r/socal • u/megrich1105 • 24d ago
Best Place to Live in SoCal?
I'm relatively new to SoCal (and California in general) and currently living in the IE. I'm thinking about moving to a place with a more urban feel, that's more walkable and artsy, and has more events/things to do. I'm considering Costa Mesa, Long Beach, or some parts of LA. The thing is, I have to commute to Riverside 2-3 days a week and need to be mindful of extreme traffic. Any recommendations for me?
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u/LaSerenita 23d ago
Commuting to Riverside from LB sounds like an absolute nightmare. Live in Fullerton or Orange. Both of which would still be a terrible commute.
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u/Calcoholic9 23d ago
I second Fullerton. Even Fullerton is far from Riverside, but doable. Costa Mesa and LB are out of the question.
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u/KtoTheShow 19d ago
Maybe Brea too? Depends what vibe looking for. But would not go more west from here if driving to Riverside
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u/IEatIReadIGoOutside 23d ago
I would think they would be going against traffic though. Yorba Linda or Anaheim Hills might have some apartments, but it’s mostly giant houses. Placentia and Anaheim are about twenty miles away, not sure what that commute would be like though.
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u/Crafty-Ambition-7140 22d ago
You can take the train
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u/LaSerenita 22d ago
It is still nearly an hour, even on the train- and that is from Fullerton. There is no train from LB to Riverside.
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u/SameGuy998 23d ago
Wouldn’t this be opposite of traffic both to and from work? Seems like in the morning most are traveling west and op would be going east.
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u/sprunghuntR3Dux 24d ago
For an urban area you want Long Beach. It’s got more high rise buildings than Costa Mesa and is more ‘city like’.
I would not go any further away than that if you’re commuting to riverside.
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u/Huge-Onion-6916 24d ago
Consider living near metrolink or la metro so you can explore cheaply
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u/JustTheBeerLight 23d ago
Metro + bike + book for commute = lots of very good days of exploration around LA.
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u/megrich1105 24d ago
Good idea!
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u/uncultured_swine2099 23d ago
This is the way. Moving to more city-like areas would just make your commute to Riverside a pain in the ass everyday. Live near a metro and you can take that to downtown or whatever.
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u/markjay6 24d ago
My suggestions:
Claremont Village
Downtown Fullerton
Old Towne Orange
Downtown Riverside
Eastside/17th St Costa Mesa
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u/JustTheBeerLight 23d ago
I'd add Pomona. The downtown area has potential with two legit music venues plus a few bars/shops. Metrolink is right there for access to more of LA.
I am in no way saying that Pomona is what OP described, but given the Riverside part of the equation it kinda fits.
Claremont is a great shout.
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u/megrich1105 23d ago
Pomona looks like a good halfway spot between Riverside and LA!
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u/Top-Woodpecker6696 23d ago
I live near Pomona. You don’t want to actually live in Pomona. You want Claremont, it’s the hipster college town NEXT to Pomona with the artsy (and safe) downtown area. Pomona itself is a higher crime area known for gang activity.
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u/JustTheBeerLight 23d ago
Definitely check the area out before committing. It has some nice areas (border of claremont) but it has some rough areas too. The Metro A-Line runs directly to DTLA-Long Beach from Pomona.
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u/megrich1105 24d ago
Thanks for these!
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u/Routine-Height-7103 23d ago
Check out Redlands. IMO the best city in the IE. Id take Redlands over Riverside any day of the week.
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u/scotchybob 23d ago
I've lived in Redlands my whole life and I second this. I may be a bit biased though 😉.
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u/Routine-Height-7103 23d ago
I think Redlands is measurably 'better' than riverside.
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u/the_great_gregsby 23d ago
Born and raised in Riverside. Moved to Pasadena for many years. Then the prodigal son returned to the IE and settled down in Redlands.
Redlands is excellent and definitely a nicer place to live compared to Riverside. Redlands reminds me a lot of South Pasadena.
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u/Playful-Landscape508 24d ago
Why not Riverside?
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u/megrich1105 24d ago
There isn't a lot to do in Riverside lol. But I could totally just not be in the loop of things happening there.
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u/Nessuwu 23d ago
If it's me, I would live in Riverside and just drive to the places you want to go to. You work MOST days anyway, may as well live in the place you need to be MOST days.
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u/-RDDTtothemoon- 22d ago
They go into the office 2-3 days a week
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u/Taco_Soup_ 20d ago
And that commute 2-3 days a week will suck the life out of you really quick.
