Corona, California

The Inland Empire offers escapes for those looking for one from the chaos and home prices of coastal cities. Corona is a clear representation of how that can work. Corona median home prices hover around $700k, significantly less than SD/LA, the homes themselves are relatively new and come with great amenities, and the schools are excellent. Complain all you want about not being near the coast and the social activities of big cities but the suburban dreams of home ownership, safe blocks for your kiddos, and great public schools are alive and well in Corona.

Not that long ago Corona was essentially a giant lemon and orange farming community. The outpouring of people from the coast looking for cheaper housing led to the development of new suburban neighborhoods and Corona grew under the exclusive mandate of providing housing for the coastal expats. During this migration, the area developed the way a lot of modern suburban cities did and ignored any development of a core urban center. This means you have to travel to find fun. Riverside is about 15 miles, albeit tough commuting miles, and Anaheim is 25 miles or so, equally tough for a drive. Living here requires a car and patience to get somewhere to shop go out at night and entertain the family. It’s a great place to raise a kid but tough for entertainment and culture.

As noted Corona is not an urban/cultural experience-type of city. It’s a suburban family-centered place where entertaining the kiddos is at a premium. Much of what there is to do here is built around your beans.

There are entertainment and adventure experiences available including:
-K1 Indoor Karting, indoor Go Kart racing
-Skull Canyon Ziplines, “Aerial Adventure Park”
-Over The Moon Escape Rooms

and several excellent public parks, including:
-Stagecoach
-Mountain Gate
-Brentwood.

There are plenty of open spaces, playgrounds, and sports fields for organized and casual play throughout the city. There are grownup spots as well including a couple of solid microbreweries including; Skyland Ale which hosts events like Tacos and Trivia Night and Open Mic Night, and Evans Brewing, that’s a bit more hardcore around the beer itself.

There are things to do here but they tend to be more scattershot. That means lifestyle within the city is more centered around families, school, and then adventures outside the city boundaries to the amazing outdoor experiences available to the eastern and western mountains and national and state parks. The Inland Empire is central to the state so if you don’t mind driving you can get to a lot of amazing places from here.

Corona shares a school district called Corona-Norco Unified with the next-door neighbor city, Norco. It's a very highly rated district, scoring an A on niche.com. This district has schools with a wide degree of disparity in scores so if you pay close attention to these types of standardized scoring platforms then keep an eye on the neighborhood you consider and track the school zoning. Corona has several faith-based private schools that are highly rated, including Olive Branch Christian Academy, St Edward and Crossroads Christian.