As with much of the Inland Empire, the region Moreno Valley occupies, the housing prices here are much cheaper than the coastal region to the west. This cheaper housing has driven LA residents east into Moreno, Fontana, San Bernardino and the rest for decades. And it remains the primary selling point of Moreno Valley. Average home prices are in the $400k-$500k and while that may seem expensive to much of the country, if you live on the Pacific Ocean that is darned reasonable and continues to be the reason people move here. 

The reasons for the better housing prices from the pov of a local: *Moreno Valley is cheap because of several factors: 1) Land Speculation: The area has historically been the fastest to boom and the fastest to bust. The city has ranked as both the nation's fastest and sixth fastest growing cities (1989 and 2006). So, speculation is huge. Thus, the crash was HUGE... 2) Stigma: For whatever reason, there is a stigma attached to the town. When I was a kid it was because it was too suburban. Then the base closed down. The city also did go through a bigger demographic shift compared to other cities in the region. Thus, there was a little culture clash that taints its reputation.*

For more reviews of Moreno Valley from locals check out: [**The Buzz**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/moreno-valley?page=buzz)

Housing Prices

Best Part About Moreno Valley? 

Moreno Valley occupies an odd central position in the Inland Empire. It’s closer to LA than some of the suburban cities but farther from the mountains than others. It’s kind of trapped between the benefits of being on the coast and the benefits of being in the foothills of the mountains. That might be ok except the commercial scene in Moreno Valley is severely lacking, making this a true bedroom community without the close proximity to LA or the mountains to make up for it. Basically you get the boredom without the quick drive to the more active metroplex or outdoors scene. If you live here and don’t feel like driving some distance to get somewhere interesting you ain’t gonna like it. 

Note from a local about Moreno Valley: *Like others have suggested, you want to live in Riverside or Redlands to be near your job. Check out a map. Moreno Valley isn't anywhere near LA or OC or anywhere with traditional hotspots where younger active people like to live. The better sides of Riverside or Redlands will at least provide you with fun things/interesting things/safer things. The "glamor of California" is not in Moreno Valley, no offense to those from Moreno Valley. Many would argue it's not even in the Inland Empire, but like every area there are good parts to the IE and bad parts to the IE.*


 Lifestyle

Worst Part About Moreno Valley?

As was just noted the lifestyle in Moreno Valley proper is pretty nominal. It’s a bedroom community for an extremely diverse population that pretty much all moved there to escape LA. Oddly, Moreno Valley has no real downtown, so you have to depend on neighboring cities to get a taste of bars, restaurants or shopping in any concentrated area. That will change over time as in 2020 a 56 acre parcel of land was approved to be a new downtown section of the city. Until then expect a lifestyle of driving to reach the fun stuff. 


Lifestyle of Moreno Valley

The biggest employer in Moreno Valley for decades was March Air Force Base. This huge armed service population created a vibrant middle class that was the backbone of the area economy. In 1996 it closed for active service and gutted the local economy. Until recently the majority of residents commuted to LA but now with Covid and the rise of a remote workforce Moreno Valley will undoubtedly see a reduction in commuting into the city and likely some rise in population that’s looking for lower housing prices and not needing to make the drive. 


Workstyle of Moreno Valley

The most powerful thing Moreno Valley has going for it is much lower housing prices than the coast or even some of the other Inland Empire cities. When you combine these lower costs with the opportunity to work remotely these homes become even more attractive. When you add in the planned construction of a downtown area and you have a bit of a perfect storm. If you can wait for the development, Moreno Valley might be an option. 


The Upside

Why You Should Move Here Now?

Moreno Valley is on the southwestern side of the Inland Empire region. This is a massive stretch of land that is larger than ten states and stretches from just east of Los Angeles to the borders of Nevada and Arizona. It was originally, much like its Central Valley neighbor to the north, dedicated to agriculture and filled with produce and dairy farms. Over the years however, agriculture declined in the face of rising populations and development, primarily driven by affordable housing opportunities east of the coast. The Inland Empire is located an hour+ east of Los Angeles, approximately an hour and a half north of San Diego, and around 3 ½ hours to Las Vegas. Many who choose to live here do so to take advantage of the short distances to the beaches, mountains, dessert, and gambling!

Moreno Valley is the only Inland Empire city with no downtown area. This makes its neighborhoods critical for supporting your lifestyle unless you’re venturing out of the city with some frequency. As with most Inland Empire cities the nicest neighborhoods are on the northern side of the city. It seems the closer you get to the mountains the roomier the homes, yards and blocks. The northside neighborhoods often have lakeside properties and amenities like a pool, a gym, clubhouse and family and community activities. 


