From east to west coast (Los Angeles, San Diego: 2014, apartment, rental)

[ene03]

Sorry didn't update my page first to gather info about Fresno.

We enjoy various outdoor activities...hiking, kayaking, street festivals, parks....pretty open to different activities. Like the idea of weekend trips to the beach or various cities. We have done some light skiing, but are trying to escape anything related to the cold..We've paid our dues to bitter winters.

My husband is more of a city person, I can go either way as long as we aren't too far from grocery stores, shopping, etc.

[wburg]

You might try the California general forum to ask about Fresno--it's a long way from Fresno to Sacramento, it's a 3-4 hour drive or train ride, so most Sacramentans don't have much experience with Fresno.

[NickB1967]

Moderator cut: personal - off topic

But let's get back to the OP's needs. OP and her family are coming from *Kentucky*. California real estate shock has already hit them just *looking* at housing prices online, and that doesn't even factor the substantially higher costs of fuel (even without the need to heat the home in most places here) and the quite a bit higher costs of living in California otherwise, due to California's higher taxes.

When the OP is already looking at *the Fresno area* as a cheaper alternative to the relatively cheap (by California standards) Sacramento area, this means money will be tight for them here.

Yes, CA wages are higher, but not for Federal "GS" civil service people. Since OP mentions her husband's flexibility in job location, and since she is looking at the Fresno area, I am guessing her husband is in a GS line of work. (IRS? BLM? NPS? USDA? USFS?). Or if husband is in agribusiness?

[ene03]

I'm not going into this completely clueless about housing prices and overall cost of living, and not certain that Fresno will remain a contender in considering places...I'm on this forum to get a better understanding of considerable places to live.

Thanks for those who have helped me to gain a better understanding of what Sacramento areas to consider and what it has to offer.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by ene03

Does anyone have any additional info about Fresno and/or Clovis? Did a brief housing search and so far the housing market appears to be better in Fresno. I've been able to find more suitable housing options at a better price; for rentals and for sale.

I grew up in that area & went to college at Fresno State.

There has been quite a bit of discussion in the California forum concerning Fresno; typically a lot of Fresno-bashing by Sacramento people (who've never lived there).

The cost of living in Fresno/Clovis is significantly lower than Sacramento, along with the pay scale, even though many people here will find stats on line to attempt to disprove it.

I like Fresno/Clovis. Clovis is the newer and nicer suburb of Fresno, and it has grown a lot since i lived in the area. Overall, I'd say that the people are much more friendlier. Oh, and definitely much more conservative. It's a more relaxed way of life but there is still a wide range of activities to keep one busy.

We enjoy various outdoor activities...hiking, kayaking, street festivals, parks....pretty open to different activities. Like the idea of weekend trips to the beach or various cities. We have done some light skiing, but are trying to escape anything related to the cold

You will find all of that in Fresno/Clovis but for a significantly less COL. Nearly every type of activity that's available in Sacramento, you will find in Fresno/Clovis. The Sierra's, including Yosemite, Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park are all within a short driving distance. Mammoth is a little further but still easily accessible.

For water sports, there is Pine Flat Lake, Millerton Lake, Shaver Lake, Hunington Lake and too many more to name. Local rivers include the San Joaquin River, the Kings River.

One of the biggest parks in the area is Woodward Regional Park on Friant. Here's a list of the others: Parks & Facilities
City of Clovis > Departments and Services > Public Utilities > Parks

The other cool thing about Fresno/Clovis is that it is centrally located in the state. So, driving any direction in the state, be it to LA, or to SF or even Sacramento, just takes a few hours, vs Sacramento to LA. As for the airport, even though the airport is smaller, it is so much easier to get in & out than the Sacramento Airport.

The one big downside of Fresno, IMO, is the summertime heat. It is not unusual for temps to be triple digits. This is true of Sacramento & the outlying suburbs as well, but it tends to last for many more days in Fresno, and it is usually warm into the nights. The winter weather is not that much different than Sacramento, except for the heavy tule fog outside of the city limits. I have seen in really foggy around town, but not so much anymore due to all the development.

