Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In 1999, the population was at 33,000 population. And in 2000 it fell to 29,000 population. In, 1990 the population was at 31,000 population. And now the city is at 30,000 population. My wonder is, will the city be maintaining 1,000 population growth every 10 years or less?
the city, take a look at this post from the Oklahoma forum. If you click on the link, it'll lead you to the statistics on Domestic Migration. You'll see that people are leaving California by the thousands.
If the statistics is true, then it is highly unlikely that Monterey can keep up with the growth in my opinion. There seems to be better interest in towns located further inland of California. Salinas for example, has the potential to develop commercial businesses to attract large companies due to the available land. We used to drive 20 minutes into Salinas to shop at Home Depot since there wasn't any in Monterey area. But Home Depot have taken over the abandoned building Kmart used to occupy in Seaside-Monterey. There seems to be a lot of support for local businesses and it has always been difficult for larger companies to find space in the historic town of Monterey.
A 20 year old house that my folks still own in Marina, a bedroom community 10 minutes north of Monterey, can be sold for 300,000 to 400,000. But go further up north to Dublin, a new town 20 minutes inland from Hayward, one can buy a new townhouse for the comparable price. The difference in Dublin is the Standard of Living due to the available amenities nearby. Larger companies, better education system, entertainment and shopping.
Monterey is basically stuck for some reason. Great place to visit as a tourist, but as far as living there, it's hard to convince me to live in the Monterey area again.
Why did the Monterey area population suddenly go down in 2000 to now?
Because just before that time the government closed Fort Ord and transferred the detachments stationed there to Fort Lewis, Washington. Ergo, their families - who made up a significant portion of the "Monterey" population at the time - followed them. As did a large number of civilian employees [and their families].
It took about three years for things to turn around, but they did. And by about 2005 there was a full recovery. Imo.
In my view quite a bit of the information being posted on this particular thread is dated. Lots of opinions and spin, too. But that's to be expected. TimC2462 has apparently not visited the area in the last year, or else he drove through with his eye's closed. Over a year ago a thousand of the old derelict barracks he mentioned seeing were "deconstructed" and the land they were on reclaimed. A large new multi-store shopping center - nicer than most in Bakersfiled, probably - has been constructed and is open next to Hwy 1 and the 12th Street interchange in Marina. The new University has spent $M's in its building program since it opened after the closure, and has a beautiful campus.
The reclaiming of the former Fort Ord was planned to take about 20 years to complete. The process has really been underway for less than 10 years. So changes are afoot but a little patience seems in order. Why I remember when the Rosedale Highway led right through a slum, but look at it today!
Cheers
Last edited by Franklyn; 07-06-2008 at 08:28 PM..
Reason: name correction
Because just before that time the government closed Fort Ord and transferred the detachments stationed there to Fort Lewis, Washington. Ergo, their families - who made up a significant portion of the "Monterey" population at the time - followed them. As did a large number of civilian employees [and their families].
It took about three years for things to turn around, but they did. And by about 2005 there was a full recovery. Imo.
In my view quite a bit of the information being posted on this particular thread is dated. Lots of opinions and spin, too. But that's to be expected. TimC2462 has apparently not visited the area in the last year, or else he drove through with his eye's closed. Over a year ago a thousand of the old derelict barracks he mentioned seeing were "deconstructed" and the land they were on reclaimed. A large new multi-store shopping center - nicer than most in Bakersfiled, probably - has been constructed and is open next to Hwy 1 and the 12th Street interchange in Marina. The new University has spent $M's in its building program since it opened after the closure, and has a beautiful campus.
The reclaiming of the former Fort Ord was planned to take about 20 years to complete. The process has really been underway for less than 10 years. So changes are afoot but a little patience seems in order. Why I remember when the Rosedale Highway led right through a slum, but look at it today!
Cheers
"Nicer than Bakersfield probably"? Not in my opinion. We'll have to differ on that. But the comparison between both cities shopping center is pointless. We're talking about things that impact growth in Monterey. Apparently, Monterey pales in comparison in this respect to the cities I have visited in California.
