Opinions about Hanford? (Los Angeles, Fresno, Bakersfield: real estate market, amusement park, how much)

[relocated46]

Navyspouse&mom,
Some ideas other than sports, the art center has what I've heard to be good kids classes, boy scouts, I don't know how old your son is, but there used to be some good troops with Pioneer. In the summer there is usually a science day camp offered by a couple of local science teachers. It is usually held at Pioneer Middle School. The kids love that, they do things like rockets etc.... 4-H is also an option, they have a big variety of clubs that do not only involve livestock etc... I hope this helps.

P.S. hang in there, for all the negatives you listed, Hanford will grow on you with time. I'm sorry about the train, people should have warned you. Believe it or not I know a ton of Navy families that actually came back to Hanford on purpose, either to retire or because they wanted to get re-stationed in Lemoore. Once you get to know the people and find ways to get involved in the community you will find that they are very nice.

[nimue]

Originally Posted by Adobefalls

I have been offered a job in the Hanford area and I would love to hear from anyone who has an opinion about what it is like to live there. I grew up in San Diego but have been in the midwest for a while. I have school-age children, so I'm particularly (but not exclusively) interested in school quality, crime, and things of that nature. Your input will be greatly appreciated.

I have lived in Hanford for 35 years, I was born here, moved to the Los Angeles area until I was in the 6th grade and then moved back to Hanford with my family. I still have family that live in the L.A. area, also in San Diego. I love visiting with my relatives in L.A. but I always love to come home. Hanford has grown so much in the last 10 years, but I think it's still a great place to live. What took me 10 minutes to get across town now takes maybe 15 to 20 minutes, I can live with that, it's better than having to travel 30 to 45 min. to get to work on the freeway with all the congestion that the bigger towns have where you sit in traffic or go at pace that a turtle can walk faster than your car. As for the drug problems, all town large and big have the same problems. You find this problem on the south side of town were the low income familys live, which happens to be the side of town I live on. In the 35 years that I've lived in our neighborhood, we have never been robbed, been bothered by the gangs or the people who do drugs. You'll also find that the people in Hanford look after each other. I do have to admit that Hanford can be a little boring but you also have Visalia which is only a 25 min. drive and also Three Rivers which is only about a 45 min. drive. There was also a quote in are newspaper where a man from Los Angeles brought his car which happens to be a classic to have someone here in town work on his muffler. He wrote our paper saying that Hanford was a picturesque town, with our old buildings which some have been around since the late 1800's. If you really like some info. on Hanford you should contact or visitor agency, they can answer all your questions. Oh and another thing every city and town has their murder rate which is sad to say, but Hanfords murder rate is very low, 1 murder every four five years sometimes longer. So as you can see I love Hanford, but if you want more info. like I said contact our visitor agency and they can give you all the information you need and they can also set up a tour of Hanford if you like.

[Joyful]

I know other people have warned you, but I cannot stress enough how bad the water in Hanford smells and tatses. I live about 40 minutes away, but every time I visit, I am always shocked at how gross it really is. If I were to live there (and it IS a cute town with lots of great things about it!) I would definitely get a WHOLE house filter, because if you just bought bottled water, you would still have to shower in/brush your teeth with that foul tasting/smelling water. You can even taste it when you order a soda at a restaurant. (It tastes/smells like rotten eggs or sulfer... or both.) There are upsides and downsides to any town in Central Cali, but Hanford water is a unique problem.

I really do hope this helps. Good luck!

[south7]

