Relocating to Inland Empire (San Diego, San Bernardino: rental, HOA, houses) - San Bernardino and Riverside Counties - California (CA) -The Inland Empire - City-Data Forum

Van75 · 11-20-2010, 09:25 PM

We are relocating to SCA in March next year and looking for advice on places to live. My wife and I are in our early 30's with a 5 year old boy. We need to find a safe community with good schools. Temecula is a top choice right now but we are looking for opinions on the bests and worsts of the inland empire region of SCA. We plan to rent a single family house for the first year somewhere in the $2000-3000 price range.

mikelovato · 11-20-2010, 10:26 PM

Where's your job going to be? Where I would recommend depends on that.

Van75 · 11-20-2010, 10:34 PM

Working mostly from home but traveling 25% to SD/LA and Pacific NW. No daily commute.

Danalysd · 11-21-2010, 09:41 AM

Live in Temecula and love it. Murrietta is pretty much the same as Temecula IMO. I work from home so no daily commute is good. If you do need to go to SD and can go on off hours that would be best to avoid the traffic.

Travel to LA from Temecula is going to be about 2 hours + depending on the time of day you go.

Van75 · 11-21-2010, 11:23 AM

Thanks for the drive time info and Temecula recommendation. Here is a little more information about us:

My wife and I are outdoor people. Some of the activities we enjoy are hiking, golfing, photography, outdoor entertaining (grilling, cocktailing,playing backyard games). We are both foodies and enjoy going out to dinner but we do have a 5 year old so we know that most nights will be spent at home in our back yard. A VIEW from our back yard is a MUST. We do like to get out for some adult time once in a while and enjoy rooftop/outdoor bars and restaurants, wineries as well as outdoor live music.

We will be traveling to Temecula, Murrietta, RSM and Chino Hills in January to check out the vibes/landscape/houses/schools etc. Are we visiting the right cities? Are there any other cities/areas we must see before making a final decision? Again we are looking for a 4 bedroom single family home to rent in the $2000-$3000/month range.

Twinkle Toes · 11-21-2010, 01:43 PM

Temecula Wine Country! I would love to live there, myself. My husband and I were visiting the wineries last weekend and drove around a bit checking out houses and the area, but he drives into downtown LA and says it's "too far". We live in the desert (La Quinta), so go figure ...

I think he probably means that the areas where we would like to be in Temecula would take a while to get onto the freeway. Where we are now is a straight shot onto the freeway without a lot of traffic or signal lights.

Don't get me wrong, I like the desert, and we have a gorgeous home here, but the desert is his "thing". I want to be in a wine country climate, like Temecula, Los Olivos, Sonoma - that kind of thing - with about 20 or so acres, no neighbors breathing down my neck, and a gorgeous view from up high.

We'll see what happens in a couple of years. He plans to retire, and we'll have to see what happens with me - if I get a spot in a courthouse, which one. That will determine if, and where we move.

mikelovato · 11-21-2010, 03:25 PM

Based on what you're looking for, I agree. Temecula would a be great place for you guys to look. Drive time to LA is pretty accurate - you're probably talking 60-90 minutes into San Diego. Probably around an hour or so to Ontario airport if you fly out of there. San Diego airport would probably be just as good an option as well.

You could also check out Escondido, Oceanside, and some of those other North San Diego County areas as well.

Danalysd · 11-21-2010, 05:38 PM

In Temecula it seems as if the lots on the newer homes are getting smaller and smaller. Our's was built in 2003 and we have a decent size back yard, good enough to throw the frisbee to the dog and we have great mountain views. Plenty of room to BBQ and play backyard games, which we do as well. We live in Redhawk in Temecula and have been here for a year now. We didn't really know the different neighborhoods and we were just looking for a specific house and not really to worried about what subdivision we were in. Now that we are in Redhawk we are very pleased with it. HOA's are low ($34 a month) and really only take care of maintaining the common areas but they do a nice job. I originally didn't want to pay an HOA but when we were looking some of the neighborhoods that didn't have a HOA they didn't look as nice as the ones that do have a HOA. I like neighborhoods where people take care of their yards and make it look nice. Their are plenty of places to walk around here, lots of small parks with playgrounds for kids and a very nice 43 acre sports park is nearby. Temecula has about 4 golf courses, I have played most of them and they are all pretty decent, also lots of golf courses in nearby cities.
My wife loves the wine country (ok so do I) we probably go to them 3 times a month or so. Most of them have restaurants with outdoor seating and sometimes they have live music at some on the weekends. There is a casino (Pechanga) in Temecula and they provide more then just gambling. They have a comedy club that is decent and they also have different bars and restaurants (sports bar, round bar, cabaret lounge usually has live music thursday-sunday,) They also have a Theatre and they get some decent musical guests, we just saw John Legend there last week, they sometimes have boxing or MMA fights.
Temecula also has a large shopping mall that has lots of restaurants, their is also Old Town Temecula that has some nightlife and restaurants. Its nothing like a huge city but I think they have some decent things to offer.

You sound like my wife and I with the things you like to do. We hike alot and you can get to some decent hiking trails in about 1.5 hours or less. The San Bernardino mountains have some peaks that are around 11k and all different skill levels of hiking.

Your rental price range should be no problem to find what you are looking for.

If you have any questions about Temecula feel free to DM me.

BRinSM · 11-22-2010, 09:38 AM

temecula may be a good option for your family, but your foodie appetite will not be served well there. i've been a few times and the restaurant options aren't very good, especially when compared to SD, OC and LA. There are definitely a few decent places though, so it's not all bad. considering the amount of wine out there, you'd think there would be better food, but i guess that's not the case.

Danalysd · 11-22-2010, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BRinSM

temecula may be a good option for your family, but your foodie appetite will not be served well there. i've been a few times and the restaurant options aren't very good, especially when compared to SD, OC and LA. There are definitely a few decent places though, so it's not all bad. considering the amount of wine out there, you'd think there would be better food, but i guess that's not the case.

Obviously you can't compare a small city of just over 100,000 to a place like OC, SD, or LA when it comes to restaurant options. That being said there are plenty of good options for food here in Temecula. The wineries have many excellent restaurants, Old town has a bunch as does the mall. I thinks its a given that when compared to city's with Millions, the options aren't as good.