Fort Ord finally closed in 1994 and in the same year, California State University Monterey Bay was founded. It's good to hear that money is finally being poured into the campus but crunching the numbers, it seems it has been nearly 14 years since Fort Ord closed. The year the campus opened there was an enrollment of nearly 500 students. What's the enrollment this year? 4000. Why? Understaffing. Misdirection by the first President of CSU Monterey Bay. High cost of living. Low appeal. With the land mostly developed in the old Fort Ord, why did it take so long for the area to receive its makeover? So much for the 20 year plan.
Monterey and the towns surrounding it has remained unchanged for the most part. Several new development in the old Fort Ord area still doesn't justify the high cost of living. Just because I haven't driven through Monterey for the last year doesn't explain the lack of steady growth in the last 14 years.
"Fort Ord finally closed in 1994 and in the same year, California State University Monterey Bay was founded. It's good to hear that money is finally being poured into the campus but crunching the numbers, it seems it has been nearly 14 years since Fort Ord closed. The year the campus opened there was an enrollment of nearly 500 students. What's the enrollment this year? 4000. Why? Understaffing. Misdirection by the first President of CSU Monterey Bay. High cost of living. Low appeal. With the land mostly developed in the old Fort Ord, why did it take so long for the area to receive its makeover? So much for the 20 year plan."
The closure of Ft. Ord was a structured operation and did not occur overnight. In fact the Dod unit that facilities such events [BRAC} is still in business today. Those things take time. Just like the rebuilding of the Rosedale Highway. [No offense intended]
If you'd been paying closer attention you'd know the university - once it began operating three years after it was authorized - quickly determined that the orginal plan of converting permanent army barracks into university dorms proved impractical and much too costly. For about a half year I was in the heart of that operation and everything ended up having to be redone. Utilities, wiring, plumbing, water mains, power feeds, phone systems, even major portions of the permanent structures. So the university wisely opted to scale down the conversion process and build new student housing units. That held down the number of available student slots for those living on campus. The university has a waiting list and turns away applicants each session. That's how I measure some degree of success.
The high cost of living in this area is directly related to two things, in my view. The shortage of available building sites in desireable areas, and the generally favorable climate. Few of us over here have air conditioners or swamp coolers. Just not needed. Try that in Oildale. Or Wasco. It's just a pleasant place to live. Simple. Bakersfield and the rest of the San Joaquin valley are great places. I've lived in that area and spent lots of time there. My choice is to live where beads of sweat don't pop up on my forehead every time I walk out to check the mail. Or where the dismal fog settles in to stay for two months at a time each winter. But to each his own.
I really have to laugh at your "unchanged" comment. For the last six years my family has had an inside joke about Pasadera County Club. During this time multi-million dollar homes seem to have sprung up overnight on the hillside behind the clubhouse. Every time we drive by on the highway we see new homes. We finally came to the laughing conclusion they are just "dummy" homes and went up so fast because they would blow up a balloon-type form and then spray something over it. The next day, after the stuff had hardened, they would deflate the balloon and move it somewhere else, then repeat. That way they could build the units really, really fast. I'm sorry "changes" haven't come as fast as you'd like. Maybe part of the charm of the Monterey Bay area is that most changes are pretty well thought out before developers are allowed to rip up some land.
That's a slightly different view than in Kern County, btw. But we each make our choices, and I respect yours.
Last edited by Franklyn; 07-07-2008 at 09:26 AM..
Reason: spelling
The high cost of living in this area is directly related to two things, in my view. The shortage of available building sites in desireable areas, and the generally favorable climate. Few of us over here have air conditioners or swamp coolers. Just not needed. Try that in Oildale. Or Wasco. It's just a pleasant place to live. Simple. Bakersfield and the rest of the San Joaquin valley are great places. I've lived in that area and spent lots of time there. My choice is to live where beads of sweat don't pop up on my forehead every time I walk out to check the mail. Or where the dismal fog settles in to stay for two months at a time each winter. But to each his own.
I agree. We just moved to Monterey county after living in the high desert area for the last five years, which is pretty similar to Bakersfield. The inland areas are cheap and there is more shopping but, that's pretty much all those areas have to offer. The quality of life leaves a lot to be desired, IMO, but I guess it depends on what you want ...
I find it hilarious when people claim there's a lack of entertainment here. We've just spent the last two weekends taking nature tours on the Elkhorn Slough (an unbelievable experience), hiking through the redwoods (gorgeous), cruizing up and down highway one, walking the boardwalk in Santa Cruz and taking some of the rides there, checking out the Scottish Celtic festival in Toro ...
