Black guy considering moving to Fresno? Good move or bad? (Sacramento: transplants, apartment)

[evening sun]

I say, if you can get a job there, then go for it. You can see if you like it there or not, & get some experience & save some money. If you have experience & some money saved, ti will be easir to move, if you don't find it a good fit.

[Moddedintegra56]

Originally Posted by Bonezman765

Fresno is a dump for everyone.

is it better to live in a undesirable city like fresno but live amongst the rich in the good areas of that big city, or live in a desirable bay area city but live in poverty in a bad gangster neighborhood due to cost of living. I've seen people making $60-80K in fresno live in nice parts of the city happy and loving life, and those making $100K+ in the bay area renting and miserable wondering if they would ever be able a nice house of their own, and also those making $60-80K renting a room in a house filled with other people like sardines almost ready to accept that their life will be like that forever.

[Moddedintegra56]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

This white guy wouldn’t move to Fresno. Much better Valley choices to be had. Consider Turlock, Merced or Bakersfield.

Fresno IS the best valley city hands down. How are those places you listed better than fresno?

fresno is bigger, has more job opportunities, more stores, more amenities, more and better educational options. It is the valley city that can sustain itself without having to go to a neighboring city because it's own city lacks something.

How can you even say Merced, a city of 80,000 people compare to the city of Fresno which is nearing 550,000 people. Same with turlock and it's small size in comparison.

Don't confuse AREA metro when comparing city vs city, and Fresno IS the best central valley city (not counting sacramento--which some dont even categorize as central valley anymore)

[Moddedintegra56]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Why Fresno other than affordability? In general, weather isn't the best (way too hot), air quality is terrible, crime rate is very high, economy is very depressed, there's a lack of cultural amenities, etc. I get that you're in CA, but you're not that close to SF or LA. Other than being 90 min from Yosemite (which you can't do all the time anyway), I don't see a lot of advantages.

If you're looking to move due to cost of living, why not consider a better city outside of CA?

Why not? It's the 5th largest city in the entire state. Meaning it has most amenities, stores, etc that one could ever need. It won't have posh high end stores, but will have everything else being a big city. One could live a life there just fine as many have and currently with it's big population of 550,000 people. Fresno State, UCSF Fresno, Fresno Pacific university and several community college options are present there. Clovis Unified is highly rated school district for kids.

Crime rate?
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
https://www.gddlaw.com/2016/05/12/ci...nia-dangerous/

According to statistics Fresno is safer than highly desirable cities that cost quadruple the amount in cost of living per given population. Your crime view on Fresno is from the 90s and early 00s which was indeed higher than many other cities, but in recent years its very good in comparison.

Weather? Umm, Sacramento, Arizona, Las Vegas, Texas all have similar and in some cases worse weather in the summer (AZ, Las Vegas, TX). It doesnt snow and that already makes it better than many other affordable cities OUTSIDE of CA that you suggested.

Cultural Amenities, it's very diverse over there. You'll find nearly all cultures present over there.

The only thing I agree with your sentiments is air quality and economy since it is AG focused. The PDF is no longer active but lung.org had a state of the air quality in 2018 showing that most of CA has bad air quality and in some categories LA had worse than fresno, but yes fresno was up there. The big downfall of the valley is the economy as there are far few white collar jobs and other high paying jobs. Fresno sees a lot of its educated leave because of this. There was a story about how it was ranked up as least educated (meaning residents who stay) But in OP's case, if he is in healthcare or fields like education where its good no matter what city, its a fine city for someone in that field.

[pistola916]

Originally Posted by Moddedintegra56

Fresno IS the best valley city hands down. How are those places you listed better than fresno?

fresno is bigger, has more job opportunities, more stores, more amenities, more and better educational options. It is the valley city that can sustain itself without having to go to a neighboring city because it's own city lacks something.

How can you even say Merced, a city of 80,000 people compare to the city of Fresno which is nearing 550,000 people. Same with turlock and it's small size in comparison.

Don't confuse AREA metro when comparing city vs city, and Fresno IS the best central valley city (not counting sacramento--which some dont even categorize as central valley anymore)

The OP is better off in Sacramento. Much bigger metro, more liberal and one of the most diverse communities in the nation.

And yes, Sacramento is in the Central Valley. Not sure why it wouldn't be.

[septuagenarian]

I am white and if I were a young EMT I would not move here. Find an area that is more diverse.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by septuagenarian

I am white and if I were a young EMT I would not move here. Find an area that is more diverse.

Glad to see a local having an honest viewpoint vs a homer trying to sell it on being much more than it is (which, BTW is common on this board - not unique to Fresno).

I'm sure that if you grew up there or went to college there, you could find your niche and have a good life. I don't disagree that you can live a comfortable upper middle class life fairly easily, especially by California standards. I also think its great that you are reasonably close to some incredible recreation areas.

However, I maintain my earlier comment that if you are choosing a place to relocate to and have the financial means to have choices, Fresno would not be at the top of my list.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by apple92680

I was thinking the OP would love Sacramento, just based on everything he described about himself.

I was thinking Sacramento, too. Looks like there are several votes for Sac.

[Moddedintegra56]

Desireable zip codes in Fresno and clovis are majority white. The ok to good areas have more diversity but mostly Latino and Asian mixed in with white. The less desirable and often mentioned as bad areas have little to no diversity and are majority Latino and black. If you want to speak of having diversity in "good" areas of Fresno then yea there isn't any. There is no area compared to Elk Grove in sac where it's a good and desireable neighborhood that has diversity of middle to high income earners of all cultures

[Pro1000]

Originally Posted by Moddedintegra56

Desireable zip codes in Fresno and clovis are majority white. The ok to good areas have more diversity but mostly Latino and Asian mixed in with white. The less desirable and often mentioned as bad areas have little to no diversity and are majority Latino and black. If you want to speak of having diversity in "good" areas of Fresno then yea there isn't any. There is no area compared to Elk Grove in sac where it's a good and desireable neighborhood that has diversity of middle to high income earners of all cultures

What about the Sunnyside area in Fresno? Its upscale and middle class and sort of has a mix of all races. I grew up in East Fresno myself and if I were to ever buy something there it would more than likely be that area since I'm familiar and comfortable with it.