thinking of moving to no. california, any reccomendations? (Sacramento, Oakland: sales, rent)

[cyb419]

i spent 12 yrs in northern wa., have lived in upsate NY for the last 4yrs. me and my wife and son are looking to move back to the west side. i am not a big fan of the east side, yet i do not want to move back to WA state. i am looking at southern OR, or northern CA. i am in the manufacturing proffession i currently run a machine shop, what i am looking for is somewhere in the mountains somewhat secluded yet within 30 min of a fairly decent sized town where me and my wife can get work(she is a teacher). i would like snow and acess to a ski hill. i am extremely knowledgeable about WA, but have not spent much time short of driving thru OR and northern CA.

any recomendations?

thanx

[greatbasinguide]

Machine shops require enough population to bring you the business, Try Oroville, Redding/Red Bluff, Alturas, Susanville.

North Cal ski hills, Ashland Oregon, Mt Shasta, Lassen Peak.

[notmeofficer]

Redding has a healthy area for machine shop business... there are many old so cal racers living up here and alot of craftsman

My wife is a teacher /science middle school/ap,... jobs are few and far between and the school system sucks for teachers in California generally.. overworked and broken...
She has taught in the ghetto schools of Oakland in the Bay Area.. if you want a teaching job in that environ they are numerous because of the unpleasant working conditions. I spent a week in her class down there once and by the end of the week I was frazzled (Im a policeman) and thought if I had to deal with these kind of "lil knuckleheads" they would have their hands on my radiocar hood... I left with a great admiration and respect for the difficult jobs teachers have today.. especially in depressed areas.. but I have also learned even in nice areas teachers are having a rough time today.. In Shasta County there are 750 certificated teachers on the sub list.... and jobs while posted online go to those in the good ol boy network no matter what the law or regulations say. (There are jobs for young education so it really depends on what your wife teaches) The schools up here are pushing out new teachers like M and M's
Redding is a pleasant place to live and has what you are looking for... 30 minutes outside of it you can be into several mountain communities.. hot summers.. cool winters.. rain.. but nothing like Washinton.. little or no snow in the valley areas.. the mountains can get heavy snow... very very dry in comparison to New York (Im from the Catskills) or Washington
This part of Northern California still has many unspoiled places and property, while expensive compared to some other places in the US, is a bargain in California's pricing structure
Siskiyou County to the north is very rural.. but is on the Oregon border and you could easily commute back and forth. (No sales tax there)
Southern Oregon is growing very rapidly and prices are close to matching or exceeding here

I hope this helps

cam

[gizmo980]

I'd second the suggestion of Ashland, Oregon... it's a great little town, up in the mountains yet close to a decent-sized city (Medford). The people are generally very nice & laid-back, the scenery is gorgeous, and it has nicer weather than most of Oregon - if you don't like the rain, that is. There's also a lot of cultural stuff there, due to the Shakespeare festival and Southern Oregon University. As for California, most of the extreme north is quite rural, and you won't be 30 minutes from any real cities. I love the town of Arcata, which is right next to the medium-sized Eureka, but it's a coastal town rather than mountain-y. Other possibilities might be Chico, Redding/Red Bluff, Susanville (a bit far from bigger cities), Tahoe/Truckee, and Klamath Falls area in Oregon. I love that part of the country, and would totally live in those towns if I could find a good job!

[digdug]

Just about anywhere in the Sierra foothills is great. Look at the towns East of Sacramento going up I-80 or Highway 50. Easy drive down to Sacramento, but you get cooler air in the summer and easy access to snow in the winter. Some towns are more expensive than others, and some more touristy especially along Highway 49.

I went to college at Chico and loved the town. Above all else, it's a college town. Nice people, great parks, hot summers, cold winters. Flat though close to Paradise, etc.

Southern Oregon is another consideration. I'm not that familiar, but have traveled through on various trips. Nice area. Klamath Falls is ok, but has always struck me as kind of a depressed area.

[Nbrakern]

Hello! I'm from Southern CA, and we are relocating to Warwick in Orange County, New York. What part are you from? Why are you leaving???

[Sunshinegal]

We're from Western NY - rolling hills, lots of green, rural and safe. Many opportunities for cultural, educational, and fun activities. Why are we thinking of looking elsewhere? My hubby is a large and small animal vet - farms are going out of business here in NY and taxes are bothersome. While there is lots of natural beauty and low property and housing prices, the cloudiness gets to us. It is, of course, more rainy here but that creates the greenery. We have only a few days a year of high humidity. Snowy winters with cold weather are something we love, but the grayness we could leave out. We think about moving to CA where there is lots more sunshine and access to snow when you want it. I hear people say the Sierra foothills are real nice. We have a hobby farm with exotic animals. Would we be able to find property around Chico, Paradise area with about 50 acres? What is property running per acre? Any old places to buy and fix up? If we go, we'd leave a 60 acre farm with pastures, fields, hills, creek, ponds, new barn and two-story house with four baths, finished basement, two car garage and maple and apple trees. Are we crazy to look elsewhere?

[Kingsnkali]

Sunshinegal

The Sierra foothills are nice. So are the far southern Cascades of northern Cal. You might expand your search to the cooler mountain valleys near Chester, Quincy, Meadow Valley and Greagle. These areas are up the hill from Paradise near Lassen Volcanic National Park and beautiful Lake Almanor. Prices might be cheaper for the kind of land you are looking for. The weather here will be colder in the winter but not dreary for days on end. More like you get rain or snow with the Pacific storms and then the weather returns to sunshine for several days. Summers are very nice and a big difference here is you DO get some rain showers. The Sierra foothills, on the other hand, are just about dry all summer long. Grass turns brown and requires irrigation. We worry about fires out here because many locations can go 5 or 6 months without rain. There is fire danger just about anywhere but the dryer areas have higher risk. I also like Sierraville. It is a small town on the edge of a big cattle grazing valley with deep woods and mountains immediately west of town. Most of these areas are definitely small town and not rich. There is some money moving in though with larger spreads and trophy homes/horses/hobby farms scattered on the edges.

The problem you will find here is too many choices in northern California balanced by your monetary concerns. I think these areas are going to be cheaper. The trade off is more winter than the Central Valley and surrounding foothills. Most of these areas I have outlined are leaning toward northeast California and will get down into the single digits and teens for lows on the coldest winter mornings. The high temperatures will range mainly in the 40s and 50s. There will be plenty of winter sunshine.

You really need to come out for a week or two and rent a car. Fly in to Reno or Sacramento. Check out Paradise, Magelia, Shingletown etc. in the foothills. Then head into the higher mountain valleys. Check out the Redding area too. And look by Whiskeytown Lake and Trinity Lake. If you have time, drive north to Mt. Shasta and view the area. You will see why it is hard to give advice! There are many beautiful areas here. Someplace will capture your fancy though.

Good luck.

[Sunshinegal]

Kingsnkali - Thanks for your recommendations. My husband is a large and small animal veterinarian. We looked originally at Paradise/Chico because there is a practice advertising for a vet. I would not mind living more north, don't mind snow and lower temps if there's sunshine. You gave great advice. Right now my thermometer reads 1 degree and I'm sitting here with a hat and scarf on as I type... I should be watching the Super Bowl, but I'm cold and want out! Thanks! Sunshinegal

[greatbasinguide]

Alturas, Burney, Pit River Valley