Need some help please (Murrieta) (San Jose, Riverside: crime rate, first time home buyer, established neighborhood)

[butacska]

Hello

I need some info from you guys.
Could you please tell me something about the area I have "highlighted" on the map? We are planning to buy a house in that area and would like to hear some info about safety, friendliness of people, distances for shopping etc. We don't have kids, so schools don't matter.
Thank you for your input in advance.

[SoCalTwinkie]

You will finds lots of close by shopping. Wal Mart, Lowes, Home Depot, Kohls, and lots of furniture stores in that area.

I wouldn't worry about safety issues. I've been here 6 years and its not L.A. but the riff-raff have moved in.

As for friendliness, well, what can I say, I'm a Northerner who moved south and I don't find SO CAL people overly friendly. Be prepared for rude drivers.

Murrieta and Temecula both are nice towns that are very family oriented...lots of kids. And most of the people from Orange County moved here as first time home buyers or just wanted to get out of the big city.

The concern I would have is that Highway 215 has been scheduled to be widened. Its two lanes on either side of the divide and I think they want to go with 4 on each side. Its been an ongoing issue and some neighborhoods will be impacted. Too much traffic going towards Riverside and vice versa. Not sure how that would impact YOUR neighborhood.

The other thing you need to make certain of is the tax base of your particular neighborhood. Rates vary widely with some areas that have much higher rates (bond measures, etc.) Check it out with your realtor beforehand.

[butacska]

SoCalTwinkie, thank you for your quick response.
The house, we are looking at is 2000 feet from the 215 as the crow flies.
The taxes are pretty low, thank God, 1.2% all together. We have been in Murrieta a couple of times already, seems like a really nice area, the old town on the other side of the 15 is adorable... but haven't lived there to know this particular neighborhood. I heard that the crime rate is quite low in Murrieta, just wanted to make sure that this area is OK.
Thank you again, I appreciate your time.

[eclipxe]

Good area. Lots of close retail and established neighborhoods to the south.

[shannonM]

yep you will find all you need in the area not far from los alamos road. right off of madison there is all the newest shops and restaurants. and a really good coffee shop called it's a grind where they have live music several times per week. welcome to the area.

[luv2hike]

That is a good area. I used to live in the area around 2000-2002 and my sister still lives there with her family. I have never felt unsafe in that area.

[twinmum]

We have friends that live over there & they have awesome neighbors, never have had a problem (crime/saftey) and really like it. They live in a smaller/older (for Temecula/Murrieta standards) home and do not want to move to a bigger &/or better home because they like their neighbors & neighborhood so much.....

[Ohs]

I grew up in Murrieta and didn't like it as a kid, but as an adult I am thinking of moving back. I live in San Jose now and hate hate hate it to no end. Now that I want a family and house I have yet to find a better area for this then Murrieta and Temecula. The only few factors that do bother me about moving back is how crowded it has gotten there and the terrible traffic since there is only two major freeways and tons of people commute so if one freeway is messed up then everyone goes on the other freeway. Murrieta has also changed into a more orange county feel, teens are getting boob implants and brand new cars at 16 years old. But in comparison to what I have lived in since the positives still out way the negatives. The housing is still affordable and the community is safe. You will know if the area is not a good one by the looks of it, so either way you picked a great town.

[SoCalDaveL]

As a Temecula resident I have a natural bias, but I personally like the Temecula/Murrieta area as a whole. These are two "sister cities" that work well together. I drive in and out of Murrieta often as a soccer coach (AYSO for the Temecula/Murrieta area is awesome) and my wife had a business in Murrieta off Murrieta Hot Springs Rd.

Although the business is closed now, the time spent there was great. We interracted with the local residents often and always found them to be fun and engaging.

I couldn't honestly comment on the particular area within Murrieta that you circled though.