Opinions on the I.E. (Los Angeles, San Diego: sales, lease, insurance)

[SurekRZA]

For those who live in the I.E., what is it like to live there? I ask because I grew up in North County San Diego and years ago my family was deciding whether to stay in San Diego or move to the I.E. We would visit the I.E. frequently and IMO it was something totally different from San Diego. At the time, Temecula was barely becoming the city that it is today. Is I.E. culture very different from that of L.A., O.C. and S.D.? any young people on this forum who can descibe their experience in the I.E.?

Although Im just curious, this may be informative to anyone considering moving to the Inland Empire.

[that1guy]

Regardless of which county you live in, if you live in suburbia it's all the same. I went down to my friends house in San Diego (Rancho Penasquitos) , his house was nearly the same plan as my house in Moreno Valley. The scary thing was that the neighborhood even looked the same. Middle class suburbia in SoCal breeds the same culture, esp. as youth. Biking and skating were the biggest things growing up (many of my friends also snowboarded, I guess they would have surfed if less inland). The differences are relatively small in suburbia SoCal. The culture is the same. Same shopping malls, same master planned communities, same tan stucco houses. The differences are only made up. It makes sense too, since how can you have a difference when the places are less than an hour away and literally comprised of the the same establishments, relatively the same demographics, and the same master planned community style?

[Katzy]

We recently moved from San Diego (13 years) to Menifee. It's true about middle class suburbia being about the same. I LOVE not dealing with the crazy freeway drivers (they are no where near as bad here in the IE despite what some people say). It's interesting up here as there is such a mix of mcmansion people, country people, and everything else in between. I like it!

[Salcan]

I LOVE THE IE...If you want mild weather stay in SD or go to LA and OC Counties, beacause We get snow, frost, extream heat, tornadoes, every thing, but I love it here its awsome I will not leave the IE!!

[SurekRZA]

Currently I live in Los Angeles and I visit my family frequently in San Diego. Most often I drive down the 5 through the OC but my last trip which was on a friday I decided to cut through the IE. I stopped at an In N Out in Corona off the I-15 and I was shocked with the amount of people at INO on a friday night. Ive noticed the same at the INO in Temecula but I had never seen that in SD or my current home LA. I do agree though, cultures dont differ much from county to county in SoCal. Thanks for the responses.

[LASam]

Originally Posted by SurekRZA

Currently I live in Los Angeles and I visit my family frequently in San Diego. Most often I drive down the 5 through the OC but my last trip which was on a friday I decided to cut through the IE. I stopped at an In N Out in Corona off the I-15 and I was shocked with the amount of people at INO on a friday night. Ive noticed the same at the INO in Temecula but I had never seen that in SD or my current home LA. I do agree though, cultures dont differ much from county to county in SoCal. Thanks for the responses.

LOL. You should make a documentary about California based on In N Out Burger experiences. I'd watch it...

[that1guy]

Originally Posted by SurekRZA

Currently I live in Los Angeles and I visit my family frequently in San Diego. Most often I drive down the 5 through the OC but my last trip which was on a friday I decided to cut through the IE. I stopped at an In N Out in Corona off the I-15 and I was shocked with the amount of people at INO on a friday night. Ive noticed the same at the INO in Temecula but I had never seen that in SD or my current home LA. I do agree though, cultures dont differ much from county to county in SoCal. Thanks for the responses.

That's kind of funny, because the INO in Goleta, Ca is always packed on Fridays, but the one in MoVal is only packed at lunch.

[BRinSM]

I spent much of my youth in Corona and never really thought about too much about it. I do remember spending a lot my time in Orange County because there was more to do there, but it wasn't really any different, just closer to the beach. To be honest, as a kid who didn't know any better, Corona and the IE in general were a perfectly fine place to grow up. Now, with a few years under my belt, I have no interest in going back (except to see family) or ever living there again. Not that the IE so bad, but because I have broadened my horizons and found that I much happier in a big city environment.

On another note, I feel that the IE is filled with people who have been priced out of other areas. I would never want to live around a bunch of people who would rather live somewhere else and would do so if they had the money. I know this isn't always the case, but all you have to do is look at traffic on the 210, 10, 60, and 91 freeways to see that people are driving significant distance from the IE to their jobs, and I'm sure most people prefer living closer to work.

[MaltnHopsrGood]

I grew up and lived in OC for 27 years. I moved to Corona 3 years ago, and there is a difference! There is more open space in the IE. I feel that there's just too much concrete everywhere you look in OC. Also, people are not snobby out here. They are more down to earth.

I just moved to The Preserve at Chino, and LOVE IT! I wouldn't move back to OC if you paid me.

[chuck22b]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

I spent much of my youth in Corona and never really thought about too much about it. I do remember spending a lot my time in Orange County because there was more to do there, but it wasn't really any different, just closer to the beach. To be honest, as a kid who didn't know any better, Corona and the IE in general were a perfectly fine place to grow up. Now, with a few years under my belt, I have no interest in going back (except to see family) or ever living there again. Not that the IE so bad, but because I have broadened my horizons and found that I much happier in a big city environment.

On another note, I feel that the IE is filled with people who have been priced out of other areas. I would never want to live around a bunch of people who would rather live somewhere else and would do so if they had the money. I know this isn't always the case, but all you have to do is look at traffic on the 210, 10, 60, and 91 freeways to see that people are driving significant distance from the IE to their jobs, and I'm sure most people prefer living closer to work.

Or, maybe someday employers will wise up, and move out to the IE. The cost differentiation (development costs, lease costs, insurance, etc. costs) between the Coastal regions, and the Inland regions are astronomical. Furthermore, developments in Santa Monica, West LA, and other congested areas are constantly facing residential/social headwinds in building more developments. I would also think spending less on housing and other necessities would give those out in the IE a higher quality of life then being a perpetual renter/debter in more expensive areas.

The cost differentiation in housing alone is staggering:
http://www.latimes.com/media/graphic/2008-08/41686334.jpg (broken link)
Southern California home sales jump 13.8% in July - Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-homesales19-2008aug19,0,4523322.story?page=1 - broken link)

Home Values (July 2008):
LA vs. IE: 400k:260k has a 140k difference or 35% price differentiation
OC vs. IE: 461k:260k has a 201k difference of 44% price differentiation

While Incomes (2006):
LA vs. IE: 51k:53k or LA median is lower than IE median by 4%
OC vs. IE: 70k:53k or OC has a higher median of 17k or 24%
www.census.gov

So, to the median earner (low/middle/upper middle classes)... it's a pretty obvious choice.

-chuck22b