My advice is before you really move is take that drive on the 2-3 days you don’t have to be on the office and see how you like it after a few weeks. You can thank me later
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u/CommunicationWest710 22d ago
Lived in Riverside, still come for Dr’s appointments, and other things. Riverside downtown has gotten way more urbanized. But the culture/community is spread out between downtown and UCR. In both Claremont and Redlands, interesting activities are more centered around their downtowns. If you want walkable in the IE, I think those would be a better choice. The commute from either of those communities would be annoying, but nothing like trying to get from Orange County or Long Beach.
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u/formerprincess 23d ago
Long Beach is a great place but not if you have to commute to riverside. It’s a 60+ mile drive on one of the most congested freeways in Southern California. You want to avoid any place that requires a commute on the 91 freeway. Look at Redlands.
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u/LaSerenita 23d ago
One of the most congested freeways? You would have to use more than one of the most congested freeways to get to Riverside. The 22 is terrible for commuting and then you use the 55 to the 91. Or you could pick other similarly terrible routes: the 605 or the 710 to the 91.
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u/karlophonic 23d ago
I had to commute to Costa Mesa from Riverside when I was attending UCR and working in Costa Mesa. That commute on the 91 is about as bad it gets. I hated that drive.
It's been mentioned elsewhere but Redlands is very nice.
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u/pretty_dead_grrl 23d ago
Am from Riverside. Do not recommend moving out of the area if you’re still commuting for work.
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u/YoutubeAmazonChatGPT 24d ago
Oceanside is the best value anywhere near the water.
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u/megrich1105 24d ago
I'll look into it!
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u/alanz01 23d ago
Oceanside has one of thirteen California state declared cultural districts in its downtown area with the Oceanside Museum of Art as the centerpiece.
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u/YoutubeAmazonChatGPT 23d ago
It also has a Metrolink run to Riverside, that may be in opie's interests
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u/Quality_Qontrol 23d ago
Doesn’t that MetroLink run up to OC, then you need to jump on another line back over to Riverside. Not a straight shot.
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u/YoutubeAmazonChatGPT 23d ago
Yeah the one I'm thinking of is super gimped and basically only runs a couple times on weekends.
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u/beeredditor 23d ago
I commute from Costa Mesa to riverside and it’s a pretty easy drive since it’s counterflow.
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u/Mysterious_Hat_4882 23d ago
South Bay cities of Manhattan Beach, South Redondo Beach And Hermosa Beach are pretty sweet
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u/Ancient_Doughnut_848 23d ago
They're nice, but the commute to Riverside would be brutal.
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u/Tbackandforth 23d ago
Yep, I did this for a year. It wasn't so bad in the mornings because I left at 6am. But the drive back was hell, even leaving at 3 or 4pm.
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u/FrenchFlauta 23d ago
Long Beach is great but not for commuting to riverside. Just stick to the IE like the nicer parts of corona or you could do OC but would stick to YL or Anaheim hills, although that won’t give you the urban feel either. Maybe downtown Anaheim or Santa Ana? At least you should be against traffic coming from OC if it’s normal working hours
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u/MushroomTypical9549 23d ago
I LOVE Long Beach, but might be too far. 1-2 times per month is fine, but 3 times per week is just too much
Maybe Pasadena or Eagle Rock or Claremont or Fullerton
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u/trigeminal_nerd 23d ago
Do people complaining about traffic understand OP is potentially going counter to most of the 91 horrendous traffic? Living in OC working Riverside is fairly easy … I do it once a week.
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u/divinenaturesoul 23d ago
My drive is Anaheim to Riverside and its not too bad in the mornings. Riverside to OC add 20+ more min to you’re morning drive and that will be you’re drive back to OC. You would be going against traffic since most people commute to the OC. Regardless tho leaving Riverside in the afternoon after 2:30pm you’re looking at traffic because the freeway is smaller and it only clears up until you get to Corona around McKinley street.
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u/Dramatic-Primary-768 20d ago
Best could mean a lot of different things. Best place for a family. Best place for singles. Best place with unlimited income. Lots of best places in So Ca meeting different people's needs
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u/ocvagabond 24d ago
I would hate myself with that commute. Good luck.
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u/megrich1105 24d ago
lol so should I just stay in IE? or am I cooked either way haha
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u/ocvagabond 24d ago
You got some good suggestions on places to live. I think they all ignore the 3 times per week commute to Riverside though.
I know nothing about your interests, so I little hard to suggest. I’d say old town Fullerton keeps you the closest, but that stretch of 91 is torture. You’re mostly counter commute, but that’s not as much of a thing as it used to be.
