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If you have a job in Fresno, why not try it out. People are different, & it might be the right place for you. Getting a job is the most important aspect right now.
I am considering a move to Fresno. I have a college degree from Berkeley as well as tech sales experience. I am capable of getting approved for a loan up to 525,000 and I hear that North Fresno is the place in California where that amount can take me the farthest. At first I dismissed Fresno but after thinking about it:
1 million metro
Big fish in small pond (20% of people have a college degree apparently)
Bigger house than anything I can buy at any other major metropolitan area (maybe rent out some rooms and have a cheap mortgage)
I think its worth considering. The things I look for are relatively simple: I like nightlife and want to meet women and go out drinking. I am a shallow guy, thats pretty much it.
I don't think there's much of a nightlife in Fresno. My youngest son lived there for a while and was bored silly, he said the only women he met who weren't married had 4 kids each with a different father.
I don't think there's much of a nightlife in Fresno. My youngest son lived there for a while and was bored silly, he said the only women he met who weren't married had 4 kids each with a different father.
the nightlight there is lacking. But to say there is a lack of women i will have to disagree. Remember Fresno state is a big college. Many women there for college age. If he was already in his late 20s or 30s, then I would agree it would be harder to meet women. The thing with Fresno is despite being a big city and home to big colleges like Fresno state, fresno pacific, ucsf fresno, the city loses A LOT of their graduates due to the lack of high paying jobs there so they leave.
The downtown scene is dead so not much nightlife there except for special events.
Also it is much harder for younger people if they crave more than what the city has to offer because the city of fresno itself is isolated even if its a big city. if you want a change of scenery to a neighboring city that might be lively, there really isnt any except clovis which really isnt saying much.
Compared to sacramento where you can go to the many thriving cities in it's metro and there is stuff going on. That what fresno lacks and thats when it starts to feel small and isolated. But again its $100-150K cheaper median price of a home for similar neighborhood/sq footage in the sac metro.
High speed rail made me laugh. This was approved by voters in 2008 and is just now under construction as the train to nowhere. Connecting Fresno and Merced in this phase doesn't exactly work as a commuter link for Californians (although I guess it could as a daytime activity if you're bored). I'll be shocked if we have a usable high-speed rail here within the next 20 years, given all of the delays, budget overages and NIMBYs (both Central Valley Farmers and wealthy Bay Area residents). Don't get me wrong, I'm a strong proponent of this and public transport in general, but I think this is pretty much a pipe dream without the political willpower to get it done. Even Newsom (a staunch democrat) cut the funding here.
Sorry if I'm offending you but I've spent time in both cities and again, Fresno is not mild weather. Milder than Phoenix (agreed), but still a very hot climate. BTW, today is a freakishly odd weather day for August with cool drizzle in the Bay Area. This is not a normal cool weather day for early August.
I also disagree that the SJV has a brighter future vs Phoenix. Sacramento might be comparable (although I still think their economy is smaller), but I don't see the SJV having a strong skilled employee base now or into the future. Phoenix has this to a greater extent (although even here I'd still say its not the top 5-10 metros in the US in this regard).
Difference in winter weather is closing? Everywhere is getting warmer in the winter, so warming in Fresno means warming elsewhere. Still, having a lot of cold, dreary, foggy/smoggy days does not strike me as paradise even if it is getting a few degrees warmer. Otherwise, we'd be seeing Baseball spring training in Fresno and not Phoenix.
"Winters are getting warmer everywhere"
Yes, but theyre not warming equally in all areas, some areas are heating up faster than others. The three places warming up the most in winter are inland socal, Florida, and the upper midwest. The sjv is right behind inland socal in warming up. That's why there were multiple days last year where Fresno was 10f degrees warmer than phoenix! Fresno was even warmer than la/SD last year for days in a row. That wasn't happening 20+ years ago. Edit: someone said Fresno IS too foggy. Well, that's another thing that's changing. Warmer winter= less fog. Thick fog around Fresno is becoming a thing of the past. Ex. I haven't seen an airplane delay for fog in 10+ years.
You keep bringing up smog like things haven't inproved. Fresno had its cleanest winter on record this past winter and that was during a drought year. Thats a great sign that things are improving
Actually, i'd be more concerned about phoenix than Fresno, when it comes to smog. Phoenix is on pace to take the ozone pollution crown away from Los angeles, that's how bad smog has gotten there! Google if you think I'm bsing you.
I never said that the sjv would overtake the phoenix metro, I said Fresno would be improving at a faster rate than phoenix. I know of 4 mixed use properties being built in central Fresno(the city wants to put a lot more than 4), the city is planning to build a lot of smallish skyscrapers downtown, there's a very large park set to be built in north fresno, Clovis is getting a ton of upgrades, Fresno will be getting it's first high-end suburbs soon(think Folsom, Roseville, and Davis type burbs), etc.
