Visalia is one of the best kept secrets in California. Locals know and appreciate what a great place this is to live, work, and play. If anything, Visalia is guilty of not tooting its own horn enough. There are no commute times. The city continues to grow and prosper, especially as the national economy is rebounding. We are close to the mountains and beaches. When I visit other areas, I am amazed at the cost of living, for everything from gasoline to food to home prices. I recently deposited my kids in various out-of-state colleges to start the new school year. As I usually do, I take each of them grocery shopping so that dad can fill up their fridge and cupboards with food to start the semester off right. (Did I mention that I have four children enrolled in college this year?) I was amazed at the price of fruits and vegetables that we take for granted here. For instance, one daughter required that I buy her two Fuji apples at 98 cents a piece! Grapes, citrus, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables were similarly overpriced. Housing here is still very affordable.
Let me share with you a few specific examples of Visalia’s greatness that have come across my desk recently.
Number One in Driver Safety: Quoting from the Fresno Business Journal, Visalia is number one in the state in terms of driver safety, and seventh in the U.S., according to a new report by Allstate Insurance Company. Visalia drivers were revealed in the report to be 19.1% less likely to be involved in a collision than the average American driver. Visalia drivers also had an average of 12.3 years between collisions compared to the national average of one collision every ten years. Visalia was named the third safest driving city in the country in terms of city density, eleventh safest for population and fourteenth for weather conditions like rain and snow. However, be careful if you’re driving through Glendale, which came in last in the state, with drivers 72.6% more likely to be involved in a collision than other American drivers at 5.8 years between collisions!
Hilti Expands: I recently attended the ribbon cutting for Hilti, Inc. Actually, Hilti has been in Visalia for two decades now. It is in the business of manfacturing hand tools and power tools for commercial use, with the parent company originating in Lichtenstein (next to Switzerland). Previously, it operated both its west coast distribution and service center in one 50,000 square foot building in the Visalia Industrial Park. However, it split off its service center which moved into a new 15,000 square foot building on West Goshen Avenue. Hilti could have expanded elsewhere, but likes doing business here in Visalia, and thus, is reinvesting locally. Hilti’s Visalia center ships out about 1,200 orders a day, and fixes approximately 35,000 tools a year.
Home Ownership: Guess who is ranked number twenty out of 178 metropolitan areas in California for home ownership? That’s right, it’s Visalia! NerdWallet, a financial services company, ranked California cities based upon the following criteria: Are homes available? Can you afford to live there? Is the area growing? According to this report, the home ownership rate in Visalia is 61.2 % with median monthly homeowner costs of $1,663.00, median monthly household income of $4,477.00, and homeowner costs as a percentage of household income of 37.1%. The median home value in Visalia is $190,500.00, and population growth from 2010 to 2012 was 3.8%. Brentwood, CA was ranked number one and the San Francisco and Los Angeles metro areas were at the bottom of the list.
In Memoriam: While many people are moving to Visalia for the foregoing reasons, one of our residents was recently transferred out of town. Judge Paul Vortmann packed his bags and moved to a place with pearly gates and gold paved streets. I can’t really blame Paul for relocating to such a place, Visalia just can’t compete with our ongoing reclamite street repairs! My first job as a lawyer in Visalia was working as an associate with Paul’s law firm, and I later became one of his partners, prior to his serving on the Tulare County bench. After three years at law school learning how to “think” like an attorney, Paul and others taught me how to be an attorney. Despite all the accolades Visalia receives from various studies and comparisons, the bottom line is that it’s the people here, such as Paul Vortmann, who make Visalia what it is. Condolences to Jan and the boys, and I suspect that Paul is already bragging to his new associates about how great a place Visalia is.
Reminder: To further conserve our precious water resources, local ordinance requires that in October you cut back your landscape watering to two times per week (Tuesdays/Saturdays for odd addresses, Wednesdays/ Sundays for even addresses.)
Warren Gubler
Visalia Vice Mayor
wgubler@ci.visalia.ca.us
(559) 713-4400 ext. 3313
