Moving to Stockton

Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Job offer at UOP in Stockton

June 2006

My husband just got a job offer at UOP in Stockton. I don't know anything about the area, except that housing is cheaper than Bay Area and I think it's really hot there. I have a 2 and 5 yr old, and 1 on the way. Can anyone give us input on this area for young families? We are a mixed Chinese, Latino family; how is the diversity out there? Would we feel out of place?

Thank you
Only lived in So and No Cal

Here's some advice for the couple thinking about moving to Stockton. I was born and raised there. I lived there until I was 18 and went off to College.

Here are some hard facts about Stockton:

  1.  If you love hot, dry weather, in the summer, then move there. (It routinely breaks the century mark)
  2. If you love cold, freezing weather, although not as bad as the East Coast, and no snow to shovel, then move there.
  3. The south end of Stockton is old, and working class. Mostly older families of Hispanic and Asian heritage.
  4. Downtown Stockton is revitalizing. If offers a beautiful new waterfront park that is constantly busy year-round. There is a brand new movie theatre, music venue, and minor league baseball stadium. They also have all festivals there, including the Asparagus festival! Woo-hoo!
  5. The UOP area is nice, lots of older homes that are well maintained and some have that New England feel. UOP is also right along the ''Miracle Mile''...the local shopping, eating district. In it's hey day, this used to be a really bustling place, but lately, I've seen it slow down, as the Mom and Pops go out of business. However, new business' slowly return. There's a couple of great restaurants, Thai, Japanese, Mexican. The Victory Park area is cute too...these homes have geniune character. (More central Stockton behind Dameron Hospital).
  6. North Stockton (IE from March Lane North and West of I-5) is all the new housing. Developer style, tract homes. Some on a lake setting. Brookside Village, and Spanos Park. You can get a new/er 2000+ sf house for about $400k, probably less.
  7. The shopping is picking up...two new renovated malls.
  8. Crime isn't as bad as it used to be. Although, like any town, you just stay out of certain areas. Talk to realtors.
  9. City is very diverse if you allow yourself to experience it. If you are ''phobic'' about ethnicity, and frown on areas which seem ''not up to your class'' you will miss out on some neat things. For instance, the Saturday morning downtown farmer's market is an eye opener! Here, you'll find lots of ethnic produce, more so than the Weberstown Mall market.
  10. That said, there are plenty of Latinos and Chinese people in Stockton...but don't think it'll be like the Bay Area where you see mixed couples everywhere. The Chinese that are still around are the older generation who tend to be more conservative in their thinking. However, there is still an active community of older Chinese.
  11. As far as variety of life, Stockton is pretty much chain restaurants and chain clothing stores. Not much in the way of Mom and Pop, and the closest comparision to the Rockridge Area and College Ave is probably the Miracle Mile section. (Although, it's still lacking).
  12. It's close to Tahoe and lots of skiing.

Stockton is a slow town. If you are used to the big city and want a big city lifestyle...you will not be happy there. If you are looking to for the slow town lifestyle, then give it a try. It definitely lacks the type of life you find in the Bay Area...but depends on what you want!

Good luck! Connie

Husband's new job in Stockton

June 2004

We're thinking about relocating to Stockton because there would be an interesting job for my husband and we'd like to spare the commute. However, nobody seems to know Stockton. Everybody knows where it is, but nothing more. Since we're also fairly new to the Bay area, we're not familiar at all with it and anything I can find on the Internet is less than encouraging (high crime rate, bad schools, etc.) Can anybody give me advise about where to move in Stockton or if it is wise to do so at all? Are there nice areas or towns near Stockton where living is better? We have to make a decision soon, so if anyone can help me, please do! Thanks a lot! ivonne

I spent a short time working in Stockton about 15 years ago. Admittedly, there are some sketchy areas in Stockton. However, there are some nice areas, too (no different then Oakland or Berkeley). The nicer areas I remember were in the northern part of the city. I think the area around UOP (University of the Pacific) was nice, too.

You might consider Tracy, Manteca, Lodi or Discovery Bay. Each is about 25-35 minutes from Stockton. Tracy has grown a lot in the past years, lots of commuters to the Bay Area live there. Discovery Bay is off Highway 4 and is somewhat isolated. Lodi is where I lived while working in Stockton. It's a nice little town. Hope this helps. Bob

You might check out Lodi, a smaller town not too far from Stockton. It's my sense that Stockton has some nice areas but might not make it into the top 20 places to live in Northern CA. A realtor could direct you to the nicer neighborhoods and tell you what the plusses are. One asset there is the University of the Pacific, a lovely private institution in the style of an old eastern college.

I think they just privitized water there, a policy which may be of concern. Stockton gets really hot in summer. Anon.