Moving to the Inland Empire (Santa Ana, San Bernardino: house, living, train)

[lagigi]

How much are you looking to pay for in rent and what exactly are you looking for in a town (outdoor activities, an art scene, the party scene with bars and such)? That might help narrow it down a little bit for you.

I would suggest Redlands, Loma Linda, only certain parts of Fontana (the north side, closer to the 210), Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear if you are fine with mountain living, and even though La Verne isn't San Bernardino, it is pretty close to the boarder.

Redlands (which is my #1 choice to live) is a great community, with great schools, a great college, several great restaurants and few fun bars. There is not much for the art scene in here though. During the summers they have outdoor concerts. There is downtown area that reminds me of the small town feel and hosts a farmers market there. There is big box stores in Redlands (Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot, Pier 1, Babies/Toys R Us, Kohls, etc.), but that is located north of the 10 fwy. (the main freeway). It is a bit expensive, but you are paying for the small town feel, nicer victorian houses or new housing.

In Redlands, Loma Linda, Fontana and Rancho, you have quick access to the 15 fwy (which if you take north to Vegas! or south to San Diego which would be about 1 1/2 hour trip). You are also close (well, for Redlands, Loma Linda and Fontana) to the 215 and the 30/330 hwy, which if you take north, you will go into the mountains to Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, etc (anywhere from 30mins. to 1 hour away). Small mountain communities, although Big Bear is the largest. The Bear has skiing and snowboarding, but does get very crowed during the winter time though, and during the spring and summer time it is wonderful for mountain biking, camping, hiking, etc. There are the lakes streams that are available for fishing if that is your thing.

Rancho has had a lot of development recently (Victoria Gardens, an outdoor shopping mall). There is a lot of traffic in that area, but it is pretty, although I am not too familiar with it to comment otherwise.

You would be about 1- 1/2 hours away from the beach without traffic, although you are pretty much guarnteed to hit traffic.

Honestly, air quality in all of San Bernardino county minus anything above Running Springs up in the mountains has bad air quality.

San Gabriel Valley is about 1 hour away (Pasadena, etc.) and there is always things to do there.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

[willoughby86]

Originally Posted by omelet2000

avoid san bernaghetto and (most of) riverside. there's a cable show similar to 'cops' which focuses solely on catching vehicle thieves in these two cities. the smog in riverside is intolerable, and so is the awful traffic along the 91. there's at least 2 or 3 accidents every afternoon rush-hour, and it takes you one hour to drive the 15 miles from Corona. horrible.

First off I would like to say I agree about SB. However, regarding the air quality (and this isn't aimed at just you) I am completely clueless as to what you are talking about. Don't get me wrong, I know the statistics about pollution being the worst in SoCal, especially the the IE, but I have lived here for most of my life (born in Glendora) and honestly have never had a problem with the air. Neither has my family or anyone I have met. Sure you can see the pollution in the air, but as far as I know it doesn't affect me. Having said this, I fully understand that I will probably have lung cancer when I'm 50. But right now I'm okay.

[Fontucky]

The pollution we top the charts with is the microparticulate stuff from diesel.

[floomer99]

Having grown up in Rialto, I would say stay away from the city. Education in this city is probably the worse in the region. When I moved here with my family as a baby, it was a smaller town with a smaller population, but from 1988 to today, the population has tripled, almost reaching 100,000. The sprawl in the city is horrible.

That being said, there are some really nice places in Fontana--in particular, the north and close to the lewis library.

As for transportation, you definitely need a car, but the metrolink can take you into LA, OC or Long Beach for $20 (overpriced), and it will take just as much time as driving.

Personally, having grown up in the suburbs, I hate living in them and would prefer a more "metropolitan" living scene. When I return to the states from Ethiopia, I can hopefully find some nice living downtown in a big city.

back on topic, Riverside's downtown is rather nice for being in the Inland Empire. And I saw a lot of development in the city before I flew out.

San Bernardino is pretty much LA/OC's trash can. All the gangs and ex-cons transplant there.

As for air quality, the smog gets pretty bad in the summer, but with good rains, it clears up in the winter and spring.

As someone said, the closer you get to LA/OC, the higher the price tag, and the further away you get, the more problems you see.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by floomer99

As for air quality, the smog gets pretty bad in the summer, but with good rains, it clears up in the winter and spring.

It also clears up whenever the Santa Ana winds blow... and they blow a lot more often than rain happens.

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

It also clears up whenever the Santa Ana winds blow... and they blow a lot more often than rain happens.

That's one of the big differences here in Oklahoma compared to SoCal. Fresh clean air and no smoggy skies like I seen for 25 yr's in SanBerdo. Also, no Illegals.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

Also, no Illegals.

Hogwash. You're not looking in the right places.

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Hogwash. You're not looking in the right places.

There may be some but if so, they're deep in hidding. Ok has(immigration Bill) HB 1804 and it's enforced.
Unlike SoCal, you won't find illegals working in every store you walk into in OK.

[floomer99]

Another note about the IE, we are probably one of the only areas in the country that has "Wind Days" where the schools close down because of wind.

[mkfarnam]

IE may be the the only place with the "Santa ana" winds but not the only place with heavy wind.

I heard there was a tornado in Ca last week.

Originally Posted by floomer99

Another note about the IE, we are probably one of the only areas in the country that has "Wind Days" where the schools close down because of wind.