Wallet hub is a blog, so basically a personal opinion masquerading as a nonbiased study. I dont think any of the lists are true studies. Criteria is determined, and then numbers are crunched. However I think other publications have far more merit such as Forbes or Money.
I do agree Folsom is a wonderful town.
I do find it rather interesting that many people will grab onto anything to promote a city. Some people are advertising far and wide how wonderful Folsom is and encouraging everyone to move here.
I have a friend who calls Folsom/EDH, San Jose east because it's expanding with all the plus and minuses in much the same way.
Sadly those golden brown hills south of 50 will be soon covered with development. EDH is jumping on the bandwagon ahead of S50, and the White Rock coridoor/beautiful hillscape is turning into homes, and retaining walls. The hillscape view is gone.
I just hope that Folsom retains its charm as grows.
'Best of' and 'Top ' lists should always be taken with a grain of salt, but Folsom is frequently at the top of lists produced by Money Magazin, Thrillist, Wallethub, Nerdwallet and others.
I do love it and do think that there is tremendous advantage in living here and I encourage people, particularly friends and family from the Bay Area, to come enjoy it too.
I haven't heard anyone else compare it to San Jose, but I have heard detractors call it 'another LA'. Tell your friend that San Jose has a population of almost 1 million, while Folsom has about 72,000, and at build-out, close to 100,000.
I think with smart planning it will retain a lot of its charm. There were fears of newcomers, declining property values, and losing the old charm when Empire Ranch and Broadstone were built, and now the residents of those areas fear the same thing!
I heard the talks of development on the south side of 50 but hoped developers would be turned down. I wish county officials would encourage businesses to take residence in current vacant buildings and/or update existing housing rather than build more. There are plenty of FOR SALE signs throughout the town in addition to empty office space. This is unfortunate but money talks. So much for that urban country feel that Folsom and EDH still has.
It may seem like there are plenty of for sale signs throughout town, but today, there are only 146 homes for sale in Folsom, and we average about 94 closed sales per month. Right now, we're average 34 days on market, and less than 2 month's worth of inventory. In a balanced market, one might expect to have 5 to 6 month's of inventory. The developers won't build homes if there aren't any buyers for them. They just don't take that kind of risk. They will only build if the demand is there, and based on Folsom's market, there is demand.
I believe there are redevelopment funds available for businesses in the Central and Historic Districts, though they city can force landlords to upgrade their properties.