Temecula CA Cost Of Living

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Recent Blog

TEMECULA, CA COST OF LIVING

So you are considering relocating to a beautiful sunny area of Southern California?  I get hundreds of calls every year from people all over America with questions regarding the Temecula, California area. One of the most important things you need to research before moving anywhere is the cost of living. Housing, utilities, groceries, cell phones, are all expenses that add up and could potentially make or break a successful relocation or move. Hopefully, I can help people realize or understand what it’s going to take financially to make a move to this wonderful area of Southern California.  Below, I will break down the Temecula, CA cost of living and give you a range of what you can expect to pay when moving to Temecula. I will add up the total cost and voila, you have a good idea of what it costs to live in Temecula, California.

Rent or Mortgage

 It doesn’t matter where you live, your rent or mortgage is going to be the biggest expense. As of right now in the spring of 2023 home prices across America are skyrocketing. The same goes for Temecula, California. Expect to pay a minimum of $600,000 for a home. . If you’re looking at homes that are listed for $600,000, expect to place offers anywhere from $565,000 to $600,000. 

There will be many variables when trying to figure out your monthly mortgage. I suggest you Google a mortgage calculator and input your numbers which include interest rate, down payment, taxes, insurance, etc.  Better yet? Find a  lender so you can start the pre-approval process. In this market, many homeowners are requesting pre-approval letters from lenders just for you to see the property

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging. On average your mortgage each month will probably be around $2,800 

Rental

For a 2500 square foot home in Temecula right now you will pay anywhere from $2,600 to $3,100 a month. Make sure that you keep the first-month, last month, and security deposit in mind. Many places for total move-in cost is going to run around $7000 to $8,00.

Car payment

As I go down this list,  I will do my best and give you averages. I want people to have a good idea of what it’s going to cost to live here in Temecula in 2021. Full disclosure, we personally, tend to be more on the conservative side when it comes to buying “STUFF” so that will reflect in this article. On average, let’s put a number of $400 a month per car when it comes to a monthly payment. 

One thing I can say for certain is to make sure you have a car that is reliable and comfortable. Many people who live in Temecula have a commute to work. You will need something that not only gets you to and from work but is nice to sit in for an hour or two to every day.  The traffic of course is one of the downsides of Southern California. If you do not like traffic, this area might not be the best fit for you.

Insurance

We pay around $2,200 to $2,400 a year for our car insurance  Which would break down to around $200 a month. My best advice when it comes to car insurance in Southern California is to make sure you have enough and include uninsured motorists.  There are many people in Southern California that are driving around without insurance. If there is a hit-and-run or somebody does not have insurance you need to be covered. 

Registration

From what we have heard, registration in California can be a lot more expensive depending on what vehicle you’re going to drive. If you have a truck, expect to pay a lot more than a car that California deems environmentally friendly.  personally, we just drive simple normal cars so registration runs around $250 per car per year. I have heard if you have a truck can be upwards of $750. Obviously, this is a huge difference and you should do your research before registering your car. You might want to reconsider that big truck.

Utilities
Water

California has become a place where you do not want to consume or use a great deal of water in your home.  All new builds have to have drought-resistant landscape now and if you have grass or speak to anybody that does want that nice Lush Lawn their water bill will reflect that. For an average home expect to pay around $120 a month for water. That can rise significantly if you are watering your lawn, that’s why many people have  Turn 2 drought resistant landscape or artificial turf or lawn.

$120 Month

Electric

Electricity in Southern California, especially during the summer can be astronomical. If you have a 3000 square foot home and run the air constantly you will probably be up in the 500 to $700 range per month for 4 months. Having said that, solar is becoming more and more prevalent and the chances of you purchasing a home with solar is becoming more common. What solar does in my opinion ( if you add it) is level out the playing field month-to-month. instead of getting massive bills for three to five months in the summer, it will be evenly distributed throughout the year.  The best-case scenario would be to purchase a home with solar and have the seller pay it off at the close of escrow. This way, you get the benefits of a low monthly electric bill without having to pay off the $30,000 system.

