Why do you hate Fresno? (San Jose, Long Beach: violent crime, mortgages, how much) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

OKITTY345 · 05-23-2011, 11:41 PM

When I google "Fresno" it usually brings up forums like this one and people are on there talking about how much they hate Fresno. I just wanna know why YOU hate Fresno...or if you happen to find this and you don't hate Fresno than please tell me why you like it.

I was born in Fresno but raised in...Alaska -_- (I'd be more than happy to tell you why I don't like it here lol) ...and I still live here but will be leaving in 3 years to go back, and go to Fresno State (Woot Woot!). I've lived in Fresno and Long Beach/L.A. for a month each and really enjoyed it (well...Long Beach was okay...my step family there was boring though they hardly let me outta the house; Fresno was great though, and I'll be there for 2weeks in July/August).....I think most people just naturally hate where they grow up even if it is a nice place, but I want to hear what you have to say.

(well technically I lived in Fresno until I was 5 but I was back and forth between Alaska and Fresno. My mom was born and raised in Fresno, she loves it, she just hates all the crime and the fact that you couldn't get a job to save your life. Which really, I'm not too concerned about the crime...it's everywhere, maybe more apparent in some places, but its something you either adjust to, or just leave all together. I plan to adjust, because even though I haven't spent much time there, I love Fresno (and the rest of Central California/the valley or whatever you wanna call it lol to pieces).

jeffredo · 05-24-2011, 01:38 AM

The employment situation there can be problematic, regardless of the state of the economy nationwide. Good times, bad times - its always tough to get a good job in Fresno unless you have connections. Other than that I like Fresno. Lived there two years and very much enjoyed it. I have family there and have been around it my whole life. Will always have a warm spot in my heart for Fresburg.

e_cuyler · 05-24-2011, 09:06 AM

It has a lot of the negatives of a large city, such as crime [although it's overrated a little bit,] sprawl, pollution [improving, but still not good] but doesn't really have a lot of the good things associated with larger cities. It also has some of the negatives of a smaller town--difficult job market, not a variety of industries or business, etc.

I'd still rather live there than the Bay [been there done that twice now] but hoping to leave the state completely sometime next year.

OKITTY345 · 05-25-2011, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by e_cuyler

It has a lot of the negatives of a large city, such as crime [although it's overrated a little bit,] sprawl, pollution [improving, but still not good] but doesn't really have a lot of the good things associated with larger cities. It also has some of the negatives of a smaller town--difficult job market, not a variety of industries or business, etc.

I'd still rather live there than the Bay [been there done that twice now] but hoping to leave the state completely sometime next year.

Ahh, well I hope things work out for you better when you move.

OKITTY345 · 05-25-2011, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffredo

The employment situation there can be problematic, regardless of the state of the economy nationwide. Good times, bad times - its always tough to get a good job in Fresno unless you have connections. Other than that I like Fresno. Lived there two years and very much enjoyed it. I have family there and have been around it my whole life. Will always have a warm spot in my heart for Fresburg.

True that, even when my mom lived there she couldn't get one lol. Guess it's just another thing I'll have to adjust/prepare for. But yeah The No is pretty great(:

UltrazGSD · 05-25-2011, 09:31 PM

I was born and raised in a small town outside of Fresno (Reedley). I lived 3 years in Tucson for college, but finished up college at Fresno State (YAY!). I have no problem with Fresno. It has everything I want to do. I pretty much only go to the nice areas (Riverpark, etc) or Clovis. It's a nice town, IMO, and I've been able to get multiple jobs in Fresno easily (as has my husband). We live in Reedley, but for all our major shopping, doctors, vets, etc we go to Fresno. If you are the outdoorsy type, be sure to go up to Shaver Lake and Wishon when you get here. BEAUTIFUL!!!

user_id · 05-25-2011, 11:16 PM

I'm not sure why people have such a dislike for it, perhaps because in comparison to coastal California it isn't all that nice, but in comparison to the nation as a whole it isn't so bad.

The crime in Fresno really isn't that unusual for a city of its size, there are many cities in the mid-west that are smaller that have worse crime. As far as I understand the crime has improved over the last decade as well.

Anyhow, I haven't been up in Fresno in a long time, I think I'll take a day trip up there in the next couple of months so see how much its changed.

e_cuyler · 05-26-2011, 07:56 AM

I agree, most of the southern and midwest cities that are around the same size have much worse crime, at least as far as violent crime goes. I think some of the perception at least locally is because Fresno is a lot like a small town, and the media makes a bigger deal out of the crime that does occur.

We also seem to have a lot of crimes against children here--no idea if there is more than anywhere else, but the news makes such a big deal out of it that you get the idea the Central Valley is the child abuse capital of California. It happens everywhere, but the way it's reported makes it seem like there are at least 1-2 high profile cases every month, and that's not counting the cases of teachers, clergy, or cops being caught with child pornography, which seem to happen all the time too.

e_cuyler · 05-26-2011, 08:16 AM

Speaking of violent crime, I noticed that San Jose [often touted as a "safe" big city] just had its 22nd murder of the year, which is already more than they had for all of 2010. Wonder how that compares to Fresno. I don't know how many murders we've had this year so far.

Capt. Dan · 05-27-2011, 06:14 AM

I cant say that I hate Fresno. Havent spent enough time there to form such an opinion. In some ways I am actually jealous of people who live there. They only need to take a short drive to the beach. A short drive to mountainous National Parks. A short drive to redwoods or deserts. But live far enough from those areas that they can enjoy reasonable mortgages/rents. Would I rather live in San Luis Obispo than Fresno? Sure I would. But Fresno isnt a bad alternative.