Can anyone give me 10 reasons NOT to move to the Temecula area? (Moved from L.A. forum)

[eclipxe]

Originally Posted by BennyPhoenix

Hot summers. Very smoggy most of the year.
Aside from that it is a nice place.

False. There is very little smog, *especially* compared to most of the IE and LA basin. Please don't spread misinformation.

[eclipxe]

My replies in bold below:

Originally Posted by antredd

I can't give you 10 Reasons not to move to Temecula; but here are seven:
1. Over Crowded - Compared to what? I don't really get the overcrowded argument, there's plenty of housing available
2. In the middle of no where - It is equidistant to SD, LA and OC. But it is a bit far from major cities. Temecula itself serves as a core city for Southwest Riverside with several suburbs feeding into it, so it feels much more like a place in and of itself.
3. Far from every thing - See above. Because it is a bit remote, there are a lot of local retail, dining, entertainment options close. Rarely does one have to leave town (if they work in town). When the need arises, major cities and attractions are about an hour away. The beach is only about 25 minutes away.
4. No University/College - Several universities have satellite campuses in town. CSUSM, UC Riverside are 30 minutes away. MSJC is 10 minutes. The Murrieta Education Complex will be built shortly (Opus West Corporation Selected as Builder for Murrieta Education Center) and the city has started to push for further CSUSM expansions. The eventual goal (long term) is to branch out of CSUSM into another Cal State campus (Cal State Temecula) just as CSUSM did with San Diego State. This is definitely a long-term goal however.
5. No Major Hospital - There are two acute care facilities in a 10 mile radius and two more under construction. The Loma Linda University Hospital is under construction in Murrieta (Menifee 24/7: Loma Linda Hospital in Murrieta) and the Temecula hospital is ready to break ground as soon as the state gives its final approval.
6. Traffic after 3pm - Compared to what? There is an increase in traffic in the afternoon but you'll find this in any and every city with a non-trivial population.
7. Crime beginning to rise - Based on? I haven't seen any facts that illustrate this, outside of the recent shooting in the wilderness camp (which as an isolated, domestic incident). Violent crime is rare and almost always domestic in nature. There is little to no street/gang violence in the city.

On the flip side of that, Temecula is a wonderful place to live and I can give you 7 reasons for moving there:

1. Only 20 years old
2. Low Crime (in comparison to other inland cities of the same pop. size)
3. Excellent Schools
4. Very Nice Neighborhoods
5. Affordable homes
6. Great Shopping
7. Many Restaurants

[David Aguilar]

The only reason you need to not move to Temecula is:

If you don't work within 10 miles or 1/2 hour of it, you have no business living there. Unless you want to subject yourself to unnecessarily long commutes, and all that goes with that.

[eclipxe]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

The only reason you need to not move to Temecula is:

If you don't work within 10 miles or 1/2 hour of it, you have no business living there. Unless you want to subject yourself to unnecessarily long commutes, and all that goes with that.

I agree to an extent. Working in Town or in a close city (Riverside city, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Sorrento Valley is a stretch (45 mins)) is fine. If you're going to commute, commute to San Diego. You can get to Downtown in less than an hour. Traffic is very good going south - wide open lanes, reversible , cheap tool roads, public transportation from Oceanside/Escondido. Going North can be a nightmare (the 91).

Temecula is a good hedge if there is a chance you might need to be in either the SD or OC/LA job markets. You aren't far enough from either to make a commute unreasonable, but it is preferable to stay local. I've been surprised at the number of local white collar jobs I've seen. There are several engineering, biotech, software, and manufacturing firms (as well as *lots* of hospitality and retail jobs). Many cities in the IE have large logistics and shipping industries which are unfortunately getting absolutely decimated by the current econmic climate. Shipments are way down and warehouses/shippers are cutting dramatically. Temecula/Murrieta's industry is much more of a mirror of San Diego than the IE with a larger focus on biotech and engineering. You can see this in our unemployment rate (around 8.3%-9%) which is in-line with San Diego rather than most of the the IE.

[dweej]

Originally Posted by eclipxe

There is very little smog, *especially* compared to most of the IE and LA basin.

Agreed. The sky from my dining room window now is bright blue, clear, gorgeous.

[carmac]

Originally Posted by happ

One reason: lots of Mormons!

I'm not a Mormon...but, I don't think there are anymore in Temecula than anyplace else...this isn't Utah!

[antredd]

Originally Posted by eclipxe

My replies in bold below:

It just amazes me when people give facts about Temecula that isn't desirable, you tend to go on the defense. Temecula, with its changing demographics/household incomes/ and size due to the bad economy, hopefully, as time will tell, either hold on to it's pristine image that you hold so dear or grow into a more urban town similar to Riverside, Long Beach, and San Jose, all of which started off as small rural burbs, that people wanted to escape to avoid the high crime and expensive homes in the large cities just a 50 mile commute away.

By the way, my mother in law was one of the first people to move to Redhawk, before the Casino was built and before Redhawk was fully developed. After living in Redhawk for 10 years, my mother in law had enough when it started taking her 30 minutes to get across town when it used to take just 10. She realized how fast Temecula grew, and ended up moving to a smaller quiet town in Texas--Lufkin.

