OC town 1 hour commute or less from Riverside? (San Diego, Anaheim: new home, neighborhood)

[nova-dc-metro]

Hi, my husband was offered a job at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside and he wants a commute no more than 1 hour. We are coming from the Northern VA area and right now we live in the suburbs and have the luxury of a commuter bus that connects to the Metro to go to work on every day. I know we will have to be giving that up. What we don't like about the NOVA area is the hot humid summers where you cannot be outdoors and the snowy winters (where you can ALSO not be outdoors!) , plus the traffic is getting worse all the time. Not bad out where we live at the moment and we have a lot of close shopping, so on a day to day basis we really don't have to deal with the traffic much. We had hoped to find something closer to a San Diego climate, but I know the area we will need to be in will not be so moderate. Anyway, can you suggest a place that would meet the following ciriteria:

~ Not to smoggy
~ Not too hot
~ Decent amount of sun
~ Close to shopping and eating (Costco, Sam's, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, fast food...)
~ Decently safe, family oriented
~ Area that will hold it's housing value decently once the economy recovers
~ Looking in the 6-700k range for house
~ House won't slide in a mudslide or disappear into a fault it's sitting on

Also, does anyone know what the area is like where this reserve base is?

Thanks if you can help!

[Coldjensens]

Every area within an hour of March is about the same. THe hour is relative. It depends ont he time of day. A one hour commute at 10 a.m. can become a three hour commute at 8:30 a.m. or after 3 p.m. on a Friday.

[BRinSM]

commuting from OC to Riverside is actually a reverse commute, but it is still a pretty far drive. you'll probably want to look at the north easter most portions of OC in order to keep a reasonable commute (ie Yorba Linda, Placentia, Anaheim Hills). If you really want the most bang for your buck, you should probably look into the Temecula area. It does get warm in the summer, but there are many nice new homes and you aren't too far from the base.

[nova-dc-metro]

Thanks, I was thinking Temecula, Claremont, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga along with Anaheim Hills and Orange. Would these be 1 hour commutes during the rush hours?

[bmwguydc]

You might also look into Chino Hills as it would be a commute largely on the 60, and a reverse one at that. There are some good schools in that area as well. The only drawback would be the summer heat, being inland. Temecula is a good choice, as is Claremont, and I would also say to check into La Verne. La Verne is near Claremont, and while it's LA County, the schools are pretty decent, and it meets your price range, but it's a bit west of Rancho Cucamonga and a longer drive to Riverside.

[oc2nyc]

Be aware that most of the areas mentioned in the above posts are inland and will be smoggy and hot. They will not be as humid as VA but they still get quite hot in the summer. I was just in Temecula for my son's baseball tournament and it was around 105 both days. I would suggest you visit before you decide to move.
The landscape out here is totally different from NOVA. You will not find much greenery or a lot of land when you purchase a home, especially if you head more toward the beach. Any commute as mentioned is relative only to the time of day you are traveling. Your husband may want to ask some one that works at March AFB what their commute is like.
Also, I would highly suggest you check on the safety of the areas mentioned there are good pockets and bad so you need to be careful. Plan a visit and make the commute to and from some of the places you are interested in, that is the best way to get a feel for what life will be like here.

[veg8]

I say Yorba Linda fits your description pretty well, it's a bit closer to OC than Chino Hills and maybe a couple of degrees less hot in the summers. I don't think you really going to find a neighborhood that's a 1hr away from Riverside that's not too hot, they are all going to be at least 10-15 degree hotter in the summer than in coastal communities.

Unfortunately most cities in socal are close to some earthquake faults, if they aren't close to one they are sitting under undiscovered ones like the recent quake in Yorba Linda/Chino Hills

~ Not too hot
~ House won't slide in a mudslide or disappear into a fault it's sitting on