Riverside California

Orange County hellhole, or delightful place tucked between mountains and LA/San Diego...?

• Yes.

• ...ok....

• Riverside is in Riverside County, idiot.

• Well see? That's actually very helpful, r3! I thought it was in Orange County and that would mean it was very "orange county" (i.e. soulless republican territory).

  op

• There is very little delightful about Riverside...no matter what county it's in.

• Riverside is in Riverside County, not Orange. It's part of the Inlan Empire along with San Bernardino County. It has grown exponentially since the 1980's as people from other parts of Southern California moved there for affordable housing. Many tract housing subdivisions on what were once dairy farms. Some parts of Riverside are charming, but the Inland Empire is pretty much Phoenix with better weather and uglier scenery or a slightly nicer Bakersfield/Fresno. Lots of trashy areas, lots of gangs in some towns, the Klan used to have their SoCal headquarters in Fontana. Rancho Cucamonga is the nicest burb in the IE, but it's not that close to Riverside. Temecula/Murietta and Lake Elsinore are the nicest parts of Riverside County. Temecula and Murietta are bedroom communities for San Diego, roughly 65 miles to the south via the 15 freeway. Most of the other IE burbs are bedroom communities for Los Angeles and Orange County. The 91 freeway is the only direct link from Riverside to Orange County, so rush hour is hell on that freeway. I'd advise that you be very, VERY careful about what part of Riverside/San Bernardino Counties where you hang your hat. Yeah, it's Southern California, it's not all bad (LA people tend to look down on '909ers'), but there are nicer places in SoCal to live.

  Former%20Californian%2C%20has%20family%20in%20the%20909

• Oh come on, there must be something nice about it? UC Riverside? Quick drive to Palm Springs or San Diego? Lots of sunshine? Nice houses with pools?

• THANK you r6! Partner considering possible UC Riverside position; trying to figure this out; would much prefer northern cali, but, well...?

  OP

• No problem OP. You may want to check out Google Streetview to get a good idea of the neighborhoods in Riverside. What type of house are you looking for? It's Southern California and the lifestyle that comes with it, but it's not LA. Also, a lot of the smog from the LA basin blows eastward right into Riverside and San Bernardino. It's about an hour from Palm Springs, about 1 hr 45 min from San Diego, and about an hour from Los Angeles in light traffic. You can use Google maps to get a good idea of travel times.

  R6

• Also, much of the city of San Bernardino itself is a crime-ridden shithole and recently filed for bankruptcy. The neighborhood around UC Riverside ain't all that nice either.

  You%27ve%20been%20warned

• The neighborhood around USC ain't all that great.

• My brother lives in Riverside, he's in the Air Force. March AFB is located there. He lives in a very nice area, nice house, pool, great neighborhood. But for me to get there (I live about 50 miles west of him), I have to drive through hell. There are A LOT of bad places in Riverside. It gets hotter than hell in the summer, and very cold in the winter. It's basically a desert. I went to see him about a month ago. It was 107 and it started pouring rain. Ugh.

• Why would anyone think Riverside is in Orange County? That's bizarre. Riverside is basically a working class. It has a high Hispanic population. From urban to sprawling inner-city. It is true that those who can't afford OC move to Riverside. UC Riverside is not a great school and often ranks as one of the lowest of all UCs. In fact, usually dead last.

• Temecula seems like a nice littel town. Interesting point, Riverside might elect an openly gay congressman this november, Mark Takano.

• You pass Riverside on the way to Big Bear and the mountains, and fresh air. That's it's only advantage.

• Temecula is known for its annual Shakespeare festival. That's about the only think "nice" about it.

• temecula seems like the only place i would want to live (if I had to) in that area...

• [quote]as people from other parts of Southern California moved there for affordable housing. Aka illegal immigrants and gang members

• [quote]From urban to sprawling inner-city. It is true that those who can't afford OC move to Riverside. Those who can't afford OC just live in the OC above the 55 fwy.

• I grew up in Yorba Linda, a sleepy town at the north eastern edge of Orange County. Riverside County (specifically the city of Corona) was due east. I would encourage you to NOT move there. It's a horrible, depressed, Red State sort of area. It's one sad little podunk town after another. It's as if once you cross the Riverside County line, you time travel back to this strange world that resembles Alabama, with its genteel affront, Iowa, without it's midwestern charm, and Alaska, without the interesting wildlife. And it's damn hot, too.

• [quote]Also, a lot of the smog from the LA basin blows eastward right into Riverside and San Bernardino. This. I'd really think twice about living in Riverside. It can be OK I suppose, but I'd not want to live that close to the meth-head dirt people of the 909. It's definitely not what people think when they think California.

• Riverside has SOME beautiful, citrus tree lined streets (Victoria Avenue), and a lovely Citrus State Park. The Ramona Pageant, an outdoor amphitheatre play, is quite a lovely production in nearby Hemet. Good hiking in the nearby San Bernardino Forest.

• would hemet be an "easy" commute to UC Riverside campus?

• Temecula also has a lot of orchards. We went there for a wine tasting event.

• Southern Riverside County (Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore etc.) is suburbia. Mile after mile of cookie cutter housing subdivisions and big box stores, and SUV driving soccer moms who populate them. Fine if you like that sort of thing.

• Wasn't Richard Rimerez from there? Or was that some other serial killer?

