what you love about living in USA!

[spalding]

Thanks for that. Funny Irvine was our first choice initially and we've been out and looked around that area and even viewed houses for sale but the cost of houses was what was attracting us out towards Temecula and Murrieta areas you get alot more for your buck.

[EnGarde]

I agree with Karrot,

"xxx I would certainly move here and see everything before you buy anything".

Also, you can check LATimes newspaper online.

Also, this one : search online for "Best Places To Live 2007" by Money Magazine. Claremont, California is ranked 5th. (No, I do not live in Claremont.)

Search also online, "Academic Performance Index",
as it shows how good the public school districts in specific areas/counties in California. Higher API, usually means, better neighborhoods. Although, better neighborhoods, may mean, higher real estate prices. (Click on "2007 API Growth" under, "County Reports". Riverside, in the drop down menu is #33. Then choose, "2007 Growth API Report - List of Schools in the county", click SUBMIT. I live in a school district (not Riverside county), with API close to 900, our elementary school has API above 900 (then it goes down from there, middle school in high-800's for API and highschool in mid-800's in API). Somehow, the API index, correlates to the property values. (Lots of people want to get into districts with excellent public schools, not a lot of supply for housing in specific school district, thus, more competition).

For property listings (to have an idea of house prices per neighborhood) search for "Realtor". You can use the API, for specific places. (If you can click the names of the schools, it will give you an address. Choose the zipcode of the school, to look for houses in that neighborhood.)

If I may say, I hope you can get work, within a mile to five miles of where you live. If there is work nearer the beach area, that would be wonderful. If there is a train station, not too far away from where you consider living, to where you can work, that will also be great, just so you do not have to depend on the highways to bring you to work. LA's public transportation system is not the best , even by US standards.

There is a fun video (outtakes included) in youtube. Search for "Visit California" by user "meringcarson" (no, I am not meringcarson).

[karrots]

Iron Horse knows his stuff.

Both Temecula & Murrieta are very family friendly. This is a cheaper area (like Iron Horse said) than anything nearer the coast, but still really nice homes and options for activities, schools, etc. Both very family friendly. Don't be lured by the even cheaper prices of Lake Elsinore and Hemet (both nearby, both not nice IMO). Lake Elsinore is not a nice place. Hemet is very very hot and distant (like living in the desert). I prefer driving the 15 rather than taking Hwy 5 anywhere (inland route verses coastal route), but again like Iron Horse said, it can be a pain to get to the beach, and its also a matter of when you need to travel and how often.

Are you planning on commuting somewhere for a job? Are there certain things you have to live by?

Tell us a little more about what you're looking for and maybe we can point you better in the right direction.