Fresno or Modesto??? (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Long Beach: renting, crime rates, employment)

[Cahatch]

hey smiller... noticed eggs were $3.49 here ... REG price mind ya! I told DH..uh nooooo don't want eggs... will wait for a sale... phhtttt guess I better get me a hen...

Gas is 3.95.... thought that was sucky...don't think I will visit Tahoe anytime soon..

KELLEY... have a house here in Turlock that I will sell ya! be ready for bad air... we are leaving this state as soon as possible... house sells.. we be gone... I would choose Modesto over Fresno... no wait... TURLOCK is best...

[Lionhearted]

If you have to live in the San Joaquin Valley - unbearably hot summers and thick fog in winters, - I'd have to choose Medesto. Fresno is known as the Raisin Capital of the World. but Medesto is the setting for "American Graffiti." I think. History always wins over agriculture. I hope I'm being helpful.

[Kibbiekat]

Originally Posted by rmarski

If you have to live in the San Joaquin Valley - unbearably hot summers and thick fog in winters, - I'd have to choose Medesto. Fresno is known as the Raisin Capital of the World. but Medesto is the setting for "American Graffiti." I think. History always wins over agriculture. I hope I'm being helpful.

Actually, Selma is raisin capital of the world. Gee I lived in Fresno for 34 years, and I can't think of their slogan. Is there one?

[FresnoFacts]

Most of the slogans heard around Fresno the last few years have been variations of "The New California" theme.

That reflects that much of California's future will center around the Central Valley.

[skippy22]

why not escalon or oakdale? graet small communities right off the highway 120
still safe!!
modesto is going downhill fast and fresno is the northern LA...

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by kelley4422

My husband has been offered a job in each city with Kaiser. We've toured both, but so hard to decide! We don't have kids, 3 small dogs, and will rent for the first year or so. We like the housing area in both towns. As far as traffic, safety, things to do, things to do within a couple hours...how do we choose??! ANY advice would be great. There is so much negative stuff about each city, some positives would be good. We're coming from Michigan, and we understand our whole lifestyle will be different. Thanks everyone!!!

It has to be Fresno hands down because of what's surrounds the Big City of Fresno......Yosemite National Park 50 Miles to the Northeast.....
The (2) second tallest Mountain in the United States Of America 50 Miles to the east.....Some of the tallest trees on Earth 50 Miles to the Southeast of Fresno California. Better minor league sports teams than Modesto....Better shopping Malls..Better Restaurants than Modesto California which is a small city unlike Fresno. Everything is better in Fresno except the really poor quality of AIR...try living in the Foothills for better air quality.....

[huntman58]

Originally Posted by Howest2008

It has to be Fresno hands down because of what's surrounds the Big City of Fresno......Yosemite National Park 50 Miles to the Northeast.....
The (2) second tallest Mountain in the United States Of America 50 Miles to the east.....Some of the tallest trees on Earth 50 Miles to the Southeast of Fresno California. Better minor league sports teams than Modesto....Better shopping Malls..Better Restaurants than Modesto California which is a small city unlike Fresno. Everything is better in Fresno except the really poor quality of AIR...try living in the Foothills for better air quality.....

