do you like heat? In the summers the weather is almost unbearable there.

forgot to mention your closest neighbor is the sun...

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

Hot, smoggy, crowded, expensive.

Nice winter weather.

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I'll be what I am
A solitary man

Pomona is just barely in the Inland Empire. While you may not want to live in Pomona, you could live in any of the foothill communities along the San Gabriel Mountains and they are all nice areas. You would have a "reverse commute" of 20 to 30 minutes depending on exactly what city you want to live in and where your office in Pomona is. The San Gabriel Mountains have some first class cycling. In fact Lance was in the San Gabriel Mtns on Angeles Crest Hwy at the Clear Creek Ranger Station yesterday at 7am in the riding in the pouring rain.

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Come to Atlanta...........I will sell you one of my houses......forum discount!

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I shall never misuse Rex Kwon Do
I shall be a champion of freedom and justice

I was wondering how long it would take someone to mention the smog. That is something that I do not look forward to.

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Andrew

"When will i learn, people do not want to hurt but will spend $500.00 bucks to go four seconds faster." - randall t

Thanks, swmrdrn, that's the type of info I am looking for. By communities along the San Gabriel's you are talking about Monrovia, Duarte, Azusa, Glendora, etc?

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Andrew

"When will i learn, people do not want to hurt but will spend $500.00 bucks to go four seconds faster." - randall t

Yep those are them. You can even look in Arcadia and Pasadena. It all depends on your budget. A nice 3,000 sqft home in Pasadena is about 1.7 - 1.9 million. I don't know about the prices in Glendora and Monrovia but they are a good bit less.

SMOG, well it is here in the summer but not like is was when I was a kid in the '70s and early '80s.

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Pomona is not really, well, er, how to put this kindly.....the garden spot of Southern California. However, there are plenty of triathlon and training opportunities in Southern California. Check the Inland Inferno, Pasadena, Los Angeles, and Orange County Triathlon Clubs.

Maybe you should take a trip out here to take a look....

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Relax2dmax

"Just remember there is only 2 letters difference between STUD and STUPID." Heard on the course of the 1998 Lost Boys Ultramarathon

Living anywhere in SoCal is going to be more expensive than in the midwest but the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire are less expensive than areas further west in La County. I live in Azusa which is probably the cheapest town in the area but is due to appreciate in the next few years due to new housing developments, new light rail line and people being priced out of Pasadena, Arcadia, etc. Great cycling in the San Gabriel Mountains, lots of people to train with in the area (check out inland inferno triathlon club, crucible fitness and the pasadena tri club). From this area to Pomona is opposite to traffic which will help your commutew although you will be looking into the sun both ways at certain times of the year.



Mike

Mt. Baldy is above the inversion layer. Much cheaper homes, if any are for sale. It's a part of a national forest, meaning, there are great trails nearby and it's hooked up to the San Gabriels via Glendora Ridge Road. Awesome place to train. It's about 15 minutes from the 210 freeway, so it doesn't fit in with your 20 minute commute desire.

I've been training in the San Gabriels pretty much exclusively the past 10 months, and it's making a man out of me.

Make sure you pick an area that will have other jobs in your field of expertise, since this doesn't sound like a dream job, just in case. Unless you are very fortunate, be prepared to never own a house in the area. Dunno if either of those are important to you.

Pomona really sucks dude. " I don't think I'd mind working for them" is definitely not reason enough to move to Pomona. I'd have to have been dreaming about working for this company since before I ccould walk to get me to move there.The entire place is either paved over already or in the process and the other posters who mentioned the smog are spot on and it's hotter than hell in the summer (when the smog is also at it's worst). The San Gabriel Mountains are nice but they trap the smog up against them for a good 4 months of the year. It would take a fantastic sum of money to get me to ever move back to Southern CA. I'm a fourth generation Californian from Santa Monica and I won't even return there either, even if I could afford it. I moved to Northern CA in 1997 and it was the best thing I ever did. I now get to train in some of the most beautiful places in America only minutes from home. Close enough to Lake Tahoe to get away quickly and close to Napa too.

Good Luck and welcome to the machine.

Karma

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

"it's making a man out of me"

next thing we know you will be growing a beard and have a bear as a friend - Joe, the altitude is killing your brain cells, you ought to come down for sea level air sometime

Man, I used to live on the beach. That place is whacked. People are crazy and an acre of land goes for about 10 million.

In other news...I can grow a beard like that dude on the bottom in about 4-5 months, but it makes it tough to look down because it hits the upper chest/neck region.

As for what another poster was talking about...yes Pomona blows when you compare it to Norcal...duh, so does most of our solar system though. I'm still sticking to recommending the socal mountains...the commute is worth it.

Thanks for the info Mike. I think the Azusa area really looks like where I will focus my attention. I like the idea of being able to "escape" into the mountains. Sure its gotta be hot and a little smoggy, but if it was sooooo bad, why would so many people still live there?

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Andrew

"When will i learn, people do not want to hurt but will spend $500.00 bucks to go four seconds faster." - randall t

Believe me, I will take a very serious look at the mountain areas as an option, including Mt. Baldy. It's just that commute... I mean 2+ hours in a car every day? Seems like such a waste. It's all a trade-off though. And hey, if I train there, that means I can jump into a Cat 5 race and solo to victory, right?

I wonder how common it is for people to have two places? If possible, I might consider getting a cheap studio near work so that I would not have to commute every day, and then get a place further out in the San Gabriels, or maybe even more towards Palm Springs. Something to think about I guess. When I was out there for my interview, I was only able to drive around for an afternoon or so, which makes it a bit hard to get the lay of the land. Thanks for your input.

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Andrew

"When will i learn, people do not want to hurt but will spend $500.00 bucks to go four seconds faster." - randall t

Well...speaking from experience....as I grew up in Southern California (LA) and then lived in Hawaii (10 years) and Minnesota (3 years) with brief stints in New York, Chicago and Florida.....and now back in LA....I must say: DON'T DO IT!!! I've been back over a year...you can't get anywhere because traffic is horrific, the people are arrogant and self-centered (sorry...for those of you in LA...but its true) and trying to find people to train with is damn near impossible! And...this is MY home town!

I loved Hawaii and Minnesota...I miss my training groups and the people!

Another positive factor is the fact that we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to races. There is literally at least 1 race (often more) every weekend within 90 minutes drive of the the Pomona Valley area. You can find Tri's, 5K, 10K, Mtn bike, Road cycling, Trail runs, Adventure races, you name it. There aren't too many places where you can say "Oh crap, I wanted to do both those races but they're on the same day".

As for not being able to find training partners, maybe in LA proper but not out here in the San Gabriel Valley/Inland Empire. The previous mentioned clubs are very active (I'm with Inland Inferno). If anyone living in this area doesn't have someone to train with, its by their choice.

All the cities mentioned are nice. I've lived in San Dimas and currently live in Glendora. We train in the Angeles Nat'l Forest on a weekly basis. You didn't mention exactly where in Pomona the company is, but you might want to consider the Phillips Ranch area too. While technically in Pomona its really like a separate town in most ways.

Good luck,

Gary MC

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Gary Mc
Did I mention I did Kona

Follow up:

Well, I decided to brave the heat, the smog, and the crowds and move to the Pomona area. In the end, I decided that one either likes or hates the area, and I won't figure that out for myself until I actually move out there. Contrary to the tone of my original post, I am quite positive about the company that I will be working for. Thanks again to all who responded, and I may just contact some of you in the future when I get out there and get training again.

Giddy up.

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Andrew

"When will i learn, people do not want to hurt but will spend $500.00 bucks to go four seconds faster." - randall t