moving to modesto (Merced, Turlock, Paradise: sales, real estate market, to rent)

[zipzach7]

Im thinking about moving to modesto and was wondering if tully road by the jr college east was nice? the place i found is around tully road and coldwell ave

[sms1967]

Honestly, I don't think Modesto has a nice area. What's your reason for going there?

[BadA$$]

I've heard it was nice, but CRIME IS EVERYWHERE!

[Inspirada buyer]

Originally Posted by zipzach7

Im thinking about moving to modesto and was wondering if tully road by the jr college east was nice? the place i found is around tully road and coldwell ave

That area is called the college area. Its an old neighborhood with lots of old trees and old houses from 1920, 1950, 1970's and one of the top desirable neighborhood in Modesto (lower middle to upper middle class). Picture this: College/Enslen Area houses during the height of the real estate market in 2006 is in the $500K on an average. Now its down by 30-40%.

Modesto can be described as pockets of good and bad areas. The rich people live in Del Rio Area. Houses there during 2006 start at a million dollars up to 5 million dollars. Now you can buy a house in del rio for around $800K.

Average price in the college area runs from low $100's up to low $200 per sq ft depending on the condition and quality of the house.

There are very limited job opportunities in Modesto, one of the highest unemployment rate in the country around 17%, high crime rate like burglary and car theft, called the meth capital of America. Very poor or no selection of private schools. If you have pollen allergy then stay away from Modesto.

So if you have no choice but move to Modesto, the college area is the best area to live if you can afford to buy a house in the low 300K. Otherwise, think it over before moving to Modesto.

Your best bet is to rent for a while before making an important decision of buying a house.

[Snort]

Sincerest condolences.

[Christopher777]

I am curious if you are from California or out of state. I grew up in Modesto and my mother and brother still live there. Modesto, as one person stated, has pockets of good and bad. Neighborhoods can change dramatically within a few blocks. The area you speak of near the college is not too bad - some older but nice neighborhoods. You can tell a lot about a Modesto neighborhood by just driving around them and the surrounding areas. Drive out a little ways in all directions from where you want to live.

Has Modesto changed - yes - from when I was a child. Crime, mostly from gang influence but crime in general has risen with the growth in population. Modesto was basically an agricultural community when I was little. Open canals could be found nearby and farm land appeared all around town. Many people move to California because of the good weather - or at least I hear that a lot. The problem now is there is simply too many people in the valley. Air pollution is increasing every year. Traffic is ever increasing and the freeways are very full now. Years ago the freeway at night was rather empty - not now.

I don't know if you are male or female but I even counsel my son, who is living with my mother while going to the university in Turlock, that everything bad happens at night. Better not to roam around at night - most of the problems arise then. Stay away of areas south of Yosemite Blvd and west Modesto - like over by Paradise Road and such. It is just pitiful how things are. We used to run and play all over the streets and yards as kids in Modesto. We would play hid-and-seek by running up into yards in the neighborhood and hiding in bushes or anywhere we could find. Can you imagine the reaction people would have now if your kids did that. We had a healthy respect for adults and if someone said something to us we would listen. Sorry, I'm regressing.

Modesto has lots of trees from an agressive tree planting policy over the years. Some valley towns are quite barren looking compared to Modesto. If you like bicycling Merced is the place to go. They have bike paths all over town and out to Snelling and the new UC Merced.

Modesto has been suffering through what most valley towns have experienced over the years - a lot of growth. To get right down to it, the one thing about Modesto, and all the valley that is a real bummer is the crime situation. Modesto has excellent soil, if you like to grow gardens and such, which I do. The climate is typical California weather - not the extremes you have in the Midwest. (I don't care about the weather and we are about ready to move out to Missouri or Michigan if it works out)

California in general is rather expensive to live in. Taxes are high, real estate is costly but the market has crashed and prices have come way down. Property taxes are 1% of the assessed value. Sales tax is at least 7.75% (and higher in some areas).

I probably wrote too much but if you have any other questions I will be glad to try to help you out.