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the best way to describe the central valley is " third world country" just like someone posted earlier in this thread! Before a person moves into this area they should do a little digging online and make 1 trip here. Besides the fact there is nothing to do there is also the 28 percent unemployment rate. Gangs , drugs and crime that cover 95 percent of the neighborhoods make this a horrible place to raise children and someone said not culturally diverse, only whites and mexicans, where the hell do you see white people? Leave your car out in the open it WILL be stolen, walk anywhere after dark and run a very good chance of getting robbed or beat and enjoy the 100 degree heat or 38 with pea-soup fog.
I live in the Central Valley too,outside of (Bakersfield),and let me tell you I really love living here and i'm so glad we moved down here from Western Washington State.
I enjoy the blue skies most of the year and the views of the mountains,agriculture fields, and the proximity to the beaches,deserts,mountains,lakes,etc and Southern California is just a hop-scotch over.
It's also surprisingly green here despite the arid climate.
The weather here is tolerable with low humidity during the summer with occasional relief when the marine layer flows in...the heat here is not as bad as Phoenix or Las Vegas.
Here in the Southern Valley were also probably the most affordable part of the state when it comes to home ownership.
It's also not as crowded and the traffic isn't that bad compared to other parts of the state.
So to end this note,I'm very happy living here,and I don't want to live anywhere else
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Originally Posted by Des-Lab
The wife and I just bought a brand new, hell-of-a nice house just outside of Tulare. Say what you want about the Central Valley, but I think it's the best thing I've ever done. I thank the Lord that the opportunity finally presented itself. It's quiet. It's clean. It's affordable. And all the "comforts" of so-called big city/suburban living are all under 20 minutes away. And most of all, it's not so freaking crowded up here (unlike LA and vicinity) where you put your pants on in the morning and there's already someone in there with you. So I get the best of both worlds.
Maybe you think the SJV has nothing to offer. I guess that depends on what your expectations are. I mean if you are a hopeless "culture fanatic", where you just can't function unless you are within walking distance of a fish-taco stand and a Bulgarian art museum, yeah. It's probably not for you.
But here are some pictures that I took from my back yard.
Try doing this anywhere in LA.
So if the Central Valley is an anathema to you? Great. Stay away. That just means I won't have to worry about these views disappearing anytime soon.
Some folks will look at the above and see a whole lot of nothing. They need to have the security blanket of being engulfed in high rise buildings and endless concrete. More power to you if that describes you. But for me (and I'm sure others), the fact that I see mostly just empty spaces and have lots of elbow room is in itself the SJV's greatest appeal.
the best way to describe the central valley is " third world country" just like someone posted earlier in this thread! Before a person moves into this area they should do a little digging online and make 1 trip here. Besides the fact there is nothing to do there is also the 28 percent unemployment rate. Gangs , drugs and crime that cover 95 percent of the neighborhoods make this a horrible place to raise children and someone said not culturally diverse, only whites and mexicans, where the hell do you see white people? Leave your car out in the open it WILL be stolen, walk anywhere after dark and run a very good chance of getting robbed or beat and enjoy the 100 degree heat or 38 with pea-soup fog.
OK, I'm no fan of the Central Valley. We're moving out next week, and happiness is Central California in my rear view mirror. However, I'm wondering if you have ever lived anywhere that actually DOES have crime? Sure, there are some pockets of higher criminal activity, and sure, there can be isolated incidents of crime, but compared to the inner city areas of some of the nation's larger cities, the Central Valley is extremely low crime. For instance, I lived in DC for 5 years and my car was stolen 2 times from the front of my house. I've been in the Valley for 3 years, and haven't had my car stolen once. No one on my street has been arrested for drugs, rape, or murder, but that happened several times when I lived in DC. No crack houses have been busted in my neighborhood, and the cops haven't had to break up any gang fights in front of my house. But that was a pretty regular occurrence when I lived in DC. I guess it's all relative, but for all of the Central Valley's faults, crime is not one of them.
I couldn't be happier about getting out of here. The air is making my children sick, and that is hard to watch. It's hard to watch healthy active children start coughing and complaining of chest pain all day long. My kids are all on the "Valley cocktail" of meds and so am I. I'm tired of bathing my kids in brown water (and yes, we have a water filter, it just takes care of the smell), and not being able to use sink water for drinking or cooking (arsenic). The weather doesn't bother me, but I'm pretty easy going about that stuff. Sure, it's hot in the summer. But it doesn't bother me. The fog doesn't bother me, and it's pretty cool to be able to watch the seasons come and go with the agriculture. But the Valley is making us all sick, and for that reason I am very happy to be moving my children out of here.
Actually crime in the city of Fresno is now at a 45 year low.
Fresno now has a per capita crime rate that is similiar to Omaha, and lower than Des Moines or Spokane. But many people haven't heard about the drop in Fresno crime.
The Fresno PD has been putting a lot of pressure on gangs (sweeps for probation violations, etc) the last few years which has cut crime dramtically. Fresno has been running a lower violent crime rate than Sacramento, San Francisco, and others.
