Three Rivers Area Info Needed (Visalia, Exeter: real estate, house, neighborhoods)

[ab1222]

I love going to Three Rivers and Sequoia National Park and want to move there but don't know much about actually living there. Here are the main questions I have and anyone with information I would truly appreciate it:
HOSPITALS/MEDICAL CARE...is there a hospital close that is a good one? What about doctors?
EMERGENCY SERVICES...Are there emergency services up there like ambulance, etc.?
WORK...are there jobs there...(I do payroll/accounting).
CABLE/INTERNET SERVICE....is there cable and internet access up there?
CELL PHONE SERVICE....I noticed when I was just up there I had no cell phone service. Is there cell service anywhere up there?
SHOPPING....like a Wallmart, a mall, etc....where is the closest to Three Rivers?
In the winter, are people snowed in to the point of not being able to work or get to a store? (I have lived where there is really bad snow so I know this can happen. I was just wondering how bad it gets).
What are the surrounding towns like? I don't really like Lemon Cove. I've been to Visalia and it seems to be a hit-and-miss.
I would appreciate "real, honest, experienced" information.

[MWJamesLDS]

Three Rivers is mainly residential with just a little shopping off the main highway. Your closest walmart/target is going to be all the way in visalia. Exeter may have a hospital, but the biggest hospital in the area is also going to be in Visalia. I never lived in Three Rivers, but I knew of many people who commuted from there to Visalia. The population is about 2200, but its very spread out, not a real centralized town. Basically, you can have a home in Three Rivers, but everything else is going to probably be done on the valley floor. You gotta be comfortable with driving the winding mountain road everyday. Sorry I don't have much more info for you, but I thought you might like some response to your post.

PS- Visalia made the relocate america top 100 list. Visalia is not So Cal or the Bay area, but is a good city non-theless. Nice Downtown, Most the shopping you could want. Lots of good neighborhoods. Some fine dining, some ethnic resturants, close the the Mt's, not to long a drive to the beach. Biggest downer is the bad air quality, but when its clear, the Sierra Nevadas are amazing.

[karenabcde]

Three Rivers itself is more of a region, than a town, although the main street through the town area does have a bunch of businesses lining it. There include: the Gateway Restaurant, Serrano's Restaurant, the Cider Mill, Three Rivers Mercantile (like an Orchard Supply) a bunch of real estate offices, a bunch of small businesses including dentists, docs, acupuncture, yoga, gift shops, a heating and air conditioning company, and more.

You could do payroll and accounting for the small businesses in Three Rivers, Woodlake, Exeter, and a few other small towns. I grew up in a small town and it is my opinion it is easier to make it there than in a big town. Word gets around faster and you don't even need advertising. (well, it helps, though).

It doesn't snow in the town as the town is only about 3000 feet up. However you can see the snow-capped peaks a great number of months out of the year. It also doesn't get horribly cold. I own a vacation house there and you can get by with a woodstove unless you are a real softy, and then you can use propane. Most of the time the coldest it gets is down to 30 or 40 in the winter. Three Rivers is considered by locals as the banana belt as it tends to have sun in the winter even when Visalia below is fogged in. Hope that helps.