Advice for a friend moving near San Bernardino

[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!

[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.

[look 171]

F'k no. Not San Bernardino. Please talk here out of living there. Working there is ok. Mt living is fun up in Arrowhead like Graig T suggested, but boring for a 23 year old. That whole town shuts down by 7pm. Stay around The university. Where is she working? Rancho Cucamonga (10 -15 min drive without traffic to SB)is nice and pretty safe up in the northern section (even safer). Its your typical middle class america but that may not be what a 23 year old wants.

[RedBaron]

Thanks to the two of you for advice so far! I asked her again specifically where it was and she looked further into it. I guess it is in Redlands (San Bernardino county). She loves hiking - so i'll have to have her check out Lake Arrowhead. I forwarded both your responses to her, any more info is appreciated.

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by look 171

F'k no. Not San Bernardino. Please talk here out of living there. Working there is ok. Mt living is fun up in Arrowhead like Graig T suggested, but boring for a 23 year old. That whole town shuts down by 7pm. Stay around The university. Where is she working? Rancho Cucamonga (10 -15 min drive without traffic to SB)is nice and pretty safe up in the northern section (even safer). Its your typical middle class america but that may not be what a 23 year old wants.

Rancho Cucamonga??? YAWN! That's a bedroom community by all definitions (and were I was born ). a 23 Y-O would hate it there.

Where exactly is she's working? If she's bioengineering, it's likely Watson Rx or Loma Linda U. If it's Waston Pharmaceuticals in Corona, that opens up Orange County. If she's doing research at Loma Linda, OC is a stretch.

Redlands is hip, with some cool coffee bars downtown with live music (mostly UR students). Just let her know, if it's in SB proper...She's going to be commuting 20-45 minutes to be someplace desirable.

[Nostril Cheese]

Rancho Cucamonga? Thats where you move if you CANT get a place in Lancaster/Palmdale.

Lake Arrowhead... Uh no.

[Craig T]

Feel free to have her call me if she has any questions. PM for mobile number.

I ran sales and business development for a national diagnostic laboratory with hospital joint-ventures and a regional laboratory in San Bernardino. I spent a lot of time there over five years, even keeping an apartment there for weekdays. I dated a marketing executive that lived in Riverside while I was there. I know the area pretty well.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

Rancho Cucamonga? Thats where you move if you CANT get a place in Lancaster/Palmdale.

Lake Arrowhead... Uh no.

Funny. Rancho has changed in the past 5-10 years. lots of folks who couldn't afford housing West of the 57 or the 605 had been buying up Rancho. Its not cheap, but it is a typical middle class, bedroom community. I wouldn't want to live there if I was 23 that's for sure.

[sammyg2]

San Berdoo is like a barrio and ghetto all rolled into one, that ya gotta drive an hour to get to.

There are some nice neighborhoods in that city but they are surrounded if ya know what I mean.
I would rather live in *Fon-tucky than san berdoo.







*Fontana

[varmint]

san benadino

4, almost 5 months without a terrorist attack.

[E38Driver]

Originally Posted by Craig T

Rancho Cucamonga??? YAWN! That's a bedroom community by all definitions (and were I was born ). a 23 Y-O would hate it there.

Where exactly is she's working? If she's bioengineering, it's likely Watson Rx or Loma Linda U. If it's Waston Pharmaceuticals in Corona, that opens up Orange County. If she's doing research at Loma Linda, OC is a stretch.

Redlands is hip, with some cool coffee bars downtown with live music (mostly UR students). Just let her know, if it's in SB proper...She's going to be commuting 20-45 minutes to be someplace desirable.

Watson is long gone. No longer in Corona. What is left of them is in New Jersey.
Redlands good, Loma Linda good. San Bernardino Very bad.

If her job is in or near Loma Linda the further west she goes will make it that much longer of a commute.

Dave

[Cajundaddy]

Ahem...

I live in Rancho Cucamonga and it has a bit of everything. Safe, 200+ good restaurants, live music scene, lots of microbrewpubs nearby, Victoria Gardens for trendy 20 something shopping, BASS PRO SHOP!! and easy FWY access to desert, mountains, Vegas, beach or whatever. My 20 something daughters like it just fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiZpRGd09rI

Redlands- Nice neighborhoods, older demographics, with an active main street section and college vibe.

Loma Linda- neat, tidy, quiet, safe, 60+ demographics with strong SDA ties, tofu, vegi-burger, zero night life.

Mountain communities are fun but somewhat isolated for 20ish. A weekend destination.

No Sbdo, no Muscoy, no Highland, no Fontana, no Rialto, no Colton. IMHO Housing is very low cost for a reason here.

[Noah930]

I was going to say "Don't!"

But if Ihad to live in the Inland Empire, Redlands is probably the most tenable situation for a 23 year-old.

[Cajundaddy]

It is funny, we like what we like. I just spent the afternoon yesterday at a friend's house in Beverly Hills right off La Cieniga and Wilshire about 2 blocks from Spago. Crushing Sunday traffic, run down looking retail stores, $3M houses really close to each other, parking enforcement Nazis 24/7. We left thinking how much we enjoy living in the IE.

Different strokes...

[sammyg2]

Ever notice that about 1/3 of all the "Cops" episodes filmed in this great nation feature the Fontana police department?


Coinky-dink not.

[flyenby]

It used to be called the Inland Empire....now known as the Inbred Empire

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

It is funny, we like what we like. I just spent the afternoon yesterday at a friend's house in Beverly Hills right off La Cieniga and Wilshire about 2 blocks from Spago. Crushing Sunday traffic, run down looking retail stores, $3M houses really close to each other, parking enforcement Nazis 24/7. We left thinking how much we enjoy living in the IE.

Different strokes...

I have done lot of work in that area to the point that I hate pointing my car west even if I get to drive when traffic dies down. You can have that whole area. The hip and the sophisticated folks with their 3 million homes and can kiss my toe nails. Unfortunately many are coming into my areas telling us how to save the world.

If I had to choise between LaCieiga and Wilshire or Rancho and didn't have to drive to the west side occasionally, I live in Rancho in a heart beat. Only if its north of the 210 in some of the older homes. Dislike the village like or gated communities.

I find people are "real" out your way.

[G60SuperCharger]

People love to trash on the inland empire...I've lived in Loma Linda for 15 years and have grown to love it here. Smog here is a non-issue these days...no better or worse than other large cities. 1 hour from the beach, 30 minutes from mountain hiking, and 1 hour to decent skiiing. Going into LA for some big city fun is only a bit more than an hour with weekend traffic. Live near where you work though...traffic is no fun. Redlands is a great place to live and perfect for a recent college grad.

$72k will go a long way for a single female in Redlands. Not so in LA, Rancho, or the coastal cities.

[BeyGon]

She should make sure she has air conditioning.

[Embraer]

Eureka burger in redlands is nice.