Well I do not know if you have moved yet or not but if not let me threw a few things at you being I have lived in Calif. most of my life say from around 1965 to 1992 then back again in 2002 tell now. This also covered time in the east bay area, Modesto and Fresno. 1st off Fresno would be my last chouse and it is I live well about 24 miles south west of there. reasons being crime, gangs, (very very active) schools, super bad air ( if any one has or is sensitive to bad air not a good place at all) this includes many days a year were the air is so bad they label it unhealthy for every one! This can be any time of the year also. It also is a hot bed for kids with asthma so some thing to think about. I have lived in the area now for over 4 years and can not wait to get out! Step son and my self fight lug troubles all the time because of the air. On bad days it burns your lungs you can feel it and taste it. This go's for about every one not just people who are sensitive to bad air it just is flat out unhealthy! Now summer it gets hot and I do mean hot try 110 or more on the high side with lots of days over 100 like 30 or more with no days going below that. The parks are okay around the cities but the best places are up higher as you stated. To get away from the heat you need to get above 5,000 feet or more. Winter can be kind of cold and damp because of the fog and with the fog it will be so bad if you can see two dashed lines on the road your doing good. This is why you hear of the big for wrecks out here because with fog that has less then 100 feet visibility you still have people that think they can drive over 70 mph. just a few weeks a go step daughter was hit in the fog because some one speeding did not see the red-light so they ran it and broadsided her totaling her car that goodness no one was hurt real bad but the other driver flat said they could not see the light tell they were on top of it. They got tickets for speeding and running the light. They were doing a bit over 50 and were ticketed for speeding to fast for safety because they should have been doing less then 35. The posted is 65 to give an idea how bad it can get. Traffic is bad in the summer at the national parks and they do at times close them down because of to many cars. Entrance fee is also at $20.00 a car now. There are also other cities that are just as easy to get to the parks from that are farther north. But most in and around the valley any were do have there problems. Clovis is a better one for the Fresno area and also the more expense one to live in.
Farther north Oakdale is nice and also easy to get to the parks, also easier for snow skiing. Summer better and more camping and fishing. Farther north you need to go above Sacramento as between sac and Modesto Lodi, Oakdale as I said and maybe Valley springs. If a person can afford it and can find work Sonora, San Andréa’s, Angels camp in the foot hills are also good and close to some good lakes also above the fog and right at the snow line get some but not a lot so easy to deal with . Oakhurst nice also but gets almost as hot as Fresno may be 10 degrees cooler. If you want to know more about these areas or some other one send me an e mail and I will let you know what I can but can not tell you much south of Fresno at all as I have only lived and traveled most all of the northern part of the state . Very few places in the northern end I have not spent time in or know people that I can ask. but Fresno In my book is like Oakland, LA, Richmond, and most of the other bad areas all places I would not live given a chouse and as soon as the wife is done with her degree and we have the cash saved we are gone from Fresno and most likely California to be honest as to much traffic and to expensive to live here. Also right now unemployment in the Fresno area is around 15.5% not good so check things out careful as California has many places on paper that look good but in person are not. It no longer is the state it once was and it is not a place I would say is great to raise a family or things like that. But if you want multi cultural then bingo jackpot! as that is were California is a winner fact is depending were you live and your authenticity you can be one of the majority or a minority all depends of the city and neighborhood any more but as a state over all Hispanic is one of the larger populations and as whole whites are now a minority. So diversity is alive and well and make for a rich experience with all the chouses at your finger tips.

[scubashawn68]

I have lived in both towns...although it was awhile ago....I prefer Fresno.
It's bigger, the traffic is not bad, there's more to do, your close to the lakes and to Yosemite.

[FresnoFacts]

Just to correct you, unemployment is higher that the state average but not as high as you say.

Unemployment in all of Fresno County (including the rural towns with ag jobs) is at 11.4% in Oct, it was 9.7% in Madera County, 11.1% in San Joaquin County (Stockton) and and a higher 11.8% in Stanislaus County (Modesto).

But looking at individual cities in October:
City of Fresno 10.7%
City of Clovis 6.0%
City of Madera 13.9%
City of Modesto 10.1%
City of Stockton 13.5%
City of Sacramento 9.5%

The most recent economic forecasts out of UCLA and UOP are that Fresno/Clovis is near its economic low, and will come nowhere near its very high unemployment of the 1990s. But the other areas in the state will be worse off (higher unemployment) than they were in the 1990s.

Crime in Fresno has fallen and is now comparable to Omaha or Portland. It is actually lower crime in Fresno than in Sacramento, San Francisco or others.

Check out the crime rankings of cities over 75,000 people here, listed lowest to highest crime. Fresno is #242 out of 385 cities, Omaha is #239 Portland is at #245.
http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Rank.pdf

Personally, I consider the $20 per car to get into the parks cheap compared to what people pay for a day at Disneyland.

In fact a better deal to visit the national parks is a year pass with unlimited visits at all national parks at $80 for the entire car, $10 a year for seniors and free to those with permanent disabilities.
America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass

[Unruly Sky]

Originally Posted by kelley4422

My husband has been offered a job in each city with Kaiser. We've toured both, but so hard to decide! We don't have kids, 3 small dogs, and will rent for the first year or so. We like the housing area in both towns. As far as traffic, safety, things to do, things to do within a couple hours...how do we choose??! ANY advice would be great. There is so much negative stuff about each city, some positives would be good. We're coming from Michigan, and we understand our whole lifestyle will be different. Thanks everyone!!!

i can't speak for fresno (at least not at this time) but i can say something about modesto. i'm from ceres (which is next to modesto) and have gone to modesto for most of everything. there are good things about modesto... i think one of them is the proximity to other cities in the state. if you want to go to northern california, it's not that far from the drive. if you want to go to reno, it's not that far as well. i found many people in modesto to be nice and polite.. for a growing city, it still has a small town feel to it. modesto also has nice parks to walk your dogs on so i don't think that will be a problem.

anyway, good luck in whichever you choose.