Fresno isn't going to be recognizable in 15 years, while Phoenix will look much the same because it's already built out(if I'm wrong about PHX, someone correct me).
Newsom said he had to pull back off of HSR because there was no federal support for it, that's the main reason why he had to back off supporting it.
you'll see funding and support from Sacramento return once a few more Republican dinosaurs get pushed out of DC.
Edit: lastly, Fresno has lots of untapped foothills that it could use. If Fresno county wanted to build a foothill competitor to Scottsdale and palm springs, it easily could.
Last edited by dontbelievehim; 08-08-2020 at 12:39 AM..
"Winters are getting warmer everywhere"
Yes, but theyre not warming equally in all areas, some areas are heating up faster than others. The three places warming up the most in winter are inland socal, Florida, and the upper midwest. The sjv is right behind inland socal in warming up. That's why there were multiple days last year where Fresno was 10f degrees warmer than phoenix! Fresno was even warmer than la/SD last year for days in a row. That wasn't happening 20+ years ago. Edit: someone said Fresno IS too foggy. Well, that's another thing that's changing. Warmer winter= less fog. Thick fog around Fresno is becoming a thing of the past. Ex. I haven't seen an airplane delay for fog in 10+ years.
You keep bringing up smog like things haven't inproved. Fresno had its cleanest winter on record this past winter and that was during a drought year. Thats a great sign that things are improving
Actually, i'd be more concerned about phoenix than Fresno, when it comes to smog. Phoenix is on pace to take the ozone pollution crown away from Los angeles, that's how bad smog has gotten there! Google if you think I'm bsing you.
I never said that the sjv would overtake the phoenix metro, I said Fresno would be improving at a faster rate than phoenix. I know of 4 mixed use properties being built in central Fresno(the city wants to put a lot more than 4), the city is planning to build a lot of smallish skyscrapers downtown, there's a very large park set to be built in north fresno, Clovis is getting a ton of upgrades, Fresno will be getting it's first high-end suburbs soon(think Folsom, Roseville, and Davis type burbs), etc.
Fresno isn't going to be recognizable in 15 years, while Phoenix will look much the same because it's already built out(if I'm wrong about PHX, someone correct me).
Newsom said he had to pull back off of HSR because there was no federal support for it, that's the main reason why he had to back off supporting it.
you'll see funding and support from Sacramento return once a few more Republican dinosaurs get pushed out of DC.
Edit: lastly, Fresno has lots of untapped foothills that it could use. If Fresno county wanted to build a foothill competitor to Scottsdale and palm springs, it easily could.
Is there data on job opportunities/salaries for phoenix metro, heck maybe even throw in Las Vegas. I still believe the big thing that holds fresno back is lack of high paying jobs. Some call it brain drain. Also why the city of fresno and clovis lose a lot of it's college educated and talented simply because there are no jobs there--at least high paying ones. The city of fresno CELEBRATES getting all these no skill minimum wage type of jobs like distribution warehouses and such. They need to think bigger and get some bigger tech coporations. Persuade tesla to build manufacturing facilities as i know there are higher paying jobs there, or even have fresno be one of the cloud storage facilities, etc. Without these high paying jobs, dont know how why the city would build more luxury or high end suburbs without the people with high income to support them.
Isnt Clovis already fresno's high end suburb? I bet if north fresno had a choice, they could divid the city and call themselves a new city of North Fresno and and that in itself is big enough to support it as its own city and being high end except for pinedale area.
The next closest i see as a high end suburb in the fresno area is in Madera in the riverstone and tesoro viejo master plans. I remember articles saying once fully built it could be its own city. Ive seen it and its nice and im impressed but its simply sprawl. no commercial or jobs around. It's like Mountain House, CA which is an extension of tracy, ca. That is what tesoro viejo and riverstone will be if they dont build any business parks, commercial etc. Their big selling point in those very communities is saying how "close" riverpark is IN FRESNO lol. Folsom, Roseville, Davis etc are all cities that self sustain itself. They can survive without sacramento. We cant even really say that about Clovis. Most things people do whehter its shop or even education is done in fresno. Folsom has tech companies, so does roseville, their own shopping destinations, davis has a major college etc.
I'm pro Fresno but after you see the the city/metro area that it could potentially be in the future realistically---which is the sac metro area, you do see how much work is still needed.
Fresno really is just one big x-factor away to make it great. All the potential stuff in recent years just seems to have been the wrong one--- downtown revitalization, high speed rail, big distribution centers--to name a few.
