[quote=temeculaguy]I may have misunderstood, I thought you wanted to sell your wine country house and retire to Idyllwild. If you just want a cabin, that’s a leisure decision like an RV or a boat. Do what makes you happy if you have the means it’s likely a better decision than either a boat or an RV.
Climbers and day trippers will barely sustain a business. 2,000 hikers a year doesn’t compare to your current digs. In fact you are missing out on not turning your place into a B&B once the kids move to college.
Temecula gets 2.7 million tourists a year. Napa/Sonoma gets 3.5 mil tourists a year. But 2.000 people hiked a spot in Idylwild? You are standing on a pile of hundred dollar bills and thinking of moving to a pile of pennies. I’m in a tract home but you are on land within the vineyards, there is opportunity right under your nose. I get it, you are a bit eccentric, but don’t for a minute think lots of other people want to spend their weekends volunteering as fire scouts. Good for you. Nobody gets rich rescuing cats, but my wife thinks that would be a great life. Luckily she has me to encourage her to keep her day job and she can have that as a hobby if she wants as long as it doesn’t involve the house. But it’s not an investment or a vocation, it’s a hobby/charity/volunteer opportunity.
Let it be your hobby, but you didn’t find gold. So buy a weekend home if you like but head to head, Temecula real estate will beat Idyllwild real estate over time for lots of reasons. I still think Arrowhead/Big Bear represent a better investment because it gets year round tourism, Idyllwild practically closes when it snows, it doesn’t capitalize on it like the other areas.[/quote]
I don’t have the data but I’d easily bet that Idyllwild gets more than 2000 visitors/year. Just, between myself and a few climbing buddies I could probably account for nearly 100 visitors last year.
But it’s true that the number of visitors to Idyllwild is probably a fraction of Temecula’s number and the demographics and spending habits are different. Many hikers don’t even stop at restaurants and there are no tour busses full of wine guzzling cougars.
Of course the economies of Arrowhead/Big Bear are much bigger, but that’s already priced into real estate and businesses.
I don’t think Mr. scardey actually believes he could make a lucrative living in Idyllwild. Although as an established lawyer that’s willing to travel occasionally, it could be a place to enjoy a balanced lifestyle.
