Lake Elsinore??? (Corona, Temecula, Santa Cruz: transplants, real estate, homes)

[Roman11]

It is getting warmer but it does this in cycles...rainier some years and hot as h3ll others. Lake Elsinore is kind of a hard town, at least on the west side of the 15. On the East side it's much newer and looks nice but I don't live there. Like others I would stick to Temecula or Murrieta. Much nicer, cleaner and seems to have a lot to offer now that all of the big box stores are moving in. I remember when Temecula was wasn't Temecula but Rancho California on the south end and Temecula on the North end and there was nothing really out there, man has times changed.

Just wondering...why is this in the San Diego city forum. County line is at Temecula and all of these cities are in Riverside County...LOL, sorry, had to say it.

[darlahewitt]

Originally Posted by socalfamily

Can anyone tell me what the reputation of the Lake Elsinore community is? I have heard that it is highly ridden with drugs, is this true?

Thanks!

Remembering Lake Elsinore
I saw your question , " Is lake Elsinore's reputation bad or good?". I can only say this. In 1978 It was a beautiful place to live! I use to ride my horse everyday in the hills of Lake Elsinore. you might call me a little bit of a dreamer but , the 70's were great! Not a care in the world but, my horse and I. We moved in 1979 with my parents ,sister ,and brothers. We do visit it from time to time. It is sad to see the hills all full of houses and freeways. lake Elsinore was a beautiful country a time ago, still is. You just have to remember how it was in the 70's. I guess to anserw your question, I really don't know if it is full of drugs. But, isn't the whole world full of drugs these days? You just have to know how to work around them, teach, and talk to your children about them everyday.
good luck!
darla

[SheliaJC]

I live in the North Lake area and I love it here. My neighborhood is one of the newer tract styles. We have a gorgeous view of the lake. My neighbors are all friendly and quiet. My kids like the schools. I checked the schools ratings, and they rank pretty high. There are some schools that rank lower, but every city has that. I have never seen any drug or gang related problems. It really has a small town atmosphere. I hate the Temecula/Murrieta traffic. I won't go anywhere that requires me to go off the freeway in those towns during high traffic hours. It's crazy to wait 30 minutes to get through the feeeway traffic. Those cities do offer more shopping and dining opportunities, but Elsinore is getting there. I would highly recommend buying here.

[zipragz]

I lived in Lake Elsinore for 7.5 yrs and still own a home there. It has grown sooo much in the last year, they have a Costco, Target and a vairety of restuarants to choose from. I love the city Skateboard park, and they have a great soccer league, and die hard baseball families.
Like others have mentioned if you stay to the north and enroll your kids in Withrow Elem. or Rice Canyon Elem. you will have a great experience. They are trying to enrich their acedemics and are known for their art programs within the upper grade levels. They have a Drama in the middle school that is wonderful the students love it. My son wants nothing more than to move back. Unfortunatly the commute time for us was is too much. But it is not a bad place to live if you enjoy a small town feel. And as far as the lake goes according to my friends in the City engineering departments Lake Elsinore has seriuos plans on renovating the lake and they have the $$ to make it happen too. So let's hope that is true. One more thing you also get a great breeze from ocean side throght the ortega mountains and are just high enough to avoid the LA smog that comes into Corona and Chino. So that means blue skiies for you.

[shekinah]

It depends very much on which part of Lake Elsinore:
New Lake Elsinore where all the construction is taking place and old Lake Elsinore, where there is a bunch of PWT and P Mexican T.

The newer areas such as North Lake or Tuscany Hills are great places to live. There is no gang activity there, at all. Schools are great, in fact they just built a new 70 million $ high school that compares with any in the inland empire.

I've lived here for 9 years. Never had any problems. My daughters who have are now in college have never had any probs. There was a lot of racial tension in their high school between Whites and Latinos. They were never affected by it.

Property values have risen over 300% in those nine years and continue to rise.
The city has finally gotten a lot of commercial and retail development. The city should double in the next two years from 30k+ to 60k+.

The new general plan includes a Marina on the Lake which will also send prices soaring.

You really need to do your homework instead of trusting me or anyone else.

Come and see. Get an agent to take you around.

[lakedavis]

Me and my wife have lived in the north lake area , for 1 year come dec 2006, i am intersted in joining softball team , that play at mcvicker park come fall or early spring! early 30's played alot of softball when i lived in oc. just looking to meet some people up in the north lake area!

