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One poster tells you it's 30 minutes to the beach from the IE, but earlier in her post she states that it's a two hour commute both ways. So which is it? Another poster says it’s a “day trip” to get to the beach from the IE. Talk about negative exaggeration...isn't the plan for most people when they go to the beach to spend "the day"? As I stated in my earlier post, my brother lives in MB, and works in Fontana. He has been doing this for about 7 or 8 years. It isn't ideal, but it isn't impossible either. The commute is worse in reverse i.e. people from the IE coming into the city and the beaches.
It appears to me Becky that you really want to find a safe place to live with excellent schools. The fact is that there aren’t too many places in the IE that are like that, and the ones that are, cost more than they are worth (for the same price you could find something smaller in a far more desireable area). There is a reason the “909” is considered a derogatory expression.
I have a friend who grew up in the area and went to the public schools in the late 80s – it was a good place to get your ass kicked for looking white according to her! My next door neighbor grew up there and he actually attended HS back in the 60s when the riots were going on at the HS and they had to call in the National Guard. Look it up if you don’t believe me! Your kids will be coming from another state – fresh meat to the predatory high school hoodlums of the IE. Giddy up.
There are affordable places in communities many would think are unattainable – you just have to do your homework. If your hubby’s company is paying for the relocation and at least the first several months of accommodations, then I would suggest that you look into corporate housing and have them pay for that; once you’re here you can do your own investigation and home hunting. I do hope you find what you are looking for here, and feel free to PM me if you want more specific info.
One poster tells you it's 30 minutes to the beach from the IE, but earlier in her post she states that it's a two hour commute both ways. So which is it? Another poster says it’s a “day trip” to get to the beach from the IE.
I have a friend who grew up in the area and went to the public schools in the late 80s – it was a good place to get your ass kicked for looking white according to her!
Paragraph 1: It's not thirty minutes to the beach and it's not two hours to the beach. It's probably an hour fifteen, to hour and a half with traffic. WIth that said, you can get to the beach in forty five minutes without traffic, on the weekend. A forty five minute trip is manageable and can be a day trip.
Paragraph 2: That's absolutely not true at all. There are plenty of white folks who live in the "909" and "dont kick their ass kicked," but rather are perfectly treated like anyone else would be.
Paragraph 1: It's not thirty minutes to the beach and it's not two hours to the beach. It's probably an hour fifteen, to hour and a half with traffic. WIth that said, you can get to the beach in forty five minutes without traffic, on the weekend. A forty five minute trip is manageable and can be a day trip.
Paragraph 2: That's absolutely not true at all. There are plenty of white folks who live in the "909" and "dont kick their ass kicked," but rather are perfectly treated like anyone else would be.
#1 Thank you for helping me prove my point.
#2 That absolutely IS true - my friend lived in Fontana and went to HS there - she was "jumped" and beat up by the A.A. girls at her H.S. multiple times. I wasn't talking about the 909 in general, I was referring specifically to Fontana, which is what this thread was originally about.
But I'll be sure to tell her that her victimization was absolutely not true at all, she was 'treated perfectly' like anyone else would be, because someone on a forum said so. If that's you're idea of being "perfectly treated" then maybe you should live there yourself.
#2 That absolutely IS true - my friend lived in Fontana and went to HS there - she was "jumped" and beat up by the A.A. girls at her H.S. multiple times. I wasn't talking about the 909 in general, I was referring specifically to Fontana, which is what this thread was originally about.
First off, you did get me on the first point. LOL. I didn't see it was from others, but still good job.
Ok, I feel for your friend, but not everything like that happens on a daily basis. I can know a person who has been racially attacked, but this could be only a handful of people out of many. Someone should rather think in a political correct manner, "racial tensions can be a problem, I recall my friend from high school getting jumped," rather than instigating a larger issue than the one involving your friend. I could go to Fontana tomorrow and be called a racial slur, and come on this site and tell everyone how Fontana has horrible racial intolerances, and it would be way off base. Something to chew on!
I am very thankful for all the replys i am getting from everyone that actually lives there Hubby will be staying in Sunland with his Aunt for now, heard thats around a 2 hr commute one way lol but its better then jumping in and buying something like the company wants him to do, afterall i am still not certain I will be relocating with the kids anytime soon, I think "Culture shock" from here to there would totally stress them out seeing as our h.s has about 800 or less kids in it if that. I honestly dont think this sort of move is all that healthy for my 16 yr old daughter, and the company isnt paying him anymore a year then they were here in MI. what they are doing is giving him one lump sum to just go and repayment if he dont stay atleast a year. I cant see selling everything we own here relocating the family, leaving behind everything my kids know, family, friends etc.... for an extra 25k to do it and then only stay one year.
Earlier someone here posted this: "$450,000.00 buys a small house in terribly unsafe areas around here."
Becky,
From the looks of your latest post I'm not sure if you're looking for a home here or not, but the quote above caused me to register so I could say a few words.
