Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In regards to Diamond Bar, I have lived here for 20 years. In fact, the area you are tageting is the area where I currently live. The area east of Golden Springs and north of the 60 was built in the mid to late 80's and is very nice. Hills are not an issue there. A 2400 sq. ft. four bedroom home should cost you around $700K. Expensive, but the same home would cost you $900K in Yorba Linda or a milion in Anaheim Hills. Diamond Bar is a very culturally diverse, upper middle class city.
Diamond Bar is a wonderful place to raise kids. It's a very safe, healthy environment. There is every sport imaginable: Soccer (AYSO), little league baseball, girls softball, youth basketball, Pop Warner football. I have two grown sons and a daughter in high school. They all did the sports thing and it was great. A typcal Saturday in Diamond Bar will have every field in the city occupied by some youth sport.
As far as schools, Diamond Bar does not have its own school district. If you live north of Grand Ave. the schools belong to Pomona Unified School District. If you live south of Grand, the schools are in the Walnut Unified School District. The Walnut School district is generally better, but schools such as Golden Springs Elementary is outstanding even though it's the Pomona District. Diamond Point is good as well. Lorbeer Middle School in on the North End and my kids went there and went on to do well in high school. Lorbeer does have a very good GATE program. As far as high schools, Diamond Ranch H.S. is a relatively new school (opned in '97) and is a beautiful campus on a hill. I did not send my kids there because it was not built yet when my sons started High School (they went to private school instead). I hear Diamond Ranch High School is good, but not great.
As far as commuting to O.C. I work in Anaheim and my wife works in L.A. When we moved here, we did so because it was accessible to both cities. I won't lie, traffic is bad, but it's bad every where. I leave the house at 6:00 and get to work at 6:30 for an 18 mile commute to Boeing in Anaheim. Our facility is moving to Huntington Beach in 2 to 3 years so I will be making that longer commute. I'm not looking forward to it, but it's doable. I'm not leaving Diamond Bar, I ove it here.
Hope this helps.
I'm glad I found this thread because just like the thread starter, I am looking for homes in this area, north of 60 and south of W.Temple Ave.
golakers, So if I find a home in this area would that mean my kids would go to schools belonging to Pomona Unified School District? I guess I wouldn't have any other choice...
Would you say that the area is fairly quiet? I would hate an area that throws late night house parties-- I would not tolerate that at all.
I am looking for an area to jog safely at 9 PM at night unlike my current area. I am also hoping that the residents have a very good neighborhood watch program with prompt service from local police enforcement.
Last edited by cigarfanatic; 05-06-2007 at 06:43 PM..
Reason: spelling
Hi, I grew up in DIamond Bar (near Golden Springs Elementary) and then we moved and I finished high school in Walnut. I amvery familiar with the area.
First off, Diamond Bar is nice, getting on the older side. Most of the houses were built in the 70s and are of that style. I personally think Walnut is nicer. There are some newer homes, but also a diverse range of homes. There ares some with horse property, big, small, custom, tract, etc.
Schools: Diamond Bar is split up into two school districts. IF you live in North Diamond Bar, you are in the Pomona School District. It used to be that we would have had to go to Pomona High School - VERY bad and that is why my parents moved us. But, I believe that they built a new school and if it is in D Bar, then it is probably ok. The Elem and JR HIgh schools are good. The South side of D bar is probably nicer. The school district is Walnut S.D. which is nationally and state award winning district. Most of the schools are excellent!
Diversity: Dbar and Walnut both are very diverse, however I would say that they are both predominantly Asian (especially Walnut). However, it is nice that within the rest of the population is seems to be broken up fairly evenly with white/ Hispanic/ African-American. I grew up appreciating that and now that I live in an almost all white suburb of New York City, it feels odd to me.
Anyway, I say a huge NO to rowland heights and Hacienda Heights. Gang type thugs - maybe not as bad as Pomona or LA, but still there. The schools ren't as good either.
Hope all of this helps! Like I said, I live outside of NYC now,but am ready to move back to Calie. I will probably move deeper into the IE (like Temecula) just to get even more affordability. I can't stomach paying half a million dollars for a home in D Bar when I know that my parents only paid $40,000 for it!
Hi, I grew up in DIamond Bar (near Golden Springs Elementary) and then we moved and I finished high school in Walnut. I amvery familiar with the area.
First off, Diamond Bar is nice, getting on the older side. Most of the houses were built in the 70s and are of that style. I personally think Walnut is nicer. There are some newer homes, but also a diverse range of homes. There ares some with horse property, big, small, custom, tract, etc.
