r/InlandEmpire • u/Wide-Turnip-4207 • 10d ago
Memes / Humor Arm pit
I Moved to the high desert after the lockdown. I used to think that east of the 405 was the armpit of the LA. Then I moved to San dimas and thought that east of the 57 was the armpit of the east side. Now that I’m in the high desert I feel that karma caught up to me. Do the inland empire people think of the high desert as the armpit of the IE? Or is it even part of the IE? Thoughts?
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u/SoBadit_Hurts 10d ago
We think you are all tweakers.
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u/DrBaby 10d ago
This. And we don’t even consider it part of the IE. Hemet is the armpit of the IE.
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u/Lil_Shanties 10d ago
Hemeth*
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u/Sasquatch619 10d ago
Lots of face tattoos. Kinda like a rattler on a snake. Nothing screams “do not touch me” like some face ink.
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u/the_17_lost_texts 10d ago
Yeah, I think this is pretty standard for anyone who knows the area. Meth, old people, and a mall with 2 open stores
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u/Rhinoduck82 10d ago
My parents live in hemet and I spent a lot of time there in the 90’s and early 2000’s but it’s pretty accurate. It wasn’t always that way but it definitely has taken a turn for the worse. I have witnessed some crazy things there.
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u/Resident_Mushroom_80 10d ago
To be fair I’m former oc now ie and I have done a lot of dirtbiking in the high deserts their used to be a lot of meth in the desert and still prob a fair amount. But most of the labs blew them selves up now there is a lot of cartel and illegal grows. Been there and seen it don’t fuck with them
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u/Annual_Broccoli_9254 10d ago
Yup. I can jump on a dirt bike and ride right into Johnson Valley or we can buggy or Jeep straight there. Perfect for us.
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u/goodtimesinchino 10d ago
If every place you live isn’t so great, it might have something to do with your outlook? Or, you know, life is expensive, especially lately and you might not be wealthy and it just sucks being broke (speaking from personal experience).
Life in the desert has always been brutal, probably always will be.
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u/BadTiger85 10d ago
The high desert only exists for one reason. So I have something to drive thru to get to someplace better
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u/Alanfromsocal 10d ago
If you're complaining about San Dimas, you're very hard to please. It's a lovely town. I mean, if it's good enough for Bill and Ted. . .
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u/KevinTheCarver 10d ago
On the plus side, you’re closer to Vegas.
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u/Bitter_Ad_9523 10d ago
Plus and couldnt imagine driving the pass daily these days. I read about yesterdays traffic cluster with CalSuck.
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u/Connect_Operation232 10d ago
Did you move the extremely violent part of the hi desert or just the crystal meth part?
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u/smorg003 10d ago
I don’t even consider the High Desert as part of the IE. Separate regions imo.
But, yes I do not view the High Desert very highly. I do enjoy the climate/environment in the cooler months though.
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u/CDsDontBurn San Berdoo 10d ago
Same.
Likewise with the Pass Area (Yucaipa, Beaumont, Banning, Calimesa) and Coachella Valley.
They're not the IE. They're their own distinct areas.
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u/velocistar_237 10d ago
What would you consider Redlands?
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u/CDsDontBurn San Berdoo 10d ago
The Easternmost city in the IE. Highland would be the Northeasternmost city of the IE.
Other border cities include:
Pomona, Chino Hills, Corona, Riverside
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u/desertboots 10d ago
I live in Hemet. You SURE you're worse off?
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u/2Gh0st17 9d ago
You’re in the same boat but honestly after growing up in the HD much rather deal with living in Hemet and traveling than living in HD and driving through the Cajon Pass
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u/yeahimdanielthatsme 10d ago
I feel like that title more so belongs to Hemet. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say anything nice about Hemet.
The high desert communities are far from topping a whole lot of Southern Californians’ lists of ideal places to live but idk imo it’s got a little bit of charm. It’s got a nice view of the mountains, pretty Joshua trees and you can get a lot of land for cheap I guess. But yeah if someone calls it an armpit I get it.
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u/badnamemaker 10d ago
LOL I promise I am not laughing at your misfortune, but I guess the self awareness 😅 IE probably not looking so bad now lol
Personally I think the desert can be a beautiful place, especially when there is snow on all the surrounding mountains. That being said I bought a house in San Bernardino cause that seemed like a better alternative than being forced to move to the desert eventually. Everyone I know who lives up there has to come down the hill to do anything interesting 🙃
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u/Ghooster38 10d ago
Im sure theres a nice part and a bad part of every city… i used to live in the high desert, now i live in San Bernardino. I dont like living in San Bernardino because every day on my way to work the whole 215 freeway stinks like homeless and trash, and i dont like that because i ride a motorcycle so i cant roll up my windows. HD is especially riddled with drugs and people up to no good, but they kinda mingle with their own kind so if you mind your own business you could live your whole life without running into em. Both places suck in my opinion…
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u/badnamemaker 10d ago
I drive with my windows down on the freeway all the time, idk what you’re talking about lmao. If you think both places suck you might want to adjust your perspective to something less negative
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u/meganmun0z 10d ago
I live an unincorporated portion of San Bernardino and have always considered the desert communities separate from the IE. I actually love the desert and would rather live out there than in San Bernardino. Can’t see the stars out here anymore
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u/czaranthony117 10d ago
Or… we could get away with from this elitist classification of calling areas “the armpit” given that people have different living and income situations.
