Employment scene in North Cali? (Santa Rosa, Chico: rental, home, neighborhoods)
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If you are looking for something warm and sunny, Arcata/Eureka is NOT the place to be.
I lived there for three years, moving there with the company I worked for from a more southern location.
It was depressing to have no sun and an average of 65 degrees all year long.
Eureka has problems with meth users. Arcata is a world away from that even if it is only 5 minutes further north.
There is a state university there. Could be a place for you to find employment if they have that need.
When we first moved up there (was about 4 years ago) we met a couple coming from the East coast. He was a heat & AC guy and was able to get a job about 2 months after arriving.
Someone mentioned Santa Rosa and that is a good suggestion, but it has it's downside as well. It is pretty expensive. One would think that gas would be cheaper in a more populated area that is closer to the refineries and docks for transportation. However, I live an hour north of SR, and gas is 20 cents cheaper.
When we moved from Arcata/Eureka, everyone thought I was nuts to give up a good job just to find sunshine. Everyone was concerned about how I would find work with things are the way they are.
But I said to myself- I want a job doing either 'A' or 'B'. nothing professional, just something I am skilled at and enjoy doing. As it turned out, I put in an application for both an A job and a B job. Got interviews for both and ended up with a job right away.
Now my roommate (who moved out yesterday), tried for a job for months and could not find one.
We have the same skills and work history/ethics.
What I think made a difference was the attitude and thinking.
If you really want to be here and are willing to have a positive outlook, take a job that will pay the bills while waiting for the right job to come around, you will be fine.
wow I love to learn about new places so I looked up arcata , it directed me to a website, hippy.com well, it sounds awful , there is humidity, fog, drugs, poor school system, lots of homeless. Bad economy! Please for the sake of your children, choose a better place,
wow I love to learn about new places so I looked up arcata , it directed me to a website, hippy.com well, it sounds awful , there is humidity, fog, drugs, poor school system, lots of homeless. Bad economy! Please for the sake of your children, choose a better place,
Hippy.com as a source to determine if it's good or not? Hmmm.
Humidity and fog...I agree. I'm an outdoorsy person. I never went outside when I lived up there.
Poor school system? I disagree.
There are quite a few (public) Charter Schools in the area. My daughter went to one in Arcata for 3.5 years and it was the best thing that she could have experienced. She studied the basics aling with music, art and Spanish, something that has been lost in most public schools. One thing learned but not found in a traditional public school, respect and responsibility.
She made strong friendships with good kids.
Drugs- name one city that does not have drugs. Are there zombified professional junkies passed out in every other doorway? No. And Eureka is where the drug problem is, not Arcata.
And as for the homeless, many northern small towns have a few resident homeless guy. Because Arcata is a hippie college town with a reputation due to the marijuana, there are transients that hang out for a while but move on.
If you can enjoy the kind or coastal weather the area has to offer, and not be offended by 'drugs' and the 'homeless', and would enjoy a very health conscious, art appreciating, think global act local, and out of the box thinking community, Arcata is wonderful.
It's one of the only places that you will see and odd looking human powered machine driving down the street- as it goes for a test drive before the Kinetic Race.
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What Owl said. Also the person who said there was a "small-town vibe" in Santa Rosa must have been smoking something stronger than weed. Healdsburg has a small-town vibe but I've never felt it in Santa Rosa. SR is a nice but traffic-choked small CITY. Happy New Year everyone!
What Owl said. Also the person who said there was a "small-town vibe" in Santa Rosa must have been smoking something stronger than weed. Healdsburg has a small-town vibe but I've never felt it in Santa Rosa. SR is a nice but traffic-choked small CITY. Happy New Year everyone!
^^ Ditto ... (except I'd add that Healdsburg -- which place I enjoy a lot -- has a rich "small-town vibe" ... phew! Does it ever!)
Thank you all for your comments - I really appreciate it! Philadelphia is definitely too much of a "real city" for us. Our absolute ideal would be somewhere exactly like Madison, Wisconsin, but without the freezing winter. Awesome walkable downtown with lots of street musicians, great food, super progressive vibe, something interesting always going on, great activities for families... My friend says this is how Arcata is, but I am definitely doubtful about the weather. We've had "Portlandesque" weather in PA this past fall and winter, and have not enjoyed it at all.
P.S. - Hope I didn't offend with the use of "Cali" - lol... I was actually just being lazy with typing - I don't go around calling it that, really.
Hope you're bringing your own pot plants... cause you're gonna need that to generate income up there
Serious question kind of related to this - my friend thinks that my husband could start a good business wiring and setting up growing systems for people. Does that sound realistic?
Serious question kind of related to this - my friend thinks that my husband could start a good business wiring and setting up growing systems for people. Does that sound realistic?
You have to realize that this is what's been going on for decades there, and there's a lot of people who're doing this very thing already, it's well established
Serious question kind of related to this - my friend thinks that my husband could start a good business wiring and setting up growing systems for people. Does that sound realistic?
The growing scene in California is old and rather established (although there are always people wanting to partake in it).
It's an integral part of the culture.
The need for your hubby in that regard is probably little to none.
Also, by the time that you're ready to move the economy may be a lot different than it is now.
5 years these days can bring lots of change.
You may want to consider areas along the central coast.
I'm thinking that the weather too far north will not please you although it won't be anything like the PA.
San Luis Obispo county or Monterey county or Santa Cruz county are all potential options.
Of those 3, SLO would be the least expensive area but still quite pricey especially relative to what you're used to.
Finding the kind of scene that you loved in Madison is a tall order.
There are also areas in Sonoma county that you might like and where you may find the kind of community that you're looking for ... or something close to it.
California is not what it used to be and that wonderful, open, liberal, loving, free spirited community vibe that you liked is not easily found although there are "pockets" here and there and yet still .... .
The dominant culture has become more and more pervasive / overwhelming.
And though there are many liberal and tolerant areas along the coast of CA, you may find that the people are not as "warm and fuzzy" as they were (and probably still are) in Madison.
Come out and travel up and down the coast of California and get a real feel for it.
It may not be what you expect ... or it may be.
But you need to see for yourself.
Last edited by jaijai; 01-02-2012 at 01:02 PM..
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