moving to visalia-please help (San Jose, Fresno: fit in, for sale, crime rate)

[trojpaul]

Hello all, I'm a young professional moving to visalia, and was wondering if anyone could provide some more insight into the area. I've read the other posts and have found the information very helpful. I'm going to be very blunt and ask how the racism is? I'm coming from los angeles, where there is a great deal of diversity. I'm asian to be exact. Am I going to have any troubles if i were to go to a market? Next i had a chance to look at a crime statistics page and the rape rate is ridiculously higher than los angeles, and the national average, what are the most common crimes in visalia? I don't want more than a 20 minute commute so are there any suggestions regarding areas to live? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[mono#9]

Visalia is a nice town--very family oriented. Crime is a bit high but if you stay out of the areas where it seems to fester you should be ok. The proportion of Asians isn't as high as you're probably used to, but it's growing. My son and his wife live there and one of their best friends locally is an Asian guy married to a white girl. They seem to do alright. After all, half the population is made up of people who've escaped from LA!

Housing (to buy) is very reasonable compared to the LA area. The downtown is nice and walkable. If you join a church, you'll meet lots of people in no time. There are probably other organizations that would fit that bill as well. Fresno isn't far--it's more of a city, if that's what you like.

You'll do fine.

[FresnoFacts]

Visalia is a bit unique for Valley towns. It tends to be more into culture than other small cities.

There are live concerts and theater downtown at the Fox Theater, L.J. Williams Theater, Rotary Theater, Ice House Theater, the Enchanted Playhouse, and the Convention Center. Besides the small theater companies there is a local symphony and concerts and plays put on by College of the Sequoias and the local high schools.

And then there are things like the Visalia All Music festival, VAM, this year on Oct 3 to 5. It highlights a variety of music types.
VAM Music Festival

Downtown Visalia is very walkable with some nice restaurants and live entertainment. Some of my favorite places to eat there are Vintage Press, Tommys, Cafe 225, and The Depot. Brewbakers does some good microbrews.
Welcome to The Vintage Press Restaurante
Tommy's Resturant
http://www.cafe225.com/menu.htm
http://www.thedepotvisalia.com/menu.htm
Brewbakers Brewing Company

Crime? Probably the biggest crime problem has been the growth in auto theft.

In terms of racism I doubt you will have any more problem than you would in other areas. You might find some individuals who are racist but that exists everywhere. But as an overalll community you should expect no problems.

There is quite a bit of visible ethnicity played up around Visalia. Italians, Portuguese, Hispanics, Chinese, Japanese, and others all have social halls and cultural events like parades and festivals in Visalia. Locals who are not members of the ethnic group show up at each other's events.

20 minute commute? Thats about as long as it takes to drive from one end of Visalia to another so that shouldn't even be a consideration.

[Roaddog]

I can't really add anything except I went there a year or so ago and found it to be a very nice town, real clean and landscaped, I think you will enjoy it.

[TimC2462]

Visalia is a lovely city with the small town feel. I used to visit there often when I lived in Delano for several years. Coming from an Asian background, I've never found racism to be an issue there either. I had a couple as roommates while we all attended UCSB and they were from Visalia.... very down to earth and friendly, and they were interracial.

Don't worry about it. I think you'll fit in just fine.

Tim C.

[manimal]

While some people live in Exeter (10 mins away, somewhat less crime, seems to be more conservative) and some live in Three Rivers (30-40 mins away, somewhat hippy-ish, very liberal for the Central Valley), I don't see the need for that unless you're in love with one of those places. I love my 10-minute door to door commute and mine's one of the longest in the city! The drag is 40 minutes to Fresno, three hours from any honest to goodness big city, and the air quality/heat.

If you're looking for neighborhoods, you really need to check the places out (I moved from the San Jose area a couple years ago and that's what I did-just visiting as many for-rent places as I could until I found a good one). The good and bad areas are really dependent upon how old the homes are, and it's not like most cities where there's a clearly demarcated line between good and bad. Anywhere north of Main Street between Mooney and Ben Maddox is probably on the bad side, and there are little pockets of bad elsewhere throughout the city. Driving around will give you a pretty good feel though.

As for crime, I work in the public defender's office, and rapes are very few and far between. The worst problems are gangs and meth, and that's going to be true in the entire San Joaquin Valley (also generally avoidable if you pick the right neighborhood).

[j420norcal]

Do yourself a favor, bring a dust mask with you when you go - seriously.
The longest I stayed down there at one time was 4 days and my lungs felt like I was smoking 2 packs a day during my visit...And that was during the rainy season. However, I can't say if the air quality is that bad all year round.

I did work down there from time to time at one of my old company's offices and there appeared to be a pretty good mix of ethnicities in that area. The people in the office I worked at were Middle-Eastern, Asian, and White. Every single person I met in and around Visalia was very friendly. Very hospitable. That region is the agricultural hub of Califorinia, so you can imagine there are quite a few migrant workers living in and around Visalia.

If we can agree that with racial diversity, brings racial tolerance (usually). Than there you go.

I cannot comment about the crime rate though, but I didn't exeperience or see any crime in all the times I visted there.

[cali82]

Originally Posted by trojpaul

Hello all, I'm a young professional moving to visalia, and was wondering if anyone could provide some more insight into the area. I've read the other posts and have found the information very helpful. I'm going to be very blunt and ask how the racism is? I'm coming from los angeles, where there is a great deal of diversity. I'm asian to be exact. Am I going to have any troubles if i were to go to a market? Next i had a chance to look at a crime statistics page and the rape rate is ridiculously higher than los angeles, and the national average, what are the most common crimes in visalia? I don't want more than a 20 minute commute so are there any suggestions regarding areas to live? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would consider Exeter...its a very nice town.

[amykis5]

The smog as you have heard is REALLY bad. The mountains are right there on top of Visalia but you may only see them a couple times a year!! I am in Fresno ( just as bad). My aunt and uncle just relocated to Visalia last year from back east and they cannot breath. Honestly it is something to consider and this is why our home in Fresno has been for sale so we can get out of the valley and breath better!!
Good luck!

[Dussymane]

I've lived here for 3 years now, and what I can tell you about the air quality is it's different year to year. Last year with all the fires in California (air tends to migrate and stick in the San Joaquin Valley), Visalia had a pretty consistent blanket of dirty air. It's not enough to gross a person out, as I've talked to people in LA and they felt like Visalia was breath of fresh air compared to the air there most of time, and I can concur, but it's enough so that an out-of-stater who's worried about this sort of thing might be concerned. This year has been a totally different story. So far, most of the days this year that it did not rain we've had beautiful blue skies and wonderful mountain views and gorgeous sunsets. Visalia is very nicely landscaped, more affordable than coastal regions, and is bigger town than it feels. Overall, I'd say I'm pretty glad I landed here