Help! Moving in Socal (Los Angeles, San Diego: apartment, condo, crime rate)

[dands]

My husband and I run a small software company and we are thinking about relocating. We have us and 3 others who will be relocating together.

We currently live in La Crescenta (north of Glendale) and we are thinking of moving further from the city in search for cheaper housing, less business expenses, and affordable golf. We're also looking to invest in the area that we potentially move to as well.

So we've been looking at:
Victorville, Helendale, Temecula, Corona, Moreno Valley.

We won't be having to commute because our company is all moving together. However, we're concerned that if we move, we'll be further from LA city center. Can people who live in these areas give us any feedback? Pros/Cons about these areas? We need to make a decision if we are going to move by the end of this month (Sept 09).

Thanks a lot!

[SoCal 1630]

Well, you should be able to achieve the affordable golf by moving to Temecula, Moreno Valley, or Victorville. Not so sure about Corona.

My main question would be how often you have to visit downtown LA. Because from any of these spots you're going to hate the commute. Corona's not as bad, just in terms of distance, but from any of the places you mention you'll be going through tons of construction, and moving with lots of other commuters, just to get to the main freeways around LA. I don't know how often you get out to the IE, but I recommend driving it to get a feel for the commute you'd be committing to.

Temecula, in my opinion, has a better-developed "city center" with more history and variety than Moreno Valley or Victorville. There's a lot of culture and opportunity in Temecula, for a big exurb. Temecula has more of a base for IT industry and services too, although its working population tends to be oriented more on Riverside and San Diego than on LA. Victorville or Moreno Valley would, all things being equal, be more affordable than either Corona or Temecula -- but both of the latter have some good REO bargains going these days.

I'm not sure how far you're willing to go out, but you might consider areas further out the 10, rather than going south or north of it. Beaumont, Yucaipa, and Redlands might all bear looking into. Good golf in all of them, they're right on the 10, and traffic thins out on it pretty well when you get past Riverside. All three have pretty and very livable areas. Some real bargains in Yucaipa and Beaumont right now.

[brittanykayy]

TEMECULA !!!!!! Don't even consider the other cities. You will be disapointed. Temecula is a nice town and has nice surroundings. There are no bad areas. It is safe. It is developing quite nicely but still has a small town feel.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by SoCal 1630

Well, you should be able to achieve the affordable golf by moving to Temecula, Moreno Valley, or Victorville. Not so sure about Corona.

My main question would be how often you have to visit downtown LA. Because from any of these spots you're going to hate the commute. Corona's not as bad, just in terms of distance, but from any of the places you mention you'll be going through tons of construction, and moving with lots of other commuters, just to get to the main freeways around LA. I don't know how often you get out to the IE, but I recommend driving it to get a feel for the commute you'd be committing to.

Temecula, in my opinion, has a better-developed "city center" with more history and variety than Moreno Valley or Victorville. There's a lot of culture and opportunity in Temecula, for a big exurb. Temecula has more of a base for IT industry and services too, although its working population tends to be oriented more on Riverside and San Diego than on LA. Victorville or Moreno Valley would, all things being equal, be more affordable than either Corona or Temecula -- but both of the latter have some good REO bargains going these days.

I'm not sure how far you're willing to go out, but you might consider areas further out the 10, rather than going south or north of it. Beaumont, Yucaipa, and Redlands might all bear looking into. Good golf in all of them, they're right on the 10, and traffic thins out on it pretty well when you get past Riverside. All three have pretty and very livable areas. Some real bargains in Yucaipa and Beaumont right now.

Depending on your housing allowance, I would consentrate on Redlands, or Temecula. Like SoCal said, a lot depends on how often you have to commute to Los Angeles. If you are talking once every week or so, not during rush hour that is one thing, more often when you consider gas, and your time it may not be worth moving. Most of the IE will offer you some good golfing at good prices.

Nita

[brittanykayy]

Temecula has a beautiful golf course at Pechanga called Journey. Google it! It's beautiful.

