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Old 09-09-2010, 08:34 PM
 
Location: Mauriceville, Texas
39 posts, read 93,938 times
Reputation: 38

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Hi! I am looking to move to Northern California sometime within the next two years. I am currently in the research stage! I currently live in a VERY small town in Texas so I know cost of living is going to be a BIG change, but I was hoping someone could tell me some more affordable smaller towns in Northern California. I have family in Medford, Oregon and my husband works in San Fransisco a lot so somewhere in between that range haha. I have three children ranging from 14 - 6 so schools and safety are VERY important. I was planning on moving to Medford, but then my oldest child has become very DETERMINED on going to UC-Berkeley so to get in-state tuition we need to live in Cali! Plus it would be nice to see my husband more than 4 times a year lol! Some other factors (just throwing it on here in case you have the information!):
- more liberal, I am in red bible belt Texas right now so I imagine most places are more liberal, but the more liberal the better.
- Living more rural isn't a problem as long as there are good towns somewhere nearby, now the best city near me is Houston and it's 2 hours away.
- Driving is not a big issue, I am currently very rural. To take my kids to gymnastics daily I drive 10 miles to and 10 miles back. The grocery store I go to is 30 miles away. Anything better than that makes me happy!
- A good (or fabulous) high school marching band!
- A good (or fabulous) gymnastics place, my kids have been taking lessons for years it would be a shame for them to quit now

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Old 09-09-2010, 10:07 PM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,210,109 times
Reputation: 7373
I don't know about the marching band or gymnastics, but Chico, CA may be a good place for you to consider.

They have a lot of excellent residential choices in the mid $200,000 to mid $300,000 price range. In addition, they have a rather nice modest sized downtown area and beautiful park system. From my understanding, their schools are rather well regarded too, especially Sierra View, Marigold, Shasta and Hooker Oak Elementary Schools, along with both high schools.


http://www.psk12.com/rating/USthreeR...ountyID_4.html
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Old 09-09-2010, 10:20 PM
 
Location: Vancouver, WA
8,213 posts, read 16,689,250 times
Reputation: 9463
Well, more affordable can be a relative term in California. Compared to the rest of the state and major economic centers some places are more affordable. Here are a few to consider. But you will have hundreds depending on how remote you want to be:

Sonoma County, wine country. Basically all the smaller and mid sized towns in and around Santa Rosa like Windsor, Healdsburg. Santa Rosa is pretty nice. We have family there now and they used to live in Windsor. Though this may too high in terms of your budget, it's a beautiful area.

East of the SF Bay - Tracy, Antioch, Oakley, Fairfield, Lodi (further east), etc..

Further north of SF - Chico and the surrounding smaller towns like Paradise and Oroville. Check out how beautiful this area gets in the Fall: http://www.plumascounty.org/Tour%20Itineraries%202008/Group%20tour%201.pdf (broken link)

Further north yet - Redding. It's hot with many days in the 100s during the summer. But it's near a lot of beauty like Mt. Shasta and a bunch of lakes.

It really depends how far you and your husband want to be from SF.

Don't know about the schools, marching bands, etc... For that you'll need to do additional research on the individual areas once you narrow potential places down.

Derek

Last edited by MtnSurfer; 09-09-2010 at 10:45 PM..
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Old 09-10-2010, 06:09 AM
 
25,619 posts, read 36,684,227 times
Reputation: 23295
It would also help to note what your budget range is for housing. Coming from a small Texas town you might be in for some sticker shock. I am assuming your Husband rents and doesn't own.
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Old 09-10-2010, 11:28 AM
 
Location: Eureka CA
9,519 posts, read 14,738,090 times
Reputation: 15068
Don't live your life around your kid getting into Berkeley as a freshman. It's unbelievably competitive. Have a backup plan.
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Old 09-10-2010, 01:05 PM
 
Location: Santa Barbara
514 posts, read 686,598 times
Reputation: 175
Chico is a great idea.

Berkeley without taking into account your child's interest, is not the greatest idea. As just an example, if your kid wants to be a Vet, Berkeley is not where your child wants to be.
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Old 09-10-2010, 08:45 PM
 
Location: Columbia, California
6,664 posts, read 30,605,568 times
Reputation: 5184
Quote:
Originally Posted by nerdygirly View Post
,,,,I was planning on moving to Medford, but then my oldest child has become very DETERMINED on going to UC-Berkeley so to get in-state tuition we need to live in Cali! ,,,
Most people in CA find the nickname Cali very offensive and/or annoying. Cali is in Columbia if you are looking.
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Old 09-15-2010, 08:43 AM
 
Location: 38°14′45″N 122°37′53″W
4,156 posts, read 11,007,926 times
Reputation: 3439
Quote:
Originally Posted by nerdygirly View Post
Hi! I am looking to move to Northern California sometime within the next two years. I am currently in the research stage! I currently live in a VERY small town in Texas so I know cost of living is going to be a BIG change, but I was hoping someone could tell me some more affordable smaller towns in Northern California. I have family in Medford, Oregon and my husband works in San Fransisco a lot so somewhere in between that range haha. I have three children ranging from 14 - 6 so schools and safety are VERY important. I was planning on moving to Medford, but then my oldest child has become very DETERMINED on going to UC-Berkeley so to get in-state tuition we need to live in Cali! Plus it would be nice to see my husband more than 4 times a year lol! Some other factors (just throwing it on here in case you have the information!):
- more liberal, I am in red bible belt Texas right now so I imagine most places are more liberal, but the more liberal the better.
- Living more rural isn't a problem as long as there are good towns somewhere nearby, now the best city near me is Houston and it's 2 hours away.
- Driving is not a big issue, I am currently very rural. To take my kids to gymnastics daily I drive 10 miles to and 10 miles back. The grocery store I go to is 30 miles away. Anything better than that makes me happy!
- A good (or fabulous) high school marching band!
- A good (or fabulous) gymnastics place, my kids have been taking lessons for years it would be a shame for them to quit now

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!
Sonoma County would be a great choice. I am a bit fuzzy on the marching band thing, although every year they have the big marching band exhibition here, (except last year due to funding issues)

and we have

Redwood Empire Gymnastics:

Home - Redwood Empire Gymnastics. quality.success.confidence. - Petaluma, California
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Old 02-16-2011, 11:48 AM
 
2 posts, read 9,050 times
Reputation: 12
You got to check out Petaluma!
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Old 02-16-2011, 11:52 AM
 
2 posts, read 9,050 times
Reputation: 12
The marching band thing would be at the high schools. Petaluma High has drum-line and a GREAT BAND!
Petaluma has several parades a year. Great small/big town.
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