[temeculaguy]

They are fairly lenient on what I consider cosmetic dentistry. Have been in similar situations with regards to unspent HSA and once had all my fillings replaced with tooth colored resin ones. Turns out my old school ones (silver/amalgam) can lead to cracked teeth over time so they consider it legit. Also had a crown/bridge replaced with a cubic zirconia one that has no visible metal at the gumline. That worked too because the newest ones are healthier for you gums supposedly. So get anything metal out of your mouth, it’s better for time travel/teleporting as well.

[temeculaguy]

Not all Temeculans are commuting to jobs in the city of San Diego. The 2011 census reports that 38,000 people commuted daily from riverside county to San Diego county. Southwest riverside county has probably 300-500k people. So that’s somewhere around 10%. But not many of those commute to the City of San Diego, most commute to the North County, where the actual jobs are for most who make the move. Surprisingly that’s where many of the good jobs and the job growth is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_County_%28San_Diego_area%29#cite_note-CPA-3

One highlight from the wikipedia article on the North county:

“In modern times, North County continues to grow as a highly influential region of Greater San Diego. The top twenty-five employers in San Diego County are closer to the North County city of Carlsbad than San Diego proper.”

The North County is becoming the center of the county economically in some ways and SW riverside’s commuters are more than likely going there as opposed to Downtown.

http://www.bestplaces.net/transportation/city/california/temecula

Shows the average temeculan commutes 33 minutes, 8 minutes longer than the average american.

I know there are some people with crazy commutes, but that is anecdotal, not average. We are not spending decades driving 3-4 hours per day. A few might be, but it’s not the majority. There are also probably Chula Vista residents driving to Escondido to work.Probably not all and probably not be design, but I’ll bet they exist.

The future Mrs. TG drives to the Northern half of San Marcos, she moved in with me a a few years ago and she will retire in about 5-7 years, she moved from North Park and now her drive is shorter. Many people do not work for an employer with a single building and over the years their work location, even with the same employer can change, especially as part of a promotion. When she moved to North Park she was close to work, but that didn’t last long and the majority of the time she lived there she was commuting to the North County. Her tiny rental cost as much as my mortgage, so that can be a reason for people as jobs move, lower cost housing and a shorter commutes can be one in the same. You ask why someone would commute and lose time, I ask why someone would pay a large part of their income to live close to things they cannot afford to do, it’s all based on the individual, their specific situation and what they want. I bought my car in 2011, I have put 10k total miles on it in the last 4 years (2,500 a year) which included driving it to vegas once or twice and to northern california about once per year and I live in Temecula. I bought it used and the tires were already worn a bit so I recently had to buy tires, but they will probably rot before the tread wears off since it will be 15 years before the estimated 40k tread life estimate is reached. But that’s also anecdotal and not average. I realize that. So if your world is south of I-8, this is not for you, don’t buy here, but understand your experience is not everyone’s, its just your experience.

[temeculaguy]

I’ve had a kenmore HE3t set for about 7 years and love it, not sure if they even make it anymore. Plus I bought it used. I think my mom and sister have had theirs for 10 years. Mine has broken a time or two (washer only), but diagnostics were easy online and parts online were cheap. Repairs were simple, there are only a few parts and I’d say it took ten minutes or less. Appliances are actually quite simple to repair.

But I have the same issue as hatfield with having to leave the door open to the washer and I use this tide maintenance packet every six months on an empty load to flush the system.

[temeculaguy]

Thanks for the well wishes, and right back at you. In the two or three years I haven’t posted I have stayed in touch with some old friends I met here. It’s like a high school reunion, fondly remembering a confusing and awkward time in life and happily finding out most have grown into happy adults.

carlsbadworker-I love uber and use it regularly but my parents are nearing 70, texting, missed calls and voicemail can baffle them, I’m not sure they will ever be ready for uber.

shoveler- I’m not quite a boomer, a little under 50 so the stairs are still a good thing, hopefully for another decade or two. But I do not want a bigger house, I’d prefer smaller but we have too many guests which I do not see slowing down anytime soon. Scardy will never buy my patio furniture, it gets way too much use.

FlyerinHI- I agree, when I moved here 25 years ago I was working in the North County and my Cardiff commute was the same as my temecula commute. I worked at that location for more than 10 years and never regretted the move. At the time San Marcos wasn’t what it is today and SEH didn’t exist, who knows I may have bought there, but I have no regrets.

spdrun- I love Julian but the drawback for a retiree is medical services and emergency medical response. I need to have a costco and a home depot withing 5 miles as well, but that’s me.

