COMMENT BY
Sean from Merced, CA
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Merced, CA
COMMENT
Merced: The Hippest Place in the Valley
Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go.
The town itself has plenty of diverse trees, a beautiful (and emerging!) downtown, and a creek that runs through the town.
We’ve got three beautiful national parks within a couple hours drive, a growing University of California campus, the Bay Area nearby is nearby and great for day trips, and Merced will play a critical role in the CA High Speed Rail being built. Literally every place in CA can be comfortably reached within a day, making it the perfect home for someone who likes to travel and explore the best state in the country.
We’ve got coffee shops featuring local talent, downtown boutique apartments featuring a downstairs taproom, a bunch of cannabis shops, two downtown live theaters AND a Multicultural Arts Center, and delicious Thai food and taquerias.
Not everything is perfect - air quality isn’t always the best, and there are still some shops/services that haven’t made it here (no Trader Joe’s!?!). Crime seems to be an issue, but I personally have never experienced or witnessed any violence or crime. Some of the farms in town smell bad (like literal poop...).
It could reach a 5 star town in a few years, but it is an exciting time to be living here!