[that1guy]

If you are dealing with software, my guess is that you would want a community relatively close to LA/OC. Corona would be the best bet IMO. Relatively cheap, and closer to the LA/OC area (less of a commute when meeting with clients). Also many nice golf communities to choose from (The Retreat, Dos Lagos, and Eagle Glen come to mind). South Corona is on the 15, thus easier access to cities further south as well (in case you would need to go to SD).

I'm originally from Moreno Valley. It's a nice area (Sunnymead Ranch, Rancho Belago, Hidden Springs are nice communities), but it's very far from LA. Though ideally it should take 40 minutes to get from current home in Yorba Linda to my parent's home in Northern Moreno Valley, it takes roughly an hour on a normal day (two on bad days). The golf course area there is nice, but it's also an additional 12 miles east on the 60 (thus an additional 12-20 minutes).

Good luck to you guys.

[lavieennoir]

I agree with the rest, it really depends on how often you will have to go back to L.A. It's a KILLER commute. I live 2 hr south of L.A. and imagine me having to commute everyday to get to downtown L.A. for school.

You gave us these options: Victorville, Helendale, Temecula, Corona, Moreno Valley.

I live somewhat close to Victorville, Moreno Valley, Temecula and I have lived close to Corona. I can assist with these but not Helendale.

Victorville: I know you are coming from the valley where it's very hot, but you don't know hot until you come to this area. Not only are sand storms a norm (sometimes closing schools due to lack of visibilty), when this area does get rain it's vicious and comes with winds. These both can ruin your house/condo/apartment/cars (if left out) if your windows are not the best. Trust me, we had to replace all of our windows/trash our jacuzzi/ re-paint a car all because of the sand...

Moreno Valley: It may not be the most gorgeous city in the inland empire but the location is pretty good if you ask me. You can also eat almost any type of ethnic cuisine (minus I cannot find a good Armenian one :/). You are close to San Bernardino and Riverside (both where you can take one metro link train to down town l.a. [it ends at union station]). The crime rate has been steadily increasing. The golf course is beautiful.

Temecula: GREEN, gorgeous, new buildings, great places to eat/hang out, pretty safe, nice schools. FAR away from everything else. It will be torture if you have to commute to l.a. from here. It's just too far away from everything.

Corona: Again the location is fantastic. Close to Norco and Riverside. It's closer to Pomona which is a hop, skip and jump from baldwin park and then to L.A. Housing is nice and I like the schools, personally. Nice places to hang out/eat/shop at.
Good luck.

[chuck22b]

Originally Posted by dands

My husband and I run a small software company and we are thinking about relocating. We have us and 3 others who will be relocating together.

We currently live in La Crescenta (north of Glendale) and we are thinking of moving further from the city in search for cheaper housing, less business expenses, and affordable golf. We're also looking to invest in the area that we potentially move to as well.

So we've been looking at:
Victorville, Helendale, Temecula, Corona, Moreno Valley.

We won't be having to commute because our company is all moving together. However, we're concerned that if we move, we'll be further from LA city center. Can people who live in these areas give us any feedback? Pros/Cons about these areas? We need to make a decision if we are going to move by the end of this month (Sept 09).

Thanks a lot!

I'd pick Corona because it is more business friendly, closer to the larger city centers (Ontario, OC, LA), available office space (there's a new office building right on the corner of 91 and 15, or the numerous lots on the 91), talent pool (many professionals commute to OC for jobs, so a business willing to invest closer to home, may give an edge towards your company's favor), and close proximity to quite a few golf courses. Not just the ones in South Corona as mentioned (Eagle Glen, Cresta Verde, etc.), but also the option to go to Green River, Los Serranos, and uber cheap El Prado.

-chuck22b

[AKgirlinCA]

Rancho Cucamonga is absolutely gorgeous....

[that1guy]

Originally Posted by AKgirlinCA

Rancho Cucamonga is absolutely gorgeous....

That would be a good choice too...it's not too far from things. And pretty cheap.