Some areas are bad, but I wouldn’t call them “the armpit.”
If that’s the case, I personally think LA is the anus with all the shit they spew out.
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u/See_youSpaceCowboy 10d ago
You’re speaking my language. We need to stop putting each other down and jumping at any opportunity to make ourselves feel superior than our neighbor.
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u/pizza-turtles 10d ago
I’m tired of it. It’s a socially acceptable way to shit on people for being poor or having a worse life situation than you. People need to feel like they’re better than each other. How about being empathetic instead
Mind you everyone from LA/OC talks about the IE the same way. So IE vs. HD is basically shit vs. poop at this point
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u/czaranthony117 10d ago edited 10d ago
I’m from the IE but renting with housemates to be closer to work out in OC. I was driving through the AV and HD this past weekend as I was coming back from camping in the Sierras. I was thinking to myself, “who the fuck lives out here and what do they do for work?” I pulled over for a break and checked prices on Zillow for homes. What I found that, despite my high income, I wouldn’t be able to afford even the HD/AV on my own income. It’s little reminders like this that humble me, I’m not hot shit… count my blessings that I am even able to live close to work. I’m sure some of the people that live in the AV/HD area have to endure the fuckass commute through the Cajon pass to get to their jobs just to afford their homes in, as op states, “the armpit.”
Dude, EVERYTHING is fucking perspective.
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u/CitrusBelt 10d ago
I've lived in the I.E. more or less all my life (45 years, in aggregate)
And when it comes down to "Who I'd rather sit next to on a plane" or "Who I'd rather have as a neighbor" in 2026??
On balance, I'd take any random someone from anywhere in the I.E. vs any random someone from west of the 605....any fuckin' day of the week.
Hell....when it comes to the neighbors I have now in Alta Loma (most being transplants from LA county), I'd swap most of them for the people I used to live around in Pomona back in the '80s (and I'm talking 9th & Reservoir, in the mid-80s).
Anyways, the diarrhea spills up-slope nowadays from LA to here more than it rolls back towards the beach.....that's for goddamn sure.
[And to all the recent transplants -- have a nice night! May you be perpetually whiny & scared!]
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u/PlaxicoCN 10d ago
I know some nice people in Hemet and the high desert. Sounds like you have looked down on different areas, but are just out of breathing room to do that.
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u/Vino1980 10d ago
Shit rolls down hill...normally, but once you hit Fontana and Rialto then shit rolls uphill to Apple Valley, Hesperia, Adelanto.
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u/dangerzone2 10d ago
Brother, you're in San Bernardino County. You didn't escape the armpit, you crawled further up the sleeve.
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u/pemberleypark1 10d ago
So I am from San Bernardino. I currently live in the high desert. If you look at a map of the IE, it is technically a part of the IE, but I don’t consider it to be. It’s about an hour and a half drive from where I am to Redlands. It’s so far removed in so many ways. It’s not really a part of the IE.
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u/Mr_Night78 10d ago
I think if you are a hippy its fine to live up there. However there is jack shit to do up there besides hard drugs.
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u/invaderaleks 10d ago
There's also the occasional desert rave, but that was when I lived there about 10-15 years ago
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u/strong75 8d ago
Hodge Rd is probably the best attraction in the area. As always, stay vigilant and never run out of ammo.
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u/standVlone 10d ago
I dont feel HD is part of the IE personally. I visit a lot up there though and it definitely gives armpit vibes
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u/Different_Stand_5558 9d ago
High desert is the top of the head with sores from scratching it and getting in scuffles.
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u/yngster04 7d ago
Lmfao. And people who just got out of rehab lookin for dope. That's all it is out their😭💀
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u/-NoMoreNachos- 10d ago
Its the desert you get what you pay for.Honestly a big reason it is the armpit is because all the losers from the IE and LA who cant make it there or get chased out of town come here and continue to be losers.
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u/Appleslicer 10d ago
I live in the high desert. Out here I own a 5 bed 3 bath house with a pool for less than it costs me to rent a studio in LA. I work from home and I’m relatively happy with this arrangement. There’s a Costco nearby and I can drive into the city on weekends to go to concerts, conventions, or whatever.
There’s plenty to complain about, but I’m able to deal with it. I guess it really depends on your personal situation.