How does the Inland Empire region compare to Phoenix? (San Diego: for sale, buying a home)

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Given that the cost of a house in the IE may be 50% or less than the same house in LA / OC / San Diego, I don't even know that it's a choice for a lot of people. The choice is either leave CA, buy in a sketchy area, or move to the IE.

The key is job centers. The closer you are to the job centers the more expensive it gets. That's why places like Temecula remain cheap - there are simply no jobs anywhere nearby.

Most of the cities you mentioned are not particularly desirable with the exception of Rancho Cucamonga and Temecula. In the north IE most of the better areas are west of 15 and north of 66 (Foothill blvd). Chino Hills, Corona also have nice areas too.

Just be prepared for the heat, smog, and traffic that is endemic to the area. Yes it is growing fast and it looks like that growth is not stopping anytime soon.

Very right on. I would add that although the traffic has gotten pretty bad, in Temecula heat and smog are definately better than the other towns mentioned--and the entire IE. By quite a bit, I might add. Too me, Temecula/Murrieta is a pretty desirable place, in that it's cheaper than other areas, yet it's still nice (aesthetically pleasing), has good schools, mostly good weather (July and August being the exception), and is central to all major urban centers--L.A., San Diego, and Orange county.

[vegaspilgrim]

Thanks for the responses... I have a couple questions about Temecula: first, how do you pronounce "Temecula"? Is Temecula and Murrieta mainly a retirement community, or is it a place young professionals would live as well? Is there anybody who would commute from Temecula to San Diego, or say, to Irvine? How long would each of these commutes take? I noticed, looking at a map, there are no east-west freeways south of the 91 until you get to north county SD. What about CA-74/Ortega Hwy? Is that a road people would drive on to commute to work? Would Carlsbad and Oceanside be the closest beach communities?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Thanks for the responses... I have a couple questions about Temecula: first, how do you pronounce "Temecula"? Is Temecula and Murrieta mainly a retirement community, or is it a place young professionals would live as well? Is there anybody who would commute from Temecula to San Diego, or say, to Irvine? How long would each of these commutes take? I noticed, looking at a map, there are no east-west freeways south of the 91 until you get to north county SD. What about CA-74/Ortega Hwy? Is that a road people would drive on to commute to work? Would Carlsbad and Oceanside be the closest beach communities?

Temecula is the primary exurb destination for San Diego. Most people are commuting to SD metro or elsewhere in the IE as opposed to OC / LA. Temecula > San Diego is about an hour - 90 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-15.

[grisandole]

I've lived in the IE and in AZ (rural, but we went to Phoneix often) and IMO the IE is much better. More variety, prettier (mountains and such), and about an hour or two from the ocean. I actually chose to live there and liked it

I'm not as familiar with Temecula, but I know that for me, I wouldn't live there as it's far from "real" cities, thus more driving if you want culture and stuff to do. And the job market isn't great, so most people who live there commute.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Thanks for the responses... I have a couple questions about Temecula: first, how do you pronounce "Temecula"? Is Temecula and Murrieta mainly a retirement community, or is it a place young professionals would live as well? Is there anybody who would commute from Temecula to San Diego, or say, to Irvine? How long would each of these commutes take? I noticed, looking at a map, there are no east-west freeways south of the 91 until you get to north county SD. What about CA-74/Ortega Hwy? Is that a road people would drive on to commute to work? Would Carlsbad and Oceanside be the closest beach communities?

Its pronounced "tem EK you la". You wouldn't want to drive Ortega into Irvine every day. Ortega is a 2 lane mountain road with tons of ways to crash and die. Even without any traffic, you're still probably 60-90 minutes from Irvine and there's never no traffic unless its the middle of the night.

[jeffncandace]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Thanks for the responses... I have a couple questions about Temecula: first, how do you pronounce "Temecula"? Is Temecula and Murrieta mainly a retirement community, or is it a place young professionals would live as well? Is there anybody who would commute from Temecula to San Diego, or say, to Irvine? How long would each of these commutes take? I noticed, looking at a map, there are no east-west freeways south of the 91 until you get to north county SD. What about CA-74/Ortega Hwy? Is that a road people would drive on to commute to work? Would Carlsbad and Oceanside be the closest beach communities?

My father in law drove the Ortega every day from Temecula then Murrieta to...Irvine! It took about 1 hour 15 min WITHOUT an accident, which indeed did happen frequently. But he did it, because the alternative was the 91...which would have meant 1.5-2 hours AT LEAST to get to Irvine.

Temecula/Murrieta (they are really more like one city at this point) is not a retirement community. It's more white collar professionals and younger families, but has gotten big enough to include a little bit of everybody. It's a good place to live, (IMHO the best place in the IE) and while not exactly a cultural mecca, it's not a cultural desert either. There are over 20 wineries just east of town, as well as Old Town Temecula, just to name a couple of things.

