Moreno Valley - student placement, should I go? (Orange, London: apartment complex, foreclosed)

[kittycatty]

Hi,

I have only been to LA and not really ventured elsewhere in CA so forgive me. I have been told I can do a rotation at riverside regional county medical center in moreno valley. I have no idea what this place is like and I am not street wise at all. Can someone please enlighten me.

I am a young female and would be there on my own, I don't want to go if it's unsafe. Please be honest. I live in London in the UK and admit it's a nicer part where I am - I don't feel safe in places like peckham or brixton and I imagine they are nowhere near as bad as some of the places in the US.

[Count David]

Get streetwise. You'll need it no matter where you go in Southern CA.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by kittycatty

I don't feel safe in places like peckham or brixton and I imagine they are nowhere near as bad as some of the places in the US.

• Brixton: 3 major riots and a terrorist bombing since 1981.
• Moreno Valley and surrounding area: Nil.

I'm pretty sure you'll be safer here than in Brixton/Peckham.

[RICKYY]

Well Kitty, I travel all over southern california in my work and was at the medical center last week. As a non-street-smart-young female from the UK who likes to live in a safe area, I would strongly advise you not to move to Moreno Valley. Unless you are looking for a lot, and I mean a LOT of diversity.

[dukemontrose]

I had the "pleasure" of working in Moreno Valley on a consulting assignment for 18 months and I would strongly suggest you to avoid the area. It's a dump, hot as hell 6 months out of the year, boring, and at places very dangerous. At the height of summer anything below 100 degrees F is considered cool. Several of my consulting team members from Canada stayed in an very nice-looking apartment complex, only to regularly encounter scenes such as the ones you see in the TV show "Cops", with drug busts, etc. Another young lady on the team stayed at a hotel during the week and on occasions was followed while out and about by some unsavory-looking characters. She was geuninely afraid for her safety. There are a lot of foreclosed houses and some streets are completely deserted due to the housing bust. The area has a lot of "diversity" and not in a good way either.

You have much better options staying in N/E Orange County and driving into Moreno Valley to work using the 60 Freeway. You would be going against traffic and so can cover 30-40 miles one way in half an hour with little traffic. I would suggest that the extra time spent on the freeway is well worth the trouble given the general undesirability of the area in question.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by dukemontrose

You have much better options staying in N/E Orange County and driving into Moreno Valley to work using the 60 Freeway. You would be going against traffic and so can cover 30-40 miles one way in half an hour with little traffic. I would suggest that the extra time spent on the freeway is well worth the trouble given the general undesirability of the area in question.

Yeah, that way she'd get the true Southern CA experience right? (sitting on the freeway unnecessarily all day).

There are plenty of desirable areas in and around MoVal. That is unless one's nose is a little higher up than everyone else's.