We are looking at a position there. I know how you all felt about Bakersfield.... I am hoping Frenzo is better than that!
What do you all think of it?
What do you all think of it?
How is Frenzo, CA to live?
- Thread starter NetViper
- Start date
Fresno is not so bad. I'm about a half hour south of it in Orange County.
If you're buying a house in a good neighborhood you'll be fine, but don't expect to buy anything worth a damn under $500k.
CA's appreciation rates lead the nation, over 20% per year for the past five years in Riverside and Orange county, so everything has gone through the roof.
So Cal is big pimping though, exotics galore, everything at your fingertips. It's great, for a price.
If you're buying a house in a good neighborhood you'll be fine, but don't expect to buy anything worth a damn under $500k.
CA's appreciation rates lead the nation, over 20% per year for the past five years in Riverside and Orange county, so everything has gone through the roof.
So Cal is big pimping though, exotics galore, everything at your fingertips. It's great, for a price.
Ooops.. FRESNO.... my bad...
We looked at some homes on realtor.com... DAMN! They are crazy expensive. For what we have now is about 100-150K more!
I hope they pay big bucks out there. She is trying to get on with the local paper as the finance director. (Fresno Bee)
We looked at some homes on realtor.com... DAMN! They are crazy expensive. For what we have now is about 100-150K more!
I hope they pay big bucks out there. She is trying to get on with the local paper as the finance director. (Fresno Bee)
Orange County is half an hour from Fresno? Since when?MAKO said:
http://maps.yahoo.com/dd_result?ed=...no,+ca&country=us&tcsz=&tcountry=us&terr=3005
Wow, your standards must be really high! My brother's 1800sf, 4 bed/3 bath, 3-car garage house must be really underpriced at $300k then!MAKO said:
Sounds like a good paper. My brother is always forwarding me articles from them.NetViper said:
PHOEN$X said:Orange County is half an hour from Fresno? Since when?
Maybe he drives 519.2 MPH..
Sorry to have to correct you, but Phoenix beats Fresno in car theft rates.STOCKTONSX said:
California cities take the next 3 spots though.
You guys are scaring my NSX! ssshhhh...
Holy cow - That section of US-99 must be the automotive equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle. Dude, where’s my car?!?PHOEN$X said:
I'm originally from there. The city of Fresno itself is a growing commercial area. Land and housing is still relatively cheap compared to living in South California. However, there's a reason why. The area surrounding Fresno is mainly agricultural, therefor if you have something like LA in mind, it is FAR from it. It's ideal for people who like the quiet life and don't mind 100 degree summers. Since you're from Houston, it should be nothing to you. 
The largest ethnic populations there are Caucasian, Hispanic and South-East Asian. It will be a big transition if you are moving there from a big city. Overall, it is a nice area to live. Being close to the Sierra Nevadas is a big plus if you're the outdoorsy type, espcecially if you like to ski or snowboard. 
The largest ethnic populations there are Caucasian, Hispanic and South-East Asian. It will be a big transition if you are moving there from a big city. Overall, it is a nice area to live. Being close to the Sierra Nevadas is a big plus if you're the outdoorsy type, espcecially if you like to ski or snowboard. JoeSchmoe said:
Oh yeah. That's gonna taint it's reputation for a while.
PHOEN$X said:Orange County is half an hour from Fresno? Since when?
http://maps.yahoo.com/dd_result?ed=...no,+ca&country=us&tcsz=&tcountry=us&terr=3005
Wow, your standards must be really high! My brother's 1800sf, 4 bed/3 bath, 3-car garage house must be really underpriced at $300k then!
Sounds like a good paper. My brother is always forwarding me articles from them.
Half hour in flying time. Yes my standards ARE high, 1,800sqft wouldn't even hold my golf clubs, LOL!
2,500sqft minimum, though 3,500sqft would allow some family expansion in the future.
You'll like it Viper, it's a good move for sure.
Whether you like it depends on what you want. Compared to Bakersfield, Fresno is metropolis (it also lacks Bakersfield's pungent odor--don't know if anyone mentioned that). Fresno is more rural compared to other CA cities, like LA, or SF, but it is still a city. It's kind of like a transplant of a mid-sized midwestern town in CA. I grew up in Fargo, N.D., and Fresno really reminds me of that.
hated it
I lived there for 6 months on business and let me tell you Fresno is about as exciting as watching paint dry.
I lived there for 6 months on business and let me tell you Fresno is about as exciting as watching paint dry.
JoeSchmoe said:
Yes, that was sad. But bad stuff happens every where.
I drove by the spot last weekend, and the police had cleared out all the memorials. Very sad thing to happen anywhere, especially in a family oriented place like Fresno.
About Fresno, I have to give it very high marks.
Even though I'm selling my home and moving to Phoenix, I will really miss it.
I travel for a living, and have lived in just about every other part of the country. Fresno ranks very high on my list of places to live.
The weather in Fresno is nearly ideal. There's a few hot summer months, but they are nothing compared to Phoenix.
