I am resurrecting this old post because my husband & I are considering a vacation/retirement home in Temecula. I am concerned about the heat & humidity in summer. (Don't mind the heat so much as the humidity...) We are just past 60, quite active, a few years away from retirement, but would use it as a vacation home until then. Is there much to do besides, wine tasting?(which we love!)

KathyM, I live in San Diego and have been to Temecula from time to time. For me the weather is just too hot in the summer and fall. If you like to do outdoor sports such as tennis, jogging, etc and are bothered by the heat I would reconsider a location where the weather is milder. The problem is of course the closer you get to the coast the more expensive the homes are.

I consider the tax situation in California and the significant state debt to be real detriments to retirement there.

I agree with nanabee- Temecula is hot, hot, and dry in the summer. Not even with the lovely desert scenery of Arizona or the great winter weather.

As always you should really rent there for at least a year ( all seasons) before you make such a huge financial committment.

High property taxes ... high income taxes ... very high sales taxes (over 10% in some areas).

Politicians *always* trying to steal more of your wealth and income, to buy votes from numerous special interest groups.

WHY retire here, especially in a more-or-less-desert area?

OTOH, if you could afford housing on the CA coast or certain mountain areas , it's beautiful.

But unless you've got a retirement nest-egg of several $Million or more, there are far better places to retire to, IMHO.

Everytime I go to or through Temecula I think of it as "Instant City." Someone just added some water in the past decade and it grew houses and mini malls with big chain stores. It's hot and dusty but on the bright side rarely humid.

Thanks for the feedback - here is more of our situation...we live in the northeast...no close family left. OUR summers are very hot and humid and our winters are nasty. Our only daughter settled in Orange County in 2006 and expects to remain there. We would like to "buy in" in California while the prices are down, to have a vacation home now, a get-away that she can use, and a place for our eventual retirement. We DON'T have a tremendous amount of money and Temecula seems very affordable by California standards... We have visited there several times; my daughter more often and liked it very much. I realize living there is different than visiting. If someone has other suggestions for affordable places to look at, I would very much welcome the suggestions... thanks all again - I love the "real" advice I get from Fodor's!

Well, what are you looking for? A condo? A single family?

You might want to look at areas along the 78, it runs East to West in the Northern section of San Diego. . Here's a site that might help you determine housing prices. http://www.trulia.com
There are some 55+ housing in the area. I would rather live in a condo in North Park (central San Diego) than to live and retire in Temecula. At least you have some type of “There” there.

If you like that area, how about Escondido? It’s has some things happening there.