Fresno
 

Hello,<BR>Could anyone give me some information on living in Fresno ; does anyone have a list of good restaurants there as well-any information on Fresno I would appreciate. Thanks

I picture a big ad campaign, &quot;SAY NO TO FRESNO&quot;. Sorry, but there have been previous posts here about Fresno and no one has much good to say. Does anyone remember that terribly funny TV miniseries that was a sort of spoof of Dynasty shows? It starred Carol Burnett and was called &quot;Fresno&quot;. Too funny.<BR><BR>But let's hope someone will have a few words of encouragement if you have to live there.

Except for the local chamber of Commerce, you are unlikely to find many Fresno fans. The best thing about Fresno is it is convenient for Yosemite and the southern Sierras.

Why in the world would you be moving to Fresno?<BR><BR>Curious

I love Fresno. I try to visit friends there frequently. Its a slower life then LA, and its nice to go for a weekend to unwind. Can't go wrong with housing prices, but its growing fast. Clovis is a nice quiet area, so is Kerman if you like to be surrounded by grape fields. If you dont mind very hot summers, and lots of fog in the winter its a great place. I know I'm in the minority here, maybe its because I've been visiting friends and relatives in Fresno all my life.

Patrick is right on with this one. I was thinking the exact same thing!<BR>JUST SAY NO!<BR>It's very dusty and not the prettiest town. <BR>If you have to go, I'm sure you can make the best of it, but if you have a choice....

Some info on Fresno as culled from my various friends with family there, personal experience, &amp; tidbits from newspapers:<BR><BR>It's the 4th largest city in California. It's in the central valley surround by farms to the north, south and west. On the east side, the sierras rise up. While very scenic, they provide a nice barrier to catch all of the smog and agricultural dust.<BR><BR>According to a newpaper article about 5 years ago, Fresno had the largest deployment of SWAT team, para-military style police units.<BR><BR>It's a very religious town, people are very into their church activities.<BR><BR>It gets quite hot &amp; muggy in the summer, but not too cold in the winter. There is a lot of fog there.<BR><BR>There isn't a lot to do in town, the eating isn't great and neither is the nightlife. See above for comment on church activities. <BR><BR>It has great access to the Sierras, so for folks who live to fish &amp; backpack &amp; such, it might not be such a bad option.

BayArea,<BR><BR>According to the 2000 Census, Fresno is the 6th largest city in California. It follows Long Beach and is just ahead of Sacramento.<BR><BR>No big deal. It's still in the middle of nowhere.<BR><BR>One more thing; some of the posters have mention that the area gets fog in the winter. You have to understand, this is not your normal fog. This is the kind of fog you have to roll your window down so you can see 5 or 6 white lines ahead.<BR>Either on Hwy 99 or I-5, every year there seems to be a 50 car pile up due to fog. <BR><BR>Great area. I grew up in that area.<BR><BR>Curious

I was in Fresno on business for 2 weeks about 12 or 13 years ago. I live in the Midwest near a significant amount of manufacturing and industry - not exactly pristine clean air but not smoggy either. Fresno, however, almost did me in. By the time I came home I was coughing like crazy! I don't have asthma and have never smoked but I was hacking like a smoker with 3-pack a day habit. As soon as I got home the cough went right away. I remember sitting in a restaurant looking out at a main through-street in Fresno and seeing a vail of smog hanging over the street. I assume that is because there is not enough natural breeze to move it out of there as BayArea implied in their post.

