Is Riverside safe? Cause what I'm reading is scary... (Los Angeles: crime, how much)

[mm987654321]

Being relocated to riverside with husband/elementary age kids. Have you ever googled Riverside, CA? The reviews are graphic, the crime rating scores are high, and just today I read there are 186 gangs in the county - is Riverside safe? Are there certain sections of town to avoid, or others that are preferable to live in?
Thanks in advance for the advice and candid feedback.

[bouncethelight]

I love Riverside!

[Count David]

These questions are kind of broad, but chances are that you'd be fine.

[profgent1]

Safety is a relative term altogether, however, having lived in different parts of the country, including CA for 11 years, CA is not an altogether safe area. It does depend on how you define safe.

There's a greater incidence of gangs, violence, fnancial and property instability than anywhere else I've seen. There is a greater disparity between the haves and have nots, which makes for greater irritation in interpersonal matters. Lots of comparisons. You may very well 'be fine,' but that will be at a greater personal cost than can be tabulated. Southern CA has a greater superficiality and a greater need for personal freedoms at other's expense. While Californians extol personal freedom, it is at a cost to those who don't get their first slice of the pie. Does this make it unsafe? There are other parts of the country that don't have that, you don't need such a thick skin, and you do fine without such intrusiveness. How much sand do you like in your shoes until your socks wear out, your feet are irritated, and a particularly sharp grain gets to your in-grown toe?

That's what I'm talking about. It's not such a rat-race elsewhere. Is that a safety issue? There are greater risks to personal freedom and identity. Play your chances.

[bouncethelight]

Originally Posted by profgent1

How much sand do you like in your shoes until your socks wear out, your feet are irritated, and a particularly sharp grain gets to your in-grown toe?

And I love walking on the beach barefoot as well!

California isn't for everyone - obviously - and if you feel conflicted, then it may not be for you. But some of us love it deeply...

Riverside is "old California" - it's got orange groves, and three colleges, and the coolest boutique hotel you've ever seen. It's hot in summer and beautiful in winter. It's old Victorian houses, and little craftsman cottages, but there's also suburban sprawl. It's a major city with a population of over two-million - but it can feel like a small town at times. There's great poverty in some parts, and great wealth in other parts, and everything in between.

I think it's a great city and i've never felt at all unsafe there, but then again I've lived in downtown San Diego and Los Angeles, and never had any trouble.

[doug25]

I'm from a small town in PA, about 9,000 populace total, but wanted to input my thoughts.

Anymore, there are 2-3 large drug raids per year per city (this including the surrounding 3-4 cities). Their have been gangs and gang violence since I can remember.

I believe it is relative to the area and just because there might not be any stats for violence in a city, doesn't exactly make that city safe.

Here's a pretty good website:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Good luck on your searches.

[moonsky]

Originally Posted by mm987654321

Being relocated to riverside with husband/elementary age kids. Have you ever googled Riverside, CA? The reviews are graphic, the crime rating scores are high, and just today I read there are 186 gangs in the county - is Riverside safe? Are there certain sections of town to avoid, or others that are preferable to live in?
Thanks in advance for the advice and candid feedback.

I went to UCR about 10 years ago. The university was fine, but I didn't like the City much. Downtown wasn't a place to walk at night. I would look into Redlands instead.

[KarlaT2]

Originally Posted by mm987654321

Being relocated to riverside with husband/elementary age kids. Have you ever googled Riverside, CA? The reviews are graphic, the crime rating scores are high, and just today I read there are 186 gangs in the county - is Riverside safe? Are there certain sections of town to avoid, or others that are preferable to live in?
Thanks in advance for the advice and candid feedback.

Any reason you can't live near, but not actually in Riverside? I'd go south to Temecula with kids. I don't know Redlands, but have heard it's nice. There is an area I used to drive through every week in Riverside that looked nice. It was on Van Buren, and there were some nice houses south of that area. Couldn't say how the schools were though.

[Count David]

And so, Riverside gets shoved aside for the usual suspects.....the Temecula's and Redlands'es of the world.

For shame.

[mrsltd]

To the OP:

Riverside is quite large in area. I would think you should be able to find SOMETHING there that will meet your needs for safe and comfortable shelter.

As for the poster above expostulating on the "rat race", Riverside is not known for being the center of THAT, per se.

The only case where that could be made is for people (and there are many of them) that have so "bought into" the idea that they must have a house RIGHT NOW or VERY SOON that they are willing to work in LA or Orange County (or some other place that gives them a 40-70 mile commute ONE WAY) and to live in Riverside or even more distant places.

This is not to put down Riverside or anywhere else, but I'm not so sure that people making that commute care for where they live so much as that they have a HOUSE.

If you are working in the area, I say go for living in it too.