What First Comes To Your Mind When Talking About California�s Central Valley?
Without any doubt, most Americans and the rest of the world tend to describe California by its popular tourist destinations, commercial ports, freeway systems, and economic pillars: Hollywood, Disneyland, the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Sur, Venice Beach, Highway 1 and Highway 99, Silicon Valley. But there is a secret that those who are not familiar with the Golden state don�t know about.
For sure, there is another California that�s home to the greatest garden in the world. Central Californians are those who proudly tend to it. The 400-mile-long Central Valley supplies fully one-quarter of the food America eats. It's a long, mostly flat and incredibly fertile pocket of land nestled between the coastal mountains and the Sierra Nevada range. You will find cities such as Selma known as the �Raisin capital of the world,� Reedley, known as the �Fruit capital of the world,� and Old Town Clovis, for its antiques and laid-back Cowboy lifestyle.
Some would tend to say there is not much going on beyond the farms while going down Highway 99. Others are saying there are no marquee destinations, only sober, business-first cities and vast stretches of farmland and cattle range. Over the past few years and with many important developments and businesses coming to these towns, the Central Valley is beginning to change rapidly. Values are being added to corners that were just open fields a few years ago. Venture off the freeway and highway into Fresno where you will find the brand new, money-making Riverpark Shopping Center, hot shops at Fig Garden Village
Families from the more opulent Bay Area looking for lower-cost housing in California's inflated housing market are trading a three-hour commute to work for a little country space and serenity -- and once-fertile fields are being paved over to make way for subdivisions. They once bought low, now sell high and relocate to Central California�s affordable housing market. These changes are documented in such books as �California Blossoms and Harvest Delights , �California, a Breath of Fresh Air, and The Long Lost Garden of Eden.� Farmers are under increasing pressure to reduce their dependence on chemicals for higher crop yields. And amid all this change, there is a huge Latino population -- many of them illegal immigrants -- whose lack of economic mobility impedes their assimilation into the American melting pot. As a group, the Asian population (Japanese, Indians, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Koreans, Singaporeans, and many others) has done a good job of assimilating by adopting the pillars of American mobility, Education and homeownership. Just visit Fremont, California, and you�ll see how the affluent and well-educated immigrants have even surpassed the other ethnic groups including the whites or caucasians. To get a better idea of the competition, visit a private school, San Jose High or a Parent Teacher meeting.