Commute from Rancho Cucamonga to Glendale (San Diego, Ontario: live in, prices, safe)

[BGS91762]

I commuted for a couple years from Montclair to Glendale on Metrolink. Montclair is about 10 miles closer to Glendale than RC. The trip was about 1 hour 45 minutes one way. If I got the express train it was a little faster. Many people do that commute via train but I would never drive it IMO.

[pathrunner]

Oh yeah, you HAVE to get the express train. The local will drive you crazy. The thing is, even though Montclair is pretty close to a Metrolink station, it's no longer considered a desirable place to raise children compared to Rancho.

[BGS91762]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

Oh yeah, you HAVE to get the express train. The local will drive you crazy. The thing is, even though Montclair is pretty close to a Metrolink station, it's no longer considered a desirable place to raise children compared to Rancho.

The house prices in Montclair don’t reflect that. Most new developments are now in the $700k range. The areas around north Montclair seem to better as Upland and Claremont are right there.

[pathrunner]

Yes, there are some small areas of Montclair that would be desirable. North of the freeway. Not south. North of the i-10 has developed in the past 10-15 years. Still, it's mostly condos and apartments, not housing developments.

[DabOnEm]

well there isnt much of Montclair north of the 10. The vast majority of it, I'd say 85-90%, is south of 10 and feels more like an extension/mix of Pomona/Chino/Ontario. This versus Claremont or Upland which surround the tiny northern side of Montclair and are nicer. in Montclair theres only a handful of neighborhoods north of the 10, a couple apartments, the mall, and a bunch of warehouses.

[pathrunner]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

well there isnt much of Montclair north of the 10. The vast majority of it, I'd say 85-90%, is south of 10 and feels more like an extension/mix of Pomona/Chino/Ontario. This versus Claremont or Upland which surround the tiny northern side of Montclair and are nicer. in Montclair there's only a handful of neighborhoods north of the 10, a couple apartments, the mall, and a bunch of warehouses.

Thank you. I used to live very near there many years ago (35) and still have family in the general area north of the freeway by the mountains. I didn't want to diss Montclair and offend anyone. It's a very middle class area, several decades old. Some parts are rundown, last time I was in the area a few years ago it appeared that some people really do keep up their properties. The parts north of Montclair are new in the past 20 years, some even less than 20 years. If you go west away from the mall area you'll see all the new housing near the Claremont Colleges. (Saying this for the benefit of those who don't know.)

There's no way I'd pay the housing prices for Montclair. That's the sad part. It's going to continue going downhill unless more people start keeping things up.

[BGS91762]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

Thank you. I used to live very near there many years ago (35) and still have family in the general area north of the freeway by the mountains. I didn't want to diss Montclair and offend anyone. It's a very middle class area, several decades old. Some parts are rundown, last time I was in the area a few years ago it appeared that some people really do keep up their properties. The parts north of Montclair are new in the past 20 years, some even less than 20 years. If you go west away from the mall area you'll see all the new housing near the Claremont Colleges. (Saying this for the benefit of those who don't know.)

There's no way I'd pay the housing prices for Montclair. That's the sad part. It's going to continue going downhill unless more people start keeping things up.

Montclair has not gone down hill, in fact in the 30
Years I’ve lived here it’s only improved including the schools. Montclair High school is
now rated more highly than Upland High School. The proximity of Montclair on the LA County
line has only made the area more expensive. It’s a relatively easy commute to the SGV and LA
especially with the buses and trains. Sometimes
I wonder if the people even know the areas they talk about.

[pathrunner]

I owned a house 0.2 miles (one long block) from the Montclair line (Benson Avenue) for over 10 years. I have family still in the nearby area, so I was there a lot when I lived closer (I am now out of state). I was only speaking of the houses, not the school system, etc. I'm glad to hear that things are looking up. It has being in SB County going for it. Interesting that Montclair High School is now rated higher than Upland High School. My son's ex-girlfriend was a homecoming queen at Montclair High School one year, many years ago.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by BGS91762

Montclair has not gone down hill, in fact in the 30
Years I’ve lived here it’s only improved including the schools. Montclair High school is
now rated more highly than Upland High School. The proximity of Montclair on the LA County
line has only made the area more expensive. It’s a relatively easy commute to the SGV and LA
especially with the buses and trains. Sometimes
I wonder if the people even know the areas they talk about.

Montclair is a clean, decent city, but I think it's safe to say overall Claremont and Upland are nicer visually and that's with them being larger geographically. The schools is another thing entirely, although they are basically the same. Upland is more diverse and has a higher grad rate, but Montclair has better test scores. There are some sites with Montclair High ranked higher and others with Upland High ranked higher.

[Highdesert03]

Originally Posted by BenTo248

Hello,

Can you please let me know of your experience or knowledge of whether a daily commute from Rancho Cucamonga to Glendale is do-able? What would be a typical commute time? I think for sanity, an hour is probably the longest advisable commute - when I check Google, sometimes it's under 1 hour and sometimes it's way more (due to 'traffic slowdown') - how often does traffic slow down happen and can it be alleviated somewhat by flexing hours (maybe going to work around 6:30 and leaving early or go into work a bit later, etc)?

thanks for your help!!

So, I have been living around the Rancho Cucamonga area and the Inland Empire since 1974. The traffic has become a nightmare and the 210 freeway is the best route to take but believe me, it's an extremely stressful drive. And 1 hour is not realistic at all. Traffic in So Calif in general has become horrible in every direction and the drive you are contemplating is beyond maddening. I would not think of doing it. You may want to check out the Metro Line (train service) which runs from Rancho to Los Angeles then see if you can catch another train to Glendale (if one exists - I don't know).