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Old 04-28-2013, 11:53 PM
 
42 posts, read 113,053 times
Reputation: 25

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I've been getting a lot of helpful responses to my questions about Eureka, Chico and Merced. Now I'd like to hear what everyone has to say about Ukiah and Oroville.

My ideal place would fit these criteria:

-Affordable: Rent needs to be no higher than abt $800-850/month for 2 bedrooms. I realize this is a stretch in CA but it is what it is. My income is fixed, I won't make a higher wage when I move.

-Beauty: near or in mountains & lots of trees in town.

-Dowtown/Oldtown: I love a vibrant downtown to wander around, hang out & enjoy the restaurants

-Library: A decent library is really important

-Hiking: beautiful walking paths in town or nearby hiking

-On or near water: everything counts, rivers, oceans, lakes...

-Good Climate: for me this means lots of rain, mild summers and I don't mind snow

-Other: antique stores, farmer's markets & street fairs

So how do Oroville and Ukiah stack up against the criteria?
Thanks!
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Old 04-29-2013, 01:01 AM
 
Location: Oroville, California
3,477 posts, read 6,475,049 times
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Oroville:

1. Very affordable (for California) real estate.
2. Pretty spot on in a transition zone between the lower foothills of the Northern Sacramento Valley. Feather River runs through town. Lake Oroville is six miles up the road. Not a tremendous number of trees (the city doesn't plant or maintain them). If a resident doesn't plant them it doesn't get done.
3. Downtown Oroville is dead as a door nail. Pretty much all the new merchandise retail businesses left by the 80s. Walmart didn't have time to kill them - they died before then. There are a fair number of second hand stores there and a farmer's market on Saturdays in the summer. There are also a couple of special events that they close the downtown streets for - Salmon Festival and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head.
4. Adequate small town library in a converted Safeway building.
5. There's a nice walking/biking path along the Feather River and not too far away is Feather Falls with a nice hiking trail to the top. You can also walk/run on top of Oroville Dam - nice view of the lake on one side and the Sacramento Valley on the other.
6. Lots of water around - Feather River, Lake Oroville, Fore Bay and After Bay.
7. This year not withstanding we have pretty rainy winters (about 30 inches on average), mild springs and falls and hot summers (90s and 100s for about four months).

I mainly moved back here to help my elderly mother. If it were not for her I would have never come back. Its not that its a pit or anything, there's just not much here if you're not into fishing and boating. The town has limited shopping and dining and most people go to the two Indian Casinos, which isn't my thing. There are some very nice, clean cut people living here, but there is an inordinate amount of... low class trashy types as well. More than any place I've ever lived. No one seems to pursue higher education (beyond a class or two at Butte College), no one seems to travel beyond a sporting event in the Bay Area. I bet the vast majority have never set foot in a gallery or museum. Its just not very sophisticated. Almost all professionals live in Chico and commuted down here. The saving grace is the people here are very friendly.
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Old 04-29-2013, 02:29 AM
 
42 posts, read 113,053 times
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@Beau- Yeah, what you said in the other post was right. Oroville doesn't sound like the place for me. It seems like it would be ok for awhile but I'm trying to find a place to stay indefinitely. Thanks, your posts continue to be helpful.
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Old 04-29-2013, 09:28 AM
 
Location: Under the Redwoods
3,751 posts, read 7,642,812 times
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You might be able to find something for that rent in Ukiah. A friend has a studio she rents for $550. Not sure what 1-2 br. are going for.
We have trees, mountains, lakes, river spots and its a bit of a trek but not too bad to the ocean. I have not been to the public library, but the college has a library and if you don't mind sitting there to read the books, it's a brand new library and has a beautiful view plus an outdoor area to enjoy. We get rain, plenty of it, and summers can get hot, but over 100 degrees is not a common thing. Occasionally there will be a heat wave, but it is short lived.

Lots of town events, a farmers market, a free movie Friday during the summer, a neat little downtown area.
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Old 04-29-2013, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,772 posts, read 104,280,990 times
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I responded to you about those two places earlier today and didn't realize you had posted here. Both towns are somewhat quaint and have relatively low cost of living. Either would offer decent medical facilities with some top facilities not far away: Ukiah is not all that far from Marin Co and San Francisco; Oroville, from UC Davis and some other decent facilities in Sacramento and both towns would offer medical care for the usual conditions including senior issues for the older person who will be relocating with you.

As for BeauCharles opinion of Oroville, I am sure he knows what he is talking about, but it will be hard for you to get everything you want in a small town. The small town atmosphere pretty much will be attractive to those who want a quiet, rural life. You will not find top rated libraries, lots of highly educated people, a lot of people interested in the world around them and still find low rents. The two just don't often go together.
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Old 04-29-2013, 10:48 AM
 
42 posts, read 113,053 times
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@OwlKaMyst- Ukiah sounds good, by the time I looked at it yesterday it was late. I'll take another look today. thanks!

