Riverside, CA Driving Tips
I would say to get off of the main roads through the city and drive around the residential areas. There are some really beautiful old and well cared for homes in some parts of the city, but even in the more poverty stricken areas there are examples of a wide spread of architectural period pieces rep
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resented. It makes the city seem "homey" to me. It is more interesting than cities where large tracts of newer houses are the predominant buildings. Riverside itself is probably best thought of as a poverty center as much of the population is on some sort of government aid, but the town itself has maintained a level of financial success in that the business areas are still thriving. You can get a real feel for the history of the city by wandering around in your car rather than going right through the town by the faster routes.
Riverside, CA Buying Tips
Having bought a car while living in this city I would say don't do it. I bought a car there that I really liked from a dealership, but ended up having a really bad experience. The dealership claimed that they had the wrong sticker price on the car and that because of that I had underpaid and they wa
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nted more money. It was only a difference of about $700, and I had not done anything wrong. The dealership simply said they had made a mistake in the pricing of the car, took me to court, and much to my disbelief, they won the court case. To add insult to injury, the judge said I would receive his decision in so many days, and on the day I received the notification that he had decided against me I also received notification that the funds had been withdrawn from my bank account. I sort of got the impression that the car dealership had the judge in their back pocket, so to speak, and wondered how many other people they had taken advantage of in that way. Anyway, it was a bad, bad experience, but perhaps just peculiar to me.
Favorite Driving Memory
I remember my brother and I riding through this city during a time when he was living with me. We were driving through a relatively low speed limit area, a main street, but one that went through residential areas as well. I don't remember the reason for this trip, nor do I remember the destination.
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Because of our low speed, and the fact that my brother was the passenger, he was able to look around at the scenery more than I was. At one point he started laughing and pointed out a street sign that indicated the street name was "Wong Way". It struck us as funny because of the obvious sort of racial overtones of a Chinese person mispronouncing the words "wrong way". This memory is my favorite just because it occurred at a happy time in my life when my brother and I lived together for a brief time. The area we were driving through was one of the older parts of town with beautifully maintained houses and landscaping that Riverside is not that well known for, but exists if you are lucky enough to find it.
Favorite Road
University Avenue.
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I attended college at the University of California Riverside campus. University Avenue, as it was at that time, sort of ended at the University, dumping you off at the entrance to the college. I recall it being an exciting road because of its connection to the school and all of the businesses that w
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ere supported by the student population. There were all the many fast food restaurants represented, and then as you got closer to campus there were the more bookish and culturally cool sort of places, and the many apartment buildings and campus housing intended for the student residences. University Ave itself goes through some rather more depressing areas of the downtown area, poverty and low level crime abounds, so it is not so much the actual road that I liked so much as the excitement of its proximity to an area of higher cultural activities.
Riverside, CA Driving Tips
I must admit, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have some of the highest drunk driving accident rates in the whole country. Always watch out for the other guy and give everyone the right of way. You really don't know what you are dealing with.
Riverside, CA Buying Tips
If you want to maximize your dollar drive a little to Los Angeles or Orange Counties, as there is far more to choose from and your chances of snagging a deal are better there.
Favorite Driving Memory
My favorite memory is when I first moved to Riverside from Valle Vista. Going into Riverside from Valle Vista and taking the back roads there was memorable. I was in the Volvo driving through the back road to Riverside with my two teen-aged daughters. This consists of driving west on Ramona Expressw
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ay, through miles of open land. The land at first borders Soboba Indian Reservation and Casino, then it passes through an area of dairy farm land. Roll up your windows, if you aren't used to cows! Then to the left there was a small pasture filled with goats, they were so cute! Now we are about to ascend a range of hills that are really like the Holy Land, just large boulders and rocks with a thin dusting of springtime green keeping it looking less than barren. When we got to the crest of the larges hill, what a sight! The twinkling lights of the greater Riverside metro area lay before us, and our future! Civilization yeah!
Favorite Road
The area around the University of Riverside
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The road to Redlands. From the area I lived in in Riverside, we were able to take the back roads to Redlands. Redlands is a beautiful city that was founded back in the days of endless orange groves. We would drive out Iowa Street, to Center Street in High Grove, crossing many train tracks on the way
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. We also passed many fruit packing plants that had stood there from a century ago. Going up Center we come to a T in the road and must turn right to get to Redlands. We are now in Grand Terrace and this is wild burro country! We wind up a hill, and then going down the grade is step and the road is curved. Now we go right along the base of the hill and the land becomes green and lush with lots of oaks and pine, the homes large Victorians. This town exudes the Victorian age and is just wonderful.
Riverside, CA Driving Tips
People crash and go off the road by the lake all the time.
Riverside, CA Buying Tips
Get something with great gas mileage because gas is not cheap most of the time. Thinking of getting a truck? Consider if you will ever actually use the truck for what it was built for before you buy it, if you will only use it once or twice, then get a car.
Favorite Driving Memory
I have this one road I drive to work on all the time and something is always happening on this road. Every time I drive down it I see something new.
Anyways one day I was driving along and the traffic is suddenly heavy. As I reach the front of the traffic I find that there is a small Chihuahua runn
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ing around in the street, tired looking and scared looking. Everyone is trying to drive around it so I just pull over and jump out, after holding my hands up to stop people the dog runs right to me. People are honking in appreciation because of this, made me feel pretty good, and I start knocking on doors. No one answers so I drive the little guy to my work and the HR lady takes the dog home with her while trying to find its owners. 2 Days later the dog was recovered.
Same road, I was driving to work again and I see a guy half stranded in his truck. I pull over and jump out and help him push his truck off the road, he has AAA coming so no further help needed. Again people honking and showing appreciation.
Finally I am riding down this same road and I run out of gas. This time I am on my motorcycle. The gas station is near and I start pushing and guess who stops by with a gas can to give me a lift? Guy I helped push about a week before. True story. He takes me to the station, lets me use his gas can, pays for the gas (7 bucks) and then drives me back.
Favorite Road
La Sierra Ave.
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Something is always happening on that road and the other drivers are usually decent.
