[Craig T]

Originally Posted by RedBaron

One of my roommates accepted a position at a company and they are placing her in San Bernardino, CA. She is 23 and about to graduate with a degree in biomedical engineering. Does anyone have any advice on where she should live around that area? Her starting salary is around 72k.

Thanks!

Congrats to her on the job...But she DOES NOT want to live in San Bernardino. For one, it has the worst air quality in CA. SB also has a terrible poverty problem, and with that some dangerous ethnic gang problems. It is one of the highest per-capita Medicaid (medical) concentrations in the state.

With that said, just a few miles east is Redlands, with a nice private university, safe walkable downtown, and a fun community theater and civic light orchestra in a historic mansion grounds.

Loma Linda is close, and near the medical center has some pockets of nice areas, but I wouldn't consider that.

The Canyon Crest area of Riverside is nice. Canyon Crest is close to Univ of CA Riverside (UCR) and Lots of safe higher-end apartment complexes and condos. Much of Riverside is as bad as SB, but Riverside has a great downtown, a great brewery, and the historic Mission Inn. Very cool.

If she doesn't mind windy roads, Lake Arrowhead is awesome...great hiking, fishing, 30 minutes from Big Bear ski resorts. I would love there. It's a 20 minute drive up 5,000 vertical feet and looks like the Colorado Rockys.