Hello,
I was offered a job in Lathrop and would be relocating from SLC, UT. Wife is a teacher so would be teaching somewhere in the area. We also have three kids, 8, 10, and 13.

Gun stuff would stay with my parents

Thoughts? Am I crazy?

Lathrop is not a nice area and it's very close to Stockton which is a really not nice area.

lol that's code for it won't be very nice much longer.

Is her teaching credential valid in California?  Better check into that.

Don't do it. I grew up in Stockton, which is just North of Lathrop. It was shit hole 30 years ago, and it's a way bigger shit hole now. Even Manteca is crappy now. Maybe you can commute from Valley Springs? I haven't been there in almost 20 years, but I remember it being somewhat nice.

Good thing we looked into her credentials and fortunately they're good in California. She currently teaches 4th grade. Is there a community within a 30 min drive of Lathrop that's half decent to live in?

If the area is as bad as some of the guys are saying, better re-think the idea of leaving all of your guns behind.  A handgun or two, a shotgun and a rifle could be both handy in an emergency and may provide some recreational shooting opportunities.

Welcome to California, it's a great State!

Oh, I won't be leaving all my guns. Just my ARs and hi-cap mags. Glad I'm into 1911's. If the job opportunity wasn't so lucrative and so good for my resume, I wouldn't do it. Headhunter found me . I wasn't even looking for a new job.

I highly suggest taking a trip to the area first. It's going to be a whole different world compared to SLC, and not in a good way.

Someone tipped him off, "Sorry, Joe, I'm not interested right now.  Call UT-ARShooter, he knows how to do this and would be perfect for this job."

You're right. I've already been out there but just to the location I'll be at. They are flying me back out this Monday and I will have a few hours Monday and a few on Tuesday. I just don't know the neighborhoods so well so hopefully I can find something. I have family in Walnut Creek and Elk Grove and other than confirming what I already knew about Stockton and Modesto as shit holes, they weren't much help.

Maybe Tracy? I'm sure it's expensive as all hell now. Otherwise I would look into Valley Springs, Linden (very small farm town with a few housing tracts in it) maybe? Ripon? I haven't lived up there in forever and only go up to visit my mom if she can't come down to my area, and at most I go up once a year. Anyone know if the Stockton ghetto has over run Lodi yet?

Job opportunity in Lathrop of all places?! Not a town that comes up very often in conversation. Also not much there except housing tracts built in a flood plain & warehouses.

You've been there so you hopefully know that it is nestled up to the lovely south side of Stockton and is right along I-5. Stockton and Modesto (8-10 miles south) are commonly among the nationwide top 10 in 'vehicle thefts', 'worst town to live in' and other wonderful categories.

The delta is right close. SF is about 1 to 1-1/2 hours away. There are a couple-few close highway options to get up into the Sierras.

IIRC, San Joaquin County was just over the halfway point toward Hillary also. Lots of farming but plenty of liberals...





...and it's just a couple of miles from the Bass Pro Shop

Lathrop has some big warehouses that went up (Del Monte, Tesla, In and Out. Ashley Furniture just opened at 500k sqft warehouse there also. But I wouldn't want to live there. Hell I commute from Turlock to Tracy each day because I cant see myself living in any of the cities I drive through to get to work.

You got it - I'm in Supply Chain. I wouldn't have thought that there was as much going on there as there is.

Look the area over.  Ripon isn't bad.

eta I should say it wasn't bad a couple of years ago.  Last time I was there.  There is a fantastic pizza place in downtown Ripon, I'd go there just for the pizza.  Pizza Plus.  At least it used to be good.

I work in Manteca. There are parts of Lathrop that aren't bad. Ripon is a good place for families. Most of the town are cops and firefighters. Oakdale is another nice area.  I've been in this area since the 80s and while it's not what it used to be it ain't all that bad. There are good schools in the area Great Valley Academy is a good charter school system.