Dear pattysuericia. I can give you a lot of info about Fresno, and my wife is a realtor here, so if you want to buy.. .whoops, sorry Fodors. Hey, I know, everyone likes to bash Fresno, but as an observer once said: &quot;When the world comes to an end, I want to be in Fresno. 'Cause everything happens 5 years later there!&quot;<BR>It's hot in the summer, but not &quot;muggy.&quot; 105 degree days will have about 20% humidity. But that doesn't last very long, most of the time it's pleasant swimming weather. Today, I played golf in shirtsleeves, about 65. for about a month in the winter we will get the &quot;tule fog&quot; described above. Unique in only one other place in the world, we are told, the Po Valley in northern Italy.<BR>Contrary to above posters, who probably only see Fresno from a freeway, we are blessed with several wonderful restaurants. I m not claiming S F standards, but very nice indeed.Be glad to give a list. Tell me what you like: Italian, Mexican, Fish, Steak, soup&amp;sandwich type, etc.<BR>We have our share of crime, but young people growing up here have a generally wholesome environment. the town has been described by visitors as &quot;very mid-west.&quot; Lots of ag, and a great rodeo in adjacent Clovis every year.<BR>Air quality has slipped significantly in the past decade. It is officially a problem. Mostly geography/natural conditions, and, well, just too many people in nor Cal in general.<BR>3 hours to Yosemite; 3 to SF; 2.5 to Monterey/Carmel; 3 to LA. About 2 hours up the road is a decent ski slope. Several recreational lakes in the area, and one surrounded by houses. Housing is among the most &quot;affordable&quot; in the state.<BR>I've lived in the central valley all my life, and find it very pleasant, and much lower on the anxiety level than many other areas I've lived and visited. My commute to work is, oh, about 4 minutes if I don't hit the one red light.<BR>Doesn't matter, cause in Fresno, like LA and maybe everybody's town, traffic lights are only advisory any more anyway. Not so bad, this Fresno. But, not that glamorous either.

Thanks EVERYONE for being so helpful. That fog sounds terrible! Yes, please if you can tell me a few restaurants-love sandwiches, steak, and italian! Any good breakfast places?

Fresno is very dull. We spent a month there one night.<BR>You can get sandwiches at the 7-11, there is an Italian restuarant called Olive Garden. Is there an Outback?

Come on BillJ! <BR>A 4 min commute &quot;if&quot; no red lights!!! You must not drive on Shaw, Herndon, Ashlan, Bullard, Hwy41 or anywhere near the courthouse during commute hours!<BR> :-)<BR>I have an office in my house and sometimes it takes me over 4 mins. to make it in. But that's taking into consideration an occassional laundry pile up in the bedroom and a rear ender in the hallway from time to time. <BR><BR>I was just in Fresno last week on biddness for 2 whole days and it took me 3 light changes to get off Hwy41 on to Shaw.<BR>I hadn't been to Fresno in over 3 yrs. and WOW! It is booming but it's also getting the related probs.<BR><BR>I did have a good steak sandwich at the Elbow Room. Nice place. They closed down my fave pizza place, BC's on Shaw.<BR>As for no night life? I'm sure some students at Fresno St would beg to differ.<BR><BR>And the tule fog is VERY dense. I thought the fog I grew up in (some say I'm still in that same fog) in Sand Diego and then in SF and NoCal was thick until I &quot;did time&quot; in Stockton and had MoTown, Fresno and Bakerfield in my territory. Can you say claustraphobic? (Or spell it?)<BR>While I was down there last week, the big story on TV news was the rising cases of asthma and other related lung problems in the Fresno area.<BR>On the drive down I could see the snow on the Sierra Nevada as well as the vegetation on Mt Diablo until I got about an hour north of Fresno.<BR><BR>Like BillJ says, if you can live a bit out of town up in the foothills, very nice. But watch out for the rattlers. <BR>I heard they are coming out early this year. And I like Fresno!<BR>Kal

