What is UC Riverside's community neighborhood like?

[Heidegger]

<p>Is it pretty safe and crime free, or is it like Berkeley which has a whole bunch of crime? My cousin wants to go to Santa Clara University or UC Riverside. I pretty much know that Santa Clara University's neighborhood is decent.</p>

[thrill3rnit3]

<p>

Riverside itself is seedy and dangerous. I know only a very small handful of people who were not robbed at least once while living there…I was not one of those fortunate few. Crack whores (in the strictly literal sense) “work” up and down University Ave. less than half a mile from the campus. My own work as a pizza delivery driver exposed me and my co-workers to the ever present danger of armed robbery, gun-violence and gang-activity. That said, with the right perspective, this place offers a valuable opportunity for much of its student body to experience the “real world” in graduated steps, should they choose to do so. I can say from my own experience that it has had an incredible “humanizing” affect on my perception of the homeless and others living in horrible situations.</p>

<p>While the student body is largely apathetic (there is no school spirit as has been mentioned above but no one has bothered to ask whether or not school spirit is an admirable goal or merely a herd-mentality annoyance) there are plenty of very serious students and instructors. Several people have claimed that many instructors cannot speak English. A colleague of mine who is a Sociology lecturer of Chinese descent at UCR often finds that “cannot speak English” is on his student feedback forms despite the fact that he was born in New York, has spent his entire life in the US and speaks flawless English with no accent. I would also contest the notion that students graduating from UCR are bound to mediocrity. I am a graduate from UCR (if I have not already made that plainly obvious) who is currently pursuing his PhD at King’s College, London on a full-ride scholarship.

</p>

<p>[Urban</a> Dictionary: UCR](<a href=“Urban Dictionary: UCR”>Urban Dictionary: UCR)</p>

[UCLA_Band_Mom]

<p>UCR is at the far eastern, suburban end of Riverside. Most of the city is on the other side of the 215 Freeway from the campus. There is a relatively new multiplex cinema/Starbucks plaza right on the other side of the freeway, and just south of there are 1980’s and 1990’s upscale suburban housing tracts.
[uc</a> riverside - Google Maps](<a href=“Google Maps”>Google Maps)</p>

<p>Downtown Riverside is gorgeous, there is a beautiful art museum, and the Mission Inn. Also lots of streets lined with Victorian homes. In the wintertime, Riverside has gorgeous views of snow covered mountains and palm tree lined streets.
<a href=“http://images.travelpod.com/users/pykesonthego/3.1229537160.snow-covered-mountains-all-around-usx.jpg[/url]”>http://images.travelpod.com/users/pykesonthego/3.1229537160.snow-covered-mountains-all-around-usx.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Check out the Mission Inn, it’s where Ronald and Nancy Reagan honeymooned. It is beautifully landscaped and looks like a Moorish castle.
[mission</a> inn - Google Search](<a href=“http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=mission+inn&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=GDscTNSUA8P8nAeU39WCDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQsAQwBA]mission”>http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=mission+inn&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=GDscTNSUA8P8nAeU39WCDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQsAQwBA)</p>

[momfirst3]

<p>I’ve been to both and I would attend Santa Clara University. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, but I am not real fond of the Riverside area. I do like the Santa Clara area and it’s proximity to the Silicon Valley, San Francisco and the East Bay area. To me, there is no comparison in the areas. Santa Clara is by far nicer.</p>