Where to live if working in Temecula

[rindge]

Originally Posted by dweej

Okay, so I'm from Dallas. Temecula is a lot like Plano in terms of suburban nature, except absolutely beautiful in comparison (hilly, green, very close to rural areas without being rural itself). And it has a more 'authentic' selection of restaurants, a la Richardson/Addison. The downsides for me are the lack of a genuine theater/museum "scene", proximity (specifically the lack thereof) to a major airport, and no honest-to-goodness university in town. Those are all things I miss about Dallas. The upsides: better weather, more beautiful scenery, more diverse than Plano (for example), lots of shopping and dining options, a very healthy/fitness oriented lifestyle (go running on a Saturday morning and you'll see more people out doing the same than driving cars it seems! It's like a runner's traffic jam sometimes ), the wineries (wine tasting tours are a great way to entertain your friends from out of town), and although schools aren't important to you per se, what you'll find is a lot of folks who place a high premium on a good education, which often makes for good neighbors and interesting conversation.

Dweej and others thanks for the feedback and please keep it coming. Dweej, I lived in downtown Dallas (southside on lamar - old sear's warehouse that was renovated into lofts). I avoided Plano because of suburbia. I am glad to hear that you think Temecula is a step up from Plane as I really do appreciate the natural beauty of CA. You mentioend that you believe Temecual to more diverse than Plano...Do you mean that from an ethnic perspective? I always thought Dallas was fairly diverse ethnically speaking and assumed the same for Plano. Please clarify if you will.

To the folks who recommended Garden grove and Westminster..Google maps lists them at an hour drive which is beyond my threshold. Corona seems closer as does Riverside or Escondido. May have to look at those areas as well. Once again, please keep sharing your inisght.

[that1guy]

Originally Posted by cincyjacket

Some folks that live in Temecula commute to work in LA or San Diego. I don't see any reason why you can't do the reverse. In fact, the commute should not be quite as bad since you will be going against traffic.

I've done the reverse commute...for a while I lived with my friend over in Vail Ranch and worked in Torrance (the hours were opposite, worked later in the evening). Trust me, there is no such thing as a reverse commute in SoCal. A commute is a commute.

[dweej]

Originally Posted by rindge

Dweej and others thanks for the feedback and please keep it coming. Dweej, I lived in downtown Dallas (southside on lamar - old sear's warehouse that was renovated into lofts). I avoided Plano because of suburbia. I am glad to hear that you think Temecula is a step up from Plane as I really do appreciate the natural beauty of CA. You mentioend that you believe Temecual to more diverse than Plano...Do you mean that from an ethnic perspective? I always thought Dallas was fairly diverse ethnically speaking and assumed the same for Plano. Please clarify if you will.

Full disclosure: it's been almost 8 years since I moved away from Dallas. During my time there (high school, college, then job after college), Plano was about what Frisco is now. No one in their right mind would drive "all the way" to Frisco back in my day. That was the total sticks! And Plano was, in comparison to east Dallas and Oak Cliff where I lived, very homogeneous Caucasian. I do frequently mention that Dallas itself was one of the most truly diverse areas I've experienced because most people don't even *know* how diverse it is. It's just normal to them. But I digress. So Temecula is more diverse racially but also socioeconomically to some degree than Plano was back in my day, so more appropriately for this time imagine me imagining Frisco when I say Plano....does that make sense?!?!? . I've said many times to lots of different people that if I could uproot Temecula and put it 17 miles from downtown Dallas and DFW airport, I would be the happiest woman on earth. The beauty, weather, topography, schools, neighborhoods of this town coupled with the jobs, cultural opportunities, universities, and airport of that city would be absolutely killer. A girl can dream, right?

[rindge]

Originally Posted by dweej

I've said many times to lots of different people that if I could uproot Temecula and put it 17 miles from downtown Dallas and DFW airport, I would be the happiest woman on earth. The beauty, weather, topography, schools, neighborhoods of this town coupled with the jobs, cultural opportunities, universities, and airport of that city would be absolutely killer. A girl can dream, right?

I guess we are both dreamers because something like that wouwld be ideal or would one call it utopia Dream on! I really do appreciate your insight. I just left Dallas in May and lived there for 2 years. I used to hang out in oak cliff for poetry slams.

[eclipxe]

I would kill the commute, live in town and commute for fun and entertainment.

-You can get to downtown SD in 45 minutes on a Friday evening, you'll find anything you can possibly need or want, entertainment, culture, diversity. Spend the weekend (hotels are cheap enough downtown). Come back and get away from it all in town and not deal with the traffic and commute.

-Temecula/Murrieta is getting more diverse by the day, I see *ALL* types of people around town and you will find a growing selection of ethnic restaurants also. There's been a large influx of new thai, pho, chinese and sushi places, especially in Murrieta Hot Springs. Commercial real estate in the area is absolutely DEAD so rental rates are cheap for many of the vacant strip malls. This is allowing mom-n-pop shops to open and serve some awesome food. There's a good mix of everything.

