Moving from Monterey to Fresno (Oakland, Bakersfield: homes, best schools, living)

[BeauCharles]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

And hot.

For 4 months out of 12. How horrible... especially considering everywhere is air conditioned. Fall's nice, winter's mild and spring's nice. I've lived in much worse climates that the Central Valley.

[Perma Bear]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

For 4 months out of 12. How horrible... especially considering everywhere is air conditioned. Fall's nice, winter's mild and spring's nice. I've lived in much worse climates that the Central Valley.

Don't forget the air in the Central Valley rivals Beijing.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

For 4 months out of 12. How horrible... especially considering everywhere is air conditioned. Fall's nice, winter's mild and spring's nice. I've lived in much worse climates that the Central Valley.

I forgot about that little bubble they give everyone so you can go walk your dog outside and still have a/c.

Hot is still hot - getting to and from the a/c. Knowing there are 3 decent seasons doesn't make the 4th one great.

Rolling eyes back at you.

[Bruce81]

That would be a drastic change. Fresno is flat, ugly and in the middle of nowhere. Bakersfield and Stockton are probably better since they are both closer to better things but in Fresno you will be stuck in a flat smoggy depressing land. Visit the area in the summer and think about it.

[BeauCharles]

Originally Posted by Perma Bear

Don't forget the air in the Central Valley rivals Beijing.

Not even remotely close.

[Perma Bear]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

Not even remotely close.

When I was in Merced/Modesto/Fresno looking at houses I could barely breath. I felt like I was being choked.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Perma Bear

When I was in Merced/Modesto/Fresno looking at houses I could barely breath. I felt like I was being choked.

Yep, not only does smog sit in the valley, but the agriculture work really wrecks the air. Same for the Sacramento/Woodland area. Just plowing the fields puts an enormous amount of dust in the air. Let alone the planes flying over the fields with pesticides.

I used to live in Davis and work in Woodland and enjoyed watching the ag planes. They are entertaining. But, the air quality is awful. And when they burn the rice fields, ahhhhh!

I can only guess that all the oranges in the Fresno area also means plowing and spraying, etc., too.

[BeauCharles]

Originally Posted by Perma Bear

When I was in Merced/Modesto/Fresno looking at houses I could barely breath. I felt like I was being choked.

Hyperbole. While the air is dirtier there than much of the country its not "Beijing" levels (which are in the US equivalent of a red "smog alert" or unhealthy to dangerous much of the time). I've lived in Fresno, Merced and Modesto (Oakdale) much of my life and I've also lived in Monterey and Salinas for over a decade (so I have a clean air point of reference). Again, the air in the valley isn't great, but its better now that 20+ years ago. If you were hunting for a house in Los Angeles would you say the same thing? Because its as bad or worse than the cities you mentioned.

[Anika783]

I have to second the air quality concern. Fresno/Clovis has a lot of nice areas and it's reasonable driving distance to the Sierras/Yosemite. But it is the valley, with all the smog and farm pollutants and pollen just sitting there trapped. Most days you can't see the Sierras in the background because of the thick air. If you can be ok with that, it can be a pretty good mid-size city with good COL for a medical professional.

[Moddedintegra56]

Originally Posted by Perma Bear

It's a large city in the middle of nowhere. I don't see it growing expensive.

new homes there are already in 300K 3-4b/3ba ~2000-2200 sq ft. bigger homes already in 400s. not too far back from those in sac. the afluent areas with custom homes ive seen mansions in the 800-1mil+ prob AG rich folks

Fresno housing market among nations most stable | abc30.com

Study: Madera, Fresno counties among best places to own home in California

https://smartasset.com/mortgage/rent...#california/15

IF/when the HSR finishes its first stretch from SJ to Fresno, I am willing to bet the housing prices will spike.

Why else would middle of no where crap town Los Banos actually have new homes that are in the $300s, because it really is only 1 hour drive to SJ. When people find it viable to commute and own a nice house it will attract a lot of people, and once they see that Fresno is a developed big city that won't deprive them of much amenities it will be attractive. instead of paying $500K for the same type of house in Tracy but still requires a 2+ hour commute EACH way to SJ area for their tech job. It should only be a 1 hour drive and why the housing spiked up there because of the"ease" of commute, but in reality is really a 2+hour drive during the work week. I know because I do it. The HSR should estimate the commute to 40-50 mins.

i saw this as well

by old_gold_mountain Oakland The California High Speed Rail authority, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, are both lauding the new plan to build the Bay Area to Bakersfield stretch of High Speed Rail first, with a target completion date around 2025 (9 years from now.) One of the benefits they're touting is the fact that commuters can, in this scenario, work in Silicon Valley but live in the Central Valley. At first that struck me as dubious. I'm perfectly willing to pay $7/day taking BART into the City from Oakland for cheaper rent. But what if a ticket from Madera to San Jose costs $40 each way? Who would pay $80/day to commute? I decided to calculate it out:
Median home price in San Jose ≈ $800,000.
Median home price in Madera, CA ≈ $180,000
$800k - $180k = $620k savings on the home
$620k/$80 per commuting day = 7,750 commuting days
9,000 days / 5 days per week = 1,550 commuting weeks
1,550 commuting weeks / 51 weeks per year = 30 years of commuting via HSR for $80/day before you start to lose money on your choice.
When you consider that HSR is likely to be very comfortable, that it's much easier to find a nice home in Madera than in San Jose, and that the train will make the run from Madera to San Jose in like 30 minutes, and that actually sounds plausible. This is all assuming there will be no "frequent rider" discount regime, and that this theoretical commuter spends every Monday - Friday for 30 years actually working in Silicon Valley in person rather than telecommuting some days and taking more than one week off.