What can YOU tell me about these Northern California counties? (Any info IS welcomed!) (San Francisco: renting, low crime)

[Brandon Graves]

Who here can inform me more about Siskiyou County (and its towns), or has experience with that area?

It seems to be one of the absolute cheapest counties in California.

[tikkasf]

I have only been up in that area once and it was long ago. Yreka is the county seat and I believe the largest town/city in the county.....population is a bit under 8,000. If you lived in that area, I think you would be finding yourself occasionally driving up to Oregon to do some of your shopping. It's a 4 season climate area and you can expect some snow on the ground in winter. If you are a outdoors type person who likes to hike/camp/fish/hunt, then you might do ok there. If you find yourself missing cultural amenities often found in a more populated area, then you will likely need to drive up to Ashland now and then. If you have any chronic health/medical issues, then you need to give some thought to a such move.
Use your computer mouse, to move about the streets of Yreka in the Google St view link below

https://www.google.com/maps/place/40...4d-122.6373626

[phantompilot]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Looking at those pics reminds me that the farther north you go, the less diverse it is - in other words, whiter. I'm white, but from the Bay Area and it was just weird to me to hardly ever hear another language. You don't think about it at first, but after you've been there awhile, you'll hear someone speak another language and you'll realize it hardly ever happens. I am happier back here in the SF Bay Area. I grew up here, so diversity is more normal for me. As well as having more Democrats around me LOL.

There's that liberal tolerance we all have heard about. And doesn't it even produce the slightest sensation of cognitive dissonance, as a white person, to proclaim that your "normal" is less white people, less of your own language, and less of your own culture?

Clearly such an arrangement is abnormal in every society that is naturally or organically organized (as opposed to being artificially, socially engineered by leftists to be different).

Liberals - clueless as always!

[Radaghast]

Originally Posted by Brandon Graves

Okay, so recently I just started to become more fascinated with NorCal (past San Francisco, of course) (by researching and viewing online images).

So... What can YOU tell me about the following NorCal counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama, Trinity, Lake, Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Yuba, Sierra, and Nevada? Anything? Any cities or towns in any of these aforementioned NorCal counties that are of any interest? Any sort of info on this is absolutely welcomed!

One thing I've read is that the meth and property crime in Clearlake and Orland is pretty bad. Is it really THAT bad?

After all, the city is always more dangerous than out in the country, right?

What are the cheapest towns in any of these NorCal counties mentioned?

I read that it can get quite hot in the summer (100-115°F, maybe even 120°F) in some of those counties (Lake, Tehama, Modoc, etc.), but that's okay, because I actually enjoy the heat.

Which parts of Modoc and Lassen Counties are within the Great Basin Desert?

I have also read that Eureka, Red Bluff, Anderson, Grass Valley, Oroville, Redding, Gridley, Clearlake, Ukiah, Yreka, Chico, Crescent City, and Corning were listed in the Top 100 Most Unsafe Cities in California last year.

I've also read that most major shopping, entertainment, medical facilities, etc. are quite a drive.

Which of these aforementioned NorCal counties is the cheapest/most expensive (from cheapest to most expensive)? If I have to guess, I would imagine that Mendocino County is the most expensive, while Modoc County is likely the cheapest.

I plan to relocate to any of these counties in NorCal either once I get a bit older and start my own family, or once I begin to retire.

One of these days, I would LOVE to take a trip up to those counties in NorCal to just explore and see for myself! I sure am missing out, aren't I?

I welcome any sort of information for any of these NorCal counties mentioned (and possibly any cities/towns in any of those regions as well)

SO... to recap, what can any of YOU tell me about any of these counties in NorCal I mentioned? Like I said, ANY sort of info is absolutely welcomed!

Any answers and insights are greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

Native Chicoan here, lived here 30 years.

Yes, it does get hot here. When I was a kid it seemed like the heat lasted only a couple months at most, but this year it just wouldn't go away. We had several weeks of triple-digit heat. For the most part, people are adapted to it. There are lots of places to swim, many homes have pools, and a lot of people have equipped their houses with solar to offset the costs of running their A/C.

