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Salinas Living

planegray said:
Well, now that you've read the thread I guess you know why there's openings at that location :laughing

Best of luck to you, whatEVER you choose :hail
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Ha! But the opening would be in Monterey. We thought a short commute wouldn't hurt. I guess it could. Will look in Carmel Valley town per LB's input.
 
louemc said:
Well, You can commute from Prunedale, to Monterey, for Gods sake..:rofl
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Everything has changed. Used to be you could count on Monterey traffic being light.

Today even the commute from Salinas to Monterey SUCKS. Both ways.

And the commute to SF from Monterey Peninsula really sucks. Tail light city at 6 AM and 25 mph on 101.
 
afm199 said:
Everything has changed. Used to be you could count on Monterey traffic being light.

Today even the commute from Salinas to Monterey SUCKS. Both ways.

And the commute to SF from Monterey Peninsula really sucks. Tail light city at 6 AM and 25 mph on 101.
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I always did the commute by motorcycle.

Traffic doesn't bother me (except when the bay area went into solid gridlock, after the Loma Prieta quake)...
But the commute from Prundale, up and down hwy 1, to Monterey.. was like a cup of coffee... Got my heart beating :cool
 
Marcoose said:
Ha! But the opening would be in Monterey. We thought a short commute wouldn't hurt. I guess it could. Will look in Carmel Valley town per LB's input.
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San Benancio, Corral de Tierra, and areas long the Hwy 68 corridor are also an option. Maybe you can infultrate the NIMBY's that gripe about Laguna.

Also, along Reservation/River Road there's new houses at the old East Garrison of Fort Ord. I know a few people that bought and are just moving in....

http://www.eastgarrison.com/
 
Buddy of mine is with Salinas PD SWAT, even he doesn't live there.... :laughing
 
Johndicezx9 said:
San Benancio, Corral de Tierra, and areas long the Hwy 68 corridor are also an option. Maybe you can infultrate the NIMBY's that gripe about Laguna.

Also, along Reservation/River Road there's new houses at the old East Garrison of Fort Ord. I know a few people that bought and are just moving in....

http://www.eastgarrison.com/
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But San Benancio and Corral de Tierra are very, very expensive. Wayne Rainey lives in Hidden Hills across from Laguna Seca.
 
Johndicezx9 said:
San Benancio, Corral de Tierra, and areas long the Hwy 68 corridor are also an option. Maybe you can infultrate the NIMBY's that gripe about Laguna.

Also, along Reservation/River Road there's new houses at the old East Garrison of Fort Ord. I know a few people that bought and are just moving in....

http://www.eastgarrison.com/
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Thx, John. Will look into it later today or this week.
 
corndog67 said:
But San Benancio and Corral de Tierra are very, very expensive. Wayne Rainey lives in Hidden Hills across from Laguna Seca.
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There are some hidden properties/smaller houses up San Benancio/CdT. Hidden Hills/Bit Road is completely different, larger parcels for bigger houses, so yes, more expensive.
 
I bet there are some decent corners of the town. BUt I always get the feeling from Salinas that's its an unhappy combo of freeway, ag dust, flies , Mexican gang behavior and a huge labor class that has to daily make the cultural and physical journey over to Monterey for service work only to have to come home to sorta shithole. I mean, we all face that in our commutes to some degree (I couldn't afford to live in Walnut Creek for example) but there is just something wrong and weird with the poorest people in an economy having to take this daily trek. Or they can work in the fields of the valley, which is not another great option for living a happy life. I think I would try and live out of town or something if I relocated to that area.

The only two things I like about Salinas are the Boronda Adobe (we played a gig there last August) and they have a good Black Bear diner. Otherwise, not so much to enjoy... That said, I think the entire Salinas Valley in the springtime is a very beautiful place. It's poetic to imagine it in the old days, during the rancho period, filled with cows and people riding horses from one side of the valley to the other.
 
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Johndicezx9 said:
along Reservation/River Road there's new houses at the old East Garrison of Fort Ord. I know a few people that bought and are just moving in....

http://www.eastgarrison.com/
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Interesting. The smallest house is 1,575 square feet, which is at the upper limit of what makes sense for a family of two. This family here isn't living in and much less buying a McMansion. And then down road towards Marina, 2,000 feet as the crow flies, there's a very peculiar apartment complex that makes me how it will affect the property values at East Garrison. Maybe a drive this or next weekend is in order.

Thanks again, John!
 