[I been living in Hanford Ca for almost 2 years now. I only moved here to be closer to family living at NAS Lemoore. I was living in Sacramento Ca area and this is a HUGE change! It does get very hot here, but this is Central Ca and the heat is not as bad as some places. The smell in the air ! Whoaa it is from a million or so cows in this area. That is the biggest cause of air polution. I also learned from living here that this county is one of the poorest in the state. The poverty level here is terrible. Crime? Probably one of the lowest crime rates in the Nation! It is quiet here compared to Sac where you hear helicopters 24/7 - high speed chases etc. The noise from NAS is not too noticiable. The traffic is nothing compared to Bay area, LA or Sac. There is not much to do here. We lack a skating rink (ice or ?) There is a nice skate board park, many public parks and a small putt putt golf center. We have a few movie theatres and a mall, Target, Wallyworld etc. Many good eating places. We lack Jimboys Tacos, Sonic, Popeyes or Church chicken but I guess people survive! LOL. Wierd there is little cruising here. Most of the ppl go to Visialia. Which I guess is nice! The Casino here provides the opportunity for the residents of this area to see kids driving vehicles that cost more than some of thier house's cost. I find most ppl in this area - rude, and inconsiderate of others. Maybe it is a cultural thing, but I find a large minority here who do not take care of thier kids, leave them in shopping carts in aisles of stores alone, no car seats in thier cars, and kids running amuck and no care of merchandise they open or take apart while thier parents are shopping. Pet Peeve is how ROSS in the mall became a free babysitting area. Shoppers leave thier kids in the small toy area and I would not recommend anyone to purchase books or toys there. Or what is left of them. Trains, you get used to it. Unemployment rate here is HIGH. Not much for employment unless you are a professional : Doctor, Law enforcement, State, County worker. NAS has many federal jobs yet since the Govt allows spousal preference, they normally fill positions with family members. We have many LARGE prisons in a 100 mil radius. I guess you can tell I cannot wait to move back to Sacramento! LOL.

[SoCalif]

Originally Posted by Joyful

I know other people have warned you, but I cannot stress enough how bad the water in Hanford smells and tatses. I live about 40 minutes away, but every time I visit, I am always shocked at how gross it really is. If I were to live there (and it IS a cute town with lots of great things about it!) I would definitely get a WHOLE house filter, because if you just bought bottled water, you would still have to shower in/brush your teeth with that foul tasting/smelling water. You can even taste it when you order a soda at a restaurant. (It tastes/smells like rotten eggs or sulfer... or both.) There are upsides and downsides to any town in Central Cali, but Hanford water is a unique problem.

I really do hope this helps. Good luck!

I have family in Hanford, I enjoy when I go there to visit. But I have to admit, the water there does smell. Sometimes I think I smell worse after taking a shower. LOL

[centralcali19]

Hanford is a agriculture town of 51,000 residents, it has its problems but also it has its unique features.. Water is one of the biggest problems, Hanford has grown very fast, and it still is. Hanford has o.k. schools, good shopping centers, such as Wal-Mart Supercenter, Target, Downtown shops, Hanford Mall with sears, gottchalks, jcpenny, and mervyns as its anchors. These plenty of fast food places from McDonald's to El Pollo Loco also some unique restaurants from Vida's in Downtown to Chili's. Traffic is kind of bad in some parts of town. Quality of Life is good in hanford, sometimes theres nothing to do, but other times Hanford keeps you busy. Downtown hanford, is one of the prettiest downtowns in California, with its historic buildings and unique shops. Ive lived in Hanford for 18 years, went to elementary school, jr high, and high school, and it wasnt a problem...Development is West Hanford is gaining momentum with a new auto mall, 3 proposed shopping centers, and new homes...Hanford is a good place to live.

[Catankerous]

I've lived around the basic Hanford/Visalia area since 1972 and can tell you the summer here can be pretty hot! Arid,and temps well over the 100's in the summer to early fall. The drive from Hanford to Visalia is just a single lane road that has a speed limit of 55 and can and will slow you down with slower moving trucks and such. Hanford is growing with the new super Walmart and Target. Right now I'm living in Exeter,it's about 10 east of Visalia. The town is small but very low in crime,quiet-and very likely one of the best and safest places to live in this Valley. It was voted as one of the top 100 towns in the U.S.A to live in this year. I know that would be a long commute for you,I guess this is a heads up for anyone thinking of moving up this way-Exeter is a great place to live!

[lala864]

Originally Posted by Adobefalls

I have been offered a job in the Hanford area and I would love to hear from anyone who has an opinion about what it is like to live there. I grew up in San Diego but have been in the midwest for a while. I have school-age children, so I'm particularly (but not exclusively) interested in school quality, crime, and things of that nature. Your input will be greatly appreciated.

I was born in Hanford lived there until I was 15yrs I'm 27 now and I would never move back..Such a boring and hot town..I know it's everywhere but the drugs and alcohol and gambling are soooooo bad there.The water is brown smells like boiled eggs to me.. Take a job offer somewhere eles. This not the place you wanna be. It has it's nice parts and all but I wouldn't recomend it..

[KRIT23]

the summers are brutally hot. im talking an average of 107-113.

[rkb0305]

Originally Posted by KRIT23

the summers are brutally hot. im talking an average of 107-113.

The average high temp for July is about 96. It IS way hot. I'm just saying, there's a difference between the hottest of hot days and an "average".