feeling is as much as I love city life and miss it and could pretty easily return to it, the city is always gonna be around. The open spaces, I dunno, maybe not forever.

[Geotpf]

I currently live in Riverside. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment that costs $675 a month (it's not great, but it could be worse). That's pretty low for the city. However, I have just purchased (closed last Friday) a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house in a good neighborhood, approximately 1,750 square feet, for $150,000. My payment (minus taxes and insurance) is only $600 a month-$75 less a month than the apartment. The same size house could rent for triple that. That is to say, I recommend buying a house over renting a house or apartment, especially with the eight grand tax credit. House prices have completely collapsed-the last buyer of my house paid $400,000. (The bank took it back and I bought it as an REO, of course.)

As for commuting from LA to Riverside, you would be going against traffic. However, that same $150k would get you...well...pretty much nothing, which is why absolutely nobody does such a thing. Housing costs are still stupid insane in most of Orange and LA Counties, although there renting is cheaper than buying.

As for dangerous, no worse than NYC, probably better. There's a fair amount of variation neighborhood to neighborhood-the two bad parts of town are Casa Blanca and Eastside. It is polluted, but the good weather makes up for that (hot in the summer, but as they say, it's a dry heat). Riverside has pretty much everything you would expect a city of a quarter million people to have in terms of things to do-and you can always drive to LA.

Unemployment is high, and higher now due to the economy. A fair number of people who live in Riverside actually work in Orange County-that is, there are more people than jobs. But that's not to say there are no jobs in Riverside.

[nycz]

Thanks to everyone for the great advice (except for LA4444), I took notes and will definitely be using this!

It looks like he'll be moving to Riverside alone. The housing advice is still helpful though since I'll be heading out there for a few weeks to help him find a place, get settled in and to say goodbye. His plan is to try to complete the MA in Riverside and then try to transfer to a better university for the PhD. You all made good cases for Riverside though

Thanks again!

[jmlowman]

Originally Posted by nycz

Thanks to everyone for the great advice (except for LA4444), I took notes and will definitely be using this!

It looks like he'll be moving to Riverside alone. The housing advice is still helpful though since I'll be heading out there for a few weeks to help him find a place, get settled in and to say goodbye. His plan is to try to complete the MA in Riverside and then try to transfer to a better university for the PhD. You all made good cases for Riverside though

Thanks again!

Wow! Sorry to hear that this move is causing you two to split. How about coming out to look things over before you make that decision? Riverside isn't bad at all, depending on what you need for quality of life.

UCR is a growing university with an excellent reputation.