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San Bernardino and Riverside Counties The Inland Empire
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:55 AM
 
5 posts, read 27,701 times
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My fiance' and I are moving to the So Cal area and are debating Temecula or Murrieta? He will be working from home mostly but will also need to commute to Riverside sometimes, as well as other areas, although not as often. Home prices seem to be similar, and reasonable, in both areas but I have read some things here and there that are leading me to believe that Murrieta is not as nice as Temecula. However, I lived in So Cal 8 years ago and I know that there are misconceptions and incorrect stereotypes about many towns so I would like some clarification from people who know first hand what these two cities are all about.

We are both in our 30's and do not have, or want, children so schools are not really a concern for us. We want plenty of entertainment, shopping, good restaurants and other friendly couples near our age to hang out with. Safety is my main concern. According to the data on this website both cites are safer than the U.S. average, but far LESS safe than where I live now. I would also like good access to the beaches for weekend getaways and airports as we travel regularly.

While shopping online for homes in these areas I have seen plenty of nice, spacious pool homes in the 250K-400K range which is just right for us. I would like some recommendations on particular neighborhoods though. We prefer a Mediterranean/Spanish style home with a pool.

Can anyone who lives in these two cities please give me the "inside" scoop? Thanks so much!
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Old 04-15-2010, 03:43 AM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,824 posts, read 29,783,571 times
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In Temecula, you'll be a victim of crime once every 24.6 years.
In Murrieta, you'll be a victim of crime once every 42 years.
In Riverside, you'll be a victim of crime once every 22.5 years.

This is assuming that you never leave each city's limits.

Even in Riverside you'd be waiting a very long time between personal incidents' of crime.

All three have suburban "parkways" lined with tract homes, with Temecula and Murrieta having pretty much only that. There are Temecula/Murrieta style developments within and around Riverside as well.

IMO Temecula and Murrieta are only geared towards families, families that may enjoy longer than necessary commutes. For singles and child-less couples, I'd think it'd be really boring, unless you really enjoy gambling. I'm thinking more Riverside/environs for you.
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Old 04-15-2010, 09:00 AM
 
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Wife and I moved to Temecula in Nov. 09 from Ocean Beach. We wanted a home to eventually start a family in. We love the area and our home but we don't have any friends up here. We find ourselves travelling to SD to visit friends and family about 1-2 times a month. Its not to bad of a drive on the weekends or on the off hours. We are both really friendly people and we actually had a house warming party but only 1 of our neighbors showed up and then lots of old friends from SD. I really can't figure it out up here as far as people are concerned. Most people are friendly enough to say hello and wave but thats about the extent of it. Some don't even do that. I am originally from the east coast where I was pretty friendly with all of my neighbors. If I had just finished mowing my lawn one of the neighbors would stop by with a beer, or if someone was walking their dog and I was outside they would stop to talk. We don't get that here. We are both in our early 30's and don't have any kids yet and were hoping that we would find some people who were in the same age group as us but it hasn't really happened yet. Where exactly do adults meet other Adults to make friends?? So if you are looking to make friends up here without having kids already I think it might be difficult.

The difference between Temecula and Murrieta are really slim if you ask me. Temecula has more people so more traffic (it doesn't bother me but most people like to complain about traffic) but they also have more restaurants and shopping. The mall has shopping and decent restaurants, so does Old town Temecula and the winerys have good restaurants too. We enjoy going to the winery's once a month. Both Temecula and Murrieta look the same and offer the same track housing etc. In you price range you should have no problem finding a home. Good luck.
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Old 04-15-2010, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Arvada, CO
13,824 posts, read 29,783,571 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danalysd View Post
Wife and I moved to Temecula in Nov. 09 from Ocean Beach. We wanted a home to eventually start a family in. We love the area and our home but we don't have any friends up here. We find ourselves travelling to SD to visit friends and family about 1-2 times a month. Its not to bad of a drive on the weekends or on the off hours. We are both really friendly people and we actually had a house warming party but only 1 of our neighbors showed up and then lots of old friends from SD. I really can't figure it out up here as far as people are concerned. Most people are friendly enough to say hello and wave but thats about the extent of it. Some don't even do that. I am originally from the east coast where I was pretty friendly with all of my neighbors. If I had just finished mowing my lawn one of the neighbors would stop by with a beer, or if someone was walking their dog and I was outside they would stop to talk. We don't get that here. We are both in our early 30's and don't have any kids yet and were hoping that we would find some people who were in the same age group as us but it hasn't really happened yet. Where exactly do adults meet other Adults to make friends?? So if you are looking to make friends up here without having kids already I think it might be difficult.
Welcome to the Suburban West.
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Old 04-15-2010, 11:59 AM
 
