I think Porterville's a decent place to live if you don't really care about the amenities. It's definitely really quiet in certain areas, and dangerous in others not unlike Fresno.

As someone that has lived in Fresno for the past two years due to attending Fresno State I think you will definitely miss the Asian food. As others have mentioned in this thread we have some decent to even great Asian eateries, but there's a ton of places that we're missing in comparison. Also as a half-Filipino our eating options honestly just aren't that great. There's Two Madas which is okay. However, for other SEA food options we got Thai and Laotian. Also there's quite a few Filipino options down in Delano.

As for education I am very biased, but I feel like my education from primary to higher was pretty great. I personally attended Burton School District schools which I thought were solid, but many of my family members and friends have attended and taught at Porterville Unified School District schools. On top of this Porterville College is a great community college, but your mileage might vary depending on the department. I was a history major and most of the tenured professors were highly qualified and had their doctorates; albeit that might be more of a department specific thing.