those who wanted to move to CA (San Diego, Fresno: credit, houses)

[drewcrewof2]

Quit talking up this state for gosh sake! Talk it down like everybody else is! Its crowded enough already... look at this pix of my worn out car, the filthey air above, the dirty street it is parked on, the strange trees that are planted, steep dangerous mountains in the back where rocks can fall on you... and don't forget the earthquakes!... No one would want to live here... (giggle)

[rkb0305]

Originally Posted by jc76

The house is in INDIANA, not California. When I get my 1/3 of the sale on the house I want to possibly use it for a down payment on a house somewhere in CA, possibly Fresno because it's cheap.
Charles, thanks for your logic on this and I understand what your saying, but really I am not letting emotion over ride my business mind. The house was 125K 5 years ago now its around 70K, that means after getting lowballed and paying all the fees we might get 60K, split 3 ways that's 20K each...hardly worth giving up our home, a place we can always call OURS, that's all paid off to each get a measliy 20 thou. 20K goes quick, then our "safety net" home that my mom worked 18 years for is also gone, that all I'm saying. Not a good idea til the market jumps. We each agreed we need to walk away with 30K at lowest.

If you sell and move to Fresno, you may be making a huge mistake. The weather is not great. The air quality is horrible. Fresno is not what most people picture when they think of California.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by rkb0305

If you sell and move to Fresno, you may be making a huge mistake. The weather is not great. The air quality is horrible. Fresno is not what most people picture when they think of California.

I have to agree. There's a reason things are cheaper in the heart of the central valley and it has to do with livability. It's fine for those who want to live in a rural area with an agrarian economy but while it feeds the nation, it's not what is generally thought of as the "California Dream" by any means. And lest anyone wish to challenge me on that, I've lived there, as well as both southern and northern California and I know the differences.

I believe it would be far better to hold out until you can comfortably afford something in a northern county unless you absolutely have to have the beaches, climate and crowds of the southern portion of the state which is far more expensive. Just don't wait too long or the rebound will price you out of the state.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by rkb0305

If you sell and move to Fresno, you may be making a huge mistake. The weather is not great. The air quality is horrible. Fresno is not what most people picture when they think of California.

I don't think it would be a mistake as long as someone understands that Fresno is NOT the coast. Of course the coastal cities are not the California of movies and TV either.

I will disagree about some of what you said. Weather in Fresno is better compared to the midwest and the air quality continues to improve in spite of growth.

My wife grew up near the coast and finds it too cold there for her preference for too much of the year. A few months is OK, but she didn't like huddling near the heater in spring and fall.

I just read an article from a twenty-something who moved here from the Bay Area right after college. He's now been in Fresno seven years.

Part of what he says, "At that point -- 22, single and a week out of college -- Fresno was just a new place to me: first job, first time paying the rent all by myself. In my mind it was temporary. I'd live here a couple years before heading off to my next adventure. Eventually, I'd head home to the Bay Area. That was the plan, at least.

Seven years later, I'm still here. I've got a 559 phone number. I've grown accustomed to 100-degree days (even in May!) And Fresno isn't just temporary. It's home.

In seven years, I've come to love the people and tolerate the heat. I've learned that there's such a thing as traffic, but it's not here. I've realized that Fresno is the kind of place where one person can make a difference -- where good people pour their all into good business ideas or local events they believe we need.

I learned that I never had a good taco until I met Fresno and that I was really missing out on this thing called tri-tip that everybody here loves so much. I've learned to love October, strawberries off the side of the road, Highway 180 and the Tower District.

I've come to realize that people are nicer where life is slower. I know now that people in Fresno are passionate about they believe in (be it athletics, politics, religion). But I've also learned it's tough to get them excited about things they aren't passionate about.

