Nice to hear from you again. And congrats on your engagement! If I ever remarry, I’ll do the same as you … (re)create a trust and prenup long BEFORE passing Go and collecting $200. It’s hard to believe you only have five years left until retirement! Although not yet completely “retired,” I’m enjoying my pension(s) and I’m sure you’ll enjoy your retirement as well!
I agree that the IE has more industry and available jobs for its residents NOW. However, my post was referring to families headed by worker bees from the mid/late nineties forward who decided to move out there and raise their families there (such as you) despite horrendous commutes to work. You must admit that North County SD didn’t ALWAYS have the number of white-collar well-paying jobs that it has now. The vast majority of those large companies and govm’t agencies moved into North County in the last several years.
Also, you didn’t address in your post the LA Co/OC worker who resides in Temecula. You must admit it is pretty rough for Temeculans commuting into those counties on a daily basis. In my mind, if I were a worker with a job in LA Co, for example, why would I want to live in the IE in a ~2300 sf home for $400K (today’s price) when I can buy a ~1600 sf home in El Monte for same (with same or larger lot than Temec and no MR/HOA) and be on the Imperial Hwy or the 605 in less than five minutes!
You’ve posted here before (somehow, this sticks out in my mind :)) that you hated to live amongst utility poles and overhead lines, and yes, those exist in nearly all the well-established areas regardless of “affordability” of the area. And so I understand why you were attracted to Temec (aside from getting a lot of bang for your buck). But you must admit that you have no doubt had to commute off and on into various locations in SD County for work over the years and it wasn’t always easy or convenient for you.
Back to your SD County discussion, there ARE cities which one can purchase a SFR today for the same price (or slightly more) than those in Temecula. Yes, they may be slightly smaller homes (on average) but maybe not. Examples:
Santee
Lakeside
El Cajon
San Marcos
Oceanside
Vista
Fallbrook
Bonsall
Escondido
I don’t have to tell YOU that ALL of these locations are closer (some MUCH closer) to major job centers in SD North County than Temecula is. And all of them have reasonably-priced homes to choose from. I don’t buy the argument of “die-hard Temeculans” that the IE it is the ONLY place in SoCal to buy into for those families headed by FT workers who are in the the sub $500K homebuyer bracket. It’s not.
My point here is that most SoCal homebuyers whose jobs are NOT in the IE CAN buy a decent home much, much closer to work for the same or similar price as a home would cost in the IE (but w/o MR and HOA) but consciously choose not to. Yes, even today! Listings for these (mostly mid-century) ranch-style family homes of 1100 to 1900 sf abound in at least 30 (inland) cities in LA County. The same mid-century family home costs slightly more ($0 to $80K, depending on location) in at least a dozen cities in the inland OC. Again, with no MR/HOA expense.