Try driving down Winchester after 3:00 pm, on any given day, and you will see what I am talking about. I remember driving on Margarita just to go to Lowes across the way from the Promenade, and I was blown away at how long it took me to get to Murrieta Hot Springs road, just a short 5 minute commute with out traffic from Lowes. But on this afternoon, a Wednesday, it took me 15 minutes.

Again, I was just trying to give the person 7 reasons that I could think of for not living in Temecula, as well as 7 reasons for wanting to move there, that you (very interestingly) didn't disagree with....hummmmmmmmmmmmmm? So again, I hope Temecula holds on to it's very pristine image that you so dearly hold on to. If not, what are your going to do---move some where else?

[tkdmom]

Originally Posted by carmac

I'm not a Mormon...but, I don't think there are anymore in Temecula than anyplace else...this isn't Utah!

I agree ! I think there are more Christians than Mormons actually. I have often heard this area referred to as "the bible belt". I guess that would include all walks of faith though.

The traffic sucks ! And it's too hot in the summer !

[bigolwoody]

Originally Posted by BennyPhoenix

Hot summers. Very smoggy most of the year.
Aside from that it is a nice place.

Everytime I have visited the Temecula area,I have yet to see any smog,Where did you get this info? MSNBC?

[eclipxe]

Originally Posted by antredd

It just amazes me when people give facts about Temecula that isn't desirable, you tend to go on the defense. Temecula, with its changing demographics/household incomes/ and size due to the bad economy, hopefully, as time will tell, either hold on to it's pristine image that you hold so dear or grow into a more urban town similar to Riverside, Long Beach, and San Jose, all of which started off as small rural burbs, that people wanted to escape to avoid the high crime and expensive homes in the large cities just a 50 mile commute away.

By the way, my mother in law was one of the first people to move to Redhawk, before the Casino was built and before Redhawk was fully developed. After living in Redhawk for 10 years, my mother in law had enough when it started taking her 30 minutes to get across town when it used to take just 10. She realized how fast Temecula grew, and ended up moving to a smaller quiet town in Texas--Lufkin.

Try driving down Winchester after 3:00 pm, on any given day, and you will see what I am talking about. I remember driving on Margarita just to go to Lowes across the way from the Promenade, and I was blown away at how long it took me to get to Murrieta Hot Springs road, just a short 5 minute commute with out traffic from Lowes. But on this afternoon, a Wednesday, it took me 15 minutes.

Again, I was just trying to give the person 7 reasons that I could think of for not living in Temecula, as well as 7 reasons for wanting to move there, that you (very interestingly) didn't disagree with....hummmmmmmmmmmmmm? So again, I hope Temecula holds on to it's very pristine image that you so dearly hold on to. If not, what are your going to do---move some where else?

Traffic is something you either deal with or ***** about. I'd rather have all the good things that comes with a city of 100k and a immediate region of 450k people. I like growth and progress and I really don't mind sitting in traffic or commuting. Temecula works for me in that regard. Your mother in law could not stand that lifestyle so she moved - isn't America great!? If we have the means we can move and live the life we desire.

I appreciate you giving both sides of the story - I admit that I can often be optimistic about the area but that is because I truly think it is a special area in so much that it is relatively new, clean, safe, master planned and is actually affordable now. The information you provided as cons are relatively subjective ("middle of nowhere", "far from everything", "over crowded"). These are opinions of yours based on your previous life experience. Mine are quite different based on what I've experienced. That is why this forum is great, we can come and share our different experiences and discuss why we feel the way we feel. My responses are in direct reply to what I felt were incorrect categorizations based on *my own* experiences. The only two negatives that weren't necessarily subjective (hospital situation and crime) both needed clarification. I admit we need to get the major Temecula hospital built but that is neither a fault of the city nor the residents. That should happen soon. Crime on the other hand - I haven't seen any anecdotal evidence of increased crime, nor statistics to validate that. Until you can substantiate that claim then I'll continue to refute it.

Now as far as image, "pristine" or not - I couldn't care less. I live here because I truly love the city. I can live anywhere in the world I want because of my job, but I choose Temecula. It is not because of it's image. It is because of it's climate, natural beauty, suburban/master planned feel, access to large So Cal cities, new homes, good schools, low crime, extensive retail and restaurants, low cost.

To your question - what would I do if quality of life declined due to changing demographics, higher crime and worst schools? I'd move! I'm not a cheerleader for the city because of any ulterior motives, I'm a cheerleader because I love it for it's desirable qualities vs. price. In fact I'll probably move to one of my other "target" cities (Irvine, Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch, RSM) before the city starts to see decline. As prices continue to decline by the coast my cost v. value indicators begin to trend towards South Orange County. I would definitely choose those cities over Temecula/Murrieta if I felt their advantages were worth the price premium. Temecula/Murrieta is the closest approximation to South Orange County in the area for a reasonable price. The area doesn't have many of the benefits (large job center in Irvine, world-class schools, the coast, better *culture*) of South OC but for *me* the value differentiators aren't worth the current price premium. As those prices decline I will definitely consider moving from Temecula/Murrieta.