Any thoughts on Grass Valley, Nevada City area? (Sacramento, Roseville: middle-class, section 8)

[greatbasinguide]

There isn't a nicer downtown anyplace better than Nevada City, very 19th century.

[peony]

The Grass Valley area is growing rapidly with people moving in from the Bay area and Southern CA. Real estate prices have risen with the increased demand from the influx of people. GV gets snow in the winter but it doesn't stay on the ground long. A little lower elevation is Alta Sierra, Lake of the Pines, Penn Valley, and Lake Wildwood (which is a gated community). I lived in Penn Valley, which is five miles west of GV and rural, and loved it. The land here which is western Nevada County is beautiful. It rarely snows at this elevation, but it can get into the 90s or triple digits in the summer. The Yuba River is nearby though and the scenery is beautiful. The further west you go towards Yuba City is hotter. But if you like quick access to big box stores and things to do, Auburn is about 15 minutes from Roseville and Sacramento isn't much further. Auburn and Nevada County generally is pretty conservative. This is a great place to raise kids, although I can't comment on the quality of the schools. There are also some charter schools in the area. One drawback of the GV area is it's not a great place for single people, but it's great for families and people who want to have horses.

[alegalangel]

I am curious b/c I want to move to that area but I just don't know where to start

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by alegalangel

I am curious b/c I want to move to that area but I just don't know where to start

Visit.
We are in love with the area. My wife and I came from Sonora and it has really grown too much and the highway can not support the traffic. Grass Valley has much better roads with easy access to the 49 and I-80.

[Mumof3]

Hi

My husband and I loved Grass Valley and used to drive up there alot when we lived in Lincoln. The shops are good with a great selection of independent ones. We also liked going for a cornish pasty the best!!! There are about 2 shops selling these I believe. We liked the hippyish feel to the place which is in such contrast to Lincoln and Rocklin of course. I would live in GV in a minute if I could afford the housing. So, the rural feel to the place, liberal type people as well are all pluses in my opinion. Of course the architecture appealed to me being originally from the UK. I did read however ages ago in the Sacbee that the air quality isn't that great there so I guess that would be one of the few negatives I have come across. Nevada City is good also just a short 15 minute drive from GV (if that) - Mumof3

[looking4home]

It's amusing to read these posts describing Grass Valley/Nevada City. I guess it's like witnessing an accident -everyone sees something different. I lived in GV for about seven years. My sister lived in Nevada City for about 5 yrs. It is truly sad to read how unaffordable it has become because when we lived there, it was relatively inexpensive (1980's/90's). You could buy a beautiful Victorian in town for under $200,000, and could purchase acreage for around $10,000 per acre. Those days are long gone.

What is even more disturing is the imbalance in society that growth has produced. Before the great influx, there were few good jobs in either town, except for a couple of electronic firms and the timber company. So everyone was pretty much blue-collar/working class, or arty types (ex-hippies) from the Bay Area. No one really had "money". Sure, there were professional people, doctors, lawyers,etc. but for the most part, it was a level playing field, income/status-wise. There was no class envy. Everyone knew that we were all just getting by, eeking out a modest living in order to live in such a beautiful, special place. It was a trade-off.

But then the "cappucino cowboys" as they are called started to invade, and brought with them a lot of money, more refined tastes and higher expectations, lifestyle-wise. This created a lot of resentment among the locals and now they want to get out, as they are made to feel inadequate and uncomfortable in their own town.

The weather there is ideal - there is no place better in the U.S., IMO. You have four distinct, traditional seasons without extremes in any of them. The summers there are idyllic - not as hot as Sac and the valley, and no mosquitoes!

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

If you have money, the area has a lot to offer.

[beanpod]

I can see all the dreamy illusions around Grass Valley. The same ones that brought me here. "Open Space" and "Progressive People" and la de dah, lets all hunker down around the crystal and play our peace drums.

You are going to be very disappointed.

First of all, Nevada County does not have a county parks and recreation and open space program. None. There is no trail system, no bike paths and in many places, no sidewalks. It is a pedestrian hostile place and my husband will not even ride a bike here. The roads are narrow, winding and dangerous. Add to this all the new traffic. For reasons we cannot understand, Grass Valley and the county do not like to accomodate pedestrians. Where we live, there are not even any crosswalks except for golf carts. Don't come here with some illusion its this "green" and "liberal" place because it's not. We do welcome those who want to WORK to get these things here but they are not here.

Nevada County has the 13th worse air quality in the nation for ozone. It comes up from the valley. There are some days when we are told to not even go outside in the summer it is so bad. If you are athletic, forget exercising on these days or even more sad, you will have to DRIVE out of the lethal ozone areas to exercise. Somehow, we have decided this is normal now.

There is no leadership here, no imagination or creativity from the city council or county "leaders." They are for all intensive purposes surrounded by vibrant and well intentioned citizens who are reading the tea leaves about the future (peak oil, climate change, the need for alternative transportation such as bike lanes which would REDUCE the pollution at least somewhat even though it is mostly from the valley) but the city/county "leaders" are too timid or stupid to realize the potential in this. It is still very much a good old boy place. There is still the fear of change by the old time leaders but what they do not realize is they are only sabotaging themselves and the town. This makes living here very very frustrating. Nevada County is way behind other places in providing even the most basic things, like sidewalks, parks and trails and bike paths. There is no place downtown to hang out, no community spaces and the traffic downtown has become ridiculous. If these things come, it will probably only come linked to new development and sadly, pushed by the developers themselves, not the county or city "leaders".

Nevada County was a MINING and LOGGING town once. Did you get this?
This is its history. It is still a mining and logging town in many ways. They are trying to open a mine near the center of town. The soils here are contaminated in some places with dangerous levels of metals. They have closed one third of the state park off from the public because of this. Logging still goes on and so does mining only on a smaller scale.

The county was Republican until the last election for Congress. It is still about 50/50 and most of those in power are on the RIGHT side of the wing, NOT the left.

NH2020 nightmare. We won't even go into this.

The local rag newspaper published a cartoon making fun of the newcomers. It shows the new couple buying a piece of land, chopping down the trees for a better view, shooting whatever killed their cat, putting up a fence, buying a new SUV...you might as well know that this is a local joke up here about newcomers--because it's accurate.

We just watched this scenario two streets away where the new owner chopped down 12 old-growth pines to put in a GARDEN. Unbelievable.

Our advice is if you have never lived on or with the land before, do us all a favor and stay in your condo down there.

Anyway, we are constantly meeting people who move up here living in their little bubble that it's utopia here. well, it's most definitely NOT.

Beanpod with some help from Fava Bean

[margaret.garrehy]

What about the air quality at the 2500 ft elevation? The Delta winds blow the Bay Area and Sacramento ozone up to Grass Valley/Nevada City and it sits there. There is something about the ozone not being able to rise over 2500 ft. Check with the American Lung Association's "report card" and see that Nevada County, as well as surrounding counties, get an "F" each year. Check the figures for childhood asthma, too. The trees aren't as green and beautiful as i remember ten years ago. Nevada City is cool with all of its lovely Victorian homes. Many come up there because it is different while others come up and want to make it look like any other town.

[greatbasinguide]

that is of course, the western low end of the county, not the entire county