Average- $200 a month

Groceries

One thing I notice and really like about Southern California is that the produce is relatively inexpensive.  If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and pick what is in season you can get away with spending a lot less than you might think. In Temecula specifically, you have stores like Costco which has many deals with bulk items, and  WinCo that has a great variety at very reasonable prices.  My wife and I do not have kids and often enjoy going out once or twice during the week but if I had to put a number on groceries for a family of four it would be around  $800 a month. 

Gas for cars

Everybody knows it and here’s it but gas for your car it’s going to be one of those expenses that is higher in Temecula than in most parts of the country. As of right now in 202, gas is going to run about $4 a gallon when in many other states it’s under $3. I really can’t put a number on gas because I don’t know where you are driving to work. If you work from home you could spend next to nothing on gas but if you work in San Diego this could jump significantly and could be hundreds of dollars every week. 

Because this blog post is all about giving you an idea of what it will cost to live in Temecula I will give a number of $500 a month for gas for two people.

Health Insurance

Our health insurance for a PPO runs around $500 per month. This is with a high deductible as we do not often use the hospital or get sick. I would guess that for a family of four you’re going to be around $1,000 per month for average health insurance. For this blog post, I’m going to split the difference and say it’s $750 a month for health insurance.

Cell Phones

Just like many other parts of the country, Verizon is one of the most expensive carriers. We use Verizon because of where we live in Temecula. We had T-Mobile but it did not work in the home we are living in right now. Verizon is a little better but still not good enough for what we pay per month in my opinion ($192). For a family of four in Temecula right now you will get away with spending around $170 a month on average for cell phones. That can be less or more depending on the carrier and if your phones are paid off.

Entertainment

I have to include entertainment because people are going to want to do something during the month. Whether it’s going to the wineries, going out to eat, or playing a round of golf it’s you’ll end up spending something on entertainment. I personally would set aside $60 a week for a fun night out or a Sunday doing some wine tasting. Golf is also going to run around $40 per round on average during the week. I’m being conservative on the entertainment side,  many people will spend much more than $200 a month for this. If you’re just wanting to get out to Temecula to enjoy the weather and have a life change you can get away with spending only $200 a month for entertainment.

Restaurants

 I know restaurants will go under the entertainment tab but I wanted to specify and give you an idea of what it will cost you to go out and eat and have a couple of drinks. We are experts on this subject as we do it very often. We try and stick to happy hours when possible and even split dinner plates so we get to go out more often. On average,  our bill is around $60 for the two of us. Some days it’s $30, other days it’s $80.  One of the great things about Southern California is most restaurants do have happy hours which usually include the appetizer menu and deals on drinks. Appetizers are going to run anywhere from $5 to $8 per plate and you’re usually going to spend around $5 to $7 her drink, beer might be $4.

Your move to Temecula

I wrote a whole blog post and video on this topic here. One thing that I do want to stress in this blog post is to make sure to have $10,000 to $20,000 saved for all of the incidentals. Down payments, furniture, the initial bill set up, and food are just a couple of things you will spend extra on in the first month. I suggest that you don’t bring a lot of stuff out here, especially if you’re traveling from another part of the country. When you get out here garage sales in Facebook Marketplace have almost anything at highly discounted prices. Don’t move junk from one house to the next

Moving 10,0000

Miscellaneous 

 Oil changes, new brakes, clothes, propane etc etc etc, there is always something to be purchased. 4 miscellaneous I’m going to add another $200 a month and this should cover anything that pops up on average over the year.

After adding all of these expenses up it comes to around $7,300 a month. Pretty crazy to think that this is what it costs to live here to be honest. I’m probably on the low end of some of these things as well. What I can say is that Temecula is a beautiful place and if you can afford it and have the drive to succeed you will love it here. Temecula has absolutely everything in regards to amenities. Grocery stores, restaurants, shopping, outdoor activities, golf, and the beautiful weather is the icing on the cake. Thanks for reading!!!

Thank you for reading our blog, if you have any interest in moving to Temecula or the surrounding area please read the  Google Reviews here for Greenleaf Real Estate & Appraisal.

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