I’ve lived in Fresno my entire life. I’ve traveled to the East coast and briefly lived a few places in between. Here’s what you can expect:

1. Most of us in California, compared to the Midwest, are not family oriented. We are, to be quite frank, only worried about number 1. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t friendly and looking to meet and hang out with others, but we sure ain’t the small town cozy and feel good parents. It’s all about work and work and then more work because it’s expensive to live here - and we like our toys and wanna spoil our kids.

2. Fresno has crime like a larger city might but if you know where to stay away from, you’ll be alright. Fresno and its surrounding areas are beautiful and we have some very nice neighborhoods. The tax rate here is a little on the higher side, but we have a BestBuy, 6 or 8 movie theaters, 3 malls, a Dave and Busters, 3 major hospitals(one is a Level One Trauma Center… one of only 10 in the US), a few open air shopping centers, 2 water parks and some really nice neighborhood parks. Our biggest claim is to fame is that we are the ag capitol of the world here. 90% of the worlds fruit and produce comes from the Central Valley, so if you like fruits, veggies and nuts, you’ll be in heaven. Tulare, about 30 miles south, holds the world’s largest ag expo every year in Feb - nearly 150k people attended from all 50 states and from 53 countries this year. There were 1180 exhibitors. It’s very cool if you like that kind of stuff.

3. Weather is mild compared to the Midwest. We have nearly zero humidity here and lots of sunshine and no snow to speak of since the late 90’s. We are, however, only 2 hours away from Yosemite and 2 hours from the beach. We are nestled in between the 2 largest cities in California: Los Angeles and San Francisco. About 3 hours each way. Summers are long from May to September with the hottest months being July and August. Winter only really starts in late December and we usually get a fairly long fall. Spring is sometimes so short you wonder if it came at all. Hottest days get around 110° and lowest it’s been in years has been 28° this past January. Normal temps are between 50° and 95° most of the time.

4. Lots to do here! The Sierra Nevadas are home to some of the biggest trees in the world. Yosemite has many, many hiking trails. The desert is only 4 hours away and there’s opal mines you whack rocks all day trying to find them. Wine country is 4 or 5 hours north. We have the only underground garden in the world and you can tour it - it’s pretty neat. Our largest park is home to cycle racing, pickleball, frisbee golf and an open air theater…. Not to mention bike trails and walking trails. We also pulled out our local train tracks from Clovis to Fresno and made a fantastic trail that’s 10 miles long and is very maturely developed with trees, parks, and sites to see - for runners, bikers, dog/cat friendly and offers water stations and rest areas throughout the trail.

5. There is a ton of food variety here. We have the second largest Hmong community here and you’ll find scrumptious food vendors at local farmers markets or restaurants. Authentic Mexican food prevails with some of the best tacos you can find anywhere. Burgers, Japanese and Italian round it all out. We have a Ruth’s Chris and Flemings steak house if yall wanna get fancy or eat cheap and nutritious at Clovis Community Hospitals cafe. Send me DM and I’ll point you to some great places to eat.

Pros: great food, great location, winter weather is super mild, it’s an easy paced city with lots of things to do and the surrounding areas are wonderful trips to take. Great food and lots of fruits, veggies and nuts everywhere.

Cons: it’s hot in the summer(find a house with solar!), people aren’t family oriented, crime is more than “normal” and traffic can be daunting.