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I didn't claim it was you, was referring to the other person's comment. My point is just that a 1M metro area in CA is different than a similarly sized metro in a less populated state.
Downtowns can be redeveloped to be more dense and walkable. It's a gradual process of replacing low buildings and surface parking with taller structures, creating pocket parks, protected bike lanes, improving the pedestrian experience, and actively courting businesses. Time and investment are required, so it's something voters need to support. While I don't know for sure, my sense was that citizens of Fresno value convenience and driving, hence the strip malls and car oriented neighborhoods. Not my jam, but a lot of people like it.
I've skied and snowboarded all over the Sierras (including China Peak), PNW, and Intermountain West. Sorry, the snow in the Sierras, even at higher elevations, isn't the same. Mammoth and Kirkwood get the closest to the 'Cold Smoke' powder one finds in the Intermountain West, but it's still wetter and heavier.
California was one of the most violent states during the 90s. There was no interest in making anything walkable back in the day. Just go look at the mess known as metro San Jose for proof. People want walkability today because people feel safer today. It's a different world(California will soon start making safest state lists), and developers are adjusting.
China peak had very dry snow until recently. It depends on the year, of course. Ttyl.
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnythingOutdoors
IMO its proximity to larger metros isn't a benefit because it means the city is treated as more of a bedroom community. .
Fair point I only bring up all the locations and their accessibility within a couple of hours drive because the OP's niece would essentially be treating Fresno as a bedroom community for a couple of years. I wanted to highlight that Fresno isn't some far off isolated island.
Fair point I only bring up all the locations and their accessibility within a couple of hours drive because the OP's niece would essentially be treating Fresno as a bedroom community for a couple of years. I wanted to highlight that Fresno isn't some far off isolated island.
Yes you are right it would be "only" 2-3 yrs.
In terms of a day trip or long-range commuting- adding an extra hour, 2, or 3 makes a big difference in how comfortable or how often you are going to make that trip;
and
Unfortunately, SoCal is not close to fresno, nor is most of the Bay Area. Coastal beaches are pretty far too. Her mom is in Sacramento, 3 hrs away, not exactly close either.
My step-niece doesn't care for camping much, still I'm trying to convince her that Yosemite is doable as a day trip, but argueably National Parks, especially Yosemite have major limitations/disadvantages in the spring, summer, fall in terms of crowds, costs, accommodations, reservations.
In terms of a day trip or long-range commuting- adding an extra hour, 2, or 3 makes a big difference in how comfortable or how often you are going to make that trip;
and
Unfortunately, SoCal is not close to fresno, nor is most of the Bay Area. Coastal beaches are pretty far too. Her mom is in Sacramento, 3 hrs away, not exactly close either.
My step-niece doesn't care for camping much, still I'm trying to convince her that Yosemite is doable as a day trip, but argueably National Parks, especially Yosemite have major limitations/disadvantages in the spring, summer, fall in terms of crowds, costs, accommodations, reservations.
Central coast trips are not bad. Stop it, chim.
Socal trips are hell, but that wasnt always the case. Better off flying to socal nowadays to be honest. Plenty of flights to socal.
Bay area trips arent too bad. But theyre best left for the weekend.
California was one of the most violent states during the 90s. There was no interest in making anything walkable back in the day. Just go look at the mess known as metro San Jose for proof. People want walkability today because people feel safer today. It's a different world(California will soon start making safest state lists), and developers are adjusting.
The focus on car-centric urban planning predates 90s crime and extends back to the white flight of the mid twentieth century. Americans abandoned cities in favor of redlined (aka white) neighborhoods with exclusionary zoning. And we're still dealing with the fallout of this, everything from crushing commutes to unaffordable housing to bland unwalkable cities. Some cities have made an effort to remedy these issues, whereas others have decided to keep sprawling. In other words, it's less about crime and more about urban planning. Fresno could make downtown walkable and inviting, but this is something the citizens would have to value and prioritize.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dontbelievehim
China peak had very dry snow until recently. It depends on the year, of course. Ttyl.
Dry for California maybe. If you've ever skied powder in Utah/Colorado/Idaho you'd know it's just not the same. The dryness of snow is more a function of geography, not elevation. Mountains push storm moisture higher, where air pressure is lower and therefore lower air temperatures. This in combination with mountain orographic wind flow results in increased precipitation over mountains. The Sierra Nevada Range is the first in line for storms off the Pacific (the Coast Ranges being relatively minor), which means its snowpack has higher water content. Snow becomes dryer and lighter as you move though successive inland ranges. China Peak is on the western slope of the Sierras, so it gets wetter heavier snow relative to the Intermountain West. Mammoth, on the Eastern Escarpment of the Sierras, gets dryer snow because a lot of the moisture content is lost as storm systems pass over the crest. Skiing 'cold smoke' powder of more interior ranges is pure joy compared to Sierra Cement. However, the heavier snow of the Sierras consolidates rather quickly, which is great for touring as the avalanche risk is typically considerably lower.
The focus on car-centric urban planning predates 90s crime and extends back to the white flight of the mid twentieth century. Americans abandoned cities in favor of redlined (aka white) neighborhoods with exclusionary zoning. And we're still dealing with the fallout of this, everything from crushing commutes to unaffordable housing to bland unwalkable cities. Some cities have made an effort to remedy these issues, whereas others have decided to keep sprawling. In other words, it's less about crime and more about urban planning. Fresno could make downtown walkable and inviting, but this is something the citizens would have to value and prioritize.