I've come to accept that some people really don't have the same view of Fresno as I do. Maybe I look with new, soft eyes and they look with old, tired ones. Maybe that's why they don't see the vibrancy and potential that I do. But I know that everybody -- despite how much they might complain about Fresno -- has at least one thing they absolutely love about this place."
Me and Fresno, seven years later ... - fresnobeehive.com

A perfect place, no. For everyone, no.

But there are those of us, like my wife and I and that columnist, who have moved here and said "This is home."

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I have to agree. There's a reason things are cheaper in the heart of the central valley and it has to do with livability. It's fine for those who want to live in a rural area with an agrarian economy but while it feeds the nation, it's not what is generally thought of as the "California Dream" by any means. And lest anyone wish to challenge me on that, I've lived there, as well as both southern and northern California and I know the differences.

California beach life? No. But I prefer being able to hike the Sierras myself.

Ag has dropped as the main driving force around here, still important but not like it was. There is a shift toward other industries like manufacturing, tech, and tourism.

I think Fresno is going through a change like Sacramento and other areas have before it.

You and I are old enough to remember when Sacramento was called "Sacratomato" or "the Big Tomato". I can remember when San Diego was better known as a Navy town and gateway to nights in Tijuana.

There seems to be a tipping point when an area gets close to 1 million residents. That is about the time in the 1980s when Sacramento changed or in the 1960s when San Diego changed. Fresno and the surrounding area is now just under that 1 million mark.

Just in the last 4 years Fresno has seen things started like a Shakespeare festival, a Fringe performance festival, several wine tasting trails, an increase in upscale dining, more live music (concerts and small clubs), art galleries, etc.

My personal feeling is that this area is going to change and surprise a lot of people in the next decade.

[rkb0305]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

I don't think it would be a mistake as long as someone understands that Fresno is NOT the coast. Of course the coastal cities are not the California of movies and TV either.

I will disagree about some of what you said. Weather in Fresno is better compared to the midwest and the air quality continues to improve in spite of growth.

My wife grew up near the coast and finds it too cold there for her preference for too much of the year. A few months is OK, but she didn't like huddling near the heater in spring and fall.

I just read an article from a twenty-something who moved here from the Bay Area right after college. He's now been in Fresno seven years.

Part of what he says, "At that point -- 22, single and a week out of college -- Fresno was just a new place to me: first job, first time paying the rent all by myself. In my mind it was temporary. I'd live here a couple years before heading off to my next adventure. Eventually, I'd head home to the Bay Area. That was the plan, at least.

Seven years later, I'm still here. I've got a 559 phone number. I've grown accustomed to 100-degree days (even in May!) And Fresno isn't just temporary. It's home.

In seven years, I've come to love the people and tolerate the heat. I've learned that there's such a thing as traffic, but it's not here. I've realized that Fresno is the kind of place where one person can make a difference -- where good people pour their all into good business ideas or local events they believe we need.

I learned that I never had a good taco until I met Fresno and that I was really missing out on this thing called tri-tip that everybody here loves so much. I've learned to love October, strawberries off the side of the road, Highway 180 and the Tower District.

I've come to realize that people are nicer where life is slower. I know now that people in Fresno are passionate about they believe in (be it athletics, politics, religion). But I've also learned it's tough to get them excited about things they aren't passionate about.

I've come to accept that some people really don't have the same view of Fresno as I do. Maybe I look with new, soft eyes and they look with old, tired ones. Maybe that's why they don't see the vibrancy and potential that I do. But I know that everybody -- despite how much they might complain about Fresno -- has at least one thing they absolutely love about this place."
Me and Fresno, seven years later ... - fresnobeehive.com

A perfect place, no. For everyone, no.

But there are those of us, like my wife and I and that columnist, who have moved here and said "This is home."

I would take Fresno's dry heat over midwest humidity any day, but it is not for everyone. I won't get into a big Fresno discussion with you here. I'm just saying, people who want to "live the California Dream", but choose Fresno because of the cost, may be in for a rude awakening.

