Thoughts on Stockton (San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland: apartments, rent, violent crime)

[jgm_loveme]

Hey everyone...Like quite a few of you I am from the East and am moving to California for a job transfer. My family lives in the Bay area and my work is in Stockton. While I'd like to spend as little on rent as possible but my biggest concern is safety and a pleasant neighborhood. I've looked into apartments in Manteca (paseo villa) which seems to be a bit quieter and much safer than Stockton. Can anyone tell me what this area is "really" like. I don't trust the internets rating system. Are there any recommendations for other towns surrounding Stockton that would fit my needs. Thanks!

[Ryan]

Quite frankly, Stockton is a dump. Manteca isn't much better. The nicest place in the area is in Discovery Bay. Very cool quiet little town surrounded by water. If you couldn't find a place there, look into Lodi and Galt. While they aren't great, they're not bad either. That's the best you're going to get in the Central Valley. Good luck.

[KidBlue]

I work in Sacramento and travel to the Modesto, Stockton area for work sometimes. I have to agree with Ryan on Manteca and Stockton (the dump part). Stockton is very unsafe--it gets negative ratings for safety routinely in surveys of CA cities. Lodi and Galt would be OK, they are definitely safer and cleaner than Stockton. They are a lot more rural also. You might want to consider the town of Ceres or Turlock. Ceres has always been middle class but costs have gone up a lot because it's now a bedroom community for the Bay Area. Turlock used to be agricultural (and a dump!) but is now expanding with a lot of nicer homes and apartments. If you don't mind a longer drive, Elk Grove is expanding toward Stockton too. I have several co-workers that work in Sacramento and commute from the Stockton are (about an hour drive).

[adm9006]

I recomend Brentwood. It's nearby and a beautiful growing town in the far eastern bay area. It's probably signifigantly more expensive, but worth it.

Another issue with Stockon is air quality.

[Michael I. Pulskamp]

Come out and look at Stockton for yourself. The city has some very cool architecture, and is both down and getting better. Well, better in some respects. The crime in some areas is very bad, but the prices on housing are beginning to price some areas up. Downtown is going through a huge and intentional rebirth. Look at things like the new arena and future river front event center. The amazing Bob Hope Theater, a beautiful Vaudeville era house that seats about 1700 and present all sorts of great shows.
People who work in the bay area are rushing to buy in Stockton even though the drive would drive me nuts. It is do-able. Look up by UOP.

[StampinTami]

Stockton is a dump! We have lived here for 3 years this month. Stockton has always had a bad rep but things were looking better so we moved here. Our neighborhood was nice and quiet when we moved in and in the 3 years it has gone downhill fast! There are gang banger thugs EVERYWHERE! Even in the nicer, expensive, new neighborhoods you have thugs rolling through. We went to a park in a nice new neighborhood and saw all the thugs (how they can afford it I have no clue!) and a thug couple getting it on right in the friggin park! I don't like going out after dark anywhere here in town. Lodi is ok but they are getting a lot of gang probs as well.

[Sparkysbear]

I was Born in Stockton, where I have worked and lived, also in Manteca and Modesto. As for crime it is high by some standards but not any higher than some other cities, the size of Stockton in the U.S. As for places to live the north parts of most cities in Calif are the best. If I were looking for a nice place to live close to Stockton it would be Lodi, a farming community. As for Stockton I live in the north part near the middle of the city where kids can play, walk to school and the malls. As for Manteca I worked there for fifteen years which is smaller and alot less crime, but since we have alot of people who moved from the bay area for cheaper housing, that like to commute to work in the Bay area, prices for homes has doubled, and rent is high now, but with that they have brought crime to our city. There is a very important issue when it comes to living in the valley it is in the middle of the state with the mountains in the east and the ocean in the west within a hours drive, where you have a thousand miles of waterways in the center,so with a boat you can cruise to San Francisco or Old Sacramento, so don`t judge what some may say take a look for yourself.

[wifmmmy]

I agree Stockton is a dump. Of course there are some nice parts but if you ever need to leave your house than you will run into the dumpy parts. I do not recommend Stockton at all!! I lived in Manteca for 3 years and loved it. We never had any problems but times they are a changin. Its still worth looking into to. Its true what the other poster said regarding that crime has gone up in these cities because the bay area residents moving in have brought the bay area mentallity with them. so that is something to look into as well. Good luck

[cdrobert]

stockton is a dump and the reason thugs live there is because, one can sell their house in richmond or oakland and with that same amount of money they can be living in an upscale neighborhood in stockton.

[Bruce Tharp]

Stockton is fast becoming the new Oakland with all of its violent crime. The Oakland thug takeover of Stockton makes me sick. I loved Stockton and always thought of it as the little city that never was but should have been as it has such a rich history but terribly mismanaged. It is in such a great location with a water front any city would die for. I have moved to Eugene Oregon and I love it here but I miss Stockton for the potential it once had. Mostly I miss the asian communities there with the best resturants to be found anywhere.