Salinas vs. Fresno

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Quiverfull

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your information--especially the crime stats!
We have crossed Salinas off the list and are now looking at Seaside, Marina and if we have to, maybe Monterey.
Fort Ord is now renting out their former base housing, under the name Moores Landing, with a Seaside address. Does anyone know anything about this rental community, and/or what the surrounding neighborhood is like?
Thanks again--in advance!

Glad to be of some help. I actually work with people who live on base. Some are DoD employees, some military, and some form the community. Fort Ord is pretty nice especially if you can get a good deal on rent. And its close to Salinas. But I'm not sure on the pet rules. And the different developments vary on base. I haven't visited each one. Your best bet will be to cast a wider net. It depends on your budget of course. But take a look at Seaside, Marina and Fort Ord for more reasonable rents if that is what you are after.

Then visit them for yourselves. You know best what you will be comfortable with, your preferences, etc... Since you are only ~ 3 hours away plan to drive and visit the different neighborhoods. Then let us know what you think.

Much will depend on what comes up for rent when it is actually time to make a move. We almost signed a lease for a house in Marina when a nicer house came up for less in Pacific Grove. So we snatched it up. They were looking for quality tenants and offered the rent below market. They did have a lot of applicants. So good credit is important.

Derek

[WayOutYonder]

I have lived in both Marina and Seaside. My friend was very active in the schools in Marina, and the teachers there try really hard to do a good job of teaching, with dwindling resources. I really liked living in Seaside-- though, I would never have let my sons attend school in that city (we homeschooled). I lived in a trailer park right across from the $1M homes in Seaside Highlands. Our park-- Bayview-- was the only affordable place around there, and isn't like the typical trailer park. We were mandated to keep our yards neat and the noise low. We never had to worry about crime. We could walk to the beach and shopping within 5-10 minutes.

I would suggest you give Seaside a look, and Marina, too. I would avoid Salinas-- the affordable parts are not necessarily safe. And I say that as a former employee for the city of Salinas.

[BigMattCA1]

Originally Posted by Quiverfull

I am relocating with my husband to the Monterey/Salinas area in a few weeks and I'm wondering where the good areas of Salinas would be to rent a small house or apartment. We would be coming from Fresno, CA and I'm not sure that we can afford to rent in Monterey. We also have 2 cats and not many apartments I've seen online in Monterey allow pets. Here's what I'm wondering.

-Which of the small cities near Sallinas are good for a young couple starting a family? Marina? Seaside? Prunedale?

-Where are the better parts of Salinas? We're looking for an apartment that won't have loud music playing all night and gang shootings on the weekends. From the posts I've read on here, there appears to be a gang problem in Salinas, but the last news article I read said the city has only had 2 murders so far, and Fresno is somewhere in the 20's already for murders. Is it mainly gang members killing each other or are they killing innocent people?

-Which areas would have nice rentals and still have a reasonable commute to Salinas for work?

-How are the schools and daycare centers in Salinas? Are their any private Christian schools?

Thank you so much!

salinas will seem to have less crime because it is much smaller than fresno. per capita crime rate is a pretty vauge way to guage crime. using per capita is the ONLY way you could even think of comparing a small town to a large city. its an unfair way of measuring crime. anyways yes salinas does have a gang problem but you know those tards usually just kill each other.

[Hawk J]

My pickup ran good when i lived out on River Road. Then i went to Fresno fer a water chemistry class & she Blew a Head Gasket...

[californio sur]

Monterey county is one of California's most beautiful areas and Salinas is the county seat. But as others have pointed out the Salinas Valley is home to many fairly poor people who work in agriculture. The resulting gang activity is quite bad and Salinas has a bad reputation for crime and pointless gang killings. But Salinas is the largest city in Monterey county and does have shopping centers and it is close to the bay [about 20 miles from Monterey] and the climate is quite mild. Salinas is still basically a farm town; they have the Como Del Rodeo and much produce is shipped out of Salinas to the rest of the nation.

Fresno is much larger and less dependent on agriculture than Salinas though it is also surrounded by farms and orchards. Fresno has a reputation of being more conservative and a bit "Bible-belt" as another poster pointed out. Fresno county reaches up into the Sierra Nevada mountains and some great parks are fairly close by [ie. Yosemite]. Fresno is more isolated in that it is 200 miles from the Bay Area and about the same from Los Angeles [Salinas is only around 100 mile away from San Francisco]. Fresno is colder in winter than Salinas but also much hotter during summer.

Given the choice I would probably live in Fresno.

[MtnSurfer]

Yeah, Fresno actually has some nice features which most don't realize. Heck, it's at the base of Kings Canyon NP. We have friends living in Monterey now who grew up there. And the one thing they miss are all the leks they could quickly drive up to in the mountains. The Sierra Foothills are beautiful just outside Fresno as well. I actually took my family there for a little vacation this Spring.







Derek

[BVitamin]

One of the prettier things about the Central Valley is the abundance of Orchards blooming in the spring.

[md3]

I grew up in Salinas and now live in Fresno. Salinas is prettier and has better weather and is SAFER than Fresno! I see more wierdos walking around in good neighboorhoods in Fresno than the bad neighboorhoods in Salinas! Salinas does have gang violence but it is confined to the bad areas especially east salinas and north salinas but overall I would much rather live in Salinas than Fresno ANYDAY!!!!

[md3]

Did I mention I HATE FRESNO and it is so UGLY HERE!