Theshoveler-funny you would draw the comparison with valencia and TV, I grew up in Valencia so maybe that’s why I feel at home in TV.

flyer-I get the beach lover thing. If I had the means I’d be your neighbor. RSF is the perfect blend. But the places I lived when I lived at the beach were too crowded and parking was always a pain. But I’m not a beach guy, I never went to it when I lived there. I do golf, visit the wineries, go to the casino and go to old town, all about a $10 uber ride away. So like many have said, it’s so individual it’s hard for any two people to have the same opinion on a good retirement spot.

paramount-I’m very proud of you, its also wonderful to see you so happy.

scaredy-The answer is no, the numbers never work out in marriage. Risk management is the best anyone can do once the heart is involved. Don’t worry bout ole TG, If I’m anything I’m a tireless researcher and prepared for anything. Without going into the details, lets just call it a no-downside risk scenario, plus she’s hotter in her late 40’s than most 30 year olds. I’d go on about my relationship but it might anger folks. Plus of I typed the details it would baffle people because of our different history, race, childhood, etc. But if you spent an hour seeing us together, you’d understand. That said, there’s still a prenup/trust. It’s more about inheritance than divorce. Older couples who have their own grown children and grandchildren need to take these real word legal steps regardless of feelings. Nobody gets out of here alive and rarely do people die the same day. Lawyers need to earn a living too.

Rich, glad you still do what you do, I consider you a friend and consider myself a fan of yours. I haven’t posted but I still read your articles. I do not think you will ever know the impact on others you’ve had over the years. I for one would not be in such a comfortable position if not fr your efforts.

[temeculaguy]

Hi gang, long time no see. I was bored, clicked on piggington that still is in my “favorites” list and started to read a little. This comment pulled me out of retirement. First off, so glad to see Paramount has stuck it out up here, if he kept both houses his balance sheet thanks him.

Now to the retirement comment. I’m not too far from it and recently conducted an inventory of the good and bad as far as staying put once retired. For those who don’t remember me, I bought at a fairly lucky time and got a 5/4, 3 car garage at the tail end of 2008 for 270k that was a repo originally purchased for the mid 600’s. Houses on my street are going for the high 400’s to low 500’s, so I’m a happy camper right now and have about 50% equity and a sub 2k mortgage with impounds included. Now that the backstory is complete, I have about 5 years until I retire. I did find a soon to be Mrs. TG and the kids have lived at college for quite some time with the oldest graduating in December. BTW empty nesting is awesome.

So retirement is something I think about more and more and the thought of downsizing or relocating is in those thoughts. The problem is that the future Mrs. TG has grown kids (and some grandkids) who live north and mine live South, we rarely get a weekend that someone isn’t visiting. They all love the wineries, old town, pechanga and the endless festivals and events. I’ve had to declare “no visitor weekends” every few months just to get some errands done and to rest my liver. As far as wanting friends to visit for weeks not days, I make people tell me when they are leaving before they come because weekends turn to weeks because they always have more fun than they thought and extend their stays.

As far as travel, I think it is ideal, we are an hour or so from 4 or 5 airports. SD is not a perfect hub for travel and sometimes is costlier than the other other airports. I don’t mind paying for parking and I’m a direct flight junkie, I hate transfers with the luggage and logistical issues. being under 90 minutes from LAX, SNA, ONT and SND gives me the opportunity to go most anywhere directly on our airlines of choice. We’ve been traveling a lot lately and SD is my least favorite airport for many destinations.

Sometimes I’ve pondered a move but everyone I care to have in my home likes coming here and I’ve got 4 queen beds in the 4 guest rooms, most with private bathrooms, they all want me to stay here.

Finally, I’m a numbers guy and the greatest drawback to Temecula is it’s distance for commuters, so why would I pay more to be closer to a job that I wont be going to. Seems to me, the low overhead is the greatest reason to stay. I have done all the math and if i stay, I’ll have 70% of my retirement income be discretionary. Wasn’t that the beauty of all the hard lessons we learned from the great recession.

Another anecdotal example of retirement is my parents, they sold their LA home and paid cash for a temecula home with their LA equity and then retired. They are never home, all they do is travel and they love it.Sure they had to pay $12 a day to park at LAX on their last 30 day trip to Europe. That’s $360!! and their mortgage is $0, not 3k. In fact they brag that their flight, hotel, parking and expenses were less that 2 months mortgage in their former centrally located house of the same size as their current one. So yeah, I’m retiring in Temecula.

