San Joaquin Valley for retirees

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Sounds like a description of Oakland which had it's 67th murder of the year yesterday. And then there are so many people on this forum who think Oakland is such a great place to live.

Oakland does have more nicer areas than Stockton does though. The nice parts of Oakland are far nicer than the nice parts of Stockton.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Sounds like a description of Oakland which had it's 67th murder of the year yesterday. And then there are so many people on this forum who think Oakland is such a great place to live.

A lot of people live in Oakland... as do I

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

Oakland does have more nicer areas than Stockton does though. The nice parts of Oakland are far nicer than the nice parts of Stockton.

Yea but on that same coin, Oakland has more ghetto areas and they tend to be more dangerous. Stockton has a few lower class okie-mex neighborhoods where I would not be scared to walk around at night.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Yea but on that same coin, Oakland has more ghetto areas and they tend to be more dangerous. Stockton has a few lower class okie-mex neighborhoods where I would not be scared to walk around at night.

The company was hosting colleagues from Germany and one of the things they wanted to see was the really "Bad" parts of Oakland they had heard so much over the years...

Since I live here and my parents and a grandparent were born here... I was volunteered for the job.

Spent a day showing them the sights and sounds of the city...

We started in the nitty-gritty downtown which sparkled, walked over to Lakeside Park then went to Flint's BBQ on E. 14th for lunch... after that I had to drop off a liability release at the DMV on Edes... we then headed for the Redwoods around Roberts Park and later had dinner in Montclair and ended the evening at the Kingfish Pool Hall... oh, forgot we went by the Hell's Angles Club House near Foothill and 38th... the guys couldn't have been nicer at Sonny Bargers old shop across the street... they even posed for a picture.

They were very impressed... I think they expected a scene of Street People similar to questionable areas of India or something.

One was very disappointed because she had the chance to study at UC Berkeley and her parents would not let her go because it was next to Oakland

[benadrian]

Hello JK Gourmet,
I am a Realtor, have an office in Stockton where I live and in Tracy.
Yes Stockton being a large city has it share of problems, just like any other large city. We have lost a lot of police officers with budget cuts so that does not help.

There are areas like Spanos park, Moarada, Lincoln Village, Brookside, Quail Lakes and a few more areas that are very nice. Tracy is a very nice city, it too has it's share of problems. It was voted the most desireable city to raise children, and then 2 months later some gangbangers went into a nice restaurant and shot some people...stuff happens everywhere. Same city where the young boy was chained to a fireplace and tortured. Tracy is a very nice city, closer to the bay area (SF) and homes are more pricey. Mountain House just 12 miles closer to the bay area has higher taxes 2%, ouch.

Threre are so many great areas in and Stockton that are great for retiring. If you want a home on some acreage, or a senior area or a gated area with golf courses or water, this is an affordable area. Discovery Bay is nice, higher taxes as it is in Contra Costa County, and higher prices.

I can get you a home on the lake for under $400K, or for a little less how about 2-5 acres with a 2500-4000 sq ft home in and around Manteca, Ripon, Morada.

I just sold a home in Valley Springs 30 miles east of Stockton for $99K, and it has a balcony and view that is awesome.

So depending on what you finances are like, what is important to you as far as community services, will help me to put you in the best area.

Taxes are actually 1.25% in San Joaquin County. The same model home in Tracy that sells for $295K, sold in Stockton 20 minutes away for $195K, and and it had a larger lot and pool.
I bought my home for $115K, in 2008 was only 8 years old...the homes in Manteca for that price were 50 years ol...I opted to go 10 mile. 10 minutes out to get a better deal. My home now is worth $15K more than I paid for it, only 2 1/2 yrs later.

There are 1049 homes for sale in Stockton alone, the cheapest is $22K, the highest $2,650,000.00, and everyhting in between.

Now using Tracy as a starting point go west to Pleasanton, a very nice city I just sold a bank owned 5 bed 3 bath 2800 sq ft home for $590K, it is part of an HOA that has million dollar homes so they get to share the clubhouse, pool and tennis courts with the other 680 other homeowners, and everyone pays only $200 a month.

So if you are serious about knowing more about California, especially the central valley just email me at benadrian@comcast.net or call 209-679-1056.

Sorry to ramble on...as you can tell I am very passionate about what I do, I am also a former police officer.
Good luck.