-Old-town is going through a lot of changes and growing up a bit. The new town center and civic center is being built which will bring a lot more life into the area. A rather large new building is going up which features live/work and condos/apartments. There's about 4 clubs/lounges in old town now with another opening in the new building. My friends and I are in our mid twenties and we used to go to downtown SD to hang out but we now find old town to be the new "place" to go. There's live music and good beer at the Public House and always stuff going on at the theatre across the street.

With that being said, the area is definitely a quintessential suburb and can be quite boring, especially without a network of friends. People are generally very friendly and fairly conservative but polite about it.

You're 45 minutes to downtown SD, 25 minutes to downtown Riverside (which has a bit of culture), 25 minutes to the closest beach, 1 hr to Orange County, 1 hr 30 mins to LA. You have home prices that are in-line with median incomes, a safe, healthy area with clean air and a fair amount to do. Honestly the only complaints most people in So Cal can wager against Temecula is 1) Jobs and 2) Heat. If you have a job in town then it's really a no-brainer (if you're used to Texas heat).

[irvine]

I think you'd be happier in downtown Riverside, especially coming from a neighborhood like Los Feliz. There are new loft apartments on Market Street, and the area around the historic Mission Inn has coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and cafes. There are a few upscale clothing stores and dining options in the historic inn. UC Riverside has a downtown art gallery. Very attractive residential areas as well: the large houses near downtown and Mt Rubidoux date to the late 1800s and early 1900s. UC Riverside is a very diverse campus, and there are restaurants and businesses that cater to a fairly diverse population.

Riverside has a "mini Griffith Park", Mt Rubidoux Park with trails used by runners and hikers. Also, I think Fairmount Park is one of the most beautiful urban parks in the entire LA region. Good bike trail network (that will eventually connect to trails in Orange County). Bike paths in Temecula/Murrieta are very disconnected. But there are very attractive wilderness areas close to Temecula: the Santa Rosa Plateau and Cleveland National Forest. Temecula also has an attractive agricultural area with popular vineyards.

For transportation into LA and other suburban towns like Pomona, Claremont and Fullerton, there is a downtown Metrolink station. Temecula does not have commuter rail, but the future LA to San Diego high speed rail line will have a Murrieta stop (prob 20 years from now).

Escondido is another town you might consider. It has an old downtown area, although not as "trendy" as Riverside's. Public transport is good: The Sprinter is a train that connects Escondido and the other inland towns to Oceanside.

For a vibrant, attractive beach community, consider San Clemente: Ortega Hwy connects Lake Elsinore (just north of Temecula) to the San Juan Capistrano/San Clemente/Dana Point area. The Ortega Hwy construction should be nearing completion, so traffic should ease up.

Temecula is a decent, family-oriented city, and a nice place to visit (the wineries, wilderness hikes) but I'm afraid it will bore you. Riverside is your best bet for a vibrant, urban, attractive, safe culturally diverse area wihtin 30 minutes of Temecula.

[rindge]

Irvine thanks for the insight on Riverside. If things work out with the opportunity it sounds like an area I need to explore and consider.

[that1guy]

Originally Posted by rindge

Irvine thanks for the insight on Riverside. If things work out with the opportunity it sounds like an area I need to explore and consider.

Riverside is NOTHING like Los Feliz. It's mostly a suburban community. The main composition is tract homes and strip malls. Downtown is mostly an administrative district they tried to build up during the boom, but then the real estate downturn occurred. Downtown empties at night. Sure, there's Lake Alice, Sevilla, and two other bars. So I mean that's something. My freind lives near Fairmount Park/Mt. Rubidoux. One side is an older, established neighborhood...the other is the "hood". Obviously, not South Central, but in the past pizza delivery people would not make calls to three areas in the region (Casa Blanca, Edgemont, and Rubidoux).

As nice as Riverside might end up being in the future, it's not there yet.

Also, the commute on the 215 is not good. The 60-215 sucks. It really takes a long time to commute to Temecula with traffic. I always would plan leaving from Moreno Valley (5-10 miles from DT Riverside), to take an hr. to get to Temecula (even though it should take half that).

Being in Temecula is not great as well. But, you are closer to the trendier neighborhoods of San Diego that actually do rival Los Feliz and Silverlake.

[Alberhill Ranch Resident]

I would live in Temecula, Murietta my favorite place would be Fallbrook (DeLuz), you would have the best of both worlds. In DeLuz it's like living in Carmel or The Napa Valley (Beautiful) and it's only a 10 minute drive to all metropolitan areas of Temecula or Murietta. In DeLuz you get an ocean breeze in the summer and it's truly is a breathtaking beautiful area. I would move to DeLuz if I worked in Temecula. I am going to move soon, most of all my neighbors can't stand this place/development.....