[alohanui]

I have lived in Lake Elsinore for 13 years, my husband 21 years, and we enjoy it out here. The city is NOT highly ridden in drugs! If there were any, I have never seen it myself. But there are drug problems everywhere! Trailer trash....they are also included in the Temecula, Murrietta, Wildomar, Perris, French Valley, North and South Corona areas. Gangs...they'll find their way in any city. I personally have not seen or encountered any gang activities out here. When there is "tagging" involved, one phone call to the city gets rid of it! If you were to drive the 15 freeway northbound towards Riverside, you will find tagging on the walls that are encircling the new communities in Corona. The school district here is awesome! We recently ranked in the top ten for school districts in the Inland Empire, in fact we tied at number 6! I attended private school 12 years of my scholastic life, the schools out here have exceeded my expectations! The teachers, ALL the support staff, principals, and vice-principals really care about each child and ensures that they are on the right path. I should know, I have two children that attend the schools in Lake Elsinore.

We live in the North part of the lake for so many years. From my front porch, you can watch the sun as it sets behind the mountains. Neighbors are like extended families out here, everyone cares for each other. People wave to passerby, pamper their plants, see who can put up the best Christmas decoration. During the summer months, you can hear the start of engines from the large powerboats. There are a lot of lake activities out here! From powerboating, jet skiing, wakeboarding, waterskiing, to sailing and kayaking. There are no "drunks on dingy boats on the lake" that supposedly is "brown with oil"; give me a break. During July through August, before school starts, you can smell campfires from the campgrounds located by the lake, wafting through at times during the summer evenings. A doctor friend of mine, who visited from San Diego says there is a quaint resort feel to the town.

Yes we are definitely growing by leaps and bounds. But I would hate to be encircled and choked by traffic and lose our small town feel. Where else can you walk into your local grocery store and everyone knows your name? Where else can you email your city hall and request to have old tennis courts at an existing park be re-vamped and it gets done! The employees that work for the city, including the council members we elect, really care about what we, the citizens, think about our city.

Our lake is NOT man made, it is natural. There are abundant parks throughout the city and the Cleveland Natural Forest at your backyard, or frontyard. We have various sports leagues, Little League Baseball, football, soccer, softball, water-polo, swim, etc.

You'll need to come out to Lake Elsinore and see for yourself what the area can offer you. Hope you will find it to your liking as we have.

[Mark Richmond]

I have lived here in Elsinore for going on 11 years and have seen tremendous improvement in crime and in overall quality of life. I need to add that a lot depends upon what one wants in a community. Some people find Temecula and Murrieta getting a bit O.C. ish if you know what I mean. For many that is desirable. For others Elsinore has been an oasis in the sense there is easy access to those communities w/out the seeming out of control growth some perceive in those communities. Right now Elsinore is undergoing rapid growth with the North side of the Lake especially growing. A huge development on Lake Street is underway w/ high end homes and a huge Sports and recreation park. In fact the street will be expanding to 6 lanes from its present two. And finally I have lived here going on 11 years and have had no problems with crime. I endorse the city, but as I said it depends upon what one is looking for.

[DeLaSalle]

Originally Posted by Cbundy

Have family in Temecula and Murrieta and am sorry to say that Lake Elsinore has a very bad reputation. Gang activity/problems, drugs, crime - sort of major trailer trash community. I know some people who won't go there at all. Of course every place has problems, but if I was looking to move somewhere in that area I would not choose Lake Elsinore.

That is all true...
It was even trashy in 1990. I guess it is alot worse now.

[phree_spirit]

I don't live in california, but I have a good friend who lives in Lake Elsinore and my girlfriend and I flew out this past summer to visit. It was terrible! The mountains were beautiful, but the lake looked like a puddle of nuclear waste...I wouldn't want to swim in it. He had a tiny house that he spent way too much for, and he warned us not to leave the driveway without a baseball bat for protection! Something about getting mugged for your sneakers, I don't know. This was all very shocking to a semi-rural/suburban Connecticut guy. Needless to say, my experience in Lake Elsinore has helped me to avoid making the mistake of Southern California. We went to the beaches at the military base, and in Redondo, both of which were too far of a drive, and quite honestly, a disappointment. At any rate, I have personally decided that despite the perfect weather nearly year round, we are going to move to the Santa Cruz area, where as I understand it, gets a little foggy. Anyway, unless your into mexican gangs patrolling the streets, and don't have a problem carrying a bat around with you if you leave the driveway, then I would recommend that you stay away from Lake Elsinore. Again, I was only there for a week, but this was my impression.