I was in Phoenix yesterday, and it was getting to be really warm. When I landed home in Fresno last night, it was pretty chilly, so I had to put on my jacket while outside.
The cost of living in Fresno is higher than some non-california towns, but it is still VERY reasonable compared to other California cities, especially Sacramento, Bay Area, and Southern Cali.
However, Fresno did have the highest growth in property values last year in the nation, according to the Federal Reserve study on real estate.
The home I am selling now has nearly double in value over the last few years, because the current inventory of homes is very very low. People from the Bay Area and elsewhere have snapped up homes in Fresno since it is so cheap compared to there, and this has driven up prices a lot.
After taking my wife to dinner last night, we drove around my neighborhood for an hour last night, and discovered some really upscale neighborhoods that we had never seen before. We are talking huge homes with huge lots. They were within a mile of my house and I had never even seen them before because they were so secluded. I kick myself because I wish I had seen them before and had purchased one a few years ago, but I can't be too upset because I have a gorgeous home already.
The traffic in Fresno is virtually non-existant compared to most other cities. There are no traffic jams. I get totally spoiled when I'm out and about in Fresno, as I usually can get things done very quickly due to the lack of traffic.
The schools in Fresno and Clovis are among the best in the nation. I know a millionaire from San Diego who purchased a home near my neighborhood, just for the sole purpose of sending his kids to school in my area.
Fresno is not real big on shopping, but I live near River Park & Woodward Park, which are the newest and hottest spots in Fresno. However, you are just an hour and a half away from the coast (Monterey), and a couple of hours from Sacramento, and 3-4 hours from San Fran (some of the best shopping around).
I love being an hour south of Yosemite, Sierra Summit (I love snowboarding, and season passes are as cheap as $199, and they are hardly every busy, so you get your money's worth), and my favorite spot, Bass Lake, which is just a gorgeous lake in a secluded higher altitude area about 30 minutes from my house. (Shhh, don't tell other californians about Bass Lake).
I'll really really miss Fresno when I move to Phoenix, but we have more family and friends in Phoenix, so it will be worth the move.
If I were you, I'd really go visit Fresno, especially the really nice areas, and I think you'll be very pleased.
If you do have plans to visit, pm me and I'll try to either show you around or at least give you some hints.
MAKO said:
You have a couple of Ferrari's, right?
With your income you'll be able to purchase a 10,000 square foot home in Fresno with no problem.
One of the former quarter backs of the San Francisco 49'ers has built a huge home in Fresno. Everyone I know has driven by the place, and seen it being built up over the years. The place is just obscenely huge.
More important question here is if there is a reliable place in Fresno you feel comfortable taking your NSX to.
Joel said:
Eg9 lives in Fresno and has an NSX, you could probably ask him.
I live just north of Fresno and there is no way I'd live there. If you are a gang-banger....this city if for you. Like the rest of the cities in the "Valley", the air quality in the summer is VERY BAD, probably the worst in the nation. Get on the internet and do a search for "Valley Fever" in central California.
I've been here for fourteen years and I'm doing my best to get out. Hopefully by August, I'll be 4500 feet higher. Good luck.
I've been here for fourteen years and I'm doing my best to get out. Hopefully by August, I'll be 4500 feet higher. Good luck.
arm pit
IMO it is the arm pit capital of the world...
Fresno is known as the agriculture capital of the world...
Grapes and all sorts of agriculture products come from this region.... This is PICK UP country....Poverty is all over.... Some of the areas N Fresno are better but it stiil sucks IMO.
The #1 radio station in Fresno is the hispanic station. If you like POLKA or tejano music you are in luck my friend...If not you are in for a culture shock. There is a large number of illegal workers that come through for the different harvests.
The air has been noted for some of the worst in the country. The industry there pretty much revolves around farming and you guessed it farming.
Way too much fast food and almost zero culture.... Everyone I talked to wanted out as quick as possible....
A NSX would stick out like a sore thumb. I can't imagine the amount of low brow people (that Fresno has so many of) wanting to key your car as well.
IMO it is the arm pit capital of the world...
Fresno is known as the agriculture capital of the world...
Grapes and all sorts of agriculture products come from this region.... This is PICK UP country....Poverty is all over.... Some of the areas N Fresno are better but it stiil sucks IMO.
The #1 radio station in Fresno is the hispanic station. If you like POLKA or tejano music you are in luck my friend...If not you are in for a culture shock. There is a large number of illegal workers that come through for the different harvests.
The air has been noted for some of the worst in the country. The industry there pretty much revolves around farming and you guessed it farming.
Way too much fast food and almost zero culture.... Everyone I talked to wanted out as quick as possible....
A NSX would stick out like a sore thumb. I can't imagine the amount of low brow people (that Fresno has so many of) wanting to key your car as well.
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The air is bad in Fresno. But I haven't noticed it too much. I've got 3 ionic breeze air filters in my house just in case, but it really isn't as bad in my area. I think the air is worse for me in Phoenix than Fresno. Every time I visit Phoenix I sneeze and have sinus problems. As soon as I return to Fresno that goes away. When I do move to Phoenix I plan to run my Hepa filters on full power all the time to help alleviate the situation. Plus it's so dry in Phoenix that I'll have to run humidifiers as well.
