Sunday had some pretty amazing weather, for a June day in Fresno. It was perfect… well until the windstorm later that evening. But BEFORE that, perfect.
This brought a much overdue thought into my head: Would the removal of consistent hot Summers make Fresno a truly desirable city? Is it the one thing that is holding us back?
Fresno heat-haters would say “Duh, dude!” But is it that simple?
Yes, bro, I know that Fresno has more problems than hot Summers. We got the gangs (although I’m pretty sure Oakland, SF, San Jose, Sactown, L.A. and San Diego all have those), a lot of stucco and a shitty looking Highway 99 corridor.
But I really don’t think people are truly looking down at Fresno for that.
Plus, Fresno has all the things you could want in your standard city: A diverse and creative culture, a rising Downtown, plenty of things to do on the weekend, three world class National Parks in the backyard, etc.
So it comes back to one thing: The heat.
You Have Heard Of This New Technology Called “Air Conditioning” and “Shade”, Right?
People afraid of the heat forget about the benefits. The perfect Summer evenings on a patio with a beer in one hand and a taco in another. Or the nights when it’s perfectly comfortable to swim and… have more beer.
Maybe Sactown is the only other West Coast city that can brag about that. Sorry, Portland & Seattle, we got ya on something.
Paying Triple To Not Experience A Hot Summer Is Crazy!
When a nice house in Fresno that costs $250,000 is going to cost $1,000,000 on the coast, I think “I’m good here, thanks.”
I admit, this past weekend of “coastal” weather was nice and I appreciated it. Enjoyed it. But I’ll go ahead and continue enduring hot Summers, for now, and not feel like an idiot when my mortgage bill comes. You can enjoy your 70s.
Mother Nature is one thing that man cannot affect or control. But AC is a major counter tool that man has made. I always tell my friends “if the weather stayed like this all yr round then Fresno wouldn’t be a bad place to live”. I mean, that’s why Cali is sooo popular…because of the weather compared to back east. And Fresno is like comparing dtf to sf. People say that they don’t want to pay for parking in dtf because of the bums and the fact that there’s nothing worth goingdown there for paying for parking. Well even though sf and la has crime and homeless…there’s SO much more to do down there to do and that’s why people are willing to pay. Same with Fresno…the general consensus is that there’s not a lot to do here in Fresno to justify putting up with the Heat and dealing with homeless, crime, gangs etc; sure other big cities have these same probs but the weather and cultural metropolitan things to do there totally outweighs the negatives. Fresno is far from that, and the hella hot summer heat definitely detracts Fresno’s popularity. The things I absolutely don’t do during the summer time due to the heat are:
Rock the mall at SV.
Any griz game AFTER a June 1st
And many other events after mid June because it’s just too damn HOT!
Fresno crime rate for a big city is actually not bad:
http://www.gddlaw.com/2016/05/12/cities-california-dangerous/
Saw that floating around and if you read or specifically go to the section for the top 10 biggest cities, Sac, LA, SF, Oakland (obviously), Long Beach have a lot more crime. With Bakersfield slightly beating Fresno. San Diego, SJ, Anaheim rounding out the safest of the big cities.
The heat is bad, but it also is bad in many parts of AZ, Las Vegas, Sacramento Valley is also not much better. I guess when Fresno is having 115 degree days and Sacramento is only 110 or 105 its something to cheer about.
What Fresno needs is more attractions and features to make people ALMOST forget the heat. At least Fresno and Sac cool off at night. Unlike Las Vegas where their cooling off is 80+ degrees throughout the night. But Las vegas is sin city they have crap to do there keep the people busy and coming despit their 100+ degree days. AZ has what those cool canyons, lake havasu and someother nature stuff these millenials are flocking to. Sac at least has an NBA team and slightly more going on and it is the state capitol.
I know what you are thinking and so am I. Fresno has stuff too. Should Fresno use Yosemite as it’s main attraction? I think it tries, I mean the airport has it in it’s name. But should Fresno really claim it. It’s not even Fresno county. But many times it has tried. I mean its a big part of this pitch for Fresno county
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm1OWgvRqZE
I like the idea though, but its still not to a point where Yosemite is linked directly with Fresno when just shooting the breeze. We have the sierra national forest. Shaver lake, huntinton lake and china peak for snow, and bass lake. Fresno can certainly use the outdoors as their sales pitch. Again it tries but doesnt seem fully commited to making the link. Perhaps again because technically they are still all an hour away from city center and in some cases as mentioned not even Fresno County.
The city lacks identity. And the only identity that has stuck is the heat in the summers, the crime which isnt as bad as many complain about unless you actually live in the bad areas.
The city has done well to improve things with downtown revitalization, and being a major city for the HSR and the leader of it thus far. Securing big company distribution plants like amazon and ulta to pave way for new jobs. This is great in the long run for the city’s core, but doesnt help the attractions and popularity of the city.
When the HSR is complete, and a commute from San Jose to Fresno is a relaxing 40min average. Is that what the city is going to use to build on: “Fresno…work in san jose and make 100K and live in the 5th biggest city in CA so you can live in a nice house instead of a rental in san jose” I mean many certainly will do that I guarantee it, but that shouldnt be what Fresno is about.
Tourism department needs to step up. I think nature and the outdoors are key even though many are about an hour away. Still beats 3+ hours from people coming from the bay area. Fresno has to become synonymous with something positive. And shave off the years of simply associating with all things negative–heat, crime, nothing to do, etc.
That is the only way I see it unless the city pulls off something crazy like bringing in a pro team, or building a tourist attraction grande enough.
Younust justified my point. Not enough to do in Fresno to justify putting up with the heat, crime, and gangs.
not enough to do in fresno that the heat and crime is magnified thats for sure. Fresno as a big city is actually relatively safe if not on par with crime compared to big cities. In fact if it wasnt for that crazy rogue killer in downtown recently we would have far less homicides than the 4th biggest city in SF. Of course we are the 5th. SF may have currently a few more homicides thus far for 2017. But crime in general is going up everywhere, but again justified the point that without other positive things, the negative stuff is highlighted.
Outdoor recreations and the national parks are key imo to give fresno its positive identity. Some people see it already but not just enough.
They have to milk being an AG based city. That fresno food expo is great but very limited with only a small open to public day. There is potential, and Im not gonna say that the city hasnt tried because imo fresno NOW is a lot better than fresno several years ago. With optimism fresno is currently on an up. The HSR is also helping bring attention to bay area folks. Imagine if they had more efficient and generally more lines to yosemite from fresno. The HSR can bring many in san jose to downtown fresno followed by bus ride to yosemite, super convenient and easy for casual visitors.
Just hoping the city plays its cards right.
The absolute worst part of Fresno weather isn’t the heat–it’s the air. Talking about, and dismissing, an element that isn’t easily changed but is escapable (triple-digit temperatures), rather than addressing something that can be changed but is inescapable seems like a bit of a cop-out. The bad air actually causes serious health problems and fatalities. It drives up health care costs in an already crowded and underserved community. People don’t want to live somewhere they can’t breathe without it harming them. I’m pro-Fresno, but in the five years I’ve lived here, I’ve never heard of or read anything from someone who is trying to build up the city address this elephant in the room.