Do you regret moving away from San Diego? (Temecula, San Marcos: low crime, buying a home)

[naughtee_kittee]

My husband and I are really looking into buying a home in Temecula or Murrieta. We are 1st time buyers and we are scared to make that big of a move. My husband will still have to commute to work M-F to the Old Town area. He is ok with the commute since he takes the trolley 2 hours each day to/from work.

So my question is, did you regret moving? And why? Did you find someone to carpool or vanpool with?

We are scared that he won't be able to find someone to carpool with, because we can't afford $600+ per month for gas, and that just makes us think of staying in San Diego.

I love, love, love San Diego. But Temecula/Murrieta are very appealing to me since my family is in Perris and the school's are great and low crime rate, Way nicer home...etc...

Tell me everything and anything this is a huge decision and I don't want to make the wrong decision. Help!

[sandiegan]

I regret leaving San Diego. We moved from UTC area to Murrieta for a year and hated it. There is nothing to do in Murrieta/Temecula, just a bunch of people living in the middle of no where with a ton of chain stores and a couple of movie theatres and some wine. Temecula/Murrieta is also very hot, not nearly as nice as San Diego weather.

We live in greater LA now (lived in Murrieta for a year and hated every second), but I stilll miss San Diego. The weather is perfect, the beach is beautiful, and there are a lot of things to do. The job market in San Diego is kinda bleh, which is why we don't still live there for our professions. But we enjoy our life and our house now, but I would not recommend Temecula/Murrieta to anyone. The commuting lifestyle (which I did alone) is miserable. If your husband is genuinely not concerned of this miserable 11-12 hour day work lifestyle (assuming an 8-9 hour workday and 2.5-3 hours of commute), and you have kids, and all you do is spend time with your kids and don't care about the beach, Balboa Park, cool restaurants and the urban Hillcrest area, the Gaslamp, or anything that is entertaining about San Diego, and you can stand the really hot weather, Temecula/Murrieta might not be so bad for you. But I was not a fan.

[dweej]

I live in Temecula and would not dream of living in Murrieta. They are close together, but not at all the same. By that same token, I wouldn't live in the areas of Temecula that are right next to Murrieta either. If you don't have kids, then Temecula, right now, is going to be pretty dull for you. If you do have kids, and you want to live in Southern California, it's a great place to raise a family. The center of Temecula, all along Rancho California Rd. is green, hilly, gorgeous. The city is managed very well, it's clean, there is almost no crime to speak of, the schools are good, and the activities for kids and families are abundant. Add to that over 30 public parks, restaurants and retail aplenty, and low property taxes for what you're getting, it's hard to beat. If you'll be closer to family, I think there's a lot to love.

Just to be fair, it's not a hipster/jet setter place. The airport is over an hour away, the closest 4 year college, is, I think, UC San Marcos (so you don't have that learnin' environment that you might find in a college town) and the arts/theater scene is....well, pretty nonexistent. For us, some of that goes into the downsides column, but if you want to stay in the are and still give your kids a good public education and have a decent house with a nice yard and a fabulous, brand-new library, Temecula is hard to beat. But stay south of Winchester and north of 79S. That'll give you the best SoCal experience in terms of foliage and topography. Good luck!