Sassberto is very right on, so I pretty much just have to 2nd his notions. It will take you over an hour in rush hour to get to S.D. proper. It is true that Temecula has turned into something of a far flung suburb of San Diego, just outside of the S.D. county line. Almost everyone commutes, unless you work in the service industry, food, the mall, ect. I myself worked in Vista then Escondido (north S.D. county) and that drive was about 35-45 in the morning and about 40-60 on the way home.

Yes, O'side and Carlsbad will be the closest beach to you. Expect 40 minutes, more or less, to get to the beach in O'side.

San Diego is where we always went for a change of scenery. OC and LA are too big, too many people, not as friendly, IMO. SD is georgeous and less pretentious.

Good luck! And yes, you pronounce it Tem-EK-you-la.

[Californiaguy2007]

The Inland Empire has Enormous Potential,because of it's Location and also because of it's Growth....This area is on a path to become another Economic Powerhouse in Southern CA.

[knowlton82]

Ok I grew up in Riverside, lived for 4 years in North Carolina, visited family in Mesa AZ (near Phoenix) and now I currently live in San Luis Obispo. As far as The Inland Empire goes if you want to visit both the mountains and the beach its only an hour from either one. Temecula is a little out there im not a big fan but then again im from Riverside. Lots of people make the commute from Riverside to Irvine (or other places in Orange County) everyday and the quickest way is the 134 toll road it may cost a little bit but when theres traffic on the 91(which there always is) it is alot quicker. and as for the Ortega Highway it's a fun road to drive on occasion but i wouldnt want to drive it everyday. There are still lots of open spaces in the Inland Empire and some really pretty views. One thing that you can get there that you cant get from anywhere else is the night time views. There has been many times when i was growing up that I was going to the mountains one night and just had to stop becouse the view from the 33 going up to Big Bear is absolutely breath taking. THe downsides of the IE are many during the summer it gets hot. I flew in from west texas once and it was hotter in Riverside than Texas. The Smog is bad there not only do they get their own Smog but LA's also blows in too. And as far as culture goes Riverside has the Mission Inn an Art Museum and lots of other cultural buildings. As with other large metropolitan areas there are areas of high crime so be careful where you move into.

[hgclyde]

The Cities of Murrieta, Temecula and the unincorporated area of Rancho California is Southern California wine country with rolling hills, sea breezes. (Temecula Valley is not as well known wine appellation like Santa Barbara's Santa Ynez Valley, Sonoma Valley and and Napa Valley regions but is gaining ground.)

Lots festivals happening: Balloon festival and Wine festivals are some events happening. Temecula has a popular Old Town Districts with galleries,shops, and restaurants loved by tourists and locals a like. Murrieta also has a Old Town(Historic Downtown) section; while it not as commerical like neighboring Temecula it too has some galleries, restaurants and stores. Historic Murrieta is coming along nicely.

Very Good schools in both cities; although Temecula Valley Unified has an edge over Murrieta Valley Unified.

Jobs are coming however, many still work in LA, Orange, and San Diego Counties. However that being said good paying jobs can be found in Ontario, Riverside, Corona and San Bernadino.

Both towns are typical suburban So Cal communities with master planned communities galore with parks, trails, and clubhouses. New Homes range between $300,000-700,000 for the basic single family home and $700,000 to well over $1,000,000 for custom estate homes. New Condo and Town homes run from $190,000-300,000.

If you need Shopping there The Promenade at Temecula has what you need; with typical mall fare.

Plenty of traffic both on surface streets (Hwy 79 South and Winchester Rd Hwy 79, Rancho California Rd, Margarita Rd, California Oak Rd,Clinton Keith Rd Los Alamo Rd, Washington and Jefferson Aves) and on Freeways: Traffic on Both I -15 and I-215 Fwys is horrific.[Have Fun]

Overall Temecula and Murrieta is great area to live.

I hope this helps

hgclyde

[Sorcerer68]

The trend in real estate development, not only in Los Angeles but nationwide is moving sharply away from car based communities. If you'd like to develop the Inland Empire, find a way to help bring infastructure it needs. The term we use here is Smart Development, meaning development along major public transportation corridors. In L.A. we've seen a ton of development as of late, the wrecking balls have been swinging and the Smart development sits housing units above retail with major bus routes in front and possibly built over a Metro rail line. Communities are becoming more walkable. Traffic to and from the IE is horrific and only gets worse. If you want to stay on the leading edge, research what I just told you. I'm an investor and personally I believe in the future of Phoenix. It's taking a breather but it will have another boom starting within 5 years. it will be on the southwest and along the freeway to the west. Huge developers are buying up land in these corridors like you wouldn't believe.

I forsee more industry and more retirees for the IE. That's it's future.