California Oppos: I need your insight

"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
02/06/2016 at 10:45 • Filed to: None

Not car related.

I have finished applying for colleges, and am starting to receive my letters (or emails, in this day and age) of decision. One of the schools I got accepted into is the University of the Pacific in California. While I am both excited and honored to be accepted, there’s a problem. Some Googling on my part revealed that Stockton, the city in which the University resides, has or had one of the worst economies, worst housing situations, and highest crime rates in the country. At one point, Forbes listed it as “the most miserable city in the country” and one of the worst places to live. To contrast, my current hometown has been ranked as one of the best places to live and having one of the strongest economies in the country, not that I’m bragging ;) I will likely visit myself, and I’m not going to base my college decision on what the internet tells me about a city, but I want to know what you guys think of Stockton.

DISCUSSION (18)

Steve in Manhattan > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 10:49

Do you have to go out into the city, or is the university self-contained, a bubble?

TheHondaBro > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 10:50

Stay away from Stockton. Coming from a former California resident.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Steve in Manhattan
02/06/2016 at 10:51

I haven’t been there, but let me put it this way: If I were in a good city, I’d want to explore off-campus even if the campus was self contained.

Nick Has an Exocet > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 10:59

Every part of California that I college student can afford sucks. I would say go check it out, see if there is a nearby town that isn’t so bad and price things out. I’ve only passed through Stockton. The thing most people don’t realize is that with the exception of the tourist areas and places that cost a billion dollars to live in, California is essentially Mexico - poor and full of crime. In fact, the city of San Francisco has twice the violent crime rate as Glasgow - the most dangerous city in the UK.

Steve in Manhattan > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 11:04

I went to U MD - at the time, College Park was not as safe as it is now. But at MD, you never had to leave campus. The only time I did was to get a haircut or a pizza. My sister’s kids go to Towson - similar situation.

coqui70 > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 11:07

What are your other choices and what career path are you planning to follow?

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 11:09

You’ll be amazed by the ability for schools to keep out the bad reputation. I go to University of Tulsa and it’s like however high rated known for murders but you would never guess it because of all the Campo and all the land that the school keeps buying around the school to create it’s illusion radius.

My friend goes to Pacific and she loves it, never did she feel like she had her life at risk and she travels out quite a lot. (But with a car, so make friends if you won’t have a car.)

The Snowman > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 11:20

Great school but not worth living in the “ton”. I grew up a half hour away and wouldn’t wish living in Stockton on an enemy.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > coqui70
02/06/2016 at 11:41

Other two schools I’ve been accepted into are Drake and McKendree, still waiting to hear from Butler, Muhlenberg, Babson, and Bentley.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 11:42

It’s a city between the two main highways in the middle of the Central Valley. It’s one of the communities where laborers that work in the Bay Area live. Downsides are that it isn’t cool and you’d be in the Central Valley (think rural OK, then make it hotter, more polluted, and more intensively farmed). It's close to the gas station with the lowest priced gas I've ever bought in the state...

Stockton is in the portion of California that isn’t portrayed in the media, so you won’t learn much about it without visiting. If you go there, it’ll be a bit of culture shock, but that might be a good thing.

It’s a little over an hour from the Bay Area and within day trip range of some of my favorite parts of the state, so it does have that going for it...

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 12:53

UOP is a very well respected university for a few majors. Stockton in general sucks ass. I lived in sacramento for 14 long years and I had several projects in stockton. I would imagine that on-campus is okay. There are sketch parts of town, so don’t go there (this is true anywhere in california). If it has the right major and the price is right I’d do it. There are nice residential areas of stockton as well and normal shopping centers etc... If I was looking at universities in CA (I’m a civil engineer) I’d be looking at Cal Poly, Davis or Sac State. I had a friend do dental school at UOP and she graduated and now has her own practice.

Honestly you just have to go visit the university and check things out.

coelacanthist > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
02/06/2016 at 12:54

Agreed, proximity to awesome places is probably the best thing about Stockton.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > coelacanthist
02/06/2016 at 13:29

For a college student, cheap is also a bonus, IMHO. If you can’t live with your parents like I did, you want to minimize your biggest expense after tuition and books.

Yes I daily a Prius and I like it, hate me. > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 14:26

I feel like I can give you a good answer. I’m an opponaut, I went to university of the pacific, I lived in stockton for 4 years. I’m currently typing this at a coffee shop in stockton with my friends from pacific. There are certain parts of stockton that are pretty bad that you don’t go to. But around the school and north of it, it’s fine. It’s just like any other big city.

The school and campus is great, it’s beautiful.

Since the the city is bankrupt and the economy is shit, rent is cheap!

You can rent nice new 4 bedroom house in a gated community for $1600. That’s $400 a month per student with a garage and nice backyard.

Not sure what your food preferences are but there is lots of good food here, quality food from every race. Ranging from chinese, mexican, thai, cambodian, white people food, vietnamese food, the list goes on. As far as things to do in stockton itself? There isn’t much. We would frequently go to the bay area (I was from san francisco) as it’s an hour and ha half away, or sacramento which is 45 minutes away. Through the 4+ years i’ve been here my car didn’t get stolen, I didn’t get shot, nor mugged. Bad things that have happened to my friends: broken car window and their backpack was stolen.

Also: what major are you looking into? Pacific isn’t a particularly cheap cool, if your parents are paying then I guess it doesn’t matter your major. But if you are footing the bill then I would make sure the major you choose supports a career that can repay your student loans. Feel free to ask me anything else!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Yes I daily a Prius and I like it, hate me.
02/06/2016 at 14:32

Thanks for the info! I’m looking at a marketing major, so anything you could tell me about that would be appreciated.

pImpOfThePerverse > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/06/2016 at 22:16

stockton is really pretty terrible. It went into municipal bankruptcy 5 years ago and only came out a couple years ago. houses in poor condition can be purchased for less than 100k. it sits on the i5, which in addition to connecting the state north to south is sort of the mason dixon line of california. east of it, you’re in middle america. it resides in a part of the state where they hide all the prisons. half of your neighboring cities will exist to serve the states embarrassing gulag archipelago. the rest is corporate agriculture.

all that said, it is cheap to live there, 1 hr from san francisco/oakland (without traffic.)and i believe it is on a navigable waterway that connects to the bay so if you’re a sailor it’s really not the ends of the earth. it will get gentrified eventually.

Burn-Spaz1966-Burn > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
02/07/2016 at 08:22

Hmm Lived up north. 20 miles west of Sacramento. I’ve delivered there at all times of day and night. Depends where you go. Stay northwest of college until you get your bearings. I-5 Flows better then Hwy 99 for the most part. (Cheapest Gas in CA. is Hwy 12 and I-5, Pilot Truck Stop open 24-7 unless you buy Costco Gas). Get a jalop car and a lot of the drama will miss you. I have My older Brother who works there. Should I ask him?

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Burn-Spaz1966-Burn
02/07/2016 at 09:16

Sure, thanks