Anyone from Laredo? Need information

[spongeworthy]

Good luck. If you have any questions about CA gun laws, feel free to shoot me a message. The Cal Guns site is also very active but can be overwhelming with information.

Keep in mind you'll also need to register any guns you bring with you and there are some onerous restrictions around rifles and shotguns.

Thank you, I will be in touch if I have any questions. My shotgun is in regulations and my handguns are OK except I will need to procure 10-round magazines. I've already downloaded the firearm registration form and will submit it once I relocate.

[Jumping Frog]

Then I'd start some serious time hanging out on calguns.com.

Also, I don't really follow the CA gun scene, so I am completely unclear on the details. However, I believe there are items that you are allowed to own if you relocate into the state already owning them, but once you are there are illegal for a resident to purchase. I'd spend some time figuring out what those items are and then decide if you need to make some purchases to bring with you.

[SQLGeek]

You would be referring to off roster handguns. And you can buy them from a private party but you have to find someone willing to sell.

[The Annoyed Man]

Having lived for a few years on the east coast, and lived most of my life in California until moving here in 2006, Fresno will be better than Boston, but only because of the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains and the Sequoia National Forest....which is spectacular. Fresno itself has seriously high crime rates, and in some ways it would be exactly like living in Laredo.....except that the border is 360 miles away. It's in the heart of the San Joaquin valley—central California's "breadbasket" region—and the economy is consequently agriculturally driven. And because of that economy, like any Texas border town, Fresno has a very high latino population, a very large number of whom are there illegally. So, it has all of the dysfunctions of any similar area in Texas. The crime rate in Fresno is higher than in Laredo, even with the disparity of population factored in:
http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Laredo-Texas.html (244,731 (2012))
http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Fr ... ornia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (population 505,882 (2012))

California's gun laws (I know that is not your deciding factor) are possibly more draconian than even Massachusetts'. So, if personal safety and your gun rights matter, Laredo wins hand down over Fresno.........except for those pesky Sierra Nevada mountains and that pesky Sequoia National Forest, which exude powerful pheromones. Gun rights in Boston are a wash compared to California's.

Weather on the east coast, Boston included, is (obviously) cold in winter, but it can also get brutally humid and hot in summer—the Northeast's dirty little secret, and why the snowbirds fly south to Florida in both winter AND summer, which is, incredibly, cooler and more comfortable than almost any NE big city during the summer. Weather in Fresno can ALSO get brutally hot in summer, but it's a dry heat, and the winters are fairly mild.

As far as beaches go, I'll take any section of California coastline over the coastlines anywhere else. California has the Pacific Ocean, and therefore best beaches in the nation outside of Hawaii, and possibly Florida..........which is why tourist traffic to California's beach towns in summer beats tourist traffic to any other east coast beach hands down. Fresno is roughly 150 miles inland from Monterey Bay.....which is simply spectacular.

As far as mountains go, nothing outside of the Rocky Mountains can compare to the Sierra Nevadas. They are iconic in their beauty. Just imagine all the Ansel Adams photographs of Yosemite Valley you've ever seen.........that's the "high Sierras". Don't get me wrong.... I love living in Texas, and parts of Texas are indeed beautiful, but pound for pound, California has the most varied beauty of any state in the union. Sure, Hawaii has great beaches, but unless you like climbing volcanoes, it's mountains are monotonous. Idaho has wonderful mountains, but it has no beaches. Take any of the "mountain states", and it's the same thing.....nice mountains, no beaches. In Texas, you have to go to Big Bend to see "mountains", and those aren't.....well.... in California we call those "foothills". Emory Peak is 7,825 ft high. When I lived in Pasadena, I used to mountain bike down to 7,800 ft at Kratka Ridge. Southern California alone has 22 peaks above 10,000 ft. You can ski and surf in the same day in several parts of the state.

One other thing to consider....... Geographically, everything in the NE is kind of condensed and packed-in all together. The distance between any two of the Northeast's major cities is not that great, and that means that all of the little towns in between are cheek by jowl close. California, on the other hand, is much like Texas in that the large cities are spread out over a geographically large area (155,959 square miles, compared to Texas's 268,820 square miles), and so there is some distance, and geographical variety, between cities. Not counting the suburban sprawl of the larger cities, smaller towns are spaced much further apart than in the NE.

As far as history and culture goes......... sure, the NE is the cradle of the nation's founding, and that stuff IS important and worth going to see, but Texas and California have very interesting histories too, and (just my opinion) it isn't worth living in Boston for 2 whole years just so I can check out some of the museums and historical sights that I could visit in a couple of 2 week vacations.

So, my personal order of preference is:

1. Laredo
2. Fresno
3. Boston

[SQLGeek]

California's gun laws (I know that is not your deciding factor) are possibly more draconian than even Massachusetts'. ... Gun rights in Boston are a wash compared to California's.

I can't agree with that. Yes, California has some pretty overreaching gun laws but they don't require an FID or license to purchase a gun. There is no kind of veto power given to a CLEO in approving a gun purchase and some of the other crazy things they do in Mass.

That and Concealed Weapons permits are actually obtainable in CA without political connections. At least in some counties.

Sponge, one other thing if you're looking for things to do. A drive out west to the central coast cannot be beat. I went to school in San Luis Obispo so if you need recommendations, feel free to also send me a message about that.

[spongeworthy]

Thank you both for the well thought out replies. I have actually lived in Monterey before while in the service and am indeed missing the coast, Route 1, and Big Sur among other things. I will be a few hours from those locations being in Fresno, but they are worth the drive.

California and Massachusetts firearms laws are both pretty bad, but Bostin in particular has it's own set of nasty laws from what I'm reading (de facto no-issue of CHL).

I'm looking forward to spending time in the National parks and forests in the area which I haven't had the chance to do before in Cali.