Temecula vs. Poway to raise a family (Los Angeles, San Diego: insurance, mortgage)

[danandlova]

My family is planning to move to the San Diego area. My husband and I are in our mid-30's. My husband is in IT/ and I'm a Stay-At-Home Mom.
We have 2 kids, ( age 5 and 2) and I'm pregnant with the 3rd. We really like the Poway, Rancho Bernardo areas...but the houses are out of our budget (maximum $425,000), and the schools, though rated among the best in the area, the class size is way too large for us. 33 kids per teacher in KG is just too big to us.

We currently in Manassas, VA. its about 50mn from Washington, DC. The schools in our neighborhood are good, and have average 22:1 student- teacher ratio in KG. But its not a place I want to raise my kids.

So, we came across a thread about Temecula. Most everyone agrees its a nice place to raise kids. And we also get more for our money. I would like to ask a couple of questions.

1- What's the best family/kid friendly neighborhoods/Communities in the area that one can recommend? To us,
Ideally:
-one that has schools with smaller class sizes, with good programs (music, PE, Art...);
-close to a good hospital and pediatricians...
-one that's failry close to movie theaters and restaurants (My husband and I would like to go on dates once a month);
-close to parks, playgrounds
-one that's fairly close to the beach. I know we can't have all eggs in one basket but doesn't hurt to ask.

2- What are Mello Roos taxes? Can someone please explain this in a very simple way? Let's say we buy a house for $400,000. How is this going to affect our monthly mortgage payment. In our current mortgage, we pay Principal and Interest plus PMI plus Home Insurance and yearly Property taxes (which is about 1% of the $400,000)

3- How hot is it during summer? Summer in DC is humid and brutal. We always stay indoor until its 5pm.

4- How bad is the commute to LA and to San Diego (for trips to Seaworld, Disneyland,Legoland, Balboa park etc..)

Thank you in advance.



Thank you!

Lova.

[Gandalara]

Originally Posted by danandlova

-one that has schools with smaller class sizes, with good programs (music, PE, Art...);
Links - Temecula Valley Unified School District: Home Page ( Temecula Schools - Temecula California School Ratings - Public and Private )

-close to a good hospital and pediatricians...
Link - Temecula Hospital | Temecula Valley Hospital

-one that's failry close to movie theaters and restaurants (My husband and I would like to go on dates once a month);
Link - Old Town Temecula

2- What are Mello Roos taxes?
Mello-Roos is a special tax assessed to homeowners in certain housing developments as repayment for bonds used to fund the infrastructure (streets, water distribution, sewers, parks, public pools, etc) within that development. In other words, it's an addition to the property tax. It can range anywhere from $25 to over $300 per month, and can last 15 to 30 years until the bond is paid. Not all housing developments in Temecula have Mello-Roos.

3- How hot is it during summer? Summer in DC is humid and brutal. We always stay indoor until its 5pm.
Hot, but not humid. Usually a nice breeze in the evening to help cool it off.

4- How bad is the commute to LA and to San Diego (for trips to Seaworld, Disneyland,Legoland, Balboa park etc..)
Going to LA is a pain, going to San Diego isn't bad at all except at major commuting time.

See blue above.

[Pacifico]

Why not raise kids in Manassas, Virg.?

[Murricula!]

Temecula and Murrieta are some of the best places to live in SoCal. The two cities are neighbors and pretty much form one large city.
From Temecula, you are about 40 mins- 1 hour away from San Diego, LA and the OC, where most of the jobs are. The houses in the area are generally new and upgraded, with large yards.
The weather in Temecula is likely to be among nicest in the SoCal. Summers are not humid, ranging from 85-90F on average. The evenings are cool and most of the time we just open windows in the evening. The rest of the year is beautiful - around 60-75F, generally nice and sunny. The area has IMO the nicest wine country in California - Temecula Wine Country. Truly spectacular and beautiful area with lots of investment in the recent years, so plenty to go and see.
The schools are great, probably a bit better in Murrieta. The area is as developed as you would expect it to be in the metropolitan SoCal. You can find all the shops, restaurants, car dealerships (from BMW to a new Mercedes to come in a month, and everything else).
The house prices are likely the best deal in SoCal for what you get.
Also, the area is one of the safest in the nation, consistently ranking among the first 10 according to the FBI.
If you like a nice upscale area with a lots of green, I recommend West Murrieta (Copper Canyon area) or the area around Morgan Hill in Temecula (near the wine country). But plenty to choose all around. I like Copper Canyon because you are near I-10 and I-215 so commuting is easier, and is close to La Cresta and some spectacular estates in the mountains, where reportedly some of Hollywood stars have vacation homes. You should definitely go drive and see.
As far as health care, Murrieta has probably some of the best facilities in SoCal, including the newly built Loma Linda Medical Center. Recently it became the County-Center for heart disease.
MeloRoos fees depend which housing development you're in and they vary greatly. Unless you buy an older house, most houses will have it. Definitely look before you buy. It's kind of randomly scattered all over.
The best schools are in Copper Canyon area in Murrieta. This area is right next to the Santa Rosa Plateau and has lots of parks and trails. Very quiet, but with newly expanded bridge at Clinton-Keith, going wherever you need is a breeze (it used to be not so fast before they expanded it). If you want to be closer to the Mall, you can try near Harveston Lake in Temecula, although it will cost you more, but nice.
As far as the beach goes, probably the closest is Carlsbad, some 40 minutes away. You can also do Newport in the OC which is about 1 hour away. But if you are a beach-goer, you can hit any beach in the SoCal, for a day trip, even the Manhattan Beach is doable. We go there and to Santa Monica probably once or twice a month.

