Relocating to Cali, but want to breathe free, where to go? (Sacramento: air quality, train)

[FresnoFacts]

The air quality in the Inland Empire is worse than in the San Joaquin Valley in many respects.

In 2007, the number of unhealthy air days for general activity in a few of the counties was:
San Bernardino County - 44 bad air days/year
Riverside County - 31 days
Kern County - 28 days
Fresno County - 19 days
AirCompare Report

For active outdoor exercise, the numbers increased to:
San Bernardino County - 125 bad air days/year
Riverside County - 124 days
Kern County - 106 days
Fresno County - 54 days
AirCompare Report

What I find around Fresno is that the Bicyclists and Runners watch the air forecasts. On bad air days the ones I know exercise outdoors early in the morning before smog develops or workout inside on that day.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

The air quality in the Inland Empire is worse than in the San Joaquin Valley in many respects.

This is interesting to know. San Bernardino is really bad. I went to college there and hated the weather. But Claremont is actually in LA County so it is not quite as bad.

From the website you provided I found a state break down which I liked. The top five worst counties for pollution in CA are:
SanBernardino
Riverside
Fresno
Kern
Los Angeles
http://www.epa.gov/cgi-bin/broker?co...Compare+My+Air

Personally I would try to avoid all five. But if that is not an option due to work and/or family it would be good to find out more info about each county. For example LA is is a large county. And not every city has the same pollution levels. I was raised along the LA County coast (Hermosa Beach) and the smog levels were *never* as bad as East LA bordering Riverside and San Bernardino.

While the San Joaquin Valley doesn't have a coast there are some parts which are worse than others. From the pollution maps I have seen the southern boundry appears to be worse. And the foothills probably get better the higher up one gets. Although I have heard folks who live in the Sierra Foothills still complaining about the smog layer rising even to them at times.

...
What I find around Fresno is that the Bicyclists and Runners watch the air forecasts. On bad air days the ones I know exercise outdoors early in the morning before smog develops or workout inside on that day.

[phloxy]

Thanks FresnoFacts and MtnSurfer for all this good info!! I will know more in coming weeks about where I might be situating myself. I've been trying to find out where the great little places in the foothills are, because I would be willing commute a little to live in better air (and also because the foothills just look like a lovely place to live). It's just so hard to scope out rentals in these little podunk places working online from a distance. When plans solidify, I will probably fly out to find housing, but it's nice to be able to research ahead of time whenever possible.

Merced County and Madera County are both possibilities, but if I go to school in Turlock, then I might live there. I'm hoping to spend a lot of weekends in Yosemite, so at least my long Sunday runs will be in "fresh" mountain air, especially if I can get out of the valley, which apparently gets pretty icky when the place is jammed with car-loving tourists.

Thanks again for all the advice and links. I really appreciate it and will do more research from there.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

This is interesting to know. San Bernardino is really bad. I went to college there and hated the weather. But Claremont is actually in LA County so it is not quite as bad.

From the website you provided I found a state break down which I liked. The top five worst counties for pollution in CA are:
SanBernardino
Riverside
Fresno
Kern
Los Angeles
http://www.epa.gov/cgi-bin/broker?co...Compare+My+Air

And just to make it easy for someone reading this the actual breakdown of bad air days in 2007 was:
San Bernardino 44 days
Riverside 31 days
Kern 28 days
Fresno 19 days
Los Angeles 17 days

Personally I would try to avoid all five. But if that is not an option due to work and/or family it would be good to find out more info about each county. For example LA is is a large county. And not every city has the same pollution levels. I was raised along the LA County coast (Hermosa Beach) and the smog levels were *never* as bad as East LA bordering Riverside and San Bernardino.

That is very true, California counties are large compared to other parts of the country and you have to do more research for specifics.

For example, Fresno County is over 100 miles from east to west, the county is larger in size than the states of Rhode Island, or Delaware, or Connecticut. So there can be a lot of variation in air current patterns.

[sakuda]

I grew up in northern California, in Arcata to be exact, and honestly, until this thread, I had no idea smog could affect the area that badly! Wow..

Well, wherever you end up living, I will always and forever suggested roadtrips up to Humboldt County. Preferably taking Highway 101 if you can as it goes up the coast of California so you get to see beautiful scenes of ocean and trees, and once you get into Humboldt County and into the redwoods, there's all kinds of awesome forestry to be seen. Also, if you're bringing the kids, there's this cool little pit stop called Mystery something or other, haha I tried to google it but not getting any results someone help me if they can! But there's a house in there that, if you're a kid, will appear to devy gravity, you can take about a 15 minute train ride around and through the trees and the conductor tells you some interesting history. It's nothing fancy but it's cheap and kind of a nice stop if you've been driving for awhile. They also sell food and gifts there.

[dcashley]

The smog isn't like it was in the 1950's or 1960's. It is much better.

[dcashley]

oh...by the way...if you are thinking of moving to California--Don't. We already have too many people here. Did you know that almost 12% of America's population lives in California. The place is too crowded. Way too crowded.

[Happy Cells]

Come right on in!

And bring lots and lots of money.....and get all your family and friends to move in too...and all of you should bring lots of money.....and don't forget to bring in tons of money....and some more money...

...because you're going to be the cash cow that props California up.....


ENJOY!

[Haoleman]

To the moon Alice! To the moon!!! Lots of fresh air there! Really, most of Northern Calif has pretty decent air. and as I grew up in the south Bay Area in the 60's it's a whole lot better now than it used to be thanks to smog controls on cars. North of SF in Santa Rosa to Eureka it's almost smog free as is the Sierra foothills like Placerville and areas along Hiway 49 in Gold rush country. Sacramento Valley is pretty stagnant however and hotter than Hell and humid in the summer time. It boils down to "can you find a job or bring one with you?" Live close to work to cut your carbon emissions and do your driving to get away on your days off. You'll thank me for this advice sooner than later. I pioneered the solar home industry back in 1980 in Calif with the first code approved passive solar home that was built for no more than the cost of a conventionally heated home. Said it couldn't be done. Check PG&E Progress archives in 1981. Willits, Calif. By the way, if you can live with a dope economy, you will find Willits a wonderful community with many intelligent people there and a great sense of community.

[jaada]

Originally Posted by phloxy

I am likely destined for the San Joaquin Valley because of work or school. I'm a runner and have some serious concerns about how this will affect my opportunities and ability to run outdoors. I spent a couple months in Claremont about 5 years ago--I know that's a different region, but it's often mentioned in the same breath as the San Joaquin Valley, so I am assuming that they are comparable--and I distinctly remember one warm day of running when the air didn't seem so pleasant. Later that night, my chest hurt so badly I could barely breathe. This wasn't every day, of course, but it's still pretty disconcerting for a runner.

I have a high-end treadmill that I have considered keeping because the summer heat may keep me off the roads some days. I'm thinking now that the pollution might keep me indoors as well.

Any runners out there who can shed some light on this? (Hope it doesn't seem like a threadjack. If so, I'll start a new thread.)

if your moving to san joaquin valley you will be running inside. the air is horrible. or you could move to the foothills and commute. i lived in the mountains up there by angels camp, i went back to visit recently and i couldnt believe how the smog is actually up there now too even though not as bad -still not the clear skies i remember as a kid