Outside of the dog days of summer, I think this is a pretty spectacular place to be. Fall is beautiful. This year is kind of a fluke, it seems like we're not getting any radical color changes in the trees, but I've heard that's even happening in Vermont - which is renowned for their autumn colors. Maybe things are just behind schedule here because of the excessive (and lengthy) hot summer, but usually we have bright yellows, reds, and oranges popping all over town. Winters aren't bad because they tend to be pretty mild. We might have some nights that dip down below freezing, but for the most part things stay reasonable. Last year we had about 8-10" more rain than our annual average so it was even more mild in the sense that all that rain meant fewer clear days for the temperature to drop. Spring is also very nice, we're coming out of the rainy season but everything has turned green at that point and the trees start to leaf out. All of the hillsides are covered in emerald grass and peppered with wildflowers.

Having such a huge city park is great for all four seasons, really.

As far as crime and safety go, I've never felt unsafe, and I spent five years working late night and graveyard hours downtown when things are supposed to be more dangerous. Sometimes I hear about gangs from Sacramento trying to use Chico as a sandbox for their little initiations, which means someone gets hurt, and you have the same kinds of crime that most other places have, but the numbers are higher than anywhere else of comparable size. In fact, IIRC, the numbers are relatively favorable here.

Having the university here is bitter-sweet. On the upside it offers some nice cultural things that might not otherwise be offered, on the downside the city has to put up with the ridiculous and outdated party reputation. I could go on about all that, but I won't.

Overall, I think Chico's under appreciated for what it has to offer, but then again, I've always been easily entertained. There might be some major stores that you have to drive to Sacramento for, but for the most part a person can find everything they need right here. In terms of activities, there's a great local music scene, the parks so big you can do a lot of different things there, downtown has an evolving food scene, and there are some great national forests/national parks within a short drive (i.e. Lassen National Forest and Lassen Volcanic National Park).

Cost of living is slightly below the CA average from what I understand, though I've also heard rumors that there's a housing shortage so rents are going up and so are home values. I rented a 1bd/1ba apartment for a year for $745 and the same place is now going to be rented for $895 starting fall 2018. Pretty outrageous if you ask me, but I'm sure that sounds great compared to a lot of larger metro areas. I think in terms of cost/benefit, Chico might be one of the better cities in the north state, but I'm biased.

[bjewell]

Brandon, you are asking about a huge geographical area with widely divergent cultures. Mendocino is far different that Butte. Living on the coast, your weather is totally unlike living in the foothills.

Get out here and travel around. Lots f good folks everywhere and a few bozos as well...

[TheresaOConnor]

Originally Posted by evening sun

https://www.city-data.com/forum/san-f...t-redding.html

A few other old threads come up on the search for Redding.

I like Chico, some people say it is crime ridden, but I don't think it is as bad as they make out, I feel safe walking the streets at night & I am an old lady, the worst I've seen is a college kid puke after too much to drink, & a few homeless.

What areas of Chico would you recommend for somebody not going to the college but just escaping high rent in the Bay Area and wanting some of the college town vibe, but also wanting a modern kitchen and small yard or patio for $1000/mo or so? I've got some remote work and am hoping to find something with w/d hook-ups for my spouse and myself.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by TheresaOConnor

What areas of Chico would you recommend for somebody not going to the college but just escaping high rent in the Bay Area and wanting some of the college town vibe, but also wanting a modern kitchen and small yard or patio for $1000/mo or so? I've got some remote work and am hoping to find something with w/d hook-ups for my spouse and myself.

Start by checking Craigslist to see if you can even get the above in that price range. Then, maybe post specific questions in the Sacramento forum. Good luck.

[NorthernFog]

There's a lot more to it than whether it's the cheapest. Availability of jobs, quality of schools, how hot or cold the climate is, remoteness and ease of going places or having people visit you. The part most attractive to me are the natural resources for lovers of the outdoors. The area is relatively isolated and not yet crowded.

[NorthernFog]

Originally Posted by Brandon Graves

Great post.

BTW, is there a reason regarding as to why the pot culture is now so popular and common up in NorCal (past SF)?

One of the main reasons is that Arcata, California (home of Humboldt State University) is like the Berkeley of the north and an hour south of it is Garberville, even less populated than Arcata. Much of southern Humboldt has a great climate for growing pot. The entire county has around 130,000 people. It's hard finding work but it depends on what kind.

[zeliner]

I lived in San Lorenzo, CA. Thats in Alameda county. You can ride your bike to just about anywhere within a 30 mile radius when using the BART rail system.

San Lorenzo is a pretty chill town complete with Supermarkets and a huge Walmart, all within about 1/2 mile of one another
Lots of pretty women too!