[temeculaguy]

It’s sound advice to not listen to strangers but I am one of a few hundred who listened to strangers on this very site and it worked like a charm. The difference is that what they said jived with what I was feeling and was also consistent with what I could see with my own eyes. What it did was reinforce what my uneducated mind felt, with facts, examples and data. I will eternally be grateful to piggington and it contributors over the years. It’was an education that I will never lose. But make no mistake, we were all contrarians and thought differently than the masses. The problem is that view doesn’t apply to all situations, however the formula does. Credit Rich and many of the original gangsters, approach everything without bias, look at the facts and the data and remove as much emotion as possible. Don’t just look at it and think it’s going to fall apart and plan accordingly, only act that way of the data supports it. In 2006, that theory applied to local real estate, however it didn’t apply to stocks in 2008. Some people get get locked into a play, be more flexible. It’s like blackjack, you play your hand based on what it is, but also what the dealer is showing. People forget to factor the dealer’s card too often, I have. Right now it’s 2014, the dealer is showing a different card than it did in 2006 and 2008, and the stock market, and the real estate market have different dealers.

Personally, I think the future is bright, but it doesn’t mean that every bet and every card will be what you want. You still have to analyze the data, look at the dealers card and play the odds. No matter how good the future looks, never hit a 16 against a dealer 5. But it depends on the table you are sitting at and the dealers cars, because sometimes you should take a hot card on 16. In 2008 I should have. That part of my education had a pricier tuition than most, but that’s all it is, tuition and it will always be money well spent.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=temeculaguy][quote=afx114][quote=temeculaguy]Or maybe it’s just some guys who went to harvard and think that they are smarter than you and will get you to give them your money.[/quote]

Or maybe one could take the initiative to do some research and read up on the technology and how it works so that we can have an actual discussion on the pros/cons rather than a series of lazy dismissive comments?

A virtual currency is inevitable. It may be Bitcoin, or it may be some other technology. But the underlying fact is that our current systems are obsolete in today’s insta-economy. In 10 years we will laugh at having to wait 7 days for a wire transfer. By then we’ll feel about today’s banking the same way we now feel about sending a hand-written letter via the post office.[/quote]

I did my research, I watched the facebook movie. Twice!

The lazy and dismissive comments were intentional, I’m dismissing bitcoin as nothing more than a fad with only money launderers as true customers. I can transfer money in seconds, online or in person, what does bitcoin do for me that doesn’t already exist with traditional currency. How does it offer international asset storage that gold doesn’t already offer? I am not a rare niche consumer, I’m mainstream and I have no need for it, nor do most people. It is more likely to not exist in ten years than to replace government currency. You buy it, I won’t and we will just have to wait and see how it turns out.[/quote]

CEO’s committing suicide, hackers stealing it, half the exchanges going under and founders running from being identified as being founders. Fine, don’t listen to me, I’m outdated, I’m not doing research. Piggington attracts an ecclectic mix of eccentrics. They are incredibly fun to follow and learn from, sometimes they are way in front of the curve, but for gods sake don’t listen to 90% of them for financial advice.

http://piggington.com/where_would_piggs_by_the_stock_market#comment-190310

some good writing on this page by me, what an egomaniac I can be.

I lacked the energy to find my 2008 meltdown posts where I chose to poll this forum regarding a windfall of 6k that I had in 2008 when the stock market crashed. I had seven stocks I was considering putting 1k each into and figured I would use the group consensus to drop one. After all the advice I didn’t buy any of them, which was an epic mistake as most doubled, tripled or went up ten fold by the end of the year, all are still riding high. For a while I calculated my loss, 10k, 20k, 40k, as the months went on it got worse, now I don’t want to know, It makes me angry. I should have bought Ford at $1, Harley at $8, Costco at $45, Homebuilder K Hovnanian at 53 cents, the list goes on. But everyone said buy gold, ammo and canned food. This is a niche, local real estate, that’s it. A one trick pony that make one trick ponies seem diversified. The rest is noise meant to amuse.

I hate saying I told you so, but bitcoin will fail, their replacement will fail, read back 7 years, I’m rarely wrong. And following advice regarding real estate within this forum now has me up 250k. As far as other investments, I missed at least 50k when I checked a few years ago on those stocks I mised out on, I don’t really want to know today’s number because I’m sure it’s worse.

