I went to high school in Murrieta. Perfect location.
40 minutes to Oceanside, 1 hour to SD, 45 to Riverside, and an hour 15 to LA (no traffic). 2 hours to big bear during the winter. Pechanga was down the street if you gambled.

Summers were hot though. We were near the desert so we would see 110+.

Murrieta was small in 2000. We had one high school and houses were under 300k. By the time my cousins graduated in 2010’s they were 4 high schools in the area. I can’t imagine that traffic.