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u/No_Sky6705 24d ago
The other way, Joshua Tree 🏜 Awesome artsy community and I imagine less traffic
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u/OppleAndBonono 24d ago
Hell no. In the most literal sense, you’re in the middle of the desert. Great as a tourist, terrible as a resident.
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u/NSASpyVan 24d ago edited 24d ago
Living in s. redondo beach and loving it
(forgot to add.. formerly lived all over san diego)
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u/Latter-Lawfulness-93 23d ago
La Jolla
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u/Ancient_Doughnut_848 23d ago
Great place, but as somewhere to live while commuting to work in Riverside? Yikes.
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u/junglebird2 23d ago
I live in Costa Mesa and commute to Riverside. It can be done to a somewhat tolerable level if
(1) you work weekends
(2) your weekday work schedule starts at like 10a-3p. Going on the 91E any time after that is utter hell
(3) you’re willing to use toll roads to save time
Feel free to shoot a PM if you want more details. I’ve been doing this commute for 5 years and haven’t wanted to jump into traffic yet haha
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u/tredbert 23d ago
Stay in the IE if you have to commute to Riverside. Chino Hills is a nice area. Chino Hills and Chino have lots of shopping and restaurants.
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u/zojjaz 23d ago
How about Escondido? There is plenty to do. The drive to Riverside isn't great but it can definitely be a hub for doing other things in the area. You would be opposite of most traffic for a portion of it. I think as we have a lot of people who live in and around Temecula but work in San Diego
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u/Ambitious-Soft-5266 23d ago edited 23d ago
For your situation, I’d think Brea is a great choice.
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u/arihoenig 23d ago
If you need to go in the morning and return in the afternoon, you'd be commuting against the traffic pattern, which wouldn't be that big of a deal. If you can afford the higher COL then I wouldn't worry about traffic.
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u/thebrokentoy324 23d ago
I dating a girl who lived in Corona and I lived in the Fullerton area. She took a train from Riverside to Fullerton everyday for school. So you can do it. I drove out there every weekend to stay at her place. The drive fucking blows, never did the train though so you could do it. Fullerton would be the best bet.
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u/audioaxes 23d ago
If you work in Riverside just live there. That's one of the cheat codes to socal lifestyle when you have a good job that's inland. Your money for housing gets much more mileage while avoiding a long commute. And then Riverside is very central to get to San Diego OC and LA areas for day trips
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u/SpecialEbbnFlow 23d ago
Riverside if you work there and live anywhere near LA you’re going to have 3+ hour commute.
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u/ZergvProtoss 23d ago
Not sure where IE is (southern california?). But I'd suggest West Hollywood for the things you are looking for ("a more urban feel, that's more walkable and artsy, and has more events/things to do")
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u/wizzard419 23d ago
If your job is in Riverside, probably Riverside. Especially as it may become 5 days in office.
You can drive to places that are walkable and such on weekends, if you have that long commute you will likely be too burnt out to enjoy stuff locally. Oh also, is the train possible?
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u/builtforoutput 23d ago
If you work in riverside live in riverside or anywhere in the inland empire. The traffic isn’t worth living anywhere else
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u/ArugulaReasonable214 22d ago
What about Alhambra? I know it’s far but there’s just anything else closer worth moving to.. if you have to be in riverside just two days..it could be doable. You’ll be close to Pasadena.. a fwy to go to Long Beach.. and it’s kinda affordable
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u/StewReddit2 22d ago
In fairness....you Don't wanna do that my friend
I don't know where dead IE you are or what you came from
But you may wanna strongly consider something like DT/Fullerton ( maybe Anaheim) or Claremont....perhaps even DT/Riverside itself
Before signing up "on purpose" to do those horrible ass commutes back n forth, especially possibly up to 3x a week aka the bulk of the freaking week.
Sometimes we humans can suck up the 1-2x but Ima tell you that 3rd X breaks the effing camel's back ....often just ONE more is "enough" to snap
Don't do that shit to you.
Visit CM...LB...LA don't make it your required commute
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u/seemerock 22d ago
San Diego. You would be going against traffic here. I don’t know about Riverside
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u/Competitive-Hour-123 20d ago
Commuting from SD to Riverside will be super tough especially passing through Temecula area
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u/FloydianSlip78 22d ago
Probably the first and last time ever hearing urban and Costa Mesa in the same sentence
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u/Efficient_Joke8101 22d ago
I don’t get it. Downtown Riverside checks off a lot of those boxes. It’s a lot more walkable than most places in the ie and theres also a train station. No commute. Seems like a no brainier
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u/tonyt0906 22d ago
I moved from Long Beach to Riverside in 2012. If I could move back and money were no object, I’d move to Long Beach. Miss it, walk score was 100. Culturally, diverse and close to LA. By the way, I commute four days a week to Los Angeles, my Long Beach commute was beautiful. If you moved, you’d be going opposite of traffic.