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Born and raised in San Jose, have lived in Fresno and worked for Fresno PD. They are a fine Department and I guarantee in Fresno you will not get slammed onto the concrete for no reason as you will in those big-belly sheriff towns in the south. We now have the best of both worlds, work in San Jose and have the higher salary and future pension that will come with that, live in Tracy in a nicer home than we could ever afford in San Jose... commute isn't bad if you don't bolt out the door at 5pm, take your time, catch up at the office, get a bite to eat, shop and errands, then take off for 680/580 and home in less than an hour. I miss alot about Fresno - especially our friends. Fresno is a great town to live in and work for local government. Just the salary wasn't as high and we wanted to ramp up our Calpers before retiring. I've often heard people call Fresno the "armpit" of California and they are wrong. Fresno has a lot of good to offer. If you are racist, especially against blacks, then you won't like Fresno. Better off moving to the south if you are racist and completely out of California.
Quite a bit of farmland left Nita, we still do country drives and stop at fruit stands and wineries.
The area is developing a boutique winery industry now. There are about 20 small wineries around Fresno with new ones planned.
Three weeks ago we stopped at a winery that makes nice Tempranillos and Alicantes.
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It is a shame what happened to Fresno in the 90s. Google -> Operation Rezone, there was corruption between developers and Council members, the FBI came in and many went to jail. They used to call Fresno "Fres-Yes" because for the right price developers could get anything approved, and it ruined good farm land. Since then though preseving ag and ag land is a top priority of local government. Once gone, farm land can never be brought back.
I've lived in the Bible Belt, and while Fresno has some elements in common with some of those cities, living in Fresno is nothing like living in the Bible Belt.
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As a Conservative Christian I was very excited to have a new home built in small town Texas east of Dallas (we left after the earthquake in 1989) and boy I couldn't get out of the "bible belt" fast enough, it took 11 torturous years. Racist, Racist, Racist, and I have a feeling when Jesus comes again He will be swinging the buckle on that "Bible Belt" around at some hate-mongering Christians in the south!
And historically Fresno got gangs because they were moving up from Los Angeles. LAPD warned the Fresno PD decades ago but by the time they reacted it was too late. Now Fresno has made it a priority.
Fresno PD has been working with other law enforcement departments in the county to fight gangs regionwide thru the revised MAGEC program. The countywide teams include members from nearly all county PDs plus county, state and federal agencies like ATF.
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They have the Bull Doggers, but another huge problem in Fresno is the Hmong population. They are poor country people and the parents are poor, and ill equipped to deal with the asian gangs. I am all for helping the Hmong, our Country made a promise to them during the Vietnam war and shame on Americans that tell them they are not welcome. Shame on our country for the Vietnam war, but that is another forum. You can't put all the blame at PD's doorstep though, they have done alot to mitigate gangs. Parents have a responsibility to raise their children, kids don't belong at home, they will belong to gangs, it is just that simple.
The Central Valley runs from basically Redding to Bakersfield.
The Central Valley is a generic name for 2 regions, north of the Delta region (the Delta is located near Stockton) is the Sacramento Valley, south of the Delta is the San Joaquin Valley.
Basically the 2 names follow the 2 large rivers that meet at the Delta.
Not sure what parts you saw of Fresno, but if you only drove through on 99 or through parts of downtown, no it doesn't look "nice" because those are industrial and poorer areas. But if you get off the freeways and explore the northern or eastern residential areas, walk/bike the San Joaquin River Parkway, visit the Tower District or Mural District, explore Old Town Clovis, etc. it is very different area than what some people see/hear.
the best way to describe the central valley is " third world country" just like someone posted earlier in this thread! Before a person moves into this area they should do a little digging online and make 1 trip here. Besides the fact there is nothing to do there is also the 28 percent unemployment rate. Gangs , drugs and crime that cover 95 percent of the neighborhoods make this a horrible place to raise children and someone said not culturally diverse, only whites and mexicans, where the hell do you see white people? Leave your car out in the open it WILL be stolen, walk anywhere after dark and run a very good chance of getting robbed or beat and enjoy the 100 degree heat or 38 with pea-soup fog.
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That is not true about cars being stolen, I had a car that just would never run right, I wanted to get a brand new car but had a car note left on the old car. I would leave my car in the street with windows rolled down, hoping somebody would please hotwire and steal it so I could get the insurance money - and they never did! So that just isn't true about cars being stolen when left out in the open - I only wish someone had stolen my car! (Finally got my new car)
I think the Central Valley is one of the worst areas of California.
What a brilliant take, it is surrounded by one of the prettiest coasts on earth to the west, and Yosemite to the east. No crap it's one of the worst areas of California, look what your comparing it too.
Now, my take is the central valley isn't the best, and compared to places a few hours away pales badly in comparison. HOWEVER, great spring weather, I don't know many places that can compare. Great fall, short winter, and to top it off, when the rest of the country is getting screwed by the weather, we are having one of the coolest summer's I can remember.
For people that live in the central valley, i'm sure FresnoFacts has some stats, what would you say? Definetly less than 10 100+ days this year?
As for how do you define hot, for me anything over 95 isn't fun to be outside. Lucky for us, low to mid 80s, some low 90s most of the summer....
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However, I'm wondering if you have ever lived anywhere that actually DOES have crime? Sure, there are some pockets of higher criminal activity, and sure, there can be isolated incidents of crime, but compared to the inner city areas of some of the nation's larger cities, the Central Valley is extremely low crime. For instance, I lived in DC for 5 years and my car was stolen 2 times from the front of my house. I've been in the Valley for 3 years, and haven't had my car stolen once. No one on my street has been arrested for drugs, rape, or murder, but that happened several times when I lived in DC. No crack houses have been busted in my neighborhood, and the cops haven't had to break up any gang fights in front of my house. But that was a pretty regular occurrence when I lived in DC. I guess it's all relative, but for all of the Central Valley's faults, crime is not one of them. 