Next weekend we're heading south to Paso Robles for some winery tours, Hearst Castle and SLO ...
Of course, the weather is a lot better than desert. My husband simply cannot tolerate heat and, in the summers it would get so hot the air conditioning unit would sometimes shut down. Our summer utility bills would get up to $600 a month so ... that certainly reduced some of the cost savings out there. Also the bad air quality and dust got really old after awhile.
As soon as we could afford it, we wanted to move to the central coast. People can try to knock it all they want and I'm sure some are leaving due to the expense but there's a reason people still pay a fortune to live here despite the housing crash.
As far as the population decline ... I seriously doubt that anyone around here cares. This is not inland California where they let anybody build anything they want. They're still debating whether to put a WalMart in Soledad of all places so ...
Here, the locals want slow growth, even in the south county towns. If a few thousand people leave the county ... I'm sure they could care less because they don't want this place overrun with commercial development and housing tracts.
You'll see that people are leaving California by the thousands.
My philosophy is ... so what? Let 'em leave.
Look: I've done the cheap California inland thing, and I lived in cheap states like North Carolina and Texas. If that's all people can afford, I totally understand that but, let's face it ... most people move there only because it is cheap.
And let's face another fact: most people want to live on or near the California coast and, when they can't afford it ... they start bashing this place because they're PO'd. Quite frankly, I did the same thing because I was extremely frustrated with the fact that I couldn't live here either ...
Yet ... year after year ... we always kept coming back every chance we could for vacations, etc. In the meantime I went back to school and changed careers so I could make more money. That, combined with falling housing prices, allowed us to move here ...
Let's cut all of the crap and get to the bottom line: People want paradise and they want it to be cheap. When it's not cheap and they can't afford it ... they get frustrated and start nitpicking every little thing ... trying to convince themselves that they're not missing much by moving away from here.
But they are missing much... which is why we keep seeing these posts over and over again. "You see!" They say, over and over again. "Lots of other people are moving away!"
Guess what? We don't care. We're too busy enjoying paradise ... and we'd like to keep it that way.
Wow, you got that right! I have found myself trying to come up with reasons I should move to another state when I have lived in California my whole life. And the truth is, no other states compare. The only thing I can come up with is that they are a lot cheaper and the people might be friendlier. So you know what? I am staying in California. Thanks!
I agree with your post for the most part. We have moved away from CA for all the common reasons (eg - overcrowding, crime, pollution, traffic, high cost of living, etc...). But we are looking at moving 'Back' to CA and slow growth is one of the many reasons Monterey appeals to me. After watching my hometown of Hermosa beach and the rest of the South Bay explode with growth I really like the idea of slow growth or no growth. As a native Californian it is sad to see how much of the environment has already been raped and luted for profit.
I am not saying well 'planned out' growth is bad though. And renewing an area revitalizes the economy and adds value to the community at large. I see some of that happening in Monterey as well as Seaside, etc... So that is great. But I certainly don't want to see the big developers come in and level a bunch of trees and spew out garbage into the ocean either.
That is one of the things I really like about the Oregon coast. Much of it is still undeveloped and beautiful. Of course there is no Silicon Valley near the coast either, so that helps. But even Portland has a nice balance of business (Silicon Forest) and nature coexisting. And I would move there in a heartbeat if my wife didn't miss her family in CA so much.
But yes, many people are leaving CA to other sates. And guess what... some who have left like us are looking at coming back. It is truly an amazing state with the coast and Sierras being the crown jewels. So there is are reason it costs more to live there.
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 07-08-2008 at 12:42 PM..
Hi thanks for the tip on the gang problem in Salinas. We are moving to Monterey arae in about 2 months. In all of the Monterey coast area, up through Santa Cruz, can anyone please tell us which communities are the ones with the least gang or violent crime problems? THANKS!!!
Hi thanks for the tip on the gang problem in Salinas. We are moving to Monterey arae in about 2 months. In all of the Monterey coast area, up through Santa Cruz, can anyone please tell us which communities are the ones with the least gang or violent crime problems? THANKS!!!
I'd just stay away from Salinas, Seaside, and Scotts Valley if you want to be away from gangs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
- has been constructed and is open next to Hwy 1 and the 12th Street interchange in Marina. The new University has spent $M's in its building program since it opened after the closure, and has a beautiful campus.
