Pros vs. Cons of moving to Salinas. Help Please (Stockton: to rent, crime)

[greenglow161]

Hello everyone. So I am relocating to Monterey county for work. I've been looking at places in Salinas, Soledad, Greenfield and King City. I feel like I would like to live in Salinas it being the bigger city of all those mentioned above but I have only heard so many bad things about it and all the gangs and crime. Can anyone give me some pros and cons?

And what do most people thing about living in Soledad?? Like/Dislike?? Somebody help me please I feel so confused about I should do . It would be so nice to get the opinion of those who live in these areas and what you think of it. Please comment back, good and bad it will all be helpful.

Thank you

[MtnSurfer]

Hi Greenglow,

Welcome to the area. These are actually pretty common questions for new residents to this area. So I recommend doing a search on Salinas here as well if you haven't already. It is true that Salinas is infamous for it's gang related crime. While it's also true that most homicides are gang on gang it is still cause for alarm for many residents of the area. I work in Seaside and quite a number of my friends and coworkers live in and around Salinas.

So you asked for pros/cons. The biggest con for Salinas is the crime and this is true also for places like Soledad, Greenfield and King City. These areas have a high percentage of migrant workers and hispanic gangs. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Familia. As locals of the area we see Salinas shootings in the news alot. And the other areas come up with similar crimes as well. See Salinas ranked 4th in 2009 homicide rates among large California cities via The Salinas Californian | The Red Monkey. Some people still like living there in spite of the crime and violence. But it is a real issue. The main pro for all these areas is that they have cheap housing realitive to California and the Monterey Bay. If you do decide on any of these areas do a lot of homework first.

If you are concerned about the crime at all I always recommend two thing to new residents of the area:

1. Rent - dont buy initially.
2. Look at some of the outskirt areas which have a some nicer parts as well.

It's hard for people moving from the MidWest or the South to think about renting since they are used to being home owners. But in California especially, home ownership is a whole different animal. Plus if you buy right away without getting to know all the neighborhoods/subneighborhoods first it's easy to get into a bad situation and then get stuck. Remember hindsight is always 20/20. So come out and explore the areas. Rent somewhere safe(r) at first. Then decide where you want to plant roots longer term.

Here are some other areas to consider, though not as cheap as Salinas, Soledad or King City. They are a bit more of a happy medium: Prunedale, Oak Hills, Spreckles, San Juan Bautista, some parts of Seaside -upper seaside is pretty nice. Some parts of Marina. I know a lot of people living in these areas and while not perfect they seem more satisfied overall in where they live and own their homes.

Where are you coming from? Will you be looking for schools as well?

Hope that helps some,

Derek

[Highnlite]

Here is my basic problem with Prunedale and the communities along 101 near it, it is worth your life to turn off or turn onto 101 in that area. One inattentive moment on somebodie's part and you are history. San Juan Batista would be a fun place to live I think. It is where my wife was conceived, so someone has had fun there.

Along the coast would be good too. And sadly, I could not recommend anyone moving to Salinas or any of the 101 communities south of it, clear to San Miguel.

[mydogstinks]

You do not want to live in Salinas proper. Do not. Emphatic no. Not south Salinas, East Salinas or North Salinas. Do not do it.

Mtn.Surfer's advice is good.
Regarding Prunedale it is hit and miss. You could get something beautiful, you could get a dump. And hway101 is incredibly dangerous as the previous poster mentioned.
Oak Hills is starting to deteriorate.

San Juan Batista is beautiful but can be windy in the hills.

I would not do Soledad either but King City and Greenfield I can not comment on.

Any place along Highway 68 is nice. Monterey is pretty good but it has a few problem pockets as well. Pacific Grove and Carmel are great as long as you don't mind fog. Carmel Valley has lots of sun and wide open spaces. But this is a huge, huge area so knowing where you are working in the county makes a difference.

[Hawk J]

Salinas was pretty nice when it had a population of about 24,000.
Central Park
YMCA
Mel's drive-in restaurant
Smalley's Roundup
Sheriff's Posse grounds
Rodeo grounds
Indoor pool area
Toro Park
Skyview drive-in
Salinas auto movies
Firestone Tire Co
Hartnell College
Steinbeck House

[Chinga]

Whatever you do, stay AWAY from Salinas, Its a crime infested area. I left the Monterey area 7 years ago and still have friends there.. its just as bad. Seaside is the same way.. filthy and full of crime. A while back Salinas was having multiple drive by gangland style shootings a NIGHT.

Monterey was ok.. but way way way overpriced. I am hearing from friends there that it is also turning bad, but is safer than other areas. When moving to that area be careful, you will pay more for everything JUST because its in the Monterey area.

Carmel forget, not worth it.. too expensive, lots of tourists, and quite frankly boring as all get out.

King city was nice.. but its kind of far out there.. as is Greenfield.

Prunedale was pretty nice.. and a whole lot safer than Salinas.

[californio sur]

Salinas just doesn't have all that much to offer because it is overshadowed by problems. Similar to Stockton, both are pretty good size but lack a good tax base and have considerable poverty and crime. Salinas is the county seat of Monterey county and has a long history of being sort of a cowboy town [they have the Como del Rodeo and parade], lots of farms and related industries. The rest of the Salinas valley are very small towns dependent entirely on agriculture so schools are not very good and gangs are a problem. Monterey county is beautiful however and the surrounding mountains, rivers [Arroyo Seco], lakes [San Antonio & Nacimiento] and of-course the Monterey peninsula and Big Sur are some of the most spectacular areas in California. Personally, if I needed to move near Salinas I would live in San Juan Bastista or up in Santa Cruz.

[Destiny2008]

Speaking of Salinas, my older brother, who taught at East Alisal High School in the early '70's, is buried there (he was killed by a drunk driver at the ripe old age of 35). And because of the fear of gang activity, we have not visited his grave site in many years. (I realize that this is off topic, but it does illustrate how destructive gang activity can be, even for someone who does not live there.)

[Snort]

San Juan Bautista is a very nice town! If you don't know the area, a day's drive around to the places you're considering will make everything crystal clear.
Oh yeah, skip driving the neighborhoods of Salinas at night. It's not conducive to your health.

[greenglow161]

Well thank you guys so much for all your thoughts and advise. Though I am more confused then ever . MtnSurfer no children, so its just me to worry about. The job I am taking is in Soledad as a nurse out at the prison. I'm defiantly just going to rent until I figure out the area. I was thinking Salinas because it was the closes actual city but now I don't know. The drive to some of the seemingly nicer areas Monterey is almost an hour. I have a few months to get things figured out and have already planned a trip out there to look at places and explore the area. Thanks again everyone and pray for me.