# Fresno, California- is there anything good about it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493 "2006-07-14T17:25:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SallyBowls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@SallyBowls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyBowls)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/1 "2006-07-14T17:25:41Z")
Not in a “Let’s bash Fresno” way, but seriously. I’ve interviewed for a job there. It’s a good job in my field and it’s closer to friends and family than the other jobs that are being advertised. I’d never been there before the interview and everyone I’ve talked to goes, “Ew. Fresno.” Having spent one day there, I know about the heat and the haze and I’m told its the meth capital of California. Is there anything good about it? Or are there horrible city secrets I should know before I consider moving? ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/2 "2006-07-14T17:27:33Z")
…raisins? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/3 "2006-07-14T17:39:30Z")
Personally, it means I’m almost to Grandma’s. I think there’s some antique stores (and I know there are some good ones in towns around there). I think there’s a Dairy Queen… Not real helpful, huh? ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/4 "2006-07-14T17:40:12Z")
Try the salad - it’s fresh. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/5 "2006-07-14T17:40:23Z")
I had a dislocated shoulder reduced there. So, good drugs, as you said. You are fairly equidistant from Sacramento, the Bay Area, the central coast, and the southern part of the state, so it’s a 3-hour drive pretty much anywhere you want to go. Your decision as to whether that’s a good thing or not, which actually sums up most of what I’ve heard about Fresno. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/6 "2006-07-14T18:15:01Z")
It’s cheaper than most of the rest of CA. I assume, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/7 "2006-07-14T19:03:05Z")
The “Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill” was the first modern landfill in the United States, and incorporated several important innovations to waste disposal, including trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of trash with dirt. It was opened in 1937 and closed in 1987. It is now a National Historic Landmark. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/8 "2006-07-14T19:35:13Z")
It’s not far from Yosemite, and the gold rush country (Highway 49) But perhaps the single best thing about Fresno is my daughter is living there this summer. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/9 "2006-07-14T19:46:52Z")
I was just in Fresno last night for a concert; I live about an hour and fifteen away. It’s my local “big city” although I’m really much more likely to go to Modesto. As cities go, I guess it’s OK. I’m not the person to ask, because I prefer small towns or rural living to cities, but I know that it’s also quite easy to get either of those very close to Fresno too. People say that Fresno has a very small-town feel to it, but I’m guessing that’s people coming from other cities talking, not people from actual small towns. They have an awesome minor-league baseball stadium, the park I was at last night was beautiful, and there’s some serious shopping developing there. It’s got a pretty seedy inner city if you watch the news, but if you’re coming from Oakland, that might not bother you. Meth is a problem, but that’s all over the Valley, not just in Fresno. I guess if someone held a gun to my head and forced me to live in a city, I’d pick either Fresno or Bakersfield over Sacramento, the Bay Area, or LA. Which might be an anti-recommendation, depending on what you like 😉 The paper is the [Fresno Bee](http://www.fresnobee.com) if you’d like to research it from that angle. Fresnans tend to really like their city. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/10 "2006-07-14T19:58:39Z")
I’m from a town right near Fresno (Visalia if you know it). Fresno, to us, was just known for higher crime and such, but thats mostly the downtown and seedier areas. It has some pretty nice neighborhoods in it, not a “small town feel” at all AFAIK, maybe I just think that because it was bigger than Vtown. Its in the middle of ag country, so lots of fresh veggies and fruit stands, but also migrant workers and such (goes hand in hand). I don’t think its horrendously worse than anywhere else, but I still always apologize when I hear someone is from Fresno (or Bakersfield). Its a valley thing. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/11 "2006-07-14T20:18:18Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > The “Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill” was the first modern landfill in the United States, and incorporated several important innovations to waste disposal, including trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of trash with dirt. It was opened in 1937 and closed in 1987. It is now a National Historic Landmark. > > 😃 So, we people here that Fresno is a dump, it is really all just a big misunderstanding? ---
**Author:** ![SallyBowls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@SallyBowls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyBowls)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/12 "2006-07-14T22:49:18Z")
So it’s famous for a salad and a big old dump and is located about 3 hours from everywhere but Yosemite? 😉 I did like what parts of it I saw and I spent a while perusing the phonebook to check for the presence of my favorite chain stores (which are all well represented). If they’ll only offer me the job… ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/13 "2006-07-14T22:58:14Z")
Ew. Fresno. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/14 "2006-07-15T06:37:09Z")
If you’re sitting on Moro Rock up in Sequoia National Park at sunset in midsummer, it looks very much like the sun is setting right into the very middle of Fresno, and if your imagination is good you can almost hear the screams of the incinerated residents. Hmmm… Valley fever? There’s a lot of that around… I believe someone mentioned the Dairy Queen. It doesn’t smell quite as bad as Livingston… Fresno is quite a lot like a stunted Sacramento without the rivers and delta breeze… err… I think that’s called “damning with faint praise.” I’m sure they have an Applebee’s by now. At least it doesn’t have a giant embarrassing tractor shaped building right next to the highway like Turlock… and the name doesn’t mean “lard” like some other cities we could mention… In short–I’m so sorry! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/15 "2006-07-15T07:08:35Z")
The only thing I know about Fresno is that it’s the hometown of [Marcus Wesson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Wesson) – which, if you think about it, is actually a _good_ thing. How many towns ever have TWO psycho mass murderers?!? ---
**Author:** ![straykat23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@straykat23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straykat23)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/16 "2006-07-15T08:19:57Z")
No. Nothing good about it. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/17 "2006-07-15T08:23:08Z")
It rhymes with “Lezbo”. That has to be a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/18 "2006-07-15T08:27:38Z")
Nope. Back in the days of the [WCHL](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Hockey_League) (West Coast Hockey League), the Fresno Falcons once visited the San Diego Gulls at the venerable San Diego Sports Arena (now the iPayOne Center) in a playoff game. A Gulls player committed a penalty and was sent to the sin bin. The Jumbotron then showed a clip of a(nother) Gulls player sitting down in the penalty box and being handed a book to read while he serves his penalty. The book: “Great Moments in Fresno History”. Every page was empty. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/19 "2006-07-15T09:19:34Z")
> [@SallyBowls](#): > > So it’s famous for a salad and a big old dump and is located about 3 hours from everywhere but Yosemite? Nah, in summer traffic it’s just about 3 hours from Yosemite, too… I **really** like Oakland (at least parts thereof), so you won’t get me suggesting that you move to Fresno (unless you have a really great Oakland apartment that you’ll sublet to me!). ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2006, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493/20 "2006-07-15T10:00:29Z")
Fresno is the home of the Internal Revenue Service Center, so if you have to mail your tax return, it might get to the IRS quicker. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fresno-california-is-there-anything-good-about-it/364493.md?page=2)