Hope this helps....

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by Murricula!

From Temecula, you are about 40 mins- 1 hour away from San Diego, LA and the OC, where most of the jobs are. The houses in the area are generally new and upgraded, with large yards.

With respect, while you might be able to get to San Diego in an hour when there is no traffic, getting to OC is much more challenging. That requires either passing through Ortega =(deadly), around Oceanside via the 76 (the long way), or through the traffic-laden 91 freeway from hell.

Since you also mentioned LA, I think we need to clarify this for the OP. You seem also to be representing to OP that one can get from your area to LA in an hour. I don't believe that that is possible even at 3:30 AM on a Sunday in a red corvette. West LA is very far from Temecula/Murrieta.

Originally Posted by Murricula!

As far as the beach goes, probably the closest is Carlsbad, some 40 minutes away. You can also do Newport in the OC which is about 1 hour away. But if you are a beach-goer, you can hit any beach in the SoCal, for a day trip, even the Manhattan Beach is doable. We go there and to Santa Monica probably once or twice a month.

The closest beach from Murrieta and Temecula area is Oceanside, not Carlsbad.

[Danalysd]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

With respect, while you might be able to get to San Diego in an hour when there is no traffic, getting to OC is much more challenging. That requires either passing through Ortega =(deadly), around Oceanside via the 76 (the long way), or through the traffic-laden 91 freeway from hell.

Since you also mentioned LA, I think we need to clarify this for the OP. You seem also to be representing to OP that one can get from your area to LA in an hour. I don't believe that that is possible even at 3:30 AM on a Sunday in a red corvette. West LA is very far from Temecula/Murrieta.



The closest beach from Murrieta and Temecula area is Oceanside, not Carlsbad.

I thought I drove fast.

[genjy]

It can easily take an hour to commute to Downtown LA or West LA from within Los Angeles County itself... an hour from Temecula to LA is very much a figure of speech.

[Danalysd]

It only took me 1.5 hours to Huntington beach on Saturday. I was shocked.

[J_R_2013]

Temecula is a great place to raise a family, but there are no jobs here, or not enough, most people commute to SD, OC or LA and that is not fun. The schools here are excellent, lots of stuff to do and great parks for the little ones and a very safe family friendly area. Biggest draw backs would be jobs and summer weather. It can easily be in the 100's ( dry heat ) a lot in the summer, but usually it cools right off in the evenings. It's a trade off because housing costs in the 3 big job hubs are some of the most expensive in SoCal. Can't have everything I guess :/

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

With respect, while you might be able to get to San Diego in an hour when there is no traffic, getting to OC is much more challenging. That requires either passing through Ortega =(deadly), around Oceanside via the 76 (the long way), or through the traffic-laden 91 freeway from hell.

Since you also mentioned LA, I think we need to clarify this for the OP. You seem also to be representing to OP that one can get from your area to LA in an hour. I don't believe that that is possible even at 3:30 AM on a Sunday in a red corvette. West LA is very far from Temecula/Murrieta.



The closest beach from Murrieta and Temecula area is Oceanside, not Carlsbad.

True. Although, the OP wants tourist attractions like disney land which is in Anaheim and closer to temecula. Doubt OP would really need to go to LA for anything. Everything for families is in SD, for the most part. legoland, zoo, many many beaches that are closer anyway.