Apartment Between USC and Pomona? (Riverside, San Bernardino: apartments, rental, transfer to)

[ThLiOp]

Hi everyone,

My roommate will be going to school in Pomona, and I will be attending at USC. We were looking at apartments in the West Covina and El Monte area. Does anyone have any suggestions on places around these parts to look at? It doesn't have to be in these specific areas either (could be Monterey Park, etc.).

Thank you!

[IM90046]

That's going to be a much much worse commute for you.
live closer to SC, or maybe even along the gold line in the foothill communities.

[socal88]

Choose somewhere closer to USC because you'll be going with traffic toward Downtown LA while your roommate will be going against traffic (assuming you head out for classes in the morning and get back in the afternoon or evening).

I would suggest Pasadena because from there, your commute times would be roughly equivalent and not to mention, there are plenty of things to do in Pasadena . Also, if you want public transportation, the Gold Line is right there.

If your roommate wants to be a tad closer to Pomona, then I would suggest Sierra Madre or Arcadia. Sierra Madre especially is a nice, quiet area.

[jyh0710]

You guys' suggestions are based on driving. I would suggest avoid driving to USC all together. Traffic is terrible, and one also needs to win a parking lottery each semester to even allow a chance to buy USC parking permit. El Monte has a Metrolink station that can take OP directly to union station, where he/she can then take the free USC trams to either UPC or HSC. The time waiting and riding train/tram can be used to study instead of wasted on driving. If OP decided to find a place in El Monte, make sure to find one north of garvey ave (better and safer neighborhoods ) or ramona blvd (even better).

[909er]

That's an awful university in the ghetto, and an even worse drive. Go to Claremont, cal poly pomona, or LA verne. Or go to another state that's cheaper.

[HarryKerryJr]

Metrolink San Bernardino line serves Pomona as Pomona North station (Riverside line serves downtown Pomona) and better/safer communities including Covina, etc. Metrolink to subway to Expo line has station at USC. Metrolink monthy pass includes FREE transfer to MTA subway and LRT and bus lines all day.

[kealohakate]

LOL! Ignore 909er. USC is a GREAT university, it is in a bad area, but you never see it when you're on campus. Covina would be a horrid commute for you though [unless you do metro like harry suggested] so if you plan on driving don't go there. Pasadena has a line too I believe, but is also a breeze of a drive + a GREAT area! Lots of fun. Just stay below the 210 in Pasadena + you're golden.

[ThLiOp]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the responses! We've looked at a few places in the San Gabriel area, which I guess is roughly an equal commute for the both of us. Now the only problem we're facing is the application competition with other potential tenants. Since we're both students, we're going to get co-signers to help with the process.

Any suggestions on how to increase our chances of getting an apartment, or is that more dependent on the landlord/company?

Also, other than Craigslist, what are other good sites to search for apartments? We've been to the usual (e.g. Zillow, Apartments.com, Padmapper, etc.). We've also driven around the area, jotting down numbers for rental advertisements.

Thanks in advance!

[Pac_5]

I have to be honest with you - this is a terrible idea for a student. Those two schools are on completely different sides of America's second largest conurbation - there is no easy solution. Wherever you live, you will have NO connection to either of the universities you are attending, which is a huge part of the college experience. You are going to spend most of your spare time driving and living in most likely a suburb that will offer nothing for you

From a simple geographical and transport midpoint, I would probably stay near the 10 in the Baldwin park-ish area.

[garynrobyn]

Calif resident here. Stay very east of Pomona. Not a good area, but the college itself is in a nice area. To make it a decent commute for you both, Temple City for you would put you going against traffic off of interstate 10 or even a little bit further east wouldn't be so bad for your commute and make it bearable for your roomate who will be usc bound, going with the flow of traffic.