South Salinas (Seaside, Monterey, Marina: short sales, rent, selling a home) - Monterey County - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

Californiagreengal · 07-19-2010, 11:51 PM

I have read so much about Salinas, crime, gangs, etc.
We are moving to South Salinas because my husband transferred to Salinas for work. So please, I need to know more about South Salinas.

Is South Salinas like a separate city from Salinas? Is it safe to go around town with my child? He would be going to the Mission park school, can anyone tell me about this school. We looked in Seaside and were not impressed, it was ugly and looked much more Ghetto than anywhere else. Marina was not too impressive either.

Is $335000 - $350000 too much to pay for a 3bd 2 ba older home?

Anything else about this city would be much appreciated.

Californiagreengal · 07-22-2010, 10:58 PM

anybody???

MtnSurfer · 07-22-2010, 11:37 PM

Well, much has been said about Salinas on this forum. Some like it while others want to stay as far away as possible because of the gang activity and other issues. Do a search on here for Salinas to read more. South Salinas is the better part. However it is not a separate city or anything. It's all still Salinas. I don't know if the schools are going to be that much better there.

Take a look here to see the school performance ratings. Zoom in to Salinas:
California School Performance Maps

The better schools in that area are Torro Park Elementary, Spreckles Elemetary, etc... And of course closer to Monterey. A friend I work with lives in Salinas with his wife and two young children. They are looking to move out and and buy a home in Las Palmas which is a much nicer area.

I strongly recommend not buying in Salinas. Rent first if you are set on living there. Then get to know the whole area better. Once you do you will most likely want to try to find a place in Las Palmas, Indian Springs, Toro Park, Spreckles, etc... over Salinas.

We do have other friends who live in Salinas and homeschool. They find it so/so for now. However they bought a house and regret it somewhat. They are considering moving out to Oak Hills (off 156) which is another nice option. But it's a bad time to sell, especially in Salinas where the bottom really dropped out.

There are actually better parts of Seaside and Marina. Upper Seaside is pretty nice as is the area known as Del Rey Oaks.

Would it be possible to cool the heels a bit on buying right away? Remember selling a home can be an expensive proposition if you have a change of heart regarding an area or school district. Then you will be more locked in. Why do that and add extra stress to an already big move? If you are patient and wait you may find a better deal in a nicer area.

Derek

TimC2462 · 07-22-2010, 11:50 PM

Definitely hold off on purchasing a home. The housing market isn't going up anytime soon.

If you are open to the possibility of commuting between Salinas and the other areas in Monterey bay, you just may be able to purchase a house in a safer area.

I spoke with a guy whose parents are still living in Salinas. Their 126,000 priced home went up as high as 350,000 during the housing market boom in the early 2000's, but it is now back down to the original price of what they paid for.

eureka1 · 07-23-2010, 12:36 PM

About a month ago,I had an excellent lunch in Gonzales (SOUTH of South Salinas),two tacos and a big Jarritos, total $4. If that's typical ,at least the cost of living will be reasonable!

Californiagreengal · 07-26-2010, 10:48 PM

Thanks for the input . I just stayed in S. Salinas for 5 days. I have noticed that one side seems a little shady and pretty weird that some of the areas that were not so good were the ones with newer/ 2 story homes probably built in 01-06 . And the nicer area that we were looking in are the older homes, grass is all green , nice friendly people, schools look clean. Went inside the grocery store and not scared at all. The old town Salinas is nice with lots of shops and places to eat. I think from my opinion, S. Salinas is not so bad as many people have me fooled to believe. I looked up the school my son would be going to and it has a great schools rating of 7 out 10, where average is 5.

We went on the ugly side of town driving around too, and yes I wouldn't want to be walking around there, but it's far off from the nice side and seems like it's own town and not right next door.
We too ate at a little Taco shop in the Kmart shopping center. They spoke mainly spanish, but did speak English to us when we ordered. My husband said they have very good Caldo and I had a very good chicken burrito (way better than El Pollo Loco's would have been), and there Deserts were very tasty. Prices were great too, all three deserts for $1.30. Nothing to be scared of there.

Anyone actually live anywhere in Salinas that can give there opinions too???

MtnSurfer · 07-26-2010, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Californiagreengal

Thanks for the input . I just stayed in S. Salinas for 5 days. I have noticed that one side seems a little shady and pretty weird that some of the areas that were not so good were the ones with newer/ 2 story homes probably built in 01-06 . And the nicer area that we were looking in are the older homes, grass is all green , nice friendly people, schools look clean. Went inside the grocery store and not scared at all. The old town Salinas is nice with lots of shops and places to eat. I think from my opinion, S. Salinas is not so bad as many people have me fooled to believe. I looked up the school my son would be going to and it has a great schools rating of 7 out 10, where average is 5.

We went on the ugly side of town driving around too, and yes I wouldn't want to be walking around there, but it's far off from the nice side and seems like it's own town and not right next door.
We too ate at a little Taco shop in the Kmart shopping center. They spoke mainly spanish, but did speak English to us when we ordered. My husband said they have very good Caldo and I had a very good chicken burrito (way better than El Pollo Loco's would have been), and there Deserts were very tasty. Prices were great too, all three deserts for $1.30. Nothing to be scared of there.

Anyone actually live anywhere in Salinas that can give there opinions too???

There is one poster named Franklyn who used to frequent this board and is very helpful. He lives in Salinas and really likes it. You may want to look him up and Direct Message him. I encourage you to get other opinions as well.

Make sure and post again which ever area you end up in and let us know how it is going.

Derek

Californiagreengal · 07-27-2010, 03:20 PM

Will do. We did however already put in an offer on a short sell, could take a while, but since the prices are staying at the bottom right now I think they can only go back up. Used to be worth $500000 and will be getting it for almost half that. We would just rent out and hold onto it if we move, but will probably be there at least 2 years for the job. Anyone know of a good alarm company with good price up there?

MtnSurfer · 07-27-2010, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Californiagreengal

Will do. We did however already put in an offer on a short sell, could take a while, but since the prices are staying at the bottom right now I think they can only go back up. Used to be worth $500000 and will be getting it for almost half that. We would just rent out and hold onto it if we move, but will probably be there at least 2 years for the job. Anyone know of a good alarm company with good price up there?

Some short sales can take a very long time. One of my coworkers who lives in Salinas who I mentioned put some earnest money down along with his bid on a short Sale in Las Palmas. It has been 3 months now and some can take as long as 6 months - 1 year depending of the bank, home and how (short) it is.

Derek

impala666 · 07-29-2010, 07:38 AM

The best alarm is a big dog with sharp teeth, yes they can shoot it and then you shoot them.
No I have never lived in Salinas but I have been there quite a few times. Its not very big so good part bad part does not make much difference.
Look into Seaside as a place to live and not much of a hike for your husband to get to work.

http://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/

Yes that is to much to pay for a house in Salinas you could by a nice place in Seaside for that money,which will be certain to rise in price eventually over anything in Salinas.

Just as an example http://www.trulia.com/property/52043...aside-CA-93955