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Ok thanks
Will the cost of a 4 bed 2 bath or similar house be like 500k or less in those nicer neighborhoods? As in bay area it's like in millions
Dad01,
Yes. And that can also get you in a gated community in some areas of the South and North West. But really i don't see a gated community as must have in those nicer areas.
I think the price range you will want to be looking at is from 400K-500K. You'll likely be able to find something you like in one of the nice areas at 450K.
Fresno is better than Bakersfield. Fresno is the 5th biggest city in CA, 2 hours from SJ, has more amenities, more opportunities, better schools, etc.
Even as a Bakersfield resident i would say i would also rate Fresno higher just based on my personal preference that i would find it really nice to be within an hours drive of places like Shaver Lake.
That said I would take issue with some of your other points. First, I'm sure one could find just as many bad schools in Fresno as they could in Bakersfield. And Bakersfield does have good schools. Again, if you make a good income and can afford the nicer areas of Bakersfield, K-12 isn't going to be a problem.
I do like Fresno State. It's just a much larger school than CSUB. Education wise I'm not so sure Fresno State is all that great but just in terms of entertainment value with it's football and basketball programs Fresno State is superior to CSUB. Plus the Fresno State Save Mart center can draw huge music acts. Pretty much the biggest names around like Mettalica for instance. In comparison, Mechanics Bank Arena (formerly Robabank) will draw some good acts but just not the biggest of the big.
Bakersfield to Southern California/LA is certainly one of the good things going for it. Just some quick google maps searches:
Bakersfield to Universal Studios: 1hr 31min
Bakersfield to New LA Rams/Chargers Stadium in Inglewood: 1hr 47 min
Bakersfield to Downtown LA: 1hr 44 min
Bakesfield to Santa Monica: 1hr 38min
Bakersfield to Ventura State Beach: 1hr 50min
Bakersfield to Pismo beach: 2hr 16min
Bakersfield to Disneyland: 2hr 0 min
Bakersfield to Staples Center: 1hr 40 min
Bakersfield to Dodgers Stadium: 1hr 37min
Fresno to Levi Stadium: 2hr 25min
Fresno to San Francisco: 2hr 45min
Fresno to Santa Cruz: 2hr 33min
Fresno to Pismo Beach: 2hr 23min
Fresno to San Jose: 2hr 21min
Fresno to Chase Center (Golden Stat Warriors): 2hr 48min
Fresno to AT&T Park: 2hr 46min
Fresno to Shaver Lake: 1hr 1min
Fresno to Yosemite: 1hr 14 min
Fresno to Bass Lake: 1hr 0 min
You can see that most all of your big entertainment options for Fresno are going to be well over 2hrs away while Bakersfield has several in that 1 and half our to 2 hour range. The last three are what I think are really gems for Fresno though. Bakersfield offers some escape into the wilderness at similar commute times but it won't be the same beauty as you can find at places like Shaver Lake and Yosemite.
From Bakesfield 1.0 hr will get you up to Lake Isabella. A decent lake you can fish and ski but it is a very dry and arid area. 1hr 15 min can get you up to Alta Sierra which is Bakersfield's closets ski summit that is mostly only open on weekends and holidays.
Even as a Bakersfield resident i would say i would also rate Fresno higher just based on my personal preference that i would find it really nice to be within an hours drive of places like Shaver Lake.
That said I would take issue with some of your other points. First, I'm sure one could find just as many bad schools in Fresno as they could in Bakersfield. And Bakersfield does have good schools. Again, if you make a good income and can afford the nicer areas of Bakersfield, K-12 isn't going to be a problem.
I do like Fresno State. It's just a much larger school than CSUB. Education wise I'm not so sure Fresno State is all that great but just in terms of entertainment value with it's football and basketball programs Fresno State is superior to CSUB. Plus the Fresno State Save Mart center can draw huge music acts. Pretty much the biggest names around like Mettalica for instance. In comparison, Mechanics Bank Arena (formerly Robabank) will draw some good acts but just not the biggest of the big.
Bakersfield to Southern California/LA is certainly one of the good things going for it. Just some quick google maps searches:
Bakersfield to Universal Studios: 1hr 31min
Bakersfield to New LA Rams/Chargers Stadium in Inglewood: 1hr 47 min
Bakersfield to Downtown LA: 1hr 44 min
Bakesfield to Santa Monica: 1hr 38min
Bakersfield to Ventura State Beach: 1hr 50min
Bakersfield to Pismo beach: 2hr 16min
Bakersfield to Disneyland: 2hr 0 min
Bakersfield to Staples Center: 1hr 40 min
Bakersfield to Dodgers Stadium: 1hr 37min
Fresno to Levi Stadium: 2hr 25min
Fresno to San Francisco: 2hr 45min
Fresno to Santa Cruz: 2hr 33min
Fresno to Pismo Beach: 2hr 23min
Fresno to San Jose: 2hr 21min
Fresno to Chase Center (Golden Stat Warriors): 2hr 48min
Fresno to AT&T Park: 2hr 46min
Fresno to Shaver Lake: 1hr 1min
Fresno to Yosemite: 1hr 14 min
Fresno to Bass Lake: 1hr 0 min
You can see that most all of your big entertainment options for Fresno are going to be well over 2hrs away while Bakersfield has several in that 1 and half our to 2 hour range. The last three are what I think are really gems for Fresno though. Bakersfield offers some escape into the wilderness at similar commute times but it won't be the same beauty as you can find at places like Shaver Lake and Yosemite.
From Bakesfield 1.0 hr will get you up to Lake Isabella. A decent lake you can fish and ski but it is a very dry and arid area. 1hr 15 min can get you up to Alta Sierra which is Bakersfield's closets ski summit that is mostly only open on weekends and holidays.
good points, as well. I never mentioned bad neighborhoods and such because nearly all valley cities have that stigma. Only those familiar with them realize these are big cities and there are variety of neighborhoods good and bad. So of course there are bad neighborhoods with bad schools. I'm not saying there arent good schools in Bako, I'm sure there are, but I dont see any as good as Clovis Unified in Fresno county. Clovis Unified School District which is in big parts of the city of Fresno borders is indeed highly ranked. I was surprised how high it ranked in several school district rankings through various channels. It's also not a watered down school district that sometimes skews rankings like some others.. IE, its highly ranked but only has 10 schools. Clovis Unified has near 50 schools and last I checked is around or above 90th percentile in school districts in the entire state. So thats saying something.
Not gonna argue your distances on places to go. But honestly if I'm going to live somewhere, how far I am from other desireable places isnt a priority, but what is actually IN THE CITY itself. And as a bigger city, that is why I say fresno has more to offer. Entertainment, restaurants, things to do, etc. Without leaving the city or county borders, thats why I mentioned Fresno over bako.
Because in that regards, that is why some smaller valley cities north like Stockton, Tracy, Modesto, etc THINK they are superior to both bakersfield and Fresno....... . Why? Because they love to claim how close they are to other desireable stuff but nothing in their own city. It's almost funny hearing them say stuff like that. I get if it's part of their metropolitan area--- and why Sacramento is superior to both Fresno and Bakersfield because of its massive metropolitan area that has tons to offer so there is little need to actually leave. I'm not going to lie it's nice to still be able to do day trips to hollywood from Fresno in nearly 3 hours, but im sure its even better when its only an hour or so from bako. But thats not a regular thing. We have to talk about what the city itself has to offer.
Fresno at this junction is more sustainable being a bigger city that it is. And that is why despite being pro Fresno area, it still behind when it comes to comparing it to Sacramento area, BUT sacramento as I mentioned costs nearly if not over $100K more for median price of a home so there is some argument/justification there. But when comparing fresno to bako and similar median home prices, and those saying bako is better than fresno, I feel thats like Fresno trying to argue they are better than sacramento.
But reading about the air pollution i came ro realize it;s horribly bad and at my age i think it could be a serious issue.
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley (SFV) part of Los Angeles in the 1960s when pollution was very bad. I think that is why my lungs are so bad (not smoking or anything like that). Pollution is a concern of mine too.
I wonder why the pollution is bad in Bakersfield. I know someone mentioned that the pollution lingers and I know someone else has said that there is less wind in Bakersfield. I know that the problem with the SFV is that it is a valley but I assume that the San Joaquin Valley is too big to be the cause for Bakersfield. I hope pollution is not too bad but I need to research it for myself.
Ok, so the one issue i now worry about is the air pollution from the oil fields. Can anyone tell me how far away you have to get from them to not be affected much oil at all? I found a pretty nice house but it was very close to the oil fields which tells me thats probably why the price was right for what it is.
See AirNow Interactive Map (in the United States EPA website). It is a bit difficult to figure out. Go to the Archive tab then go to Bakersfield. Then in the lower-right you can go to previous days. You might need to zoom out to see pollution because some days there is no pollution in the Bakersfield area.
Using that website, I cannot find any evidence that Bakersfield is worse than many other areas, including the area I have been living in for 20 years. If anyone can find data that is at least as authoritive as that indicating Bakersfield has a serious air pollution problem then that will help.
See AirNow Interactive Map (in the United States EPA website). It is a bit difficult to figure out. Go to the Archive tab then go to Bakersfield. Then in the lower-right you can go to previous days. You might need to zoom out to see pollution because some days there is no pollution in the Bakersfield area.
Using that website, I cannot find any evidence that Bakersfield is worse than many other areas, including the area I have been living in for 20 years. If anyone can find data that is at least as authoritive as that indicating Bakersfield has a serious air pollution problem then that will help.
Bakersfield and all valley air is much improved from just a few years ago. Less ag burns and burning in general, smarter planning, and cleaner cars are why. Bakersfield air is still bad(by american standards), but it's much better than a few years ago. If hsr gets built, more clean cars get on the road, and a few other measures happen, you'll see another big improvement in air quality. Maybe then will ppl finally shut up about the air in the valley, and throughout California.
Last edited by dontbelievehim; 06-15-2020 at 06:56 PM..
Bakersfield and all valley air is much improved from just a few years ago. Less ag burns and burning in general, smarter planning, and cleaner cars are why. Bakersfield air is still bad(by american standards), but it's much better than a few years ago. If hsr gets built, more clean cars get on the road, and a few other measures happen, you'll see another big improvement in air quality. Maybe then will ppl finally shut up about the air in the valley, and throughout California.
Correct.
And remember there will always be a first and last in any list of best and worst. But what is relevant is the actual numbers and if the difference in numbers is significant. Technically every city in the future could have clean air and one would still be ranked the worst of all cities with clean air.
The trend is only getting better in the valley with each passing year.
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