What do you think about the Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville, Humboldt area? (Los Angeles: crime rates, loan)

[FrozenSnow85]

Originally Posted by coyote58

D'hoe! Too bad frozensnow didnt drive north 7 more miles north of Mckinleyville. He would have come to Trinidad Harbor/bay. Just google it, youll see.

I'm not a he... I never did make it to Trinidad. There is no denying that there are some very beautiful areas, especially among the redwoods and remote places to watch the Pacific. But among civilization, I was unimpressed.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by FrozenSnow85

I'm not a he... I never did make it to Trinidad. There is no denying that there are some very beautiful areas, especially among the redwoods and remote places to watch the Pacific. But among civilization, I was unimpressed.

That's the State of Jefferson for you: humankind's clumsiest hand finds the most scenic part of the country in which to exercise its efforts.

[HedgeWitch]

Greetings from the grim urban wasteland of LA! We fell in love with Humboldt 2 years ago when we brought our daughter up to check out Humboldt State, where she has just completed her freshman year & loves it. Once our 2 girls finish college we can retire and want very much to move up to the Arcata/Blue Lake area; they don't want to stay in the concrete jungle, either, and plan to live somewhere in northern California. (Depends on the job market in their fields.) Our HSU daughter keeps us informed about life in the Arcata/Eureka area; she only drives into Eureka & McKinleyville for shopping & movies -- HSU campus life, the beach and the forests keep her entertained (and she's a health nut, not into the booze & weed party scene though it's rampant as at most colleges).

We are curious about Blue Lake, sounds like a peaceful town with some interesting artsy features -- Dell Arte, the brewery, Stardoughs, etc. (Heard about the police chief but that sad episode is history.) Anyone know what it's like to live there now? It claims to be above the fog, a bit warmer & sunnier than the coastal towns but not too hot, either; any risk of forest/wildfires? (We live in the wildfire zone here, SCARY.) One must do grocery shopping, etc. elsewhere, I suppose, but Arcata and McKinleyville are close by. Are there any horse properties in or near the town? We're hoping to have a pair of trail horses or mules when we retire & enjoy local trails.

Any words of wisdom, voices of experience? Thanks....

[MikensusanL]

A depressed economy has a lot to do with the way Humboldt operates and is "seen" in the eyes of newcomers and those who pass through. IS it perfect? No, no place is. Some enjoy the small towns and the quietness of the area in general. Some of course would prefer to not live there for reasons such as the fog. Hey, whatever floats your boat. I don't have any desire to move back there.
But for those interested in the area and surrounding areas, contact the local chamber of commerce. They will be happy to send you information.
Susan

[grannypeggy9]

Originally Posted by TheDragonslayer

Grannypeggy9 you will like these pictures. The Totem pole is the central part of a Safeway shopping complex now. McK has grown phenomenally and is now about the same size as Arcata, about 18,000. We have a nine plex theater behind the Rays - K mart complex and Hiller park has a full sports complex now and an enclosed swimming pool is slated for the lot past the theater. The McKinleyville library is getting an expansion soon and we now have a staffed sheriffs department next to it.

thanks for the great pictures,i had lost the pictures we took at the time they put it up. i was there in 06, to visit, and couldn't beleive how much it had grown, my sis-in-law-and family run the trailer park on granny white , in mck.

[grannypeggy9]

you will love blue lake, although now that the have built the indian casino, it has moor traffic, lol
its true- the weather is not as foggy as the coast, nor as cold, most of the time, and a lot cooler than inland, but lots of beautiful country, lots of camping, swimming, hiking, hunting, climbing, etc inland. i was raised in the area, and raised my family there, eureka, willow creek, hoopa, orleans, all wonderful places, i really miss my home area, i concider it the best place in the states to live, and i have been in quite a few places over the years.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by MikensusanL

A depressed economy has a lot to do with the way Humboldt operates and is "seen" in the eyes of newcomers and those who pass through. IS it perfect? No, no place is. Some enjoy the small towns and the quietness of the area in general. Some of course would prefer to not live there for reasons such as the fog. Hey, whatever floats your boat. I don't have any desire to move back there.
But for those interested in the area and surrounding areas, contact the local chamber of commerce. They will be happy to send you information.
Susan

We lived in Humbolt County during the days of prosperity in Califonia. I totally disagree with you on the drpressed economy. You are right, there are nice things about Eureka, Arcata and the other small towns, but it certainly isn't for the majority of people.

Nita

[eureka1]

Think twice and make several visits before you move to a town in which the most conspicuous business is a casino. The crime rate (mostly petty but still) went up 1000% (not a typo) after"Indian Gaming" took over the town. The Times-Standard published these statistics maybe a year ago. Good luck,no pun intended.

[GregFromOregon]

WOW, neat. I may have to move to the Eureka area to hold on to a job(gotta follow the work), and I already don't like it there. It sounds like it has the same sickness that many other small towns get when you have a blue collar community be it fishing, logging, whatever, and you add some kind of feature like the redwoods, ocean, river, whatever, and all the people that drive through and say "look how pretty hun, we should move here" actually do camp out for the rest of there lives. You've got the added dissability of HSU and the neverending drug crowd that can't grasp the fact that the best stuff doesn't come from there anymore, but, they keep showing up. The mills close and fishing boats sit idle and the only thing that sparks your economy is the strip malls and casinos(Coos Bay, Lincoln City, Canyonville Oregon to name just a few) but thats not the town you had in you're daydream little head when you drove through all those years ago. It will never be what you want it to be because you get the "not in my backyard" mentallity, when in reality, you where the beginning of the cancer that is causing its death. Small town economy sucks, it will always suck, unless you let it grow into a big town, with box stores, strip malls, and casinos. But then it will not be the small town you fell in love with in the first place so you'll move to some other small blue collar town that has a view of Mt.Jefferson, or the Columbia River, or........Uugghh! I'm done, bash away people.

[GregFromOregon]

And buy the way, your crime rate is almost TWICE the national average, very close that of COMPTON, CA.