RELOCATING TO?? Santa Maria/Lompoc OR Temecula??? (San Diego, Santa Barbara: houses, safe neighborhoods)

[havasulady]

We are undecided to where to move to?? Do we move to Santa Maria area on the central coast where it is more rural and the scenery is beautiful with the green hills in the spring and the nearby ocean, weather is cooler or do we relocate to where housing is more affordable with newer neighborhoods in the price we can afford? The summer weather is warmer and would require A/C.

Need your opinion, where would you decide?

[Unkllars]

What type of lifestyle are you looking for? Do you need to be near attractions, business, airports, etc? Or do you need breathing room, fresh air, strong commerce, and cooler temperatures? That would be the difference between the two

[that1guy]

Santa Maria...hands down. I love the central coast. Less traffic, LA is roughly 120 miles from Santa Maria (Temecula is roughly 100, but 60 miles from SD). Santa Maria all the way. I loved living on the Central Coast.

[CrystalSpirit]

Hello,
I live in Solvang, California and had considered Santa Maria and Temecula for relocation before finally choosing the Palm Desert area. Housing in both areas seem to be comparable in price with nice homes being fairly reasonable. The two areas are very different in feel, however.

The Temecula area to me feels crowded ~ perhaps because the traffic is ridiculous. The neighborhoods I saw looked nice and it seemed to have lots of new stores to shop in. The people seemed hurried, private, and well-dressed ~ with little interest in small talk when shopping or dining. The population I believe is predominately white ~ instead of the higher mix of Hispanic like most California neighborhoods. It seems that many commute out of the area for the higher paying jobs ~ just like Santa Maria/Lompoc areas. I did love the fact Temecula was so close to San Diego with all that it offers.

Santa Maria is twice the size of Temecula but doesn't feel as crowded. They seem to expand roadways before they need them which I appreciate. Lots of newer inexpensive shopping but lacking in a nice bookstore and higher-end shopping like Nordstroms or Saks. I believe that will change as the south end near Orcutt continues to develop. The north end is predominately Hispanic and the south end is now maybe only half Hispanic as the growth continues. Many of the neighborhoods in both the north and south end look nice ~ however ~ some of the areas of cute little homes in the north areas are in unsafe neighborhoods. The people don't appear as upscale as the ones I saw in Temecula but much more friendly and relaxed. The nice thing about Santa Maria is that you have access to several towns within an hours drive with very different feels. Pismo Beach (and several other little beach towns) are just north. Just past those is San Luis Obispo which is a wonderful little college town with quiant downtown shopping area. South of Santa Maria about 30 minutes is the Santa Ynez Valley with the Danish community of Solvang and of course beautiful Santa Barbara is an hour south.

Lompoc is smaller than Temecula with very little traffic. Vandenberg Airforce base is the big employer ~ it seems most commute to the surrounding cities and Santa Barbara. It's very laid back and friendly with a more balanced mix of white and Hispanic residents. Contrasting the other two places ~ it seems to have a higher percentage of homeless and mentally ill walking about than it should for a town of it's size. It has a less than stellar reputation due to this fact which is unfortunate since it has nice topography and has the potential to be a trendy little artsy town in the future. I don't think the neighborhoods look as cute as Santa Maria and Temecula, however.

To sum it up ~ if I had to choose today between the three I would go for the Orcutt area of Santa Maria because I love the slower pace life-style. Please feel free to PM me if I can help with any other questions. I think you're choosing between two very nice areas. Good luck!!

[WannaGoHome]

I agree that the traffic in Temecula can be brutal. Also, to say that the summers are warmer would possibly be the understatement of the century. It can be downright brutal in Temecula in the summer. Another downside to Temecula is that it is pretty Stepford Wive-ish. Very "in the box" "nice place to raise kids" no real culture or community. Nothing kitschy or quirky. Nothing too intersting or out of the norm. Commuting on the 15 freeway can be a death sentence for your mentality and the fact that it is completely landlocked isn't that fun either. It's hard to get out to the beaches or to LA. It's closer to San Diego, but I don't know. . . I just wouldn't go for it.

Santa Maria on the other hand, I have no experience in. Sorry. Just wanted to give you the cons to Temecula.

[the city]

Definately Santa Maria. I plan on moving there myself some day too.

[havasulady]

I just posted about our first visit to Temecula. Actually, 25 years ago, we use to camp at Lake Skinner and Temecula was not a city...only had a few housing tracts.
Temecula is a BEAUTIFUL city. Lots of trees, bushes, flowers, grass...GREENERY. The city is clean and well planned. We were only interested in the older neighborhoods with lots of greenery and trees. We are not intested in cookie cutter, two story houses on small lots..ugh.

PROS: Beautiful City with lots of parks and green belts. Loads of shopping. I never seen so many stores and shopping centers in my life. You don't have to leave the city to shop anywhere else. Daytime summer temps are in the 90's but cools off during night.

CONS: TRAFFIC< TRAFFIC and more traffic. The traffic takes away from the ambiance of the city. Rude drivers. The daytime heat was 96 degrees but it does cool off at night and the early mornings are cool. Just too much traffic in the city and on the freeways.

We may consider Temecula to live in but I think the air quality was not the best from the fumes of the cars. Where are all these people driving to during the day?

[gc57]

I lived in Santa Maria back in 84-85' and I remember the smell from the fields that was bad. Maybe it has changed since then. How about the comparison between Santa Barbara and Solvang/Santa Ynez?

[calidude]

I used to live in SAn luis obispo i love it there. My parents left the LA area and moved back to Pismo. SAnta MAria is like 20 min from Grover and Pismo the weather is perfect all year round. Lompoc is just a town with a prison. And Temecula is on the border line of the san diego LA area kinda. Theres a nice promenade there but SAnta maria is a good choice over the other 2

[ToMom247]

Originally Posted by havasulady

We are undecided to where to move to?? Do we move to Santa Maria area on the central coast where it is more rural and the scenery is beautiful with the green hills in the spring and the nearby ocean, weather is cooler or do we relocate to where housing is more affordable with newer neighborhoods in the price we can afford? The summer weather is warmer and would require A/C.

Need your opinion, where would you decide?

Hmmmm......if you want a larger house with a decent backyard, move to Temecula. You will be an hour from the beach, an hour from the mtns, an hour from Disney, an hour from San Diego and there are WONDERFUL schools there.

I would NOT move to Santa Maria. There are gang problems there. Some areas of the central coast are so beautiful and a great place to live.....many places near the coast do not have central air-because they rarely need it. But, if you check the recent forecasts, they have had some hot spells. Central coast I would pick (closer to the ocean) if there are only two of you. If you have children, move to Temecula.

(: