Moving to Merced CA (San Jose, Fresno: 2013, affordable apartment, condos)

[CoCoCounty]

I’ve been living in Merced for about one year now and thought I would share my experience with those who are considering moving here, whether it be for the UC, to work, or start a new life.

A little background on myself: I was born and raised in the East Bay city of Concord before moving closer to other family in Lodi during high school in 2000. I left Lodi at the beginning of 2018 to move to Bakersfield while I awaited to be called for privately owned affordable housing apartment communities up and down the state that I applied at. Finally in June 2019 a fairly nice affordable apartment complex in Merced called me. I was happy to be moving back further north closer to my family without living back in Lodi. From 2013 thru 2018 I would often take the Amtrak to Merced to visit friends while staying at hotels.

Merced is the county seat of Merced County and is a growing mid-size city just under 100,000 people. While the Central Valley of California tends to get a bad reputation, there are many areas which are desirable while being affordable.

The UC opened in 2005 and is expanding their campus and housing to accommodate even more students. Majority of the students are fresh out of high school, not transfer students from junior colleges. Several Uber drivers of mine are students or parents of students who said they moved here so they/their kids can attend the UC. Some planned on moving back to their large cities in Orange County or LA after. There is also a nice community college in Merced.

The Central Valley does lack needed jobs, especially higher wage jobs and jobs in high-tech fields. Merced is no exception as agriculture is still the major industry. The hospital, city, and school district are the other larger employers along with the colleges I mentioned above. About 50 minutes south is Fresno, a larger city with a few more jobs, including the IRS. I don’t recommend moving to Fresno!

Crime is all over these days but the Central Valley has a larger spike of it including gangs. This is mostly do to higher poverty rates, lack of jobs, and gentrification that pushed (priced) people out of the Bay Area and coast. Merced has its rougher neighborhoods mostly West of Highway 99 and around downtown and the Amtrak station. The north and east areas are the safest and newest. More and more new home developments are being constructed in the East past Yosemite Ave. The major gangs are the Surenos in the old hoods west of Hwy 99 and the nortenos in other areas like Loughborough (which is still a decent area). Unfortunately all the hotels in Merced are off Hwy 99 exits. While most violent crime is gang and drug related, robberies and home invasions against ordinary residents can happen although not often. Merced is far safer than cities like Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield.

As for things to do, downtown is full of mom/pop restaurants and shops and an old theater. Downtown is more geared at older adults. There are several good parks to walk around and take your kids to. Rahilly Park and Fahrens Park top the list. Lake Merced is peaceful and directly behind the UC. Most of the major stores are off of Olive Ave which serves as an artery for the city and has the most “traffic” when Merced high school starts/ends. The mall is small and aging with not too many stores. It’s sort of sad but I’m happy the major retailers haven’t left and the eatery is still open. Merced is known as the Gateway to Yosemite as people must pass through on their way up to Yosemite National Park just 2 hours drive. Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Jose are also a 2 hour drive from Merced. Sacramento is the same distance if you want to visit the capital or Old Sacramento. To me, anything beyond 2 hours is too far for a day or overnight visit. The valley lacks things to do for teenagers and young adults.

Housing is still very cheap and affordable in Merced which is what has attracted a boom of construction and an influx of residents. Still there is a shortage of housing and most of the housing being built are big box homes, not apartments or condos. The city is sprawling out and not building up. It would be nice to see some mid-rise housing with shops downstairs.

Transportation in Merced: there is a city bus line serving the major streets throughout town and the colleges. I’ve never taken the buses so I can’t rate them. Uber and Lyft are difficult at times to order as there just isn’t many drivers on the road, especially in the evening and during the summer when college kids are out of school. Amtrak rail is very convenient and I depend on it a lot to travel frequently to LA and to visit family back north in Lodi and the Bay Area. In the years to come, the ACE commuter train will be arriving to take passengers to San Jose for work. High Speed rail in its opening phase will serve Merced to Bakersfield. This makes Merced a future destination for more jobs hopefully.

Hospitals in Merced are limited to just one hospital: Mercy Medical Center and at least two Urgent Care offices. Wait time in the ER is very long. I went on a Sunday night around 8:30pm and didn’t get out until just after 3am. Of course there were no Uber and Lyft drivers on the road. They are slammed with many ambulance arrivals. Personally I believe the city needs another hospital, preferably a UC hospital.

Overall I love Merced although I wish I could afford to move to LA. I’m content with living here if I have to the rest of my life. If you’re considering moving to the Central Valley from the Bay Area or coast, I recommend Sacramento through Merced (but NOT Stockton). I also do not recommend living anywhere further south of Merced as it gets hotter the further you travel and Fresno to Bakersfield is called the armpit of California for good reasons. They are just too far from the major urban cities and are hellish in the spring and summer. Yes Merced does get hot too so make sure you have AC.

Lastly, the news market in Merced is severed by TV stations out of Fresno. Turlock and above are served by TV stations out of Sacramento. Bakersfield (Kern County) has its own very-isolated TV market.

If you live or lived in Merced please share your experiences for others who are considering relocating and if you are considering moving here feel free to ask questions.

[dontbelievehim]

I recommend Merced all the time, it's not a bad spot. Just gonna fill you in on something.

The heat you're talking about is way overblown(Merced to south sj valley). We're talking 1-5 degrees during the day, that's nothing. I watch the news all the time, I know all about it
Now, there is a more noticeable difference at nite and during the early mornings. It's called the urban heat island effect and Merced doesn't have it as bad cause it's a small city. As Merced grows, that nite heat will get worse, and Merced will feel more like Bakersfield and Fresno.
Also, how you have your house setup matters. An old house in Merced isn't going to feel much better than a new house in Fresno.
One last thing about weather, Merced gets more fog than Fresno and probably Bakersfield because it's not as warm during the winter. You left that out

That crime you talk about is also overblown. Compare crime rates of valley cities to places out east and people here would be shocked at how much safer valley towns are. I only predict crime rates to drop down even more after this recession is over. take care.

Edit: they are not building a new hospital in Merced. California has money problems, and will have more problems soon because of covid.
Here's what they are going to do. Medical students are going to do most of their training at UC Merced then finish in Fresno. It saves a lot of money and speeds up the process of pushing out much needed doctors.

[CoCoCounty]

I forgot mention on things to do that Merced has a small wrap-around zoo that includes a few bears. Connected just outside the zoo is Applgate skate park and outdoor area.