I was born in L.A., and grew up in posh Orange County, Ca. My husband grew up in the midwest. He and I moved to Fontana in 1986 for affordable housing, (house there cost $73,000, and now that little one is worth close to $300000). I was a SAHM, and my husband commuted into Orange County. In 1990 we moved to Riverside and bought our second home, and to this day we live in the same home in our working class/some professionals neighborhood. We bought it for $135,000 and it's now worth $450,000. It's 1700 square feet, and it's older but well built and on a large lot. We owe very little on it, and even though now our income is five times what it was when we bought it and we could afford a much 'nicer' home in a 'better' area, we have thus far chosen to stay here. We like having extra money to spend on things other than a home mortgage in order to impress people with a 'fancy' home in the 'right' zip code. On top of that, we're saving for early retirement.
I simply had to laugh at the quote of the person who claimed that this amount ($450000) would only buy a 'small' house in a terribly unsafe area. It's just not true. We've lived in our diverse neighborhood for 17 years with nary a problem, and we have great neighbors. We're both white, and our children finished high schools at our local 'diverse' high schools and went on to college. They were never jumped or picked on by others at their schools, and yes, there were gang members at their schools. At this time our neighborhood is perhaps seventy percent Hispanic, but we don't care and enjoy our neighbors. The closest grocery store to our home specializes in Mexican Food products, so I'm sure that to many people driving through they would assume this was an 'undesireable', unsafe neighborhood. They can keep driving a few miles, and spend $700,000 to live in the more status- oriented zip codes, as far as I'm concerned. I'll take my extra $2500.00 each month and spend it on other things. My husband and I walk in the evening's dark hours, and feel perfectly safe around here.
As for Fontana, we didn't like it as well as Riverside. There were serious gang problems there, even back in 1989. Our brand new home there was just a few houses from a drive by shooting, in fact. That shooting was part of the reason we sold our first home, took out the 50 grand in equity earned in less than three years and bought in Riverside. Riverside is more affordable than some cities like Rancho Cucamonga, and in our neighborhood now there are even a few homes available for the high $300,000s. We've been very happy living here.
Wherever you do decide to live in the I.E., please post here first and let those of us who have lived in this area share our experiences. It's tiresome to hear people who only hear horror stories of the I.E. spread these stories all over the place, including here.
Fontana can be OK depending on where you are. Homes are very reasonable for SoCal, 250k and up.
This one is 299k
325k, simple 3 bedroom:
335k 3 bdrm:
350k 4/2
387k 3/2, 2 car garage, 2 story custom:
You get the idea. There are of course a wide array of homes available in the surrounding areas as well as public and private education offerings. My best advice is to feel it out. No two people in this forum like exactly the same places.
My husband recently got transfered from Michigan to Fontana, CA. I will be following him with the kids sometime this late spring early summer. I know nothing about california. I want my kids in a good city, good schools that has low crime, but also something we can afford to live in. The relocation people are looking in Riverside for us at the moment, but im not sure if thats the best place to go. Any advice would be great thanks
Becky, Redlands and Loma Linda will be your safest cities. Not Fontana or the surrounding cities. They are located east of Fontana. Schools are great in both cities. Loma Linda is a quiet little town. They are located 55 miles from Newport Beach, 36 miles to Big Bear Lake, 35 miles to Palm Springs, 65 miles to downtown LA, 90 miles to San Diego. Loma Linda Academy is an excellent school, 99% of the graduate go on to 4-year universities, Redlands High School is a good school, or there's two Christian high schools in Redlands.
Fastfilm is right. A daily commute from the beach cities to Fontana would not work. I worked in Ontario about 10 years ago and tried to commute from LA, but the commute was far too long. I was spending as much time on the road as I was on the job.
I agree that Rancho Cucamonga is the best option if you can afford to move your family there into a home or apartment. Some sections of Upland might not be that bad either. The problem with renting is that it will probably be very difficult to keep your pets and live in a habitable home or apartment. Usually, only the older and more rundown places allow pets and even then, they require a large deposit, usually per pet.
Depending on your situation, I would suggest that you keep your home if at all possible and visit here with your family before deciding whether to relocate everyone here. The weather is beautiful here, but many of us are scrambling to find an affordable home in a safe area out of state.
I just read a post that was moved from this forum about a woman who vacationed here from out of state and she was shocked that she couldn't find any English videos at the local WalMart, she heard most people conversing in Spanish at a local restaurant, and much of LA county was run down compared to her homestate. They don't show these pictures on TV when they show the Rose Parade or the Academy Awards. California is usually full of culture shocks for many newcomers. I hope you visit here first before deciding whether to sell your home.
Not sure what part of MI you are coming from, but it is going to be quite a culture shock.
I grew up in Metro-Detroit. My sister moved from there about 10 years ago to LA. She has lived in Orange Co. and now the San Fernando Valley. She loves it. But, she is an apartment manager and lives on site. Hence, no commute.
All I know about that area is that it is known as the most redneck part of LA area. Of course Detroit ain't exactly Paris.
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Another poster says it’s a “day trip” to get to the beach from the IE. Talk about negative exaggeration...isn't the plan for most people when they go to the beach to spend "the day"? 
As I stated in my earlier post, my brother lives in MB, and works in Fontana. He has been doing this for about 7 or 8 years. It isn't ideal, but it isn't impossible either. The commute is worse in reverse i.e. people from the IE coming into the city and the beaches. 
My next door neighbor grew up there and he actually attended HS back in the 60s when the riots were going on at the HS and they had to call in the National Guard. Look it up if you don’t believe me! Your kids will be coming from another state – fresh meat to the predatory high school hoodlums of the IE. Giddy up.