• R23, it would not be the closest or most convenient commute (esp. in traffic). You're looking at 30 to an hour, depending on the time of day and day of the week. And to be honest, I would not recommend Hemet as a place to live (over any of the other communities). IMO, it's a dumpy, dusty town with a strange mix of retirees and "methy" parolee characters. Not a whole lot going on. But the Ramona Pageant, like I said, is nice to see once a year. :) I attended UC Riverside (a good school, IMO), and if that is the draw to the Inland Empire, I would recommend trying to live in or around Riverside. It's rather affordable and has more going on than the surrounding cities. The Riverside Mission Inn is a mustsee; Fairmount Park is a lovely Olmsted designed park with a beautiful lake; you can bike the length of the Santa Ana River (the only river in Riverside) to nice Orange County beaches. Being originally from LA, attending school in Riverside was a minor cultural shock (for how slow and suburban it is), but any place is what you make of it.

• thank you, r27! can you name several neighborhoods abutting fairmount park so I can do some online realtor searching?

• What about somewhere like Claremont? San Gabriel Valley > Inland Empire, IMO.

• How far is Claremont from U C Riverside though...?

• You can see most of the pleasant stuff in one day (Mission Inn, Victoria Avenue, UC Riverside campus, parts of Fairmount Park)... but it's pleasant, not anything to knock your socks off. At one point there used to be citrus groves dotting the land around town, but now they're all gone except for the experimental agriculture groves around the university. The "river" itself is a concrete catchbasin that's dry 50 months of the year. For nice neighborhoods, OP, check the area on Mission Boulevard heading toward Rubidoux (but not in Rubidoux; Jerry Springerville) or on the "wood streets" near downtown... they all have names like Olivewood and Rosewood. Strangely, Riverside only has a few neighborhood designations (the "wood streets," Canyon Crest, Arlington). Most neighborhoods are defined by proximity to landmarks -- "behind Ramona High School" or "near the Riverside Plaza."

• Many thanks, r31

• [quote]Temecula seems like a nice little town. Lately, a place of many lurid crimes...

• R6 I would argue that the Palm Springs area is the nicest part of Riverside County.

• Where does Amy on Enlightened live? And what is the deal with the roof's home. It looks like Gilligan made it and rats live there.

• RE 23 - Hemet is home to the psycho - cult headquarters of ....Scientology. Their property is heavily guarded - but Hemet is known to be heavy gang area. Do not live there - you'll be forever sorry ......or dead.

  PaulHaggis

• I thought Scientology was headquartered in (naturally) Florida.

• When will people learn, it doesn't matter where you happen to be, it's all dependent on what you make of it. The city of Riverside is a mixed bag, but over all pretty nice. If OP has the ability to be happy, he'll be happy in Riverside too. Hell, it's only 50 miles to LA or Palm Springs. What the heck is there to be concerned about?

• [quote]When will people learn, it doesn't matter where you happen to be, it's all dependent on what you make of it. I used to believe that, but learned that those of eccentric bent do far better in big cities. I'm sure most LA people on the board would flourish in Silver Lake or Pasadena, but not so much in Watts or Athens, let alone Vernon.

• Riverside used to be the meth capital of the country. Not sure how much that's changed.

• [quote]Riverside used to be the meth capital of the country. Not sure how much that's changed. I think it is now San Jose, but as I said upthread, Temecula has recently been the site of some pretty lurid crimes.

• Here's your neighbors: [bold] Explosives and Booby Traps Found at Riverside Home [/bold] RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KTLA) — Police and federal agents in Riverside discovered a cache of explosives and dangerous weapons inside a booby-trapped home. Among the dangerous weapons found inside that home were two cannons. The man who lives at the home on Oakhurst Place, 46-year-old William Lawrence Hunziker, is now behind bars. “I was afraid of him. He never would speak to me, because he knew that I didn’t like him,” neighbor Donna Johnson said. Johnson said she often heard what sounded like gunshots in the middle of the night coming from Hunziker’s home. But Tuesday afternoon, she saw something that she says made her call police. “He was outside working in the yard, and all of the sudden we heard this bang, and I looked and I said, ‘He’s got a gun,’” she recalled. “It was a rifle.” Authorities came to the home, and say they found Hunziker’s 82-year-old mother emaciated. They say they also found guns, a silencer and explosive materials. They believe he may have potentially been making bombs. As the FBI, ATF and Riverside police searched through the clutter, investigators say they also found booby traps. “It would be like a trip wire that if you kicked the wire it would knock something over that would cause him to know that somebody was near his house,” said Riverside police Lt. Guy Toussaint. Still, some in the community believe that their neighbor and friend is being unfairly targeted because of a messy home. “He’s actually a very nice guy, but he’s very eccentric and he likes to make fireworks,” neighbor Angel Vedaa said. “He’s very, you know, ‘I’m gonna have my guns and the government can’t take them.’ But, I mean, we have busybodies here, and he just kind of keeps to himself.” Authorities said the investigation at the home was suspended Wednesday evening until morning due to the lack of daylight. The search will continue at the home on Thursday.

  http://ktla.com/2013/01/31/possible-explosives-and-booby-traps-found-in-home/%23axzz2JYt3LNTk

• [quote]I thought Scientology was headquartered in (naturally) Florida. Scientology's US HQ is in Clearwater, FL. Hemet is the location of Scientology's "Gold Base," its international HQ.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_base