Fresno - need info!

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by the city

by 2010, 500,000 ppl will live there. not much in good city infrustructure. they have gang issues and traffic issues. and smog issues. and crime issues. but it's better than alot of cities in southern california and it's better than bakersfield. not much upscale shopping either.

and the city is trying to fix there problems.

The combined population of Fresno/Clovis including county islands within the city limits is already over 500,000. More like over 600,000.

Traffic issues? A local sales tax passed in 1986 has helped build miles of new freeways and traffic lanes, the city has basically a rush 15 minutes.

The tax was extended in 2006 for another 20 years and the funds are now going towards more new freeways/lanes with an additional $400 million going to improve public transit including the first phase of light rail and another $68 million to build bicycle and pedestrian trails.

Gang and crime issues? Yes there was in the past, much of it correlated to high unemployment in the double digits. As unemployment has dropped into single digits, crime has dropped. Additionally the various law enforcement agencies have taken a hard stance on gangs and "quality of life" crimes.

Compare the city of Fresno to the city of San Francisco here on city-data. Fresno in 2006 had a city-data crime index of 488.2. (Fresno will show a drop again in 2007) San Francisco had an index of 519.9. But most people don't think that San Francisco is unsafe, even though the crime rate is higher.

Upscale shopping? A lot of retail chains have been entering the market. Just announced last week was J Crew. Jos Bank chose Fresno for its first California store a few years ago. Fresno's Macys store is one of the top performers in the chain.

[rkb0305]

Prather, Auberry, and Yosemite Lakes may be 20-30 minutes from the north end of Fresno, but not from downtown. It is a good 20-30 minutes from downtown to the Woodward Park area at rush hour, longer if there is an accident. Still, if you like horses, you may really like the Fresno/Clovis area. Personally, I left because of the smog and heat, though.

[centralcali19]

Like every other large city fresno also has its bad rep. With a metro. population of 1 million, the city has its usual crimes, but in certain areas, and crime rate has been decreasing. North Fresno and new parts of the city are very nice. Nature is just up north into the hills and mountains, and so much agriculture around the city. Many people put down the city, just because pics or just because they've heard. Downtown Fresno, isn't the best , but its slowly accending to popularity, with more vertical building, more housing and shopping, also redeveloping the area.

[AuntieT]

I have lived here all of my 33 years and I will be honest in my 20s I often thought of moving but now that I'm older and starting a family I am very happy to live here. First of all as with any city we have a few bad parts of town...but as we continue to grow, good areas arise and most definitely outnumber the bad, new stores, restaurants, and housing developments pop up everyday. If I were moving to the area I would hope someone suggested the Northside of town to purchase a home because of the clean neighborhoods and surrounding businesses although I love the Tower District atmosphere and the old homes it is just that the crime is higher in that neighborhood. Because of the huge farming community we have a lot of families with old old roots but we also have people moving in everyday from big cities because you can buy a brand new 3000sq ft home for under $500,000. There is also plenty of open grounds and farmland surrounding Fresno/Clovis so horseback riding is ideal. The shopping used to be my biggest gripe but it is also improving with new boutiques and of course ALL the semi-upscale chains moving in. We also do get a lot of concerts, comedians and plays at the Savemart Center, Selland Arena, Saroyan, Chuckchansi park (home of our minor league baseball team, The Grizzlies, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club), and Indian Casinos. I do believe we could get more art and culture to Fresno but we do have ArtHop the 1st Thursday of the month which has many shops, restaurants and galleries hosting local art. We also have some big events like Sudz in the City a beer festival, Big Hat Daze, the Clovis Rodeo and many other fun events. We are less then 2 hours to beautiful Yosemite with many surrounding lakes and parks (Bass Lake being my fave). It also helps that we are smack dab in the middle of SF and LA both of them being under 3 1/2 hrs to get to! I have to say if you have never been to Fresno, I believe you will be pleasantly surprised...WE ARE NOT AT ALL LIKE BAKERSFIELD! The key is to not judge us on what people who have never visited Fresno say or what the town looks like from any of our freeways! Venture out...if your new stick with the Northside of Fresno but once you live here you will see that we have wonderful parts throughout our very large community and are growing everyday!

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by AuntieT

I do believe we could get more art and culture to Fresno but we do have ArtHop the 1st Thursday of the month which has many shops, restaurants and galleries hosting local art.

Actually ArtHop has expanded and is now 2-3 days a month. There was too much for only once a month. 1st Thursday is Downtown and Tower District museums and galleries. The 3rd Thursday of the month is North Fresno galleries.
ArtHop — Fresno Arts Network

The additional day is the 2nd Sunday of each month in Clovis. Currently held at Sierra Vista Mall but it is growing and may become more like Fresno's ArtHop in the near future.