Fresno-Visalia

[jedimko]

Stay away from the Central Valley unless you all ready have a job lined up. Gottschucks, Mervins, Circuit City and Foods Co have all closed in the last year. Unemployment is almost 20% and crime is starting to go up as well. Did I mention how hot it is here too? Just a friendly warning.

[mercedes7]

Clovis used to have a great school district - rated among the highest in the state. I don't know if this is still true. Clovis is also supposed to be "safer", although that has likely changed too, as Fresno and Clovis are essentially side by side cities.

All of the central valley gets VERY hot in the summer months. Not unusual to have multiple triple digit days in a row. You can have triple digits in any months starting in mid to late June and extending to early September. Yes, it is a dry heat, but 100+ is hot no matter how dry it is.

The air quality in the Valley is one of the worst in the Nation. They regularly have unhealthy days. You can't burn a fireplace on many days in the winter due to the poor air quality, although the air quality is by far worse in the summer. If you or your kids have allergies or asthma, you might want to think twice. Unfortunately, even if you don't have them now, you may acquire them in the valley. The valley has one of the highest child asthma rates in the nation.

Finally, be prepared for terrible fog in the winter. Be sure to settle where you work, as you do not want to be traveling 99 in the winter fog. Highway 99 regularly has huge, deadly, accidents due to the fog. 2 years ago they had a 100+ car pileup.

Although the winters are considered mild and temperatures do not get that low, it often feels much colder because of the moisture (fog) in the air. And it is not unusual to not see the sun for extended periods of time in the winter months. When the fog is really thick, it often rises but never completely goes away during the day, occluding the sun. I can remember not seeing the sun for a week or more due to the high fog that would settle back down at night.

Don't want to be negative, but you need to understand what you are getting into. I used to live there and do not miss the weather at all, but miss family and friends. Hope you find what you are looking for. Tulare seems to be a nice little town too.

[dm.elliott]

No one has said anything about Tulare. Tulare is a nice 'family' community. Westside can be icky, but if your on the east side of the railroad tracks you are fine. You can walk anywhere in Tulare and be safe, again West Side can be unsafe depending where you are. Tulare Union High School is top academically in Tulare County. Small population and very Ag driven community. About an hour North of Bakersfield and about 45 minutes Sout of Fresno. Homes near Home Depot are brand new and very nice neighborhood, houses near Live Oak Middle School are also in a very nice neighborhood and houses to the E of Frank Kohn Elementary are pretty safe.