If you need help with anything don't hesitate to hit me up

I grew up in Manteca, My mom still lives in Manteca and taught 4th grade at Lathrop elementary for about 25 years.  My brother lives in Stockton and my dad lives in Patterson so I know the area pretty well.  

There are a few select areas of Manteca (next door to Lathrop) that are OK  to live in.  Ripon is probably your best bet in that area if you don't want to be in Manteca.  Parts of Tracy aren't too bad.  Check school ratings, the quality of education in the area vary drastically between different schools, not just school districts.  In Manteca you want to be in McParland elementary area.  It's one of the better areas in town to live and a really good school for the kids.  It also uses East Union High school which was the good high school back in the day.  They have built a few newer high schools in the area in the last number of years and I'm not sure how they are but East Union is still supposed to be good from friends I talk to.  

For the love of god stay the hell out of Lathrop for living and school.  Don't go to Stockton and don't even say the word Modesto.  There are still homes available out in the "country" that are ok.  Look in between the various cities and maybe out near Patterson.  That is pushing your 30 minute limit but you may find something out there.  May also want to look at Oakdale.  Problem with the smaller "country" towns seems to be meth so keep that in mind.  visit the areas and schools to see what you think.  Any questions send me a PM and I'll see what I can do.  I have a ton of friends and family that still live in the area.

Something else to think about.  If you are in supply chain check out the industrial park just east of reno.  It keeps you out of California, no state taxes and tons more manufacturers and warehouses there.  It's supposed to be the largest industrial park in the nation.  the Tesla Giga factory is there.  Just a thought.

Ripon is a cool little town, not to close or too far. Pizza Plus still has great pizza. If you fish the delta is right there for great bass fishing. Just remember the closer you get to the bay area the higher the price goes.

Checked out most the area. Really liked Ripon, some parts of Tracy were good. There was River Islands too but not sure I want a HOA. May have to commute to Hayward from time to time or to Fremont.

Job is with Tesla but unfortunately I'm not going to be in Lathrop much.

The drive to Fremont can be a cast iron bitch at times.  Commute hours can be insane.  I live in Livermore, Fremont (where I grew up) is about 14 miles away.  It doesn't take much to happen for that drive to go from a normal 20 minutes to over 2 hours.  And Lathrop is 32 miles further.  LOL.  Commuting in or into the bay area regularly will kill you.  Just so you know what to expect.

Yeah, I have been stuck behind some accidents on the 205 coming up from Lathrop trying to get to 84 to get into Fremont. Traffic was shit. 84 was nice. I keep wondering if the short term sacrifice (3 to 5 years) is worth it for my career long term.

Ripon is closest safest and best for a family IMO.  If you find yourself here feel free to message me to go shooting or meet up anytime.

I'm in Riverbank and would do Ripon.

Both Ripon & Riverbank are accessible by country roads from Lathrop which would allow the OP to go around the 120/99 south merge. That area usually gets all stupid slow all the way into Modesto.

Riverbank is a bit farther and the McHenry/River Road intersection could get bottled up at times. The bad thing about anything in Stanislaus County and south is that there are only a couple of viable options to get across the San Joaquin River...

I live in Stanislaus County (East Oakdale) and love it.  Traffic is never really bad there way I come in to Manteca.  There are several ways to get to Manteca / Lathrop from here.  The nice part is if one way is bad it doesn't take long to jump over to another route and keep going.

If you are commuting into the bay area form any of the Manteca, ripon, Tracy areas and you are not on the freeway passing through Tracy by 5:20 at the absolute latest you will be stuck in a wall of traffic all the way in.  If you clear Tracy before 5:20 it isn't too bad.  

I'll second Ripon or the McParland area of Manteca again.

Your going to need some guns to go with you for protection.  Lathrop has above average crime, and being more of a rural, farm industry community, that is something.  Crime rate and gangs have been increasing as well.

My advice is not to relocate, unless you're in dire straits, employment wise.