[quote=AK]It’s been a while since I’ve had close acquaintance with the video/computer gaming industry, but from what I remember it’s a tough way to make a living. I’m sure you earned every cent of your stash.
Here are some of my thoughts. This is no slam on Temecula, which is a nice town with some of my favorite restaurants. My thoughts reflect California and suburbia in general …
1. No car: Based on my experience in various parts of CA, you’ll be considered a freak or worse and you’ll draw unwanted attention from your neighbors and from law enforcement. Seriously, try being a single male walking around a suburb any time of day or night, especially if you fit some ethnic profile or another.
Most areas aren’t pedestrian-friendly. Where bike lanes and bikeways exist they tend to be for recreational purposes and are all but useless for functional transportation, though others have mentioned a few bike-friendly developments.
2. Utility bills: Expect to pay dearly for electricity.
3. Outdoor recreation: Look for an area with good air quality. Around here that means coastal areas.
4. Insurance: CA is a lousy place to get an individual policy.
5. FIOS: You lucky so-and-sos.
If you can live with a smaller house (also cheaper to heat and cool) you might be happier with something along the SR-78 corridor. There you’ll have better access to public transportation and recreational opportunities.
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1. You won’t be considered a freak or worse and the law enforcement won’t hassle you. Everyone seems to think the area is a large void of houses where people shut their doors at 6pm and aren’t to be seen until they wake up to sludge their way to San Diego in the morning. This is not necessarily the case. You will find people walking and biking on most major streets. I live in Harveston currently and there are almost always folks out biking or walking around the development – folks of all ethnic profiles, young, old, men, women, etc.
Because Temecula is newer (and most streets have been recently widened or construced) you will find the majority have usable bike lanes. There are older roads in some parts of town that do not have easy bike access but you are concerned with biking to retail and commercial activities. This will mainly be focused on the northern part of town along highway 79, which is very bike friendly. (I regularly bike this route, so I’m pretty familiar). Traffic is heavy so be careful.
2. The age of the home will dearly impact your electricity costs. An average summer day in my old 2000sqft place built 99 was about $400. My newer place (2005, 2400sqft) has CFLs throughout and a better AC unit. I averaged about $150 this last summer. Then again, this last summer was mild. I ran my office fan most of the day and it was sufficient.
3. San Diego has very good air quality. Many places in LA and OC, despite being coastal have atrocious air. Temecula has very good air quality. I’m not going to claim its as good as coastal SD, but the skies are generally clear and there is a marked difference between the air here and most of the Inland Empire/LA basin. The rainbow gap helps with that, as does our geography. We like to hike a bit in the Santa Rosa plateau (which has an awesome but challenging mountain bike path, at least for my overweight self) and you will find sweeping views and blue skies. We also get neat morning fog in South Temecula, which helps the area feel a bit more connected with the coast (at least in my mind!) It is really beautiful though, to take a morning hike with the fog in the hills.
4. Individual insurance is a nightmare. Avoid BlueCross/BlueShield. I’ve had many issues with them on an individual policy. Thankfully my employer now provides a group plan.
5. It is a wonderful thing. <4 ms first hop ping. Fiber right to your garage.