Is there data on job opportunities/salaries for phoenix metro, heck maybe even throw in Las Vegas. I still believe the big thing that holds fresno back is lack of high paying jobs. Some call it brain drain. Also why the city of fresno and clovis lose a lot of it's college educated and talented simply because there are no jobs there--at least high paying ones. The city of fresno CELEBRATES getting all these no skill minimum wage type of jobs like distribution warehouses and such. They need to think bigger and get some bigger tech coporations. Persuade tesla to build manufacturing facilities as i know there are higher paying jobs there, or even have fresno be one of the cloud storage facilities, etc. Without these high paying jobs, dont know how why the city would build more luxury or high end suburbs without the people with high income to support them.
Isnt Clovis already fresno's high end suburb? I bet if north fresno had a choice, they could divid the city and call themselves a new city of North Fresno and and that in itself is big enough to support it as its own city and being high end except for pinedale area.
The next closest i see as a high end suburb in the fresno area is in Madera in the riverstone and tesoro viejo master plans. I remember articles saying once fully built it could be its own city. Ive seen it and its nice and im impressed but its simply sprawl. no commercial or jobs around. It's like Mountain House, CA which is an extension of tracy, ca. That is what tesoro viejo and riverstone will be if they dont build any business parks, commercial etc. Their big selling point in those very communities is saying how "close" riverpark is IN FRESNO lol. Folsom, Roseville, Davis etc are all cities that self sustain itself. They can survive without sacramento. We cant even really say that about Clovis. Most things people do whehter its shop or even education is done in fresno. Folsom has tech companies, so does roseville, their own shopping destinations, davis has a major college etc.
I'm pro Fresno but after you see the the city/metro area that it could potentially be in the future realistically---which is the sac metro area, you do see how much work is still needed.
Fresno really is just one big x-factor away to make it great. All the potential stuff in recent years just seems to have been the wrong one--- downtown revitalization, high speed rail, big distribution centers--to name a few.
Nothing wrong with hsr. Fresno cant force the
Federal government to help with funding it, all it can do is wait it out. With Republicans set to be pushed out of DC, you'll be seeing interest in hsr returning before you know it. Distribution centers aren't bad because they bring in tax revenue, but the quality of jobs they bring in are bottom rung. Hopefully, the city moves away from distro centers and starts focusing on higher quality job markets(tech, health, etc). I've talked to Fresno higher ups about bringing in better jobs, they know they need to do better.
The brain drain is a little bit overblown, and it's an issue all 2nd/3rd tier cities have to deal with. People know about Fresnos brain drain because the media likes hyping up negative Fresno news(it's easy clicks). With all the hip parts of the west coast now overpriced, you'll be seeing it slow down some in Fresno.
I think river Park gets a bad rap, I don't think it's as bad as made out to be. What river Park needs is housing. A good chunk of that area needs to be turned into mixed used housing. If you could walk from work/house straight into riverpark, id do a lot to spice up that area.
I think the city needs to focus on the arts more. If the city could turn south Fresno into an art district or at least an art influenced area, id do wonders for it.
Ofc Fresno needs to fix up it's river area and build a new high-end spot(Santana row?),but jobs need to be created first for all that to work out.
As long as Fresno keeps voting democract(council, future mayors), I think Fresno will be fine. The local democract politicians know all about the past mistakes, and want to actually improve things.
Oh yeah, the foothills around Fresno need investment. They're too damn beautiful to sit empty. I don't know who to talk to about that, but I def want to chat with someone about it. Maybe I should talk to that baseball player developer, lol.
Is there data on job opportunities/salaries for phoenix metro, heck maybe even throw in Las Vegas. I still believe the big thing that holds fresno back is lack of high paying jobs. Some call it brain drain. Also why the city of fresno and clovis lose a lot of it's college educated and talented simply because there are no jobs there--at least high paying ones. The city of fresno CELEBRATES getting all these no skill minimum wage type of jobs like distribution warehouses and such. They need to think bigger and get some bigger tech coporations. Persuade tesla to build manufacturing facilities as i know there are higher paying jobs there, or even have fresno be one of the cloud storage facilities, etc. Without these high paying jobs, dont know how why the city would build more luxury or high end suburbs without the people with high income to support them.
Isnt Clovis already fresno's high end suburb? I bet if north fresno had a choice, they could divid the city and call themselves a new city of North Fresno and and that in itself is big enough to support it as its own city and being high end except for pinedale area.
