Murrieta Makes USAA's 'Top Military Communities' List of Places to Move

The following was submitted for publication by USAA:

Military families relocating to the San Diego area should consider putting Murrieta at the top of their list of communities to explore, according to a new study by USAA.

USAA, a financial services provider focused on the military community, developed the 2014 “Top Military Communities” list to identify areas that offer military families looking to rent or buy a high quality of life in an affordable, off-installation location.  In the list, they specifically named the northeast portion of Murrieta.

“Northeast Murrieta is a great place for military families stationed at Camp Pendleton," said Maggie Hahn, who is a USAA employee and former military spouse.  "It ranked well in our study because it offers reasonably priced housing and high GreatSchools Ratings. The commute from Northeast Murrieta to Camp Pendleton may take a little longer, but there are plenty of amenities such as shopping, restaurants and parks in the area.” 

Other San Diego locations receiving high marks in the study include Winchester and Temecula-North around Camp Pendleton, Eucalyptus Hills and Lakeside near MCAS Miramar, and Bay Terraces and Paradise Hills for families stationed at Navy Region Southwest installations.

“Military families live a uniquely mobile lifestyle, receiving orders to move to a new duty station every few years. We want to make it easier for them to choose their next home,” said Sarah Goodwin, assistant vice president of USAA Home Circle®, a comprehensive service offering USAA members real estate guidance, tools and products. “This list – combined with Home Circle’s property search choices, detailed listings and network of preferred, local real estate agents – can help remove some of the uncertainty military families face when moving to an unfamiliar area.”

The study evaluated communities in the five U.S. metro areas with the greatest military active-duty and dependent populations, as reported by the Department of Defense1. USAA and a panel of local preferred USAA MoversAdvantage® real estate agents who specialize in military relocation reviewed community variables, including: 

• Crime rate
• Affordability
• Quality of primary schools
• Proximity to military installations
• Access to shopping, restaurants, and parks and recreation

“One of the most challenging aspects of moving to a new city is figuring out where to live,” said Hahn. “Before my husband retired from the Marine Corps, we managed six military relocations – most of them with young children in tow. Our primary concern in each move was to find a family-friendly community near the installation that we could afford. With USAA Home Circle’s tools and resources, families can feel confident about their next move.”

 USAA also commissioned lists of the top military communities in Fayetteville, N.C.; Killeen, Texas; Norfolk, Va.; and Washington, D.C. To see the lists and search for homes for sale or rent, visit usaa.com/tmc.

Methodology

Each community variable was weighted based on what active-duty member families said was important to them, and then received a combined score from quantitative data and a qualitative assessment. Communities were then ranked within each metro area based on total points for all variables.

Communities with the following attributes were excluded from the list: an active-duty military population less than 1 percent, located more than 25 miles or 40 minutes (whichever is greater) from the nearest military installation in most markets2, median home and rental prices above the metro area Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) of an E-6 with dependents, and violent and/or property crime rate in the top 10 percent of the metro area.