Any Advise on Fresno (Clovis, San Joaquin: crime rate, homes, neighborhoods)

[oregonn8v]

MollyBlyth & Adriatica:

Thank you for your detailed responses. I will be working in the city center (I assume) in the area bordered by Hwys 99, 41 & 180.

I consider myself quite fortuante right now in that I only commute about 5 miles each way in Portland and it takes me between 10-15 minutes. Very short commute for a city the size of Portland. I would not mind a slightly longer commute but would not want anything in the 45 min - 1 hour range. Are North Fresno and Clovis within 20 minutes of downtown?

Our biggest focus when buying a home is going to be schools. We have three children who will be in 1st, 5th and 7th grade next year so we are looking for a good elementary school and middle school immediately that feed into a good high school.

The second feature we need in a home is a pool...this will be a gift to the kids. With the warm summers and no use for a pool in Portland, we thought this woudl be sort of the trade off they would get for moving. Our oldest child is not keen on the idea at all. She keeps telling us she is not moving. It is a lot of drama at this point but dad is just keeping his mouth shut.

If there are good areas to look with the anticipation of working in the city center that have strong schools, please let me know. I will find the pool on my own.

Thanks again.

[Des-Lab]

Yes. You should be able to get from Clovis to downtown within 20 minutes give or take a few minutes from Clovis, via the 168, 180, and 41. Morning commute might get you a little traffic, but it's still not that bad of a drive. It's rare that you could find any two points in Fresno/Clovis that you cannot traverse in under 30 minutes. Especially if going from one end to the other. You can take the freeways. The only times you are going to slog along and take considerable time is on the two main streets: Blackstone for north-south and Shaw from east-west. Definitely not recommended for through travel.

[Adriatica]

Okay, so you'll be working downtown. In that case, I'd focus on 93720 and 93730 with good access to Highway 41 or I'd focus on Clovis' 93611 areas that are close to Highway 168. Both freeways offer good direct access to downtown. These areas should keep your commute time at about 20 minutes, aside from the occasional accident or fog slowdown.

The areas I listed above are all in Clovis Unified, so the schools will be good.

You might check out the Harlan Ranch area of Clovis, if you don't mind the master-planned feel. It's right off of 168. They are still building new there, but there are plenty of existing homes for sale, too. Welcome To Harlan Ranch

In Fresno, you might look at older neighborhoods like Woodward Lake (a manmade lake with a neighborhood surrounding it--some homes there are built right on the lake) and the Dominion--both have good access to Highway 41 via Friant Road. Or a newer neighborhood like Copper River Ranch, which is similar to Harlan Ranch. It's still under construction, but also has existing homes for sale. Copper River Ranch

Lots of homes in these neighborhoods have pools, so that shouldn't be a problem.

If you want the names of some good realtors, feel free to PM me. We've used one in particular that I like.

[Adriatica]

Oops, Harlan Ranch is 93619, not 93611. And another neighborhood in that area to check into is Deauville.

[oregonn8v]

I did see a house near Gettysburg Elementary School (2100 block of Gettysburg) in the Clovis School District that looks like it would be along the lines of what we want.

The problem appears that it is not near any Highways and so there would be some suface street driving on Ashlan or Shaw. Don't know if this is a good thing or not.

Thanks again for all the fantastic input. I will check out the specific neighborhood you have recommended.

Cooper River Ranch has two builders Granville Homes and Gary McDonald. The Granville Homes would be in our price range the McDonald homes start at our price range and go up to $2M or more..a bit out of my social standing. I'll see what I can find though.

[Adriatica]

The Gettysburg location wouldn't be terrible. It's not too far on Ashlan or Shaw to 168. Shaw is generally a very busy street, though, and Ashlan becomes very residential (read: 2-lane and slow) between your location and 168. So, not bad but not great. But they are further south than some of the other neighborhoods I mentioned, so that would cut out commute time to downtown as well.

[SammyJO47]

I agree with those who suggest Clovis schools. Your oldest daughter will adjust, eventually! I moved my daughter at the same age so I understand what he/she is going through.
With your housing budget you will find many homes that will suit your needs. There are thousands of homes in Foreclosure in this area. If you want to spend the time looking into one of those, you will get a very nice home without spending a fortune. The bank owned homes are your best bet as the banks just want to quit losing money. Don't spend any money to buy a list from an ad though. Too many scams right now.
I love the hot weather in this area. I spent 35 years living on the North Coast of California where the weather is similar to Portland...rain, fog, clouds, damp, cold, SUN??? People think they are going to die if it gets 75! LOL
Good luck on your move!

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by LASam

Cue FresnoFacts in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

LOL, sorry to let you down but I had business in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire the last few days.

I hate June gloom down there, I was glad to get back to 83 degrees in Fresno.

[amirelez]

I think the northern area of Fresno is nice especially off friant and Shephard/woodward park area which is close to 41 which connects with 180 and 99. Riverpark shopping is close and has restaurants. In my opinion this is the best part of Fresno. Heres a link to a community and builders in that area. There are many more planned communities and nice homes in the area though. Hope this helps.
Copper River Ranch

[oregonn8v]

Originally Posted by amirelez

I think the northern area of Fresno is nice especially off friant and Shephard/woodward park area which is close to 41 which connects with 180 and 99. Riverpark shopping is close and has restaurants. In my opinion this is the best part of Fresno. Heres a link to a community and builders in that area. There are many more planned communities and nice homes in the area though. Hope this helps.
Copper River Ranch

Amirelez:

Thanks for the recommendation. I have looked at the Copper River Ranch development. It appears as though there are two builders there; Granville Homes and Gary McDonald.

In looking through both builders' web sites there were two things that became immediatly apparent. I cannot afford a McDonald home and I am not really impressed with the plans from Granville. THe quality looks quite good but the floor plans are a bit limited and the lots look considerably smaller as well.

I guess I feel that we may have more luck looking in an older development or an area where the homes are not set up around 5 or 6 pre-set plans.

It is nice looking around though. Thank you again. Everyone has been really helpful in helpting us to find the area to keep our eyes on and the school district to focus on. All very helpful info.

I have heard some comments from people that Fresno is a bit of a rough town and that the dust can get really bad. This is all hear say so I am taking with a grain of salt. Would love to get locals' opinions.