The Area

Young families look to the north, if they can afford, or the east side for more reasonable pricing. The west side neighborhoods have great homes, albeit more modestly sized than the north, but also are part of neighborhoods that often have community amenities of a pool, and clubhouse for beating the heat and keeping the kiddos occupied during the blasted summer heat. Check out the eastern suburb of Moreno Valley Ranch first. It not only has the community amenities referenced but also is built around a lake for additional water and shoreline. That whole area on the east is nice due to proximity to Lake Perris State Recreation Area. Or check north if you’ve got the bucks. 
- Moreno Valley Ranch
- Legacy Park
- Mesa Verde


Young Families

Moreno Valley Ranch

The pricier homes and neighborhoods are found on the northside of Moreno Valley. They are commonly built around golf clubs and significant neighborhood amenities. Essentially they create a self-contained family experience for those who live here and are great options considering the limited city experiences in Moreno Valley. 
- Sunnymead Ranch Homes 
- Hidden Springs
- Shadow Mountain


Established Families

Sunnymead Ranch

Moreno Valley

Moreno Valley is cheap because of several factors: 1) Land Speculation: The area has historically been the fastest to boom and the fastest to bust. The city has ranked as both the nation's fastest and sixth fastest growing cities (1989 and 2006). So, speculation is huge. Thus, the crash was HUGE... 2) Stigma: For whatever reason, there is a stigma attached to the town. When I was a kid it was because it was too suburban. Then the base closed down. The city also did go through a bigger demographic shift compared to other cities in the region. Thus, there was a little culture clash that taints its reputation. When you compare it to other inland cities, it score average in crime, slightly above average in terms of average income, and slightly below average in home price. So, really Moreno Valley is truly average for the region. For SoCal it scores average in crime, average in come, and far below average in housing prices. It's really an average town. 3) Jobs: The base closed down. Now there are plenty of blue collar jobs, but hardly any white collar jobs. This model resembles Orange County and other suburban SoCal regions. Just avoid Central Moreno Valley and Edgemont. The rest of Moreno Valley is very suburban. The NW and NE end are nice as well as SE end.



**Just learned something that makes Moreno Valley even worse.**

Moreno Valley was a growing city until... the Base Closure and Realignment [BRAC] III Act devastated March AFB in the mid 90's. That's been all she wrote since then. Too many houses not enough good paying jobs.

Around this time (the mid 90's) during the height of the crack and gang epidemic in LA, a lot of well meaning but ultimately foolish inner city families (read black and hispanic) tried to flee to exurbs to keep their kids out of gangs. They sold their paid off houses in the inner city, places like South Central, and bought houses in places like overbuilt Moreno Valley, Victorville, Hesperia, etc. It didn't work. All they did was bring the gangs with them, and to a sleepy places will small police forces, that were woefully unprepared to handle the influx of gang members and accompanying crime, drug trafficking, etc.

Throw in a recession and the continuing transfer of units away from March (now reserve AFB.) And you have a recipe for what you have now, an overly urbanized, overbuilt, suburb full of inexpensive rentals and absentee landlords, with little industrial base.

If it wasn't for the warehouses that you lament the situation would be even worse.

Are you going to move your job with you to Moreno Valley? All that money you are "wasting" on rent, will be wasted on commuting and all the "fun" that comes with that, if you still have to work in LA. In that scenario, the money you'd save on rent by living in MoVal would be directly thrown into commuting. MoVal is cheap, because there aren't as many jobs out there, and it has a less than favorable reputation compared to other cities in the IE. MoVal gets hot and smoggy. I believe true Valley Fever can occur most anywhere in So. Calif. If your job is coming with you, go for it. People always say north of 60 is better, but take that with a grain of salt, of course.

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/san-bernardino-riverside-counties/625701-moreno-valley-good-place-live-moving.html


I am very glad that you mentioned that, and I didn't want to go there but since you did, thank you. What is so sad is that, a poster who pretty much worships Temecula listed the top ten niciest cities to live in Riverside County and she included Lake Elisnore and Hemet, leaving out Moreno Valley. Moreno Valley may be too dark for some people, but I would have to say, that Moreno Valley is just as equally nice, if not to many people nicer than Hemet and Lake Elsinore. I just found her choice of cities interesting without her realizing her own bias against a city that probably has the same amount of crime as Hemet and Lake Elsinore. In fact, Lake Elsinore and Hemet when I mentioned those cities to people who live in Menifee, Murrieta, and Temecula are sorta places they wouldn't even want to live in. Menifee, in my opinion has nothing yet to make it nice. It seems to me when I tell people that I live in menifee, they go how nice it is. Have you seen parts of Menifee on the west side of the 215, that used to be parts of Sun City? To me, it appears that people have allowed that part of town to go. But again now that Menifee is a city, they replant the green belts that have died. I was born and raised in Compton, moved to Menifee to offer my children a better life without having to deal with gangs and drugs, then my son who went to Paloma High told me all of the things that were going on there, and so I realized that you can run but you can't hid from it. I Know what it feels like to grow up in a town that has become not only notorious for its high crime, but has become worldwide famous by gangsta rappers who grew up in Compton just to capitalize off of the city's bad image. Most of these CA towns are OVERRATED anyway, and I have tried to point that out many times, but some who are on the defensive about their precious cities attack me for stating the truth.

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/san-bernardino-riverside-counties/625701-moreno-valley-good-place-live-moving.html


Moreno Valley, California

MoVal

Looklyloo Score: 70

The Area

Moreno Valley Ranch

Young Families

Sunnymead Ranch

Established Families