What's up with REDLANDS? (San Diego, Fresno: foreclosure, house, neighborhoods)

[TornadoAlley]

Originally Posted by GeoW62

So we're out here staying in Crestline for a month, checking it out to see if the mountain will work for us (so far, we're giving it a thumbs-up). But a couple people have mentioned that Redlands is nice, or at least has good gift shops . What can anyone tell us about this town east of San Bernadino? Lots of CHEAP houses out there, some real dandies for $500k. We're going to visit, but any informed insights would be helpful...

Redlands is a dump. Go to Apple Valley. Cheaper

[Twinkle Toes]

Apple Valley is a haven for crackheads and tweakers! At least in Redlands if you sticlk to the side of the freeway with the hills it's very nice.

[Twinkle Toes]

Oh yeah and you gotta remember - cheap brings in the trash. If you can spend a little more you get to live around a better class of people.

[Thunderbird]

I have lived in Apple Valley for 28 years and have loved it here. It's a better area than Redlands if you don't mind the commute. We have pretty scenic views and more land for your dollars.
Prices have doubled here since last year though and evidentially will be like OC in the future.

[movingoutofCA]

Don't even consider the desert, Apple Valley, Victorville, or Hesperia. They are all armpits now. We want out of CA but Redlands is the only city we would seriously consider. We are in Victorville now.

[UB50]

What about Yucaipa? No one ever mentions it, but it's just around the corner from Redlands. Is it a nice area to live?

[ArthursChoice]

This is someone having fun at someone else's expense. You have to be a complete moron, idiot to ever think or say that Apple Valley (full of gangs crackheads low income dreggs) is ever better than Relands. This person is just a moron, pay no attention to what he said.[

Originally Posted by TornadoAlley

Redlands is a dump. Go to Apple Valley. Cheaper

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

Ignoring the coarse Apple Valley threadjack ... Redlands is nice, self-contained town that is within an hour of some other nice places. Homes are older and more prestigious on the south side, newer and more common on the north side (where all the new retail is). The university helps give the town a sense of place, but it's not really a college town (like a Boulder or Claremont, for that matter). Hot and smoggy in the summer, generally pleasant the rest of the year, and traffic is no breeze.

[AnotherBravesFan]

Hi. I graduated from the Univ. of Redlands in 1983 ( a little gem of a college), returned for the summer of '84 (between semesters in grad. school out of state) and lived in a house in Yucaipa. At that time, Yucaipa was much more rural than Redlands. (There was a big open field across from my house.) As others have stated, it's hot & smoggy a lot of the time. My allergies were AWFUL there. I've been back just a few times for university events, and of course, it's grown a lot, and the orange groves have disappeared but it still seems like a nice community with a quaint "downtown", and you're not too far from the mountains or Palm Springs for weekend trips. Well, I'm not sure I've helped much, but at least now you've got an historical perspective!

[Triathlete]

We just moved from Redlands to Scottsdale, AZ after living there for two years. We also own a house in Crestline, so I believe I can be of help. We lived a block and 1/2 from the Redlands bowl, just up the hill from it, on Eureka St.
Redlands is, in a word, boring. The cuteness of the downtown area wears off after a few months. There are only a few really good restaurants and, quite literally, TWO events that make it special: The Redlands Bicycle Classic race and the Redlands Bowl outside summer concert series (we could hear the music from our house). Another gripe I have with Redlands is the same thing I think about all of So Cal: it's WAY to expensive for what you get. I grew up in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake is (despite the MANY problems with SLC, which is why I moved away), 100 times better place to live than Redlands.
Some have mentioned its close proximity to mts, ocean, etc. I used to drive to the ocean during the summer to surf while living in Redlands. After about 5-10 times heading out to the beach in a matter of a month, I was DONE with the commute. Traffic was horrible. Even on weekdays at 11 AM. Total BS.
Mountains are cool there, but we only made it up there a few times all year. Not much to draw us up there. No much in terms of climbing, rivers, lakes (that are not swarming with people), etc to get us up there. Another problem with Redlands is the pollution and over crowding. The hwy 10 runs through Redlands and it runs all night long. Sometimes on bike rides, the pollution was so bad (riding up Sunset, far from the hwy) I had to slow down from almost gagging. I have a very good sense of smell, maybe too good, and the pollution was horrible.

Crestine is a very cool place if you like to be in the mountains and don't mind social isolation. Not only that, Crestine draws a large drug using population. Other people living on the fringes of life, wanting to be away from others. Social misfits and weirdos, honestly. Not everyone, by any means. But a lot of that. I like privacy, but there are a lot of WEIRD people up there.

Just my two cents.