FOR BILLJ, could you give me a list of restaurants and also places to go for brunch? Thanks lots

pattysuericia: with pleasure, given that all of us have their own favorites, I submit to you a list of some of our choices. We have all the major chains, including, yes, an Outback, and a Macaroni Grill, and a just opened California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), near the Barnes &amp; Noble. So for the local side of things, here are some suggestions.<BR>There are of course several dozen Mexican restarurants, most of them quite good, inexpensive and quick. Try Plaza Ventanna's for things a little more upscale and different.<BR>The Tower District of Fresno is blessed with several very nice places: 609 Grill, Echo's (recently written up in Gourmet Magazine), The Daily Planet, and Veni Vidi Vici (Italian).<BR>The rest of these are pretty much the north side of town.<BR>Italian: Bella Pasta (very casual), Fratelli's, Ristorante Venezia (veal specialty), Campagnia's, Giulia's, Ovidio's.<BR>General Dining: Elbow Room, LimeLight, Max's, Manhatten, North Point Grill.<BR>Seafood: My 1st choice - Captain John's<BR>2nd - Pacific Sea Food.<BR>Soup and Sandwich: The Grape Tray, with a very complete wine store, and La Boulangerie (the chef is from France, and the bread and rolls are sold out early each day.) and Eddie's Bakery.<BR>Since I do not eat oriental food, I cannot tell you of the several dozen Chinese, Thai and others. But there are many.<BR>Yoshino's is particularly popular for sushi or the &quot;eight to a table sitting around the grill-watch your food being cooked&quot; style. It's a lot of fun for up to 8 people.<BR>Well, I hope that helps some. I'm sorry I can't come up with a brunch recommendation. My wife says she would not leave Bella Pasta and Fratelli's on the list, but it's my list so they stay in :) Hope you have a great meal.

Piedmonte's on Olive in the Tower is the best deli in town, the sandwiches can't be beat. I lived in Fresno for 15 years and while there is a lot of negative on this board, it is a great place to live, especially if you have kids. The summer nights are beautiful... I still miss them. The new Grizzlies Stadium is fantastic and Fresno State University football and basketball is fun for the entire community. I believe Clovis has the highest school ratings as a district as well as the whole cowboy thing going on! Agriculture, as another poster suggested gives the option of fresh fruits and vegetables to be purchased at roadside stands. Let me know if you want more specifics... I'd move back there if the opportunity was right. Housing pricing can't be beat! You can live very well there for little money, compared to the rest of the state. Another smaller community south of Fresno, Visalia is quite charming too. Check it out!

pattysuericia,<BR><BR>Go to Ask Jeeves or do a Google search on the top cities for bad air (SMOG).<BR><BR>The HWY 99 corridor (Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield) is in the top 5 or 10 in the United States. It isn't getting any better.<BR><BR>Moneygirl, to each their own, but I have never heard anyone describe Visalia as &quot;charming&quot;.<BR><BR>What is REALLY scarey, I may have to go to Fresno for 2 days next month for a probate hearing. ARRRRRRGGGGGG. After being in the area in November for my Mother's funeral, I thought I would never have to ever go to that area again.<BR><BR>Curious

Curious,while in Fresno, try to stay at the Piccadilly Inn on West Shaw near Van Ness. Take time to shop at Fig Garden Village ( at the corner of Shaw and Palm)and have dinner at the Ripe Tomato. For breakfast, try the Bagel Basket or Becky's Country Kitchen. If you drive north on Backstone, check out a show at the IMAX or have a run at Woodward Park. On your second night, head to the Tower District for dinner at Hannah Benson's The Daily Planet, you'll like it! While downtown, you'll notice the new stadium too!

moneygirl,<BR><BR>I have spent many, many, many, many days and nights in Fresno. <BR><BR>I will be flying in from the East Coast. I want to get there and get out. I hope the Tule Fog stays away. I have been stuck in that airport before with fog delays.<BR><BR> There is absolutely nothing in Fresno that I want to see. Thanks for the info anyway.<BR><BR>Curious

Thank you again everyone! Does not sound very encouraging-I will check out the smog on google;not happy about that. How do you go about meeting people if you do not go to church? I heard Fresno is about 5 hours from LA. How far from San Jose? If anyone lives there, care to give me an e-mail address so before I go I can contact someone, anyone. Thanks for the restaurant list.