Riverside Wasn’t the Problem

I am writing in response to the Aug. 29 story “Too Far From ‘Home’ ” by Dan Otter.

On behalf of Riverside, we would like the outside world to know that we have upgraded our city to recently include electricity, hot and cold running water, shopping centers and schools . . . items that the subjects of your story, the Otters, seemed to have missed in their miserable stay in the hinterlands.

The fact that these two individuals found the transition to a new city so “miserable” says more about them than the city. Or was the problem purchasing a new home? Or perhaps the downturn in real estate values? Since all got blamed for the poor quality of their life, it’s hard to finger the appropriate culprit.

A new home requires lots of available cash to make it livable (yards, drapes, etc.), no matter what city you live in. Riverside didn’t cause this problem; the Otters’ lack of funds did.

When the Otters quote the declining real estate values that caused so many of their problems, what do they think was happening in Orange County at that time?

I am pleased the Otters are now happy living near their family and friends in Orange County--the people who were so supportive during their ordeal that they couldn’t even drive to Riverside.

It was not necessary to denigrate one area simply to justify the Otters’ inability to adjust to their new home.

RICH SIMONIN

Riverside

In “Too far from ‘Home,’ ” the Otters were lured from Orange County, friends and family to a big, affordable house in Riverside. They moved back because they were unhappy in their new life.

My family had a different experience that I would like to share.

My husband, Michael, and I also moved from Orange County to Riverside County because of outrageous home prices. We were living in an apartment with two children and realized that we both would have to work full time to have a home in Orange County. That was not an option for us. We would not leave our children all day for someone else to raise.

We moved to Temecula, where we found a 1,900-square-foot home for the same price as a condo in Orange County.

The first couple of years were a little tough. My husband had a commute of about 134 miles a day, and we did miss our family and friends.

But the positives far outweighed the negatives. My kids have tons of friends whom they have grown up with in the last six years. They play outside, ride their bikes, spend lots of their time at the park that is behind my home and swim as much as possible. They attend dance and karate classes and they have a mother to come home to after school.

Most of my neighbors are stay-at-home moms or have part-time jobs. We have all become super-close friends who rely on one another to watch out for one another’s kids and borrow things from one another and are there to make one another laugh.

My sister has now moved here, and my mother and other sister are now making the same move.

I would never move back to Orange County now. People here don’t seem to be caught up in keeping up with the Joneses.

Our most important focus is providing a childhood for our kids and a family life we can be proud of.

LINDA CUSEY

Temecula

Regarding “Too Far From ‘Home’ ”:

When choosing your next front-page article, don’t be as irrational as Otter was when he decided to uproot his entire life and move to Riverside County.

Remember, major decisions require thought and investigation, not haphazard judgment just so you could save a few bucks.

RICHARD HOLSCHER

Rancho Cucamonga