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

The other cool thing about Fresno/Clovis is that it is centrally located in the state. So, driving any direction in the state, be it to LA, or to SF or even Sacramento, just takes a few hours, vs Sacramento to LA. As for the airport, even though the airport is smaller, it is so much easier to get in & out than the Sacramento Airport.

To the OP, keep in mind it is still 3 hours (or more) drive to SF or LA from Fresno. It’s not like it’s really close.

Sacramento is anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours to anywhere in the larger SF Bay Area and no more than 2 hours to Lake Tahoe ski/mountain recreational areas. Sacramento is also 45 mins closer on average to any ocean beach than Fresno. (These are average driving times give or take 10-15 minutes).

Sacramento also has 15-17 trains a day to the SF-Oakland-San Jose Bay Area, and 15-17 trains a day back to Sacramento.

Fresno has only 4 trains a day to the Bay Area and it takes 1 hour longer with less Bay Area destinations.

Sacramento is 3 hours closer to the Mt. Shasta area than Fresno. The Mt. Shasta wildlife/nature area is greener and alot less crowded than Yosemite.

[ene03]

I appreciate additional feedback about Fresno. How diverse is Fresno? I like the fact that both places offer plenty to do within a few hours travel time. It sounds like we're going to have to really consider how big of a city we want to reside in.

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

As for the airport, even though the airport is smaller, it is so much easier to get in & out than the Sacramento Airport.

Yes the Fresno airport is very much smaller than Sacramento's airport. Sacramento's airport is, also, very easy to get in and out of.

Sacramento International Airport is rated 4th best airport in the USA, Canada, and Mexico(North America).

Sacramento International Airport has many many more flights per day with bigger planes and many more flights than Fresno.

Also, Sacramento has many more NON-STOP flights to more major hubs in the nation versus Fresno.

Southwest Airlines which offers the most low-cost airfares doesn’t even serve Fresno.

For non-stop european, most latin american, and asian flights, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the main airport for Northern Californians and Sacramento has direct train service to SFO via the Capitol Corridor Train/BART connection. Fresno does NOT have direct train service to SFO.

For example within 10 minutes of my house in Sacramento, I can get on a train which transfers to another train that stops directly inside the International Terminal of San Francisco Airport(SFO).

[Adriatica]

Originally Posted by ene03

I appreciate additional feedback about Fresno. How diverse is Fresno? I like the fact that both places offer plenty to do within a few hours travel time. It sounds like we're going to have to really consider how big of a city we want to reside in.

Fresno is very diverse. Clovis is a little less diverse than Fresno, but the two cities are pretty much one continuous area, so it doesn't make much difference which city you are in. The nicer parts are northeast Fresno, northwest Fresno, and most of Clovis.

As far as international flights, Fresno and Sacramento both have only 1 international flight and for both airports that flight goes to Guadalajara. No difference there.

[GoldCountry80]

Originally Posted by NickB1967

Public schools in Sac City proper? Not quite. Private schools, well, yes, but I think California real estate price tag sticker shock will hit hard.

The OP says, "We are 30's to 40 age range, looking for a safe neighborhood, good schools, shopping, restaurants, family friendly activities..." That all says "Conservative" to me. Especially in California.

Ya and a secret closet racist as well is what this sentiment breeds. Just what the area needs.. another one right? lol. Oh and another fool with a jacked up truck too. The area has plenty. Lets encourage more diversity, not encourage to make it more like Appalachia. Its too expensive for that technically but market value always doesn't say so and you'll be overpaying for something like that so you might as well go to Appalachia really, its cheaper and some of those areas do have more jobs now. Like Rocklin may be expensive or much more than it was for instance ok, so to me you're overpaying seeing the demographic overall that resides there. The market doesn't always agree though, oh well.