Passing observation, oil is a bubble right now. We use less, vehicle efficiency is moving faster than population increase and will continue that direction. Plus the US is moving closer to energy independance each day. It will be propped up to keep that technology and domestic infrastructure investment moving forward but it’s got the future of the Argentine Peso. You’ve been warned.

[temeculaguy]

There is a solution, it’s called a pre-nup. Unless of course you haven’t already had your kids, then I can’t help you. But avoiding romantic entanglements for fear of financial loss is no way to go about enjoying your limited time on this planet. Find a woman you enjoy being with, who treats you like a king, you are attracted to and who is grounded in a similar way to yourself, perfection is overrated. A woman with a great education, career, credit report and investment portfolio is just as likely if not more likely to leave you than a poor one with bad credit. She’s also probably more adept at skewering you when things go south. There are millions of loyal, sexy and loving women out there, unfortunately most men are chasing the same 10% of the female population who do not fall into that category for whatever singular attribute they have. Believe me, I’ve dated some seemingly perfect women, but try to look beyond the exterior and the pedigree.

Make sure she turns you on, will fulfill any fantasies you have or will have and when you see her in a crowded room, she’s the one you would want to take home. I have never been aroused by a balance sheet, in fact any woman that can be described as “perfect” is probably shit in bed. Be smart, but don’t be afraid of a little imperfection. There are plenty of good ones out there, especially the curvy ones (sorry, personal preference), don’t let your filters play tricks on you.

[temeculaguy]

This was enough to bring me out, and a fun trip back through memory lane. Paramount is right, the market has strengthened and for good reason. The deals available when you first posted are gone, but I do not believe the current prices do not represent a bubble yet. When I bought my house at the end of 2008, I had no reservations, now that it sells for almost double I guess I’d worry more, but not for long.

Now with toddlers, you need a car for sure. Probably a job too, those kids get expensive. I’m a few months from being an empty nester and can honestly say that that they are just like fine wine, they cost more with age. Mine cost me about 40k a year combined and both have jobs. Even state college will run you 20k a year with tuition, housing, food, cars, gas, car insurance, health insurance, cell phones, etc etc etc. I’m about to transition to two being away at school and am loading for bear as I expect my tab to get closer to 60k. My advice, come here, but do t soon, great place to raise kids, fun town with lots of things for every speed. However, postpone retirement until the last one graduates college, which in your case will be in about 20 years. Put that retirement fantasy to bed now that you decided to procreate (which I fully support as it will add more to your life than sleeping in for the next 30 years will).

As for medical, we have four hospitals now. Inland valley expanded, loma linda added and the crown jewel is the new Temecula Valley Hospital which recently opened. Scripps or sharp owns rancho springs or inland valley, or at least did when I last checked. All in all, health care caught up finally.

Temecula is a wonderful town, keeps getting better as the years go by. I am currently commuting South and I notice when I exit the freeway the line to exit is shorter than the line to enter the Northbound 15 from Temecula Parkway. There are a lot of jobs here now, unfortunately for most people, the prices get lower as you move North and most cannot afford to live in the city proper, thus we have entered the next phase where people commute TO Temecula.

Which makes me think about all the old discussions, paramount, I hope you kept that paloma house as a rental, you are going to make a mint one day. By my calculations, your doubling down will make you a rich man, wish I had done the same.

Also, the South Temecula bias is confirmed, just like a lot of places, being in certain school boundaries has a value, and Great Oak High School is where the current value is. They are changing the boundaries, being South of Temecula Parkway or the Southern part of the wine country will soon have a financial benefit. The district is rezoning and refusing transfers to that school which used to be fairly easy.

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/temecula/temecula-headlines-index/20140207-temecula-school-boundary-changes-roil-parents.ece

I personally think all the schools are good and the differences are slight up here, but the Jones’ have decided that keeping up has a value and unless you live in the proposed boundaries, you can’t send your kids to the school with the highest scores in riverside or san bernadino counties combined. It’s no longer a concern of mine personally, but any student of r/e values knows it makes a difference.

