Patterson Irrigator

" I have been in Patterson for 2 years now. I was happy with the move it is just my husband and myself. We were looking forward to a life in a friendly small town but then I started reading the items people wrote about the people such as us looking for a nice quiet place and now I see things differently. People are angry that so many people have come to make their homes in Patterson from the different surrounding areas. If the swarm of people looking to have a chance at owning a nice home at an affordable price were not welcome why did the citizens of Patterson allow so many homes to be built. If the answer is the city counsel did it. Well they have public meetings for the people to voice their opinions to appose urban sprawl. "

I don't think there generally is this anti-newcomer sentiment in these posts. What irks some people is when people come here from the Bay Area for low cost housing and then complain about how bad Patterson and the west side is. I was at McDonalds one day and one Bay Area transplant was complaining about his 30 minute drive to Turlock to go to Home Depot and how he could get to Home Depot in 5 minutes in Sunnyvale. I know someone who teaches in Patterson and some of the Bay Area transplants have complained to her about how much better the schools were in the Bay Area where they are from and how Patterson is lacking. Again, if that is the attitude, why did these people move here? Nobody wants to hear it.

Further, about blaming people who move here from the Bay Area for the growth, you are exactly right. People here in Patterson have only themselves to blame. The people who wanted slower growth did not run for office, work to elect candidates who support that stance, or even speak out at general plan meetings. Patterson recently approved 3,100 homes and no one came to speak out against it. The chambers were stacked mostly with people directed to the meetings by the developer, not that it would have made much of a difference anyway.

I agree with your comment on re-vamping the downtown. There needs to be as you say a better variety. Those thrift stores are not the kind of businesses desirable to a viable downtown. However, other than the Del Puerto one block stretch and the plaza circle itself there isn't anything to bring anyone downtown.

To be clear - I don't hate Patterson. The residential growth however has vastly out-paced commercial growth. I guess as long as the city doesn't care about losing all its commercial business to Turlock, Modesto and the Bay area establishments on my way home nothing will change.

I grew up in a small suburb back East larger than Patterson but not the big city either. I never liked everyone knowing everyone else and their business and I still don't now. My family doesn't either. We purposely avoid doing business with certain types of establishments in Patterson just for that reason - to remain anonymous. I can't fault anyone who has lived in Patterson all their live's and hates to see the small town thing die. That's what you're used to. But for us, we'd prefer just the opposite - where no one knows anybody, not even your neighbors.

"we'd prefer just the opposite - where no one knows anybody, not even your neighbors."

That about sums it up, seeems kind of odd. Why would you not want to know your neighbors? When exaclty did you guys cutt off meeting new people and making new friends? 5 years ago? 10 years ago? Just after living in patterson. It seems odd that you moved to a town of 15-20k people and you want to remain annonomous. Did you guys look into moving to Turlock when you first explored the area? It seems like it has the ammenities that your after and would of made much more sense than moving to Patterson and waiting for it to grow into Turlock.

Residential growth "always" outpaces commercial growth. Its just a fact....business wont move into a town until there is a population to support it. Many big box stores even have population minimums for the areas that they serve. When towns grow into cities...residential always grows first.

We've never wanted to know neighbors - it wasn't just something to be decided one day.

Turlock is too far away to commute to but would be more desirable for sure.

We came from a Bay area location with similar population to Patterson. We had 3 major supermarkets, Home Depot, Target, 2 major pharmacies, modern restaurants, a movie theatre and a late-night downtown coffee house. It must be the high percentage of poor people that keeps commercial businesses out.

population in the bay area is really irrelevant because its the "greater area" that those stores are serving....not just the residents of the town itself. Patterson doesn't have a "greater area" as our borders are plots of farm land(still Californias #1 $$ producing industry by the way) Personally to me an extra 15 minute drive would be well worth my happiness and well-being. Thats just odd that you don't want to know your neighbors though...whats the reasoning behind it?

I have so much trouble with this forum website crashing the computer over and over that I initially gave up the complete comment.

We lived in an outer Bay area location totally surrounded by mountains and farmland. So the comparison is valid.

We "know" one family enough to say hello and have small talk. We have nothing in common with them regarding lifestyle or interests. The other neighbors around don't appear to speak much English. You rarely see anyone outside anyhow to meet them in the first place.