Dry for California maybe. If you've ever skied powder in Utah/Colorado/Idaho you'd know it's just not the same. The dryness of snow is more a function of geography, not elevation. Mountains push storm moisture higher, where air pressure is lower and therefore lower air temperatures. This in combination with mountain orographic wind flow results in increased precipitation over mountains. The Sierra Nevada Range is the first in line for storms off the Pacific (the Coast Ranges being relatively minor), which means its snowpack has higher water content. Snow becomes dryer and lighter as you move though successive inland ranges. China Peak is on the western slope of the Sierras, so it gets wetter heavier snow relative to the Intermountain West. Mammoth, on the Eastern Escarpment of the Sierras, gets dryer snow because a lot of the moisture content is lost as storm systems pass over the crest. Skiing 'cold smoke' powder of more interior ranges is pure joy compared to Sierra Cement. However, the heavier snow of the Sierras consolidates rather quickly, which is great for touring as the avalanche risk is typically considerably lower.
Cities can dream all they want, but if developers refuse to take the risk it's not gonna get built. Fresnos downtown redevelopment has come from small time developers. Thats why progress has been slow. No big chances will be taken until HSR gets near completion(i expect big news in 2-3 years )
Fresno was still going through white flight at the time most other large cities started fixing up their downtown(90s). Each city has their own time-line. Boise, luckily, never had issues with white flight. Congrats.
Original meaning of sierra cement is the phenomenon of rain on top of snow(snow turns into cold cement). The meaning was changed by ski-snobs to mean moist California snow. Well, theres been no sierra cement this year at china peak, its pretty much all been snow.
China peak tops out at roughly 8800 feet, so its naturally going to be dryer than most western sierra ski areas. The snow is nice most years, but it was nicer than usual this winter because so much snow came from alaska.
Just want to add that i found a new site that calculates as the crow flies
Heres updated info
North fresno to shaver lake marina = 27-28 miles
North fresno to china peak = 39-40 miles (7k base elevation)(Similar distance as downtown sacramento to placerville, ca. Hi, chim)
Downtown slc to alta 18 miles
Downtown boise to ski basin = 12 miles (5800 base elevation?)
I know road miles are more important, but its still good info to know. Especially when talking about stuff like mountain views.
Edit: heres the website to calculate distances. Have fun with it, chim.
I don't know if you've ever read the San Joaquin Valley description in wikipedia but it makes me question why anyone would knowingly want to move there. Bad air from trucks, fertilizer & heat, contaminated groundwater and Valley fever. Asthma is like #2 for diagnosed conditions.
Frankly I was considering moving there but this stuff has me scared away from it.
Many years ago Fresno had a small Coca Cola Bottling Plant.
I was sent to it on a work assignment the early 80’s for a couple of months.
Most of the employees there that had it going on did not live in the city of Fresno.
They lived east in the hills and those hills are rather nice.
The city not so much.
There is just an odd feeling about that place.
Near Fresno State it was like a normal college town area.
On the other side of town it got somewhat creepy near the old Golden State Highway.
At that time it was like an abandoned area with old motels and bars.
It was common to see the girls standing in front of the motels too.
I stayed near there because I was trying to save as much of my per diem money as I could to help buy my first house.
This meant I got to see a lot of the bad side of things.
It was not scary dangerous.
It was just creepy odd like an impoverished area that had never advanced from the 50’s.
I went to this area years later to buy car parts for a vintage car I was building with my son.
It had not changed much, not much at all.
I don't know if you've ever read the San Joaquin Valley description in wikipedia but it makes me question why anyone would knowingly want to move there. Bad air from trucks, fertilizer & heat, contaminated groundwater and Valley fever. Asthma is like #2 for diagnosed conditions.
Frankly I was considering moving there but this stuff has me scared away from it.
Nothing wrong with staying away or being concerned cause theres definitely problems in the valley, but wiki isnt a good source for moving advice. Neither are news sources because theyre all about clicks today.
Let me go through your concerns, mr new poster
Valley fever is a pretty much a farmers disease in fresno county. Dont want valley fever, dont become a farmer. Odds are low for you getting valley fever if you dont work on a farm. Btw, there are places in CA that get valley fever and never get attention for it (slo county, socal deserts, etc. Phoenix has it much worse with their version of valley fever and you never hear a peep about it.). Its an issue throughout the southwest, not just the Central valley.
Fresno has clean water because most water comes from rivers. There are two rivers near fresno, in case you didnt know. Bad water comes from well water being too close to farming. Thats not an issue for the city of fresno. And even thats improving because newsom is spending millions to fix well water for rural Californians.
California is working on fixing truck pollution. Its an issue thats going to be fixed within our lifetime. Best advice for movers is dont live next to the two most used freeways for trucks(99 or 180). Stay far way from those and youll be fine unless you already suffer from terrible asthma, which if you do, then you probably shouldnt be looking at any CA cities in the first place. Edit: Asthma rates are improving in the valley, not getting worse.
The heat is legendary. Everyone knows that. But at least it's truly a dry heat unlike Phoenix. And At least there are Easy escapes to get away from the heat in fresno. Good luck escaping the heat in dallas.
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I only bring up all the locations and their accessibility within a couple of hours drive because the OP's niece would essentially be treating Fresno as a bedroom community for a couple of years. I wanted to highlight that Fresno isn't some far off isolated island.
scary facts