Schools: Diamond Bar is split up into two school districts. IF you live in North Diamond Bar, you are in the Pomona School District. It used to be that we would have had to go to Pomona High School - VERY bad and that is why my parents moved us. But, I believe that they built a new school and if it is in D Bar, then it is probably ok. The Elem and JR HIgh schools are good. The South side of D bar is probably nicer. The school district is Walnut S.D. which is nationally and state award winning district. Most of the schools are excellent!
Diversity: Dbar and Walnut both are very diverse, however I would say that they are both predominantly Asian (especially Walnut). However, it is nice that within the rest of the population is seems to be broken up fairly evenly with white/ Hispanic/ African-American. I grew up appreciating that and now that I live in an almost all white suburb of New York City, it feels odd to me.
Anyway, I say a huge NO to rowland heights and Hacienda Heights. Gang type thugs - maybe not as bad as Pomona or LA, but still there. The schools ren't as good either.
Hope all of this helps! Like I said, I live outside of NYC now,but am ready to move back to Calie. I will probably move deeper into the IE (like Temecula) just to get even more affordability. I can't stomach paying half a million dollars for a home in D Bar when I know that my parents only paid $40,000 for it!
Hi there,
Thanks for your input! We're looking to settle into the North DB area. I guess we would have to settle with our children attending the Pomona school district, but for elementary school this is fine, right?
When you say no to both Rowland and Hacienda I guess you refer to the Asian gangs since the area is predominantly Asian, correct?
I don;t think it;s fair, especially considering the times now when you are making the comparison of what your parents spent 15-20+ years ago... Everything has gone up since and I remember the times when my parents were paying 18% interest on their home compared to the 6% now. Things have changed but we all have to learn how to cope and live with the times. Temecula homes are also going up, 6 years ago they were 40% cheaper.
One of my friends grew up in Diamond Bar and she is 20 right now so it was pretty recent, and it is a very nice place just stay away from Pamona as missingcharmin had mentioned as it is a VERY BAD area to get caught up in especially if you have kids. My friend that I was mentioning would get caught up there with the wrong people and got close to death several times and got into drugs. She is got out of it thank god but some people arent so lucky. The police in Diamond Bar are pretty good about keeping Pomona residents out of the area. The highschool is not to bad it is shared with Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, and part of Pamona but comparitively speaking with other big city schools they are pretty good. I hope I was of some help.
One of my friends grew up in Diamond Bar and she is 20 right now so it was pretty recent, and it is a very nice place just stay away from Pamona as missingcharmin had mentioned as it is a VERY BAD area to get caught up in especially if you have kids. My friend that I was mentioning would get caught up there with the wrong people and got close to death several times and got into drugs. She is got out of it thank god but some people arent so lucky. The police in Diamond Bar are pretty good about keeping Pomona residents out of the area. The highschool is not to bad it is shared with Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, and part of Pamona but comparitively speaking with other big city schools they are pretty good. I hope I was of some help.
Missingcharm mentioned staying away from Pomona High school, so I guess you are also warning me to stay away from Pomona completely. The thing is I'm moving to North Diamond Bar so I will be neighboring Pomona... is that so bad?
No its not bad as long as you are with in diamond bar city limits as the police are pretty good at keeping people from Pomona out of diamond bar. Do you happen to know a few major cross streets that you will be living near by? My friend grew up off of Temple Ave and Mission Blvd./Diamond Bar Blvd. which is close to the Pomona border but there wasnt really any trouble until she started going into Pomona turf.
I came across this thread, and I grew up mostly in Diamond Bar, so I thought I would give my input.
Diamond Bar is a nice, quiet, safe, clean, family-friendly city that is convenient and almost equidistant to major work centers in the LA area (Downtown LA is 30 miles west, Riverside/San Bernardino is 20-30 miles east, and major work centers of Orange County (Santa Ana/Irvine/Newport) are 20-30 miles south of Diamond Bar).
Most cities that are safe, quiet, etc. in the Los Angeles area are not exactly affordable. Places that are safe and family-friendly -- such as Calabasas, San Marino, Rancho Palos Verdes, Irvine -- are also expensive -- especially for newcomers and first time buyers.
Diamond Bar is a rarity in that it is "relatively affordable" for families priced out of the West LA area or Orange County. Yes, there are more affordable places if you venture further east into the Inland Empire (I.E.) But if you are commuting to Los Angeles/Long Beach/Orange County, every mile you are further away, will make your commute on L.A.'s congested freeways -- even worse. But at least in Diamond Bar, you have easy access to major freeways (60, 57, I-10, I-210).
Diamond Bar is probably the closest "desirable" city/suburb east of Los Angeles, with the exception of certain pricey foothill cities (such as San Marino, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, etc). Most of the cities closer to L.A. such as El Monte, Montebello, etc. are a little more gritty in comparison.
