What are the San Joaquin valley and other inland cities like?

[Californiaguy2007]

The Central Valley Cities/Towns are probably like the Inland Cities/Towns in Texas but with Lower Humidity/Drier and Milder Winters along with Mountain Views and closer to the Beach.

Sacramento though is different....Probably the priciest city in the Central Valley,but still cheaper than the Bay Area,and the Summers in Sacramento are more comfortable with that Delta Breeze.

I heard so many people flocking to Texas or Arizona,when you've got places like The Central Valley and The Inland Empire that are much closer to a greater variety of entertainment/outdoor options,but to each their own on where they wanna relocate to.

The thing I did like about Texas though is I sure enjoyed was the summer rainfall and the greenery.

[Crazy4Chickens]

I'll chime in about Fresno/Clovis because I was born there, as was my husband, and we lived there for 38 years.

It's a bigger city so it has all the good and bad that comes with that.
More restaurants/shopping/entertainment, but also more crime, bad neighborhoods, etc.

Clovis is the safer of the two cities, less crime, police came when you called them and patrolled the streets. Clovis has the better school district and it is where I went to school, even though we lived in the Fresno city limits.

The produce you get in Fresno is the freshest and tastiest I've had anywhere. The fruit stands are all over the outskirts of town and at the farmers markets you can get their amazing bounty as well. I've never had a sweeter strawberry, or a better ear of corn anywhere.

In the spring the blossoms from the almond and other fruit trees are abloom and it is magnificent to behold. If your in the area in the spring go on the blossom trail, and see all of the trees in bloom.

On a clear day you can see the Sierra mountains in the distance, rare anymore with all of the smog, fog, and wildfires, but on a clear day it's very pretty.

The people here are not unwelcoming to outsiders. It's such a big city that people come from all over the country and no one bats at eye if you are not a local. Clovis is more conservative than Fresno is on the whole.

What I hated about Fresno was the super hot summers. 100+ degrees for days and days. Too hot to even go outside and swim. Just miserably hot. Then there's the terrible air quality, which also keeps you inside. Wildfire smoke blows into the valley and makes the air even worse.

In the winter there is the Tule fog which is super thick and quite dangerous to drive in. Even when it's not foggy it's still gray and ugly for most of the winter. It's also damp, and wet, and just ugly gray.

Living in Fresno you are close to the Sierras and not that far from Yosemite or Sequoia/Kings Canyon N.P. You are also only about three hours from the beach. So while fresno itself is pretty blah, you can be somewhere else pretty fast for day trips or overnighters.

Is Fresno something special you should stop and see? Probably not. Is it an okay place to raise a family in California? Yeah I think it is, we did anyway. Is there better places to raise a family? Most definitely.

[slowlane3]

Some of the central valley cities have among the highest auto theft rates in all the USA (at least, the last time I checked).

[dontbelievehim]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Chickens

I'll chime in about Fresno/Clovis because I was born there, as was my husband, and we lived there for 38 years.

It's a bigger city so it has all the good and bad that comes with that.
More restaurants/shopping/entertainment, but also more crime, bad neighborhoods, etc.

Clovis is the safer of the two cities, less crime, police came when you called them and patrolled the streets. Clovis has the better school district and it is where I went to school, even though we lived in the Fresno city limits.

The produce you get in Fresno is the freshest and tastiest I've had anywhere. The fruit stands are all over the outskirts of town and at the farmers markets you can get their amazing bounty as well. I've never had a sweeter strawberry, or a better ear of corn anywhere.

In the spring the blossoms from the almond and other fruit trees are abloom and it is magnificent to behold. If your in the area in the spring go on the blossom trail, and see all of the trees in bloom.

On a clear day you can see the Sierra mountains in the distance, rare anymore with all of the smog, fog, and wildfires, but on a clear day it's very pretty.

The people here are not unwelcoming to outsiders. It's such a big city that people come from all over the country and no one bats at eye if you are not a local. Clovis is more conservative than Fresno is on the whole.

What I hated about Fresno was the super hot summers. 100+ degrees for days and days. Too hot to even go outside and swim. Just miserably hot. Then there's the terrible air quality, which also keeps you inside. Wildfire smoke blows into the valley and makes the air even worse.

In the winter there is the Tule fog which is super thick and quite dangerous to drive in. Even when it's not foggy it's still gray and ugly for most of the winter. It's also damp, and wet, and just ugly gray.

Living in Fresno you are close to the Sierras and not that far from Yosemite or Sequoia/Kings Canyon N.P. You are also only about three hours from the beach. So while fresno itself is pretty blah, you can be somewhere else pretty fast for day trips or overnighters.

Is Fresno something special you should stop and see? Probably not. Is it an okay place to raise a family in California? Yeah I think it is, we did anyway. Is there better places to raise a family? Most definitely.

I wasn't going to say anything until I saw that. No, just no.
There's plenty of sun in fresno during the winter.
You basically need record rainfall for there to be a long, gloomy winter.(2016 or 2017 winter?). Those types of winters are rare, and they don't bother me much because they happen so infrequently, and help with ag.

Btw, Winter has been magical in fresno this year, just lovely stuff. Spring has been lovely too.

Denver and parts of the rockies are about to get blasted with cold snow, but fresno won't have to deal with that, thankfully. All of our upcoming snow will be in the mountains far, far away.

Fog season keeps shrinking, pretty soon there won't be a fog season. Fog isn't a major problem anymore. Period. That's why you don't see crazy pileups or even the foggy day schedule on TV, anymore.

Lastly, trees can cool a yard/house by 15+ degrees. Want to enjoy the summer in a place like fresno --plant fast growing shade trees. Shade trees even beat out having a swimming pool.

Edit: the majestic "Fresno" river this winter

[dontbelievehim]

Originally Posted by slowlane3

Some of the central valley cities have among the highest auto theft rates in all the USA (at least, the last time I checked).

Not a major problem, don't drive a hooptie and you'll be safe.
There is a problem with car break-ins, but that's also a statewide issue.