Moving to Chico ?'s (San Diego, Sacramento: low income, apartments, rentals)

[VWMama]

My family and I are moving to Chico at the end of June. I'm married, have 2 daughters 9 & 11 years with 2 small dogs.

What area/neighborhoods are best to live and raise a family?
What are the best.....public schools? apartments? Townhouses (need 3bdrm at least 1.5bath rent approx. $1000)

Any info you can share about Chico would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

[robertpolyglot]

Chico is "WAY COOL, man." Seriously, it is the ONLY place in the North State worth living. It seems that people who looked like they might have been on "The Brady Bunch" when they were kids now live there as adults. I have no clue what they do, but they don't look like professors. It's among the places that Bay Area and SoCal escapees have scoped out. Lots of things to do near town and in nearby northern California. Appears to have its civic act together.

[Fargobound]

I lived in Chico for three years in the south campus area. The area between Woodland Ave and E. 8th Street is one of Chico’s nicer neighborhoods, but I doubt you’ll find anything for $1000 in that area, because it mostly very showy Craftsman style homes.

Areas to Avoid:

Columbus Avenue and Sacramento Ave (This area is totally ghetto)
Walnut St to W. 9th Street (Not too bad, but rough)

Words of advice:

Don’t move here unless you have a job offer in hand. The area and the people are very nice, but the employment picture is bleak. I so wanted to stay in this area, but the job market is tough. I think it might have to do with a lot of people falling in love with the area while attending CSU Chico.

[MotleyCrew]

You may want to drive up Skyway to Paradise and see if your budget will go further. The schools there when my kids were little were ok. Nice little mountain/foothill town and we felt the kids were a bit safer up on the ridge than down in Chico. 94969 is the zip and you can go to realtor.com and put in that zip code to see what rentals are available. You will get snow but not too much down in Paradise.

[the city]

You are moving into the store Chico's?

[jaijai]

look again .... moving to Chico ?'s. perfect.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by Fargobound

Words of advice:

Don’t move here unless you have a job offer in hand. The area and the people are very nice, but the employment picture is bleak. I so wanted to stay in this area, but the job market is tough. I think it might have to do with a lot of people falling in love with the area while attending CSU Chico.

I think there are some people who want to keep reliving their Chico State days. If a person applies themselves, they can get a decent education there, but it's no "brain trust." Along with San Diego State, it would have CA's "party school."

[junkman9096]

My info is a couple of years old, my son graduated from Chico State in 2010 but we have thought of moving there. The areas adjacent to the campus are active but rowdy. The further to the east you can go, the more likely you will find appropriate housing. There are nice neighborhoods close into downtown but they are case by case. I believe the schools are well thought of. Downtown is vibrant and active and shopping is good all around. You might look at the outer towns (Orland, Willows, Durham, Paradise and Magalia.) Most are 20 minutes from Chico. You are aware that it gets hot, right?

[WesternPilgrim]

Chico can be a pleasant place to raise a family, even on a low income. I agree with the last commenter about the neighborhoods east of Chico. California Park has a mix of nice homes, apartments and townhouses.

This neighborhood off of E. 1st Ave. has old world charm: small yards but a generous common area.

[Ceece]

Originally Posted by junkman9096

My info is a couple of years old, my son graduated from Chico State in 2010 but we have thought of moving there. The areas adjacent to the campus are active but rowdy. The further to the east you can go, the more likely you will find appropriate housing. There are nice neighborhoods close into downtown but they are case by case. I believe the schools are well thought of. Downtown is vibrant and active and shopping is good all around. You might look at the outer towns (Orland, Willows, Durham, Paradise and Magalia.) Most are 20 minutes from Chico. You are aware that it gets hot, right?

My daughter graduated in 2010 as well and I also thought about moving there. Going to visit was always fun and if I were young and going to college that's probably where I'd want to be.

I know it has problems but it's nice all around.