Visalia/Fresno/Bakersfield Vs. Santa Maria/Lompoc? (Oxnard, Santa Barbara: crimes, Home Depot)

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by the city

The Central Valley is hot, suburban, overcrowded, smoggy, and has high crime rates.

Santa Maria is cool, suburban, not overcrowded, not smoggy, and it's crime rates are lower than every city except Visalia and even then it's crime rates are almost the same as Visalia by only differing by 19pts

The top farming area in the country (the Central Valley) is overcrowded? Where do the farmers find land then?

Santa Maria crime is lower than EVERY SJV city? NOT!

You might want to check a little more about the San Joaquin Valley before making unfounded statements.

Santa Maria has higher crime rates than Clovis, Hanford, Lemoore, Exeter, Kingsburg, and many other SJV cities.

Even Taft and Delano have had a lower crime rate than Santa Maria the last few years.

Lots of places in the SJV are safer than Santa Maria.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by the city

There is even a Facebook page called Visalia sucks! Ha Ha ha!

And people write letters to the Santa Maria Times saying the same thing about that city:

Let’s keep it real. Santa Maria sucks and everyone knows it.

I don’t care how many times the mayor sings its praises and talks about how beautiful it is and how it’s such a wonderful place to live. It’s ugly and crime-ridden.
http://santamariatimes.com/news/opin...cc4c03286.html

Ha Ha Ha back.

[Greenchili]

You two are making me laugh.....lol! I live in Lompoc,its a nice town,and I shop alot in Santa Maria.
I find the towns similar,but SM has more shopping! And I find the people friendly in both towns. Never
been to Fresno,so cant speak to it,but weather wise I think I would die in Fresno..toooo hot.


Greechili

[the city]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

And people write letters to the Santa Maria Times saying the same thing about that city:
Ha Ha Ha back.

Urban Dictionary: Visalia

Look at people here have to say about Visalia. Way more than the SM page.

SM has more population than Lemoore, Hanford, Exeter, and those other places.

More population equals more crime in most cases.

[.highnlite]

Santa Maria is Fresno on the Pacific and Fresno is Santa Maria in the Valley.....

Originally Posted by the city
The city has two large farming companies.

I find that quite an odd statement, with over 100,000 acres under cultivation one can reasonably assume there are far more than two large farming companies.

In fact there are many.

[the city]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

PCPA is good (I've been to a few shows) but Visalia is home to several acting troupes including the Enchanted Playhouse Theater Company, Fourth Wall Theater Company, Visalia Community Players, and also is home to the Tulare County Symphony. They have more than just one.

Visalia also has a nice live music scene that is getting some nice tours.
CBS47 Special Report: Visalia, the Music Mecca - KGPE CBS47 Fresno - News, Sports & Weather for the Central Valley


Zynga is not really in SM. It contracts its customer support call center to Fusion Contact Centers in Santa Maria. Minimum wage call center jobs are not tech jobs plus the positions can be easily relocated anywhere else when the contract ends.

Den-Mat is cosmetic dental office supplies and equipment, not what most people would call a tech company.

VTC? Isn't that a non-profit employing the disabled? They are a thrift store and job training, not a tech company.

You really aren't implying there are no large farming companies in Visalia are you? The largest ag region in the country?


Besides Hancock JC and Chapman (now renamed Brandman) and a few trade/cosmetology schools that about sums up higher ed in Santa Maria.

Visalia has a Fresno State satellite center, a Fresno Pacific College satellite center, a Univ of Phoenix campus and a campus of Brandman (Chapman). There are also several private trade colleges.

FYI, Fresno State is larger than Cal Poly and UCSB.
# of Students (Fall 2011):
Fresno State - 21,900
UCSB - 20,900
Cal Poly - 18,800

UCSB and Cal Poly are good schools but Fresno State also has several nationally ranked academic programs.

Fresno State is now adding Doctoral degrees, it already offers a doctorate in education and will add doctorates in Nursing and Physical Therapy next year. (UCSB has doctorates but Cal Poly only has a joint doctorate with UCSB in Education)

Fresno State is also second among CSUs behind only Cal Poly in terms of dollar value of its endowment (donations), only about $35 million less than CP.
California State University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
not bad for a school in the SJV without Cal Poly's reputation don't you think.

But, not everyone has the time or money to commute 30 to 60 miles to a college. Local educational opportunities without commuting do make a difference in cities like Visalia or Santa Maria.

A satellite of Antioch, Brandman, Hancock, and some trade schools is all the higher education in Santa Maria. Visalia just has a satellite of Fresno State.

And didn't Visalia just get a Macy's? Still no Trader Joes.

There is also a Target Greatland in Visalia which is a low-end store.

PCPA is not the only group in SM. Santa Maria Civic Center and Coastal Voices is another group in the city.

Visalia has 25,000 population more than Santa Maria, so there will be more colleges and more museums and more performing art groups.

Speaking of museums, Santa Maria also has several museums such as Santa Maria Museum of Flight, Natural History Museum, Santa Maria Historical Society, Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, and the Santa Maria Railway Museum.

In my opinion, better schools and a better downtown and a better mall are the only three things Visalia has over Santa Maria.

Two years down the road, SM's crime will go down again and the mall will pick up as the movie theater will be complete and Burlington Coat Factory will be open.

And main centers in SM are full up. Tilly's is going next to Wal-Mart soon and I hear Bed Bath N Beyond is going next to PetSmart.

Cool weather, lower crime than Visalia/Bako/Fresno, a Trader Joes, a work-in-progress mall, top 100 college, outdoor activities, close to the beach, and lots of big box centers are reasons I like Santa Maria.

Visalia is hot, has higher crime, a good mall, outdoor activities, a good downtown, close to the Sierra Mountains and snow, and lots of big box centers and is really affordable.

Every city is different. Each has pros and cons. I respect that the Central Valley works for some people.

I guess I was wrong about labeling some of those businesses I listed. But SM has more than just farming. It has engineering places, drug and alcohol places, and it's own SB Gov. Branch on Betteravia.

Also, the Santa Maria and Orcutt Area just planned out for a Hiking Trail Commission. There are plans for a bunch of trails in the area. One in SM, and two in Orcutt are in the books. Orcutt Hill and Rice Ranch are in the works for Orcutt.

[the city]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Santa Maria is Fresno on the Pacific and Fresno is Santa Maria in the Valley.....



I find that quite an odd statement, with over 100,000 acres under cultivation one can reasonably assume there are far more than two large farming companies.

In fact there are many.

SM is definitely not Fresno on the Pacific. Our crime rates are way lower!

If Santa Maria is Fresno on the Pacific, then Arroyo Grande is Mission Viejo on the Central Coast and Mission Viejo is Arroyo Grande in Orange County.

Cookie cutter developments, TJs, A big box center, lots of churches, rich white people, and douche bag surfer dudes. Seems Mission Viejo and AG are similar.

[BVitamin]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Santa Maria is Fresno on the Pacific and Fresno is Santa Maria in the Valley.....

I'd say Bakersfield more so than Fresno. Fresno has more, shopping anyways.


This thread is funny, it's like watching two hillbillies from two different tribes go at it. Cue banjo on 3 ...

[KingObeat]

I live in Visalia. It's not the worst Town to live in, but it's boring as hell. The only good things about it are that it's close to Fresno and it's cheap.

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by KingObeat

I live in Visalia. It's not the worst Town to live in, but it's boring as hell. The only good things about it are that it's close to Fresno and it's cheap.

It is close to the Sierra,, which would make it tolerable.