Marcoose said:
Interesting. The smallest house is 1,575 square feet, which is at the upper limit of what makes sense for a family of two. This family here isn't living in and much less buying a McMansion. And then down road towards Marina, 2,000 feet as the crow flies, there's a very peculiar apartment complex that makes me how it will affect the property values at East Garrison. Maybe a drive this or next weekend is in order.

Thanks again, John!
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Like I said, I lived in Marina for 39 years, I rode minibikes all around out there at East Garrison. Just drove through there Saturday , don't miss it one bit. Which apartments are you talking about, the Charles Apartments on Seaside Avenue? They used to be the Ghetto, and I was afraid to go in there as a kid. Otherwise, Marina is pretty much all the same, no areas you shouldn't go to, no open drug dealing on corners. Salinas HAS open drug dealing though. None in Seaside (anymore), none in Monterey , none in PG either.
 
We've lived in Salinas for 25 years now, moved there from Chicago. Spent a lot of years in SF as well. That's my baseline of comparison.

Yep, there is crime in Salinas (just like everywhere else). Unless you are a dirtbag, or your neighbors are dirtbags, no worries. Property crime (burglaries and such) are about normal for a decent-sized city. Violent crime almost always happens only to those in the game.

City services (including PD) are understaffed/underfunded, so it does feel a bit neglected. Our new 9.125% sales tax is allegedly going to address that.

Takes about 40 minutes to commute from Salinas to Monterey. I did it for years, as did Mrs. Bad Example. Blanco to Imjin to Hwy 1 still flows pretty well.

West of Main Street tends to be better. South Salinas is nice, and even Creekbridge isn't bad.

(Whatever you do, DO NOT go to Salinas Cycle Center; they will rip you off on everything from a quart of oil to a complete motorcycle.)

Seaside isn't bad like it used to be, and Sand City is amazing (if you can find a place). Marina has some really sketchy places (my brother-in-law lived there, it was crazy to him, an dhe grew up in Salinas). Monterey and Pacific Grove tend toward being overpriced for what you get (old, old units, fairly high rent). Carmel and Carmel Valley have insane rents unless you find an unheated "rustic" cabin...

I'm doing a ridealong with Salinas PD tomorrow, so I'll update from that experience.
 
Probably the Patton Park area across from the entrance to the Marina Airport (the old Fritzche Field).

That was one of the last housing complexes the Army contracted out in the 80's before closing Fort Ord in 92, and they definitely appear to have been built by the lowest bidder. Some are ok, some are falling apart, some are empty as they are "reconditioned". Before they were built it was where I learned to ride a "real" motorcycle, a KE100....

CSUMB is changing the dynamics of Marina, housing is reflecting that, as well as the former military housing by the Imjin Parkway/shopping center along Hwy 1 (all the streets are still named after famous battles the army fought in).

Not sure if OP is working a government related/contract job, but that qualifies you for good housing up near Bayonet/Blackhorse by Marshall Schools to Seaside Middle (Fitch), great views when it's not foggy, lots of NPS and DLI students/employees and their families.
 
MysterYvil said:
(Whatever you do, DO NOT go to Salinas Cycle Center; they will rip you off on everything from a quart of oil to a complete motorcycle.)
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Just bought 3 qts of oil and a crush washer because I was over there and it was priced the same as the stuff in Monterey... :dunno

More side by sides there than anything else...

The Honda dealer in Salinas is an absolute time-warp to the mid 70's, it has not changed one bit since the first time I went in there in 1981. All I ever see there are ATV fixed up for farms....
 
Johndicezx9 said:
Just bought 3 qts of oil and a crush washer because I was over there and it was priced the same as the stuff in Monterey... :dunno

More side by sides there than anything else...

The Honda dealer in Salinas is an absolute time-warp to the mid 70's, it has not changed one bit since the first time I went in there in 1981. All I ever see there are ATV fixed up for farms....
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I've bought 3 bikes from Ben Schaub, Salinas Cycle Center, never had any issues there. I used to work for Dan Kyle in Sand City, he's got a machine shop in his place there . Schooner park, isn't that for faculty at CSUMB? It used to be. I lived in Patton Park for a while, until I found out the guy I was renting from was section 8 and I was paying the whole rent plus a couple hundred in his pocket.

I guess being born at Fort Ord (really) gives me a different outlook about the place. From birh, until age 39, in 3 different houses. And as I said, I still don't miss it at all.
 
I have been to Salinas and I have read some things on barf from the OP. I am happy that you are moving there, OP.
 
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