Salinas, California

Farmers set up shop near Salinas for a reason. An urban island enclosed by acres and acres of farmland around it, Salinas residents enjoy the temperate Northern California weather year-round. Not only that, but the city is far enough from metropolises like San Francisco (2.5 hours) and beach towns like Monterey (30 minutes) to be something that most of California is not: quiet. Salinas is a rare mixture of temperate and tranquil.

Other than the temperate weather and natural beauty, expensive housing is another California trademark present in Salinas. Housing costs in Salinas, while cheaper than neighbors, are well above national averages, so you’ll have to pay to play just like everywhere else in the state. Despite this, Salinas residents often complain that there’s not much to do in the city itself. Drives to Monterey are common for those looking to get out of the house. Speaking of getting out of the house, residents also complain that it isn’t always safe, another knock on the beautiful city.

One thing that residents of Salinas certainly appreciate is the art world. Music lovers can find a home at the Fox Theater. Visual arts lovers find a home every month at the First Friday Art Walk. Those appreciating the beauty of the natural world will find a home in Salinas as well. A plethora of trails, the beaches within a thirty-minute drive, and the nearby Monterey Zoo and Monterey Bay Aquarium offer outlets to the natural beauty of our planet that few other cities can provide. Outside of those things, there’s not much locally for Salinas residents to do, and most of those options even require drives outside the borders of Salinas.

To see what locals get up to for fun in Salinas, check out the calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Salinas and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

The schools in Salinas have fared poorly at the elementary level on standardized tests as evidenced by the score of C on niche.com. Teachers in the district get a higher grade though and the fact nearly 40% of the student population is first-generation and working through the English-language barriers of standardized tests drives underperformance at the elementary level. There is marked improvement in student and school performance at the high school level as shown in the B rating on niche.com for the schools in the area. Given time, the schools and the students catch up and perform well.