Once the town gets a university i believe the transformation will be complete. In the 46 years I’ve lived in So Cal I’ve seen towns boom and bust. With everything I’ve learned, this is a town I placed my bet on and it looks like I won, go to Old town on a Friday night, it gets cooler, younger and hipper every month. Hit the wineries and realize everyone is from orange county. Even saw an episode of a show on food network called “chopped” where they described the town as affluent, I was taken aback. If I hadn’t bought, I’d probably be priced out of my own hood in just a few short years, that doesn’t happen because of macroeconomics, that happens because people want to be here. Don’t wait another 4 years, this clock is ticking, in a few years you will be looking at Menifee, at best.

I wish CalFord would come back, gloating is amongst my favorite hobbies. Temecula is now the 3rd safest city of 100k population or more in the US.

[temeculaguy]

Why do people still champion the pizza thief, he was let go after appeal so he never really got the three strikes treatment. Oh, and he was no saint either, still isn’t. But the premise of the law is that if you commit a heinous felony (public demonstrations turning to riots does not count) and you go to prison, not jail. Then commit another one and go to prison again, and then, any felony counts as your third. Even if you kill 2 people in one day, you only get one strike. If you kill 5 people before getting caught, one strike. The point is that after you are caught, serve time, get out, do it again, serve time, you don’t get to do anything wrong, perhaps you need to stay away from potential riots at that point.

Here is a list of the felonies that qualify as your first two strikes.

http://www.threestrikes.org/tscrimes.html

The only one that doesn’t seem heinous is the burglary of an inhabited dwelling. If they dropped that one, the rest are pretty damn bad. If you read the list, spousal abuse is not listed. Bar fights not listed. Public protest that ends in a riot, not listed, unless you manage to molest a child during the protest, then I guess you are just exercising your right to free speech and things went bad. Damn government.

[temeculaguy]

paul, please do not take this as a flippant comment after your first hand account and insight. But when I was on college one of my friends was raised by his gay dad and his partner. It was the 1980’s and not something that was common or commonly spoken of, and certainly not something that was supported by the majority. Anyways, that friend is a big part of my view on the subject today. Not only was he straight (he felt you were born that way, I tend to agree) but the guy was an ass magnet of the highest order. He knew how to dress, was very cultured and well traveled, but most of he knew how to talk to women. In summary, he had more game than anyone I had ever met, to this day and I took a number of cues from him. We had a speech class together that was loaded with hotties. I think I ended up sleeping with one of them, he slept with the rest, sometimes more than one at a time. So do I think gay couples are something to be feared when raising children and will make them gay, nope. In some cases they can be better parents than most straight couples. But this is purely anecdotal, feel free to allow your religion or fear to dismiss differing opinions.

[temeculaguy]

[quote=afx114][quote=temeculaguy]Or maybe it’s just some guys who went to harvard and think that they are smarter than you and will get you to give them your money.[/quote]

Or maybe one could take the initiative to do some research and read up on the technology and how it works so that we can have an actual discussion on the pros/cons rather than a series of lazy dismissive comments?

A virtual currency is inevitable. It may be Bitcoin, or it may be some other technology. But the underlying fact is that our current systems are obsolete in today’s insta-economy. In 10 years we will laugh at having to wait 7 days for a wire transfer. By then we’ll feel about today’s banking the same way we now feel about sending a hand-written letter via the post office.[/quote]

I did my research, I watched the facebook movie. Twice!

The lazy and dismissive comments were intentional, I’m dismissing bitcoin as nothing more than a fad with only money launderers as true customers. I can transfer money in seconds, online or in person, what does bitcoin do for me that doesn’t already exist with traditional currency. How does it offer international asset storage that gold doesn’t already offer? I am not a rare niche consumer, I’m mainstream and I have no need for it, nor do most people. It is more likely to not exist in ten years than to replace government currency. You buy it, I won’t and we will just have to wait and see how it turns out.

[temeculaguy]

Then you will be free to be a victim, people get the government they deserve. Somebody famous said that but i can’t remember who. Old age can be unkind, by the time one gains the wisdom one has always sought, their faculties betray them.

[temeculaguy]

But we are from Southern California, so we do not fit the stereotype. We’re crazy. Find me a traditional, conservative Southern Californian and you will have found me someone who moved here. Although not an absolute, sunshine and pretty people to look at kind of takes the hate out of you. Name the last car-flipping riot in San Diego. The 2007 wildfires in San Diego was the second largest evacuation in US history, almost nothing bad happened. Compare that to Katrina. We’re different, maybe not better or worse, but different.

[temeculaguy]

Or maybe it’s just some guys who went to harvard and think that they are smarter than you and will get you to give them your money.

[Author]

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