@nmnita- Your right that no place will be perfect, I think I mentioned in the other thread that I don't expect to find a place that meets all the criteria perfectly. I list what the ideal looks like so I can get feedback about which criteria these cities meet. Feedback about things like schools & jobs that you might give to another poster wouldn't be relevant to me. I am familiar with some of the medical facilities you mentioned, at this point we don't expect to need advanced facilities any more than another family would. My senior is still very active and relatively healthy and the criteria I listed includes her wishes as well as mine. thanks!

@Everyone- I appreciate all the opinions I'm getting. I'm not moving for six months so I have plenty of time and am wide open to ideas.

Last edited by Jennybean75; 04-29-2013 at 11:11 AM..
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Old 04-29-2013, 02:34 PM
 
Location: Under the Redwoods
3,751 posts, read 7,642,812 times
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Since you are open to other ideas- if you have dependable transportation and don't mind a 20 minute drive to the 'city'. You may want to look into Fortuna. If a drive is really not a concern, look a bit more south of there. The more rural the town the cheaper the rent.
Fortuna has a good hospital. Not much of a downtown atmosphere, but Ferndale is a darling town just a short drive away.
The 'city' close to Fortuna, is Eureka. The weather between these two places is as different as night and day. Fortuna has seasons, Eureka just has fog. Fortuna is pretty close to the ocean and near enough to the mountains. When the summer heat gets to be too much- you can go south the the Redwoods, or go to Eureka where it will be under 80 degrees on a normal day- yearly average temp for Eureka is 64 degrees.
There are the small towns like Redcrest and Miranda (and others) that are right along hwy 101, which makes a drive to Eureka easy enough. Plus, they are all right on the Avenue of the Giants and Eel river. Very peaceful and beautiful.
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Old 04-29-2013, 03:04 PM
 
Location: Sierra Nevada Land, CA
9,455 posts, read 12,488,301 times
Reputation: 16449
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jennybean75 View Post
I've been getting a lot of helpful responses to my questions about Eureka, Chico and Merced. Now I'd like to hear what everyone has to say about Ukiah and Oroville.

My ideal place would fit these criteria:

-Affordable: Rent needs to be no higher than abt $800-850/month for 2 bedrooms. I realize this is a stretch in CA but it is what it is. My income is fixed, I won't make a higher wage when I move.

-Beauty: near or in mountains & lots of trees in town.

-Dowtown/Oldtown: I love a vibrant downtown to wander around, hang out & enjoy the restaurants

-Library: A decent library is really important

-Hiking: beautiful walking paths in town or nearby hiking

-On or near water: everything counts, rivers, oceans, lakes...

-Good Climate: for me this means lots of rain, mild summers and I don't mind snow

-Other: antique stores, farmer's markets & street fairs

So how do Oroville and Ukiah stack up against the criteria?
Thanks!
Having lived in Ukiah, now in the Gold County/Sierras, you might want to consider the Sonora area. Compared to Ukiah rents are cheaper.

The downtown area is downright historic with very few vacant buildings. Seems there is a festival every other week during from April thru October in the county. Weekly Farmer's markets, five or eight antique stores and a ton of good restaurants. Decent Library. There is a fine selection of lakes and rivers within a short drive, not to mention a National Forest a 15 minute drive from town.

Now one factor you haven't mentioned and it might not be that important...the social climate. There are a number of reasons why we live in the area we do and not Ukiah. One of which is We (and this applies to my wife and I) is that we strongly prefer the social climate here as opposed to Mendocino or Humboldt counties. And we also prefer the weather and countryside over what we found in the Ukiah area.

Now don't get me wrong, Ukiah is OK, but it is different world from what one finds in Eastern CA.
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Old 04-29-2013, 05:19 PM
 
42 posts, read 113,053 times
Reputation: 25
@OwlKaMyst- I just looked at Fortuna and Ferndale and I think it's safe to rule out anything near Eureka, they just aren't what I'm hoping for.

@Mr5150- Sonora looks cute, I lived in both Jackson and Grass Valley for awhile so it's familiar territory. I think it's worth a closer look.

Ukiah, Oroville, Eureka and surrounding areas & Merced area all out.
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Old 02-09-2014, 10:01 AM
 
Location: CA
371 posts, read 1,819,210 times
Reputation: 305
Ukiah is too expensive for your budget. If you found a 2 bedroom it would be in a pretty crappy part of town and not in the walkable, friendly, "quaint" westside.
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