You are making a huge mistake by not visiting the area. The central valley is growing rapidly with many areas of growth. Modesto has a number of desirable neighborhoods with fine schools and homes. The towns west of Modesto also are first rate(Livermore,Pleasanton,San Ramon, Dublin, etc)
If you just look at the statistics you miss amazing pockets of nice neighborhoods. Having lived in many parts of the U.S. (NYC, Florida, S. Cal, Bay Area, etc) I would favorably compare the TOTAL living picture of the central valley to anywhere.
Remember when you are raising a family you want convenience to schools and children's activities. The number of cultural activities declines rapidly as the children's lives become more complex.

==Mike

I think you're right LilMsFoodie. And didn't they say something like "Modesto's finest"? Shouldn't that tell us something?

This may be a little too late for you. We have lived all over the country, including Connecticut and Modesto, right now we live in San Ramon (near Pleasanton) We have loved California over every place we have lived, and I think the bay area has been the best. The housing prices suck, and we definitely had to downsize, but we are doers so we are busy every weekend. When we lived in Modesto we didn't have kids so we classified it as 2 hours away from everything we wanted to do. Not a bad place, but we like San Ramon much better. We also lived in Dallas and Phoenix in between. Is your husband with Frito Lay?

We have lived in several states, including the east, and 3 other countries. We have lived for several years in California in San Diego, The SF Bay area, and the Temecula Valley. We love California and would never consider living anywhere else. We like all of the areas of California where we have lived, though we prefer the Temecula Valley where we now live.

We lived in Pleasonton and Livermore and they are both very nice places to live. Pleasanton is expensive but very nice. We also lived in Los Gatos and San Jose.

Having said all of that, I would never consider living in Modesto under any circumstances.

Many people do not know this, but Modesto is home to "Charmin"!!!!!! If you visit Modesto, Charmin is a nice addition.

C

I have 2 cousins who live in Modesto and have visited on occasion. I would not want to live there, but Stockton (and hour north) is quite a pleasant town and is home to the University of the Pacific.

To me, Stockton and Modesto are very much the same. I wouldn't live in either place.

Housing price survey in the December 2003 issue, Smart Money Magazine, rates Modesto third most overpriced housing in the entire country. Only Santa Rosa and Salinas California are more over-valued. I lived in and around Modesto until seven years ago when we relocated to rural southwestern Ohio. Having seen the best and worst of both areas, I can only say that home is where the heart is and my grandchildren live in Modesto. It has it's good and bad points, but I think the worst thing is that Modesto was a small agricultural center until about ten years ago when people working in the bay area began moving to Modesto because of lower housing prices. Now the home prices are just as inflated as those further north and west. Consequently, the infrastructure of the city has not kept up with the population growth. We will be moving back to California soon, and we will not be living in Modesto, but a few hours north east of there. Nearer to the kids, and still a desirable area.

I couldn't help myself from laughing at the comment about Charmin toilet paper.

The irony is pretty funny, actually.
Modesto being known for toilet paper.

I doubt that whatever city makes urinals or bed pans would trumpet that as a claim to fame...but in Modesto's case....

You apparently have overlooked something -- your taxes. Granted that CT taxes are high, but you have not found out what you will face if you move to CA. My sister moved from Westport to San Diego a few years ago. The impact on her taxes was astounding -- they have simply leaped and leaped and leaped. Not just property taxes, either. All taxes -- sales, income, etc. Even the state's new governor recognized the state's near-desperate financial plight. My suggestion: do your homework.

Property taxes in California are pretty stable. That is what prop 13 was all about. A home's assessed value is capped at a maximum 2% annual increase. The big leap in property taxes occurs when you move from one home to another unless you move to a county that lets you transfer your tax base.

Gallo is actually associated with the town of Lodi, not very far south from Sacramento, but has now expanded into the Napa Valley as well.

Gallo Winery company headquarters is located in Modesto and is the largest employer in the area. There is also a facility near Healdsburg in Sonoma county, this is where all of the estate bottling is done. They did recently acquire a winery in the Napa valley. The only operation in Lodi is a receiving station and small crush site. And by the way, to my knowledge Procter and Gamble (Charmin) closed their Modesto operation several years ago.

Actually I don't know if Charmin was ever there, it was a Pampers diaper plant.

How sad for some of these nasty comments. Proctor and Gamble left Modesto 3 years ago and they were the Pampers and Charmin plants. True that the Peterson and Levy cases were based here but that is hardly a reflection on the average citizen.

You might want to take a look at Modesto before you run it into the ground. True that it is flat, foggy in the winter and hot in the summer but it is a community in the true sense. You can get to know your neighbor any you are so close to the Sierra and the bay area. I came here 10 years ago from LA and I feel at home.

It is my home now and I love it.

TTT

WARNING! Orginal post was written in 2003!
#-o

Utahtea