As for demographics, Diamond Bar is about 50% white and 50% Asian. Just within Diamond Bar (pop. 60,000) you can find a variety of diverse restaurants (Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Thai, etc.)
As for topography, Diamond Bar is very hilly compared to neighboring cities. But because of the rolling hills, many houses have views of the L.A. basin, and it is possible to see downtown skycrapers of Downtown L.A. on a good day.
As for the houses, the most modest (and affordable) houses are "ranch" style houses built in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, a lot of new houses were built in the hills of Diamond Bar (it is these houses that have OUTSTANDING views of LA) were built. In today's market, prices for these houses probably range from about $400,000 to $900,000.
In case you're curious, the most expensive homes in Diamond Bar are located in a gated hillside community called "The Country," where all of the houses are custom and huge. Most of them could fetch from $1 million to $3 million, but if they were in more ritzier places like Newport Beach, they would easily sell for over $8 million. Most people who live in The Country are well-to-do professionals & executives, although a few celebrities live there too (I heard rapper Snoop Dogg owns a house there).
If you're looking for new-construction, it is harder to come by because, as in LA, land is scarce. However, right now they are building new townhouses and small houses ("Vantage" by Brookfield Homes).....I think they're going for $600,000 and up. A few years ago, Pulte Homes built luxury houses in Diamond Bar of up to 4,500 square feet, but those are selling for about $1.3 million now.
As someone I think was mentioning earlier, South Diamond Bar is served by Walnut Unified School District, and North Diamond Bar is served by Pomona Unified School District. Diamond Bar High School is part of Walnut Unified District. Walnut Unified is generally really good, but you should know the student population of all schools (elementary, middle, and high) is overwhelmingly Asian.
Pomona Unified School District is an entirely different story. Almost all of Pomona Unified schools in Pomona are really bad, but all of Pomona Unified Schools within Diamond Bar tend to be decent to excellent. For elementary school, Golden Springs Elementary and Pantera Elementary are outstanding schools, perhaps even surpassing Walnut Unified. Pantera Elementary scored a 950 out of 1,000 on its API school scoring system, which is extremely good (generally a score of 800 out of 1,000 is considered good).
If you are looking to move into North Diamond Bar and you have young kids, I would highly recommend moving into a house that is served by Pantera Elementary.
Lorbeer middle school is the middle school of Pomona Unified, within Diamond Bar. Lorbeer Middle School is also a good school. Diamond Ranch is the high school for Diamond Bar residents within the Pomona Unified District. Diamond Ranch is also a decent school. Generally, the demographic mix of Pomona Unified schools in Diamond Bar are a mix between White, Asian, and Hispanic students.
In my opinion, the Walnut Schools are better for students who are more self-reliant and self-motivated and able to succeed better by themselves. The Pomona Unified Schools might be better for students who are motivated, but need a little extra guidance and attention (PUSD schools have excellent G.A.T.E. and academic enrichment programs for gifted students).
Btw, the city of Pomona is not an extremely nice place to live; however, one section of Pomona called "Phillips Ranch" is a very safe and family friendly area, and it is Phillips Ranch that is directly adjacent to Diamond Bar. Technically, you could live in Diamond Bar and never have to venture into Pomona if you wanted to.
Actually I grew up in Diamond Bar as well and it's a very safe, quiet place to live. I went to Walnut Unified Schools in Diamond Bar. Castle Rock Elementary is a great Elementary School and has many new upgrades. South Pointe Middle School is gorgeous and quite new, many amenities (Computers, TV Production Classes, a Great School Band, Choir, Softball, Soccer, Roller Hockey, Basketball, Volleyball, etc). Diamond Bar High School is older but you can be assured that your child will receive a great education. Not a lot of parties in Diamond Bar, unless you live in "the country" and they normally invite you.
[/quote]
See [url=http://www.movediamondbar.com]BarbaraRoundsNew Homes For Sale Diamond Bar Anaheim Hills Real Estate Placentia Property Listings Orange and Los Angeles CA Realtor Agent MLS[/url] or [url=http://www.moveanaheimhills.com]BarbaraRoundsNew Homes For Sale Diamond Bar Anaheim Hills Real Estate Placentia Property Listings Orange and Los Angeles CA Realtor Agent MLS[/url] for a Top Rated Licensed Realtor.
I am thinking about buying a house in Phillips Ranch because the schools share N. Diamond Bar. Anybody know how good Decker and Lorbeer schools are?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
NO HACIENDA Heights
Diamond Bar is a Really Nice Place to Live
