Is Riverside safe? Cause what I'm reading is scary... (Los Angeles: section 8, hotel)

[2349]

I teach high school and live in Riverside. I've seen some negative comments about Riverside and none are true. It is a clean city and very forward thinking on the environment. In fact the state endowed upon Riverside the title of Emerald City (the first one in the state!). The city fleet has more hybrid and alternative vehicles than anywhere else. The largest CNG fueling facility in Calif. is at the city yard and is open to the public. Riverside met the state's recycling standards years before anyone else!
How many cities can boast of having 3 universities in it in addition to a large community college?
If you want to live in a bedroom community, then pick Yucaipa or Temecula. They look the same. If you want to live in a diverse, unique and beautiful city you would be proud to call your own, then Riverside is the choice for you.

[deathegg88]

Originally Posted by 8move8away8

Want my opinion? Go somewhere else. That whole area is just plain run down and creepy. I can't see anything worth the risk of the trip.

Sheeese, have you ever liked living anywhere??. Most of your posts about places to live are quite negative, be it Riverside CA, Verona PA, Baltimore MD, etc.

"That whole area is plain run down and creepy". Really? The ENTIRE AREA???
All of Riverside is uninhabitable??? You've GOT to be kidding me.
I lived in Riverside for over 2 years, enough to know that like any big city, it has it's very good points, and very bad points. In Riverside, the good far outweighs the bad. The Wood street homes are creepy? Canyon Crest homes are creepy? I would like to know exactly what area you mean, because you cannot, in any stretch of your rather lofty imagination call these areas "creepy".

The bad points in Riverside include, like anywhere in CA, housing costs, air pollution, traffic, graffiti, etc. But how about the great museum? Or the neat-o downtown area? Or the many parks? Or Victoria Ave? Or the view from atop Mt. Rubidoux? (or did you find the view creepy and run-down as well?) The fact that it's central to pretty much everything in SoCal is a big draw. Palm Springs, the wineries in Temecula, Big Bear,,,,everything is sort of right there. Overall it was a nice place to live for me. The OP could choose far worse.

[rah]

California cities of 250,000 or more residents, by crime rate per 100,000 residents (2008 numbers):

Violent Crime:

Oakland - 1,968.4
Stockton - 1,474.7
San Francisco - 1,024.1
Sacramento - 997.7
Los Angeles - 689.5
Long Beach - 676.2
Riverside - 642.0
Bakersfield - 637.0
Fresno - 584.8
Santa Ana - 508.1
San Diego - 475.5
Anaheim - 393.1
San Jose - 385.4

Property Crime:

Stockton - 6,126.5
Oakland - 5,350.8
Bakersfield - 4,956.4
Sacramento - 4,817.1
Fresno - 4,636.3
San Francisco - 4,548.2
Riverside - 3,693.9
San Diego - 3,174.2
Long Beach - 2,781.5
Anaheim - 2,496.2
Los Angeles - 2,618.1
San Jose - 2,359.1
Santa Ana - 2,054.9

the US average violent crime rate in 2008 was 454.5, and the property crime average was 3,213.

[jlloyd87]

I'm just now seeing this thread, but I have to say to you Rah... Way to kill the party. lol jk jk

[clsicmovies]

Originally Posted by rah

California cities of 250,000 or more residents, by crime rate per 100,000 residents (2008 numbers):

Violent Crime:

Oakland - 1,968.4
Stockton - 1,474.7
San Francisco - 1,024.1
Sacramento - 997.7
Los Angeles - 689.5
Long Beach - 676.2
Riverside - 642.0
Bakersfield - 637.0
Fresno - 584.8
Santa Ana - 508.1
San Diego - 475.5
Anaheim - 393.1
San Jose - 385.4

Property Crime:

Stockton - 6,126.5
Oakland - 5,350.8
Bakersfield - 4,956.4
Sacramento - 4,817.1
Fresno - 4,636.3
San Francisco - 4,548.2
Riverside - 3,693.9
San Diego - 3,174.2
Long Beach - 2,781.5
Anaheim - 2,496.2
Los Angeles - 2,618.1
San Jose - 2,359.1
Santa Ana - 2,054.9

the US average violent crime rate in 2008 was 454.5, and the property crime average was 3,213.

To the original poster: It's widely known for criminal activity and gangs, way too much. It's going 3rd world just like L.A. Your kids deserve much better......from so. CA native.

[calibro1]

Originally Posted by clsicmovies

To the original poster: It's widely known for criminal activity and gangs, way too much. It's going 3rd world just like L.A. Your kids deserve much better......from so. CA native.

Some people on this forum have an over active imagination...

[clsicmovies]

Originally Posted by calibro1

Some people on this forum have an over active imagination...

That would not be me, I'm a realist with little imagination. Some people always want to downplay the decaying reality. Look at the local city weekly police reports online as well as gang acitivity, drug dealer activities, prevalence of cocaine and crystal meth, the victim addicts, the DEA most wanted. Look at the troubled schools. That's a start.

[calibro1]

Originally Posted by clsicmovies

That would not be me, I'm a realist with little imagination. Some people always want to downplay the decaying reality. Look at the local city weekly police reports online as well as gang acitivity, drug dealer activities, prevalence of cocaine and crystal meth, the victim addicts, the DEA most wanted. Look at the troubled schools. That's a start.

No, it def. would. Right because Orangecrest, Mission Grove, Canyon Crest, Wood Streets, La Sierra Heights, Arlington Heights, Hawarden Hills, Lake Hills, Mockingbird Canyon, and the vast majority of La Sierra, Arlington, etc. are not riddled with crime.

Taking a look at the schools, there are several mediocre schools. JW North has a solid IB program. Martin Luther King is a top rated school.

Riverside, like Moreno Valley, ranks consistently at around the national average for crime. The median income for the area is above average.

Stick with the facts.

[FrenchAmerican11]

[mod]No links permitted by new members.[/mod]

Crime rates have been dropping in Riverside for some time (San Bernardino is another story). It is a great place that is a "real city" with character. While it may not be a homogeneous suburb it is the largest city (close to 400,000 citizens) in a metro area of over 2,000,000. It is the cultural (mission inn, fox theater, art museums etc), educational (UCR which includes new medical school, RCC, La Sierra U, Cal Baptist), and historical (orange grove history dating back to 1800's, March Base) center of the area. In being a large older city, there are many different people who live there. There are poor, wealthy (take a drive down overlook off washington or Via vista off Allesandro), and great middle class and upper middle class areas. That is what makes Riverside great. Many different people all living in one city. Each bring their unique culture and worldviews. You can live in Riverside and have the best the region has to offer. You can be safe, live close to work, go to great schools (some of the best in the state, not just region) enjoy great dining and culture, and best of all have great neighbors!

[WestCobb]

Originally Posted by 8move8away8

Want my opinion? Go somewhere else. That whole area is just plain run down and creepy. I can't see anything worth the risk of the trip.