Orland,CA--any locals (Redding, Chico, Red Bluff: movie theater, schools, university)

[ftgolfer]

I'm hoping to find out as much from the people with some insider insight into Orland,CA. I might be moving there in the next few months and was wondering what you have to say about the city. I thought I was going to Angels Camp, but hey, things change fast. Orland seems to be the destination as of this morning. I appreciate any information I can get about the Police Officers, the drug problems, the schools, etc. Thanks all.

[ftgolfer]

No one out there at all?

[cleosmom]

My husband's uncle lives up there and it's pretty much from what I remember a Mayberry type town. Meaning, everyone knows you and so forth.

[ftgolfer]

Thanks, Keep the info coming !

[Inthesierras]

My best friend and her hubby are from Orland. I will ask her. She has alot of family and friends there. None of them seem to leave, (except my friend, lol)their family has been there for 5 generations.

[gretasmom]

<<from what I remember a Mayberry type town. Meaning, everyone knows you and so forth...>> Yeah, ok, so it's true. Sometimes that's a bad thing if you're embarrassed about who you are, but most people in Orland are glad to be here. Orland is 'classic small town America' in California If that's what you want then "WELCOME"
I was looking again at our puny town webpage- thinking about whether Orland could use a step into the new millenium (with some help from me, of course) and I found your question. First - you won't find much golf here!! but plenty within 45 minutes or so. But if you need a fix there's this farmer who mows his pasture and keeps flags and cups out there! It looks great if you don't mind hitting your balls up against the checks(hills that keep the irrigation water flowing the right direction.) It's free, of course, because you would have to get a fancy license and pay bucks to have a "real golf course" and no farmer thinks that our government should get money for telling us folks what to do!!

Orland is hot in the summer! Not as hot as Red Bluff/Redding but usually about 5 degrees hotter than Chico twenty miles to the east. We have a town pool and recreation stuff for the kids, also. Typical Little League, TBall, Football and Soccer. Also a great swim team called the Otters. We don't have a movie theater but there are small ones in Willows and Corning. Most grown up entertainment is focused on Chico with the university there. Black Butte Lake is 8 miles west of town and is a local fishing/boating spot, as well as the Sac river 10 miles east at Hamilton City.

More things we do have that are great: 3 nice parks, a library, an annual Fourth of July, the county fairgrounds with car racing on weekends, a good police dept, a great all volunteer fire dept, a bowling alley, a community chorus that travels internationally (really!) and lots of opportunity to make Orland even better as it grows.

Orland is a reasonably priced community to live in - most commute to Chico or Redding for higher paying jobs. We could really use more small business/ light manufacturers in Orland. There are lots of new housing areas approved and about half are sold already. The usual small town politics is in an uproar right now with a town that wants to grow and planning people with their heads up their butts

The schools were looking pretty sad a few years ago, but most people agree that things are looking up in that direction. There's still a good education to be had if parents oversee their kids and actively communicate with teachers. Probably about half of the town affiliates with a church though I wouldn't call them really clicky that way.

I say I'm a new local because I've been around for about 15 years and don't qualify as one of the old family dynasty members, of course... but if you share the family values and want to participate in community life you will find that you are welcomed!!

[cleosmom]

So I had to chuckle about the farmer's "golf course". See? Just what I said, Mayberry in CA.

[ftgolfer]

Thanks gretasmom, This sounds like the kind of town I'm looking for. I have small children(2yr. twins/4yr. twins), so most of our entertainment is focused around them. I'm glad to hear the good things from a real local. Most of these forums are filled with people bashing everything about everywhere. Thank you for your articulate, honest assessment of what sounds like a great town.

[gretasmom]

For anyone interested in Orland, I have now started a new website for the town OrlandTownWeb.com which shows local activities and is beginning to get locally submitted content. Please leave a message on the guestbook if you enjoyed the site. If you ever do move to Orland I'd love to 'make your acquaintance'. Email me through the site ) GretasMom

[california_guy110]

I used to live in Chico which is near there so I drove through it a lot, if you want a small, isolated town then that is what you will get if you live there. Its a very farm oriented community, I know for a fact that there are some drug problems in Butte county and other nearby counties, meth is big up there but from what I could tell the people generally keep to themselves and are not outwardly violent so it shouldn't be a problem. People that live up there seemed to be friendly for the most part, I didn't like the feeling, even in Chico, of being so far from any true urban areas but if you like the rural lifestyle and feel comfortable it seems like a decent place. There are a lot of outdoor activities and the Sierra Nevada mountains are nearby and are actually a lot nicer and more pristine than Tahoe, as they haven't been overrun by tourists and are mostly undeveloped. I think northern NorCal is truly a beautiful place but its just not my type of place to live and the winters are definitely longer and harder than the Bay Area.