What do you think about the Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville, Humboldt area? (Oakland: fit in, co-ops)

[aimeeleigh23]

Originally Posted by TheDragonslayer

What you describe about our towns seems to be the same thing I see in Concord, Vacaville, Fairfield, Oakland and all the rest of the city's in the Bay Area. If you were looking for perfection here, sorry, we up here are pretty much real folk who work, raise families and play when we can. There are some nice neighborhoods in McKinleyville that do not fit the description that you portrayed of us, same goes with Eureka, it has some nice neighborhoods too. Now, Arcata is a college town and you get what you get. Did you go further north to Trinidad? It is much more upscale and maybe more of what you were looking for. For $600,000 you can buy in a gated community in Eureka or McKinleyville and what you would get would be a high end executive home around 4000 sf or more, with an ocean frontage also. Money can pretty much buy what ever you want and here it is just a lot less.

Hello I'm planning a move to Humboldt county and am searching for a school district that has a program for autistic children. My daughter is 5 and I have visited a lot of elementary school websites for Eureka, Fortuna, Mckinleyville, Arcata, Ferndale etc. and not one website that I have been to gives any information about their special eduation services let alone any programs designed specifically for autistic children. I read on a city data graph for Ferndale that there are no people living there with sensory disabilities. Are there autistic people in Humboldt county? I'd hate for my daughter to be the only one. Surely I'm missing something somewhere. Can you give me any information or direct me to someone who can? I've called some state resources and all they will tell me is that they can't recommend one school district over another and that by law all schools must provide services to kids with disabilities. But I know from experience that just because a school is required by law to serve children with autism in no way, shape, or form means that it is a good or even semi-productive environment for these children. Often times it can end up being a completely counter-productive environment. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my question. I appreciate it. Take care and have a great weekend

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by 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.

No worries, I can relate to alot of what you're talking about. We looked all over NorCal a few years ago before returning after retirement, and while there's alot to like about the North Coast (along with some of the problems already mentioned), the biggest difficulty was that it seemed like the resistance to any sort of "change" was almost palpable.

Particularly in Arcata & Ferndale, where we spoke with several business folks who complained how difficult it is to get anything major accomplished in the community, even basic practical stuff like master plans, drainage, etc., because ironically many of the more liberal and "counter-culture" folks apparently turn everything into a "historic preservation", "anti-growth", or "environmental" issue. And even that would be fine, except the bottomline is alot of "heat" is generated, but with little "light", so often the result is that nothing of substance gets done (or changed).

[eureka1]

[quote=aimeeleigh23;13883175]Hello I'm planning a move to Humboldt county and am searching for a school district that has a program for autistic children. My daughter is 5 and I have visited a lot of elementary school websites for Eureka, Fortuna, Mckinleyville, Arcata, Ferndale etc. and not one website that I have been to gives any information about their special eduation services let alone any programs designed specifically for autistic children

I feel for you but you'll probably have to get on the phone to the various school districts. Is your child a Regional Center client? If so contact the Redwood Coast Regional Center in Eureka, 707 445 0893 for info. They provide case management and will know what programs are available here but I don't think there's much. You can't expect a small poor county like this to have the services that are available in the larger urban areas,unfortunately. If I had a special needs kid, I wouldn't live here. Just my 2 cents. Good luck to you and your little girl.

[aimeeleigh23]

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it I don't know very much about the Humboldt area at all, we live in Oklahoma. If I had it my way we would stay put due to my daughter's disability & being familiar with the services offered here. Thanks again and take care!

[suzannejh]

I am making the assumption that your daughter is in a productive enviroment now? This is a topic I hold very dear to my heart, so many parents want what is the best for their children with autism and yet fall short. Sounds like you aren't going to be one. However, let me stress that to rely soley upon the school systems to meet your childs needs is only going to bring heart break. As parents we have to be the real warriors, researching, getting our babies on the right diets, finding the right physicians and being the unbending rock when tantrums are thrown our way!!! Sounds like alot I know, but regardless of the school, with the exception of those that are poor in general, the real strides are made through active therapy, reading, learning , supplements etc..... and mom's are the only ones that can provide such support and love

[cheesehead54]

I lived in the Eureka area for 7 years and hated every minute of it - couldn't wait to leave. I was always sick because it is almost always cool/cold and foggy so you get the "Arcata Crud" constantly. The houses are so overpriced it's almost laughable. A realtor took me in a one bedroom house with a small room that was supposed to double as a living room/dining room, no backyard and the house was almost right up against the front sidewalk - $375,000! Many homes don't have central heat and use a fireplace or stove to warm the cold, damp houses but getting up at 2am to stoke the fire in a house that is 27 degrees is no fun in the winter. If you live near the mountains, get used to hungry bears roaming your backyard - and don't leave food in the garbage cans, have a compost pile, or - according to park rangers - make something like pancakes in the early spring when bears are really hungry and are likely to break into the house if truly hungry. Seeing mountain lions around isn't uncommon, either. If you aren't connected to the hospital or university, good luck finding work that will pay enough to allow you to live in this very expensive area. Drug use is rampant and socially accepted/tolerated. Be careful not to buy or rent a house that was used as a meth lab, which is very common, because of the chronic illnesses you and your kids can pick up. You are totally isolated behind the "Redwood Curtain". SO glad I moved out of there - living in Arizona now and loving it.

[eureka1]

1. This is a very old thread and should probably be removed.
2. I question whether the last poster ever lived in this county. Too many inaccuracies.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by eureka1

1. This is a very old thread and should probably be removed.
2. I question whether the last poster ever lived in this county. Too many inaccuracies.

as much as I might not be a true lover of Humboldt County, I was questioning what he said as well. You may not like someplace, but to say things like many of the houses have no heat, and a 1 bedroom being $375,000 for starters. As for the bears, man, I missed them when we lived there. Yep, I could go on and on, either he never lived there or he disliked it so much he decided to iimbelish his story a little. (or a lot)!!!

About the only part I could even begin to agree with, concievably he could have been sick a lot because of the weather and I do think finding work isn't easy, but where is it easy?

NIta

[WaitingtoRetire]

My wife and I will be retiring within the next 2 years and qe're looking into moving back to California. We're from LA originally but don't want to move back there! We're interested in the Eureka area and would love to get comments about retirement living there. Thanks!

[eureka1]

AS long as you don't need a job and don't mind being a six hour drive from a major city you might like it. Negatives: the dreary weather, mediocre medical facilities (lots of people go to Red Bluff or the Bay area for major operations), the drug culture,which depending on your outlook, could be horrifying or merely annoying, and finally the poor transportation: limited air and bus service,no railroad. With the current cuts pending in the State budget hard to say how much of the senior activities infrastructure will be around in two years. Prices for a decent 3/2 house run anywhere from $250K (needs some work) to$350K (good to go.) Come visit us! We always need good people up here, especially if they're not looking for work.