[Puddy4LyF]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

There's a reason things are cheaper in the heart of the central valley and it has to do with livability. It's fine for those who want to live in a rural area with an agrarian economy but while it feeds the nation, it's not what is generally thought of as the "California Dream" by any means. And lest anyone wish to challenge me on that, I've lived there, as well as both southern and northern California and I know the differences.

I believe it would be far better to hold out until you can comfortably afford something in a northern county unless you absolutely have to have the beaches, climate and crowds of the southern portion of the state which is far more expensive. Just don't wait too long or the rebound will price you out of the state.

Are you serious, Curmudgeon? Fresno's boring, but rural Indiana is uber-exciting? And its weather? Most of the year it's either snowy and cold or hot and humid. And when it's not, it's often gray and ugly. I'd rather it be hot and sunny, myself. I don't hang out in Fresno - only been there once, but my drive down Route 41 was absolutely stunning. In contrast, I never saw anything as interesting in Indiana - maybe except the time I drove through Gary... er, nevermind.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by rkb0305

I would take Fresno's dry heat over midwest humidity any day, but it is not for everyone. I won't get into a big Fresno discussion with you here. I'm just saying, people who want to "live the California Dream", but choose Fresno because of the cost, may be in for a rude awakening.

Didn't I say Fresno is not for everyone? My sister lives in the Southern California suburbs, and the life of LA freeways isn't for me. I've turned down recruiters who offered me Bay Area jobs, it doesn't appeal to me. We are all different.

I also notice the poster is smart enough to say he plans to visit before making a decision. That is important no matter where someone is considering.

But I used to live on the California coast myself near SLO. That wasn't the "California Dream" either, it was just a place to live and work. And for me the job choices in my field (no, not ag related) were very limited there.

I found that day to day, few people really get to do the "California" lifestyle anyway. Most of us are too busy with work, family, etc.

[jc76]

Originally Posted by Puddy4LyF

Are you serious, Curmudgeon? Fresno's boring, but rural Indiana is uber-exciting? And its weather? Most of the year it's either snowy and cold or hot and humid. And when it's not, it's often gray and ugly. I'd rather it be hot and sunny, myself. I don't hang out in Fresno - only been there once, but my drive down Route 41 was absolutely stunning. In contrast, I never saw anything as interesting in Indiana - maybe except the time I drove through Gary... er, nevermind.

Puddy, once again YOU HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD! For example; today was nice and sunny (Indiana remember) but not many people left their homes because the bugs are heavy and theres some kind of white cotton stuff flying off trees causing our eyes to water and sneeze. So, after our 7 months of winter we now get this, around here there is no such thing as "a good weather day" something always ruins it.
I dream of my move to California and some of you dream of your move OUT of California, but I can almost guarantee most of you would not want to handle our weather. I try to see the + living here, but that optimism is usually shot down by the mosquitos, humidity, gnats, geese pooping on everything, snow, ice, sleet, hail, Constant roadwork due to ice creating 9" potholes, tornados tearing through our towns, rain on a sunny day, loud redneck trucks, and the neverending cornucopia of what I call "Midwest Inconveniences"
...With that being said I think FRESNO would be a decent start for me. Not saying that's where I am going for sure but I am DEFINATLY going to spend a couple days there to see for myself if it's as bad as some of you say. For sure it beats my rusty town in the hoosier state

[drewcrewof2]

jc, you are funny and correct. I have lived just about everywhere in the US... I grew up as a service brat and moved every year. I have family in Indianna (daughter) and monster family in Arkansas and Georga we visit. I have lived in CA now for 50 years and here we live outdoors ALL YEAR 'ROUND! I live near the coast north of LA (Camarillo) and the weather is always almost perfect. Very few bugs, even then only for a month or two. Lots of sun, temps 50 to 80, ocean 10 mins away. No cultural issues to worry about, great schools (how would i know?) and close enough to LA to drive to a good job. Fresno now is indeed another story. Come by Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks - Camarillo before you firmly plant your seeds. C pix.