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That`s Socal.... most people stick to themselves and could careless about anybody else but THEMSELVES.
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Old 04-15-2010, 01:00 PM
 
458 posts, read 1,256,967 times
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Yeah, I am figuring that out now. It's all good, we love the area and love the outdoors, Lots of great places to hike and bike and beaches are close by. You can't beat the weather compared to where we are from. I am still working on getting the neighbors to come around... lol.
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Old 04-15-2010, 01:52 PM
 
Location: RSM
5,113 posts, read 19,688,226 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Danalysd View Post
Yeah, I am figuring that out now. It's all good, we love the area and love the outdoors, Lots of great places to hike and bike and beaches are close by. You can't beat the weather compared to where we are from. I am still working on getting the neighbors to come around... lol.
You'll find it a lot easier when you have children, at least if you put them in sports. Making friends in a neighborhood is kind of tough these days in the West. It's the nature of things, people out west don't bother people or want to be bothered unless they have to in general. Once you get kids, things change though. Your kids attend the same activities as everyone else in the city/area you're in, you make friends with the other parents, share duties like picking up kids from school or taking kids to practice, etc. The best friends my parents have today aren't neighborhood friends or parents from the local school, but friends they made from 10 years as a parent of 2 kids playing football and baseball, and I'm finding the same thing as I raise my son(who's now 10).

Unfortunately, the OP doesn't want or have kids, so that changes things. Temecula and Murrieta probably are a poor choice for people like that unless they're retirees looking to spend time on the golf course and at the casino.
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Old 04-15-2010, 03:27 PM
 
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That is sad to hear that it is so hard for (childless) adults to make friends and develop a social network in the Temecula/Murrieta area. I lived in So Cal previously (Lake Arrowhead) and people up there were super friendly. I met lots of adults without children that regularly hung out in the local spots on the mountain. There were a few mentions of living in Riverside but I worked in Chino and I just remember that whole are being smoggy and smelling like a strange combo of Wonder Bread and cows. We are not big drinkers or partiers. We would just like to have people over for dinner, a BBQ or a pool party...that sort of thing. Oh, and just to clarify, we will NOT be having children in the future. We travel alot and they just do not fit with our long term plans. Surely there are other young, professional couples without children...somewhere.

Last edited by amandalynn77; 04-15-2010 at 03:28 PM.. Reason: add info
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Old 04-15-2010, 03:39 PM
 
Location: RSM
5,113 posts, read 19,688,226 times
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The thing is that the area you're looking at is essentially the definition of a bedroom community coupled with the fact that there is no college to draw/create young professionals. You'll need to look further north or further south to find yuppies/dinks simply because those two towns aren't really located or provide entertainment for people of that mindset.
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Old 04-15-2010, 03:45 PM
 
5 posts, read 27,701 times
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I had never heard the term "dink" until today but I looked it up. Pretty funny... Yuppies, however, we are not. By most definitions, that's a pretty negative term. Which specific areas would be recommended? At first we thought we were going to be in Orange County but his employer has asked us not to live there as they feel it will be too far from the clients he will need to see on a regular basis. Most of them are in Riverside County. Temecula/Murrieta came highly recommended by a co-worker of his but I am wondering now if it is going to be right for us at all.
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