The next closest i see as a high end suburb in the fresno area is in Madera in the riverstone and tesoro viejo master plans. I remember articles saying once fully built it could be its own city. Ive seen it and its nice and im impressed but its simply sprawl. no commercial or jobs around. It's like Mountain House, CA which is an extension of tracy, ca. That is what tesoro viejo and riverstone will be if they dont build any business parks, commercial etc. Their big selling point in those very communities is saying how "close" riverpark is IN FRESNO lol. Folsom, Roseville, Davis etc are all cities that self sustain itself. They can survive without sacramento. We cant even really say that about Clovis. Most things people do whehter its shop or even education is done in fresno. Folsom has tech companies, so does roseville, their own shopping destinations, davis has a major college etc.
I'm pro Fresno but after you see the the city/metro area that it could potentially be in the future realistically---which is the sac metro area, you do see how much work is still needed.
Fresno really is just one big x-factor away to make it great. All the potential stuff in recent years just seems to have been the wrong one--- downtown revitalization, high speed rail, big distribution centers--to name a few.
The high speed rail is a flop and the big distribution centers are an okay more. Even big cities need those. Jobs are jobs and every city needs them no matter if they're sexy or not. But the downtown revitalization was/is a must. Every city that is taken seriously as far as culture, cuisine, architecture, culinary, etc has to at least have their downtown area on the upswing if not fully there already. Even LA with other major districts and attractions like Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice Beach etc. had to finally get their downtown on track as a pride factor and to solidify its world class city status. Fresno, with no beach or body of water nearby, has no choice but to get the downtown scene on the upswing. All the architecture and art is downtown and the nearby Tower District has the charm, hipster, and bohemian vibes. Link them both up together in 3-5 years and you have something to work with. North Fresno is basically suburbia with chain restaurants(the good ones though) and typical shopping malls. If somebody came to Fresno to shoot footage for a food or travel show they would be somewhere in either downtown or the Tower District. They're not going to PF Chang's or Ruth Chris in North Fresno.
One thing Fresno screwed up on imo was letting the soccer team, Fresno FC, go to waste because nobody wanted to give/donate some land to them to build a soccer specific stadium. They had a good fanbase in that one and only season they were there.. and its a growing sport plus you get to play against all the teams, big and small, in the state. You could've had Fresno FC vs The LA Galaxy, LAFC, Sac Republic, San Jose, etc. I know a team should be able to buy their own land but the team was in its infancy and I still couldn't believe the city or a private land owner couldn't donate 15 acres or so or at least charge them/delay payment a year or two later. That was a big blow towards change and something that could've grown into a movement over the course of time imo.
Nothing wrong with hsr. Fresno cant force the
Federal government to help with funding it, all it can do is wait it out. With Republicans set to be pushed out of DC, you'll be seeing interest in hsr returning before you know it. Distribution centers aren't bad because they bring in tax revenue, but the quality of jobs they bring in are bottom rung. Hopefully, the city moves away from distro centers and starts focusing on higher quality job markets(tech, health, etc). I've talked to Fresno higher ups about bringing in better jobs, they know they need to do better.
The brain drain is a little bit overblown, and it's an issue all 2nd/3rd tier cities have to deal with. People know about Fresnos brain drain because the media likes hyping up negative Fresno news(it's easy clicks). With all the hip parts of the west coast now overpriced, you'll be seeing it slow down some in Fresno.
I think river Park gets a bad rap, I don't think it's as bad as made out to be. What river Park needs is housing. A good chunk of that area needs to be turned into mixed used housing. If you could walk from work/house straight into riverpark, id do a lot to spice up that area.
I think the city needs to focus on the arts more. If the city could turn south Fresno into an art district or at least an art influenced area, id do wonders for it.
Ofc Fresno needs to fix up it's river area and build a new high-end spot(Santana row?),but jobs need to be created first for all that to work out.
As long as Fresno keeps voting democract(council, future mayors), I think Fresno will be fine. The local democract politicians know all about the past mistakes, and want to actually improve things.
Oh yeah, the foothills around Fresno need investment. They're too damn beautiful to sit empty. I don't know who to talk to about that, but I def want to chat with someone about it. Maybe I should talk to that baseball player developer, lol.
Good points. I agree. River Park desperately needs condos, apartments, creative office space, and maybe a hotel. They should've courted The W Hotel or something of that caliber. Go all the way with the River Park concept and build a 20-30 story mixed use tower. 10 floors for a hotel, 20 floors for apartments and condos. Then have ground floor retail and a restaurant.
And I also agree about going all in with the arts. No beach, no pro teams, no amusement parks, etc. Subsitize and give rebates for businesses, theater companies, devlopers, etc that are open to come downtown and to the Tower District. Make it easy, less fees, permits, and red tape for a devloper that wants to turn and old building into a bar, restaurant, condo project, brewery, art showroom, etc. Its not rocket science.
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Fresno had its cleanest winter on record this past winter and that was during a drought year. Thats a great sign that things are improving
