Moving from Monterey to Fresno

[happy209]

I would advise the OP to just GO TO FRESNO and see for herself.

This is what a lot of people have done including me:

1. Move to the area with the jobs and low cost of living like Fresno or Clovis.
2. Make sure you really save your money instead of spending it all.
3. Make sure you RENT so you are not tied down. Get the cheapest rent you can get and TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE of the lower cost of living. You could buy too, but if the market tanks, unless you own real estate in Manhattan NY, San Francisco, or Carmel, you will feel major pain.
4. Did I mention SAVE your MONEY.
5. Work for 8 years or as long as you can tolerate. Toward the last two years, start looking for jobs closer to Monterey or even better in Monterey. Remember living in a less than desirable place is not as bad when there is light at the end of the tunnel.
6. Come back to Monterey and you will have a nice down payment for a house here.
7. By that time, you might have kids. Do I really need to talk about the school districts here?

A word about places with lower cost of living, it's just less desirable to live in or less attractive for businesses. And yes, that is a very subjective statement and many will be quick to post counter arguments with and without economic jargon. But that's why YOU have to go there. There are ALOT of people that have never left the confines of the Central Valley and they swear by it.

Although not nearly as bad as Los Banos as the above post indicates, you will notice a difference.