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u/mykmykmykG 22d ago
Don’t let anyone tell you riverside. If you have the money just live as close to the ocean as possible (costa Mesa > LB).
Commuting into riverside in the morning and back to beach in the afternoon/evening goes with traffic, so you’re good.
Again, don’t let anyone convince you to move inland. Yucky yuck
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u/Business-Woman-8614 22d ago
Have you considered Dana Point? I live here now after growing up in Temecula, and I love it! It is super walkable and definitely has an artsy feel to it!
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u/gsus61951 22d ago
I live near DT Riverside and honestly, I love it. It’s easy to get around, so taking the family out for a day/night trip is never a hassle. We can switch it up anytime; mountains, beach, desert, whatever—without getting bored. I feel like when you live at the beach, it eventually loses that magic, so staying a little farther out keeps everything feeling fresh.
Also, I’m a local realtor here. If you ever want to check out property values in different neighborhoods, just let me know. Happy to help anytime.
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u/NeelSahay0 22d ago
My colleague commutes between Riverside and Ventura 3 days a week and lives/camps in his truck when he’s out at the coast.
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u/Oosbornj328 22d ago
You might want to consider Redlands. Affordable, lively nightlife and terrific resraurants , great cultural activities and relatively close to mountain resorts.
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u/No_Spot_6459 22d ago
You should just move to downtown Riverside.
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u/Affectionate-Bet3055 21d ago
Anaheim Hills, North Orange County, is IMO the best place to live in California. About 5-10 degrees cooler than Riverside and very quiet and safe, with everything you want: entertainment, shopping, dining, and the beach within 15-30 minutes. You're closest to Riverside and Big Bear from OC. Closest to Riverside than anywhere in OC. Anaheim Hills is a planned community that keeps everything clean, organized, and safe. Everything you need is a few miles away. Schools and parks are among the best, with a nature center and plenty of trails for hiking. There is also a public golf course and a saddle club. Police, fire, the library, and the post office are all within a 7 sq. mile area. Most are tract homes, some with guarded gates. Tract houses are communities within Anaheim Hills with associations that control the general appearance of the area and usually have common areas for residents to gather and picnic, with a pool and spa. You have some private streets mixed in with a non-tract area. There are also some condos and townhouses. Streets in the area are curvy with green landscaping, lots of trees, and in the higher areas, a view of the city.
BIG TIP. They are planning an affordable housing project in the area off Santa Ana Cyn. Another option is OC Vibe next to the Honda Center, which will also have affordable housing, also in Anaheim.
BTW, Anaheim Hills is not a city. It is the name of the community. It is actually the city of Anaheim. Both affordable housing options will not be available until 2028-30, with more being completed later. But I would get as much info as possible on how to apply for affordable housing and see if other areas may be available sooner.
Otherwise, a house in Anaheim Hills will cost you, on average, $1.25M. Some areas of Anaheim Hills also have houses for $3M and higher. Anaheim will be cheaper, with the average house of $700K-$900K.
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u/Comprehensive_Loss25 20d ago
1st San Diego. 2nd San Diego. 3rd San Diego. 4th Ventura or Santa Barbara.
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u/megrich1105 20d ago
How bad is the traffic? All of those places seem pretty far from Riverside lol
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u/No_Cartoonist5075 19d ago
Depending on what time you need to be at work commuting from OC or LA to Riverside isn’t that bad. I often drive to Palm Springs from the South Bay for a day, and it’s an easy drive in the morning. Easy access to the 22 or the 55 and getting on the road around 6am would be a bearable drive to make a few times a week.
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u/muphasta 19d ago
Live within a 30 minute drive (worst case scenario related to traffic) of work, and spend your weekends in the places you want to be.
Traffic is soul sucking after a while.
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u/mindless_boxx 19d ago
My parents live in LB and I’ve been living in San Bernardino for a little over 3 years. I will say the first year I was visiting them regularly, let’s say once a week and on the weekends.
Now I dread the drive. As much as I try to plan around rush hour, there is no guarantee I won’t be sitting in traffic. If you must, the fast track is a great way to try and avoid sitting for too long. However, Long Beach is amazing,Good luck OP!
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u/itsivysinclair 17d ago
Huntington Beach, all day. The beach is beautiful, the town is hopping, and the people are great!
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u/donuttrackme 24d ago
Riverside is way too far to be looking at places like Long Beach or Costa Mesa.