NSX's are not the nicest cars in my area. My realtor had an open house today, and a lady with a Bently drove by to see my house (she was bringing a friend to see it). I've seen Z8's, Ferrari's, and other really nice cars in the area.
You have to live in a nice part of Fresno to really appreciate it, and there are lots of nice parts of Fresno. Most people see the bad parts of Fresno, and learn to dislike Fresno.
Fresno really is a great place to live, in spite of all the negatives. But I think one has to come see it, and judge for him/herself.
I think it's really a disservice to discount Fresno off the bat. When I moved to California 6 years ago, I lived in Pleasanton. I had a 2 hour commute each way to San Jose for work. The amount of rent I paid for a tiny 1/2 of a 2 bedroom apartment was about the same as a mortgage payment in Fresno.
As soon as I could get the heck out of the Bay Area, and flee to Fresno, I did. Living in Fresno has really paid off for me. I've enjoyed a quality of life that is far superior than if I had remained in the Bay Area, and the benefits of home ownership in Fresno is paying off handsomely.
Just a quick anecdote - a friend of mine married a girl who swore she'd never live in Fresno. She had grown up in Irvine, went to school in Denver and worked there for a while, and relocated to Danville. She loved the city (San Fran), as well as Denver. My friend convinced her to move to Fresno when they purchased a 4,300 square foot home together in Clovis (east of Fresno).
She's now lived in Fresno for nearly two years, and she now hates to leave Fresno. She still has to go to San Fran & San Diego for work every once in a while, but she now gets the benefits of Fresno, and really loves it here.
I think if someone who's hard to please like her can get to appreciate Fresno, then there's hope yet.
But honestly, you have to check out Fresno for yourself and see if you will like it.
I think my testimony should be pretty unbiased, because as a full time traveller, I am able to compare many cities to Fresno, and weigh the pros and cons after having lived here for 6 years. There's nothing like staying in another city for a week, and then comparing that to Fresno right as I land and come home for the weekend.
By the way, part of the attraction of living in Fresno is that so many other people have a negative perception of it (most of which has no real basis other than hearing second hand facts about Fresno). This means that real estate will continue to be affordable compared to most other parts of California. Would you want to try to compete with everyone else in the State when buying your home? This is the same reason I bought a home in Phoenix - the hot summer months turn off many people who otherwise might drive up the prices there. Frankly, the more people are turned away from the areas that I want to live in, the better it is for me.
NSX's are not the nicest cars in my area. My realtor had an open house today, and a lady with a Bently drove by to see my house (she was bringing a friend to see it). I've seen Z8's, Ferrari's, and other really nice cars in the area.
You have to live in a nice part of Fresno to really appreciate it, and there are lots of nice parts of Fresno. Most people see the bad parts of Fresno, and learn to dislike Fresno.
Fresno really is a great place to live, in spite of all the negatives. But I think one has to come see it, and judge for him/herself.
I think it's really a disservice to discount Fresno off the bat. When I moved to California 6 years ago, I lived in Pleasanton. I had a 2 hour commute each way to San Jose for work. The amount of rent I paid for a tiny 1/2 of a 2 bedroom apartment was about the same as a mortgage payment in Fresno.
As soon as I could get the heck out of the Bay Area, and flee to Fresno, I did. Living in Fresno has really paid off for me. I've enjoyed a quality of life that is far superior than if I had remained in the Bay Area, and the benefits of home ownership in Fresno is paying off handsomely.
Just a quick anecdote - a friend of mine married a girl who swore she'd never live in Fresno. She had grown up in Irvine, went to school in Denver and worked there for a while, and relocated to Danville. She loved the city (San Fran), as well as Denver. My friend convinced her to move to Fresno when they purchased a 4,300 square foot home together in Clovis (east of Fresno).
She's now lived in Fresno for nearly two years, and she now hates to leave Fresno. She still has to go to San Fran & San Diego for work every once in a while, but she now gets the benefits of Fresno, and really loves it here.
I think if someone who's hard to please like her can get to appreciate Fresno, then there's hope yet.
But honestly, you have to check out Fresno for yourself and see if you will like it.
I think my testimony should be pretty unbiased, because as a full time traveller, I am able to compare many cities to Fresno, and weigh the pros and cons after having lived here for 6 years. There's nothing like staying in another city for a week, and then comparing that to Fresno right as I land and come home for the weekend.
By the way, part of the attraction of living in Fresno is that so many other people have a negative perception of it (most of which has no real basis other than hearing second hand facts about Fresno). This means that real estate will continue to be affordable compared to most other parts of California. Would you want to try to compete with everyone else in the State when buying your home? This is the same reason I bought a home in Phoenix - the hot summer months turn off many people who otherwise might drive up the prices there. Frankly, the more people are turned away from the areas that I want to live in, the better it is for me.
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