Possible Move to Northern Ca?? (San Diego, Sacramento: sale, real estate, low crime)

[warmweatherplz]

We're thinking about moving to northern Ca. I love the heat - don't like the winters - love to be near the ocean and mountains. Tahoe is my favorite place. We are moving from Iowa and don't have a ton of money to put down on houses - so we need cheaper California.
We're looking for a smaller town that's family friendly and low crime.
Are there some nice towns south of Paradise and north of Sacramento?

What about Auburn area??

[featherzz2u]

Tahoe has bad winters if you do not like cold, snow or ice. Plus it is isolated from any other large cities. Sometimes impossible to get out of Tahoe in winter.

Auburn is also cold in winter with snow, and is now a bedroom community of Sac so prices are high.

Anytown in the mountains above 3,000 feet will have snow and definite seasons. The valley towns along I5 are getting crowded and built up with lots of gang crime and smog.

Best place for your needs might be a little town near Redding that will allow you to use Redding as a base for good shopping and entertainment...tons of stuff do here and it gets hot!!! Lots of mountains around, Huge lake and caves to go tour. Small town mentality and pretty good for jobs.

East is Palo Cedro..Beautiful and more East is Burney, with some snow but bearable and very nice small town, not much to do if you do not hunt, fish, bike, etc. , Away from gangs and smog. Maybe check out Cottonwood or Anderson too.

It is a 2 1/2 -3 hour BEAUTIFUL drive to the coast.
I have an uncle in Anderson, mom, two aunties and an uncle in Redding, I lived there for several years also. Families have been there aalmost 30 years.

I currently live in Red Bluff, been here since 1993. My husband was born and raised here. I know northern californa pretty well. Any questions just pm me ( if you can on this forum)

Lorraine

[DMenscha]

I'll bang the Calaveras County drum again

Calaveras County California Gold Country, Wine Country, Big Trees, Sierra skiing, Yosemite vacations

[Summertime]

My husband's car brakes overheated yesterday at
noonish, in Mt. Ranch. He found a mechanic who
could not find the trouble but got him on his way.

He was there to do a 'search' in Mt. Ranch and
Valley Springs and Ione, for a town for us to move
to ... but he did not find a manufactured home
park for adults in Mt. Ranch... heard from a
realtor in Ione that there is one there but
he never found it.

Two questions.. what is Palo Cedro like? Never
been there and I have been through Redding
hundreds of times enroute to San Diego.

Is Palo Cedro small and quaint or is it run-down?
Is there an area where one could put up a new
manufactured home without lots of trouble
involved? The same question re: Ione.

We would be able
to afford a 1/4 of an acre, possibly..
depending on land prices now.

We moved to Oregon from San Diego
County, 20 years ago and have wanted to
return to Northern CA for 19 of those years.

My husband and I make trips down thru Willows
and other towns along the way, but never find
the right place. The closest was Paradise and
he did not accept the job there for his own reasons.
That town, though, is the essence of what I am
looking for .. small, friendly, moderate climate???
(not sure of that), easy to drive/walk to shops,
good hospital, near a larger town, Chico.

If anyone who lives in that area has any thoughts,
I will be happy to read them. We are fearful of
forest fires, which was a deterrent for Paradise,
as not many escape routes .. same with Yreka,
and Trinity Forest, etc.

It is like asking for the moon to find what I
have been searching for in a town for decades
now. Think: New England village..lol

[DMenscha]

The only manufactured home park in Calaveras County is located in San Andreas and is called Gold Strike Estates. It's an over 55 "park". It's not really a park per se, just a subdivision with homes on small lots. The only sale this year was for 237,000 for an existing home. You can still buy lots and have your home delivered there. The developer has just accomplished getting his phase II subdivision map recorded also.

I have no idea where Palo Cedro is

I think of Ione as being too hot, but that could be because many moons ago I attended the Dept of Forestry Fire Academy there.

LOL that sounds exactly like our town mechanic

If you want to PM me about Gold Strike Estates, I can add a bit more w/o advertising.

[warmweatherplz]

What about Paradise?

[auburnvoorhees]

Auburn gets snow...once a year at the most. Prices are high...but you are close to an employment center. If you can be away from a major city then Paradise or Weaverville are fine. If you like heat then Red Bluff, Cottonwood, Anderson, Chico, Gridley are fine and not too expensive...I just checked out some real estate in Gridley this last weekend...prices compared to other places seemed rather reasonable.

[Summertime]

I just read your question about

'what about Paradise?'

and all I can say is that I spent a couple of
hours .. two separate times, and both times
I loved it.

the drawback was a. it is surrounded by woods
and I fear fires... b. the motel manager told me
that it does get snow .. and I know this is true
as one February we were trying to get there
and had to stay overnight in Yreka as I-5
from the Oregon border to Paradise was
totally closed and had had some accidents..

so I called the motel to tell them we couldn't
make it and the manager said that it was
snowing there in Paradise... snow I don't like
at all.

I know it is very warm there in the summertime.

I do love the village, itself.. it is quaint and
has a good hospital, although kind of hard
to find when you are just passing through,

and it had a wonderful manufactured home
park for adults... loved it. Not too expensive.

Paradise lingers in the back of my mind
but .. again, the woods and the possibility
of fires (my relatives in San Diego just
went through that fire, three weeks or
so ago, for the 2nd time in 4 years).

Someone on here posted about Colusa,
so that is my next place to visit.

A really nice realtor .. on this forum, wrote
about Calaveras County and I plan to
look into that area, sometime next year.

If you come out here from Iowa, you will
most likely think you are in heaven,
no matter where you are, ..out of those
winters. YIKES.

[notmeofficer]

Palo Cedro is horesy.. and pretty pricey for this area...there are some older parts and there are some big homes... its a mix... Cottonwood south of Redding is less costly... in between Redding and Red Bluff it has lots of horsey people

Anywhere outside the actual city limits of Redding can get you some nice property for a reasonable amount of money.... depends how far you want to be from the city center... 1/2 hour an get you to some beautiful places

If you like heat, and oh boy it does get hot here in the summer, and want to stay below 2500 ft youll like Shasta County.. above 2500-3000 feet you'll begin to get into the snow line again..places like Shingletown or Dunsmuir, or even Lakehead.. all get snow when Redding doesnt.. Redding sees snow maybe once in 10 years for any amount
Currently the weather is sunny and beautiful and about 65-70.. but its Redding and at some point the rain will begin for the winter,,, We are in drought conditions so water will be welcome

[ShastaLiving]

How about Redding? With about 90,000 residents it's not bad place, it's safe and has more jobs than the surrounding communities (although it is bigger than Paradise). We do get some hot days in the summer and some wet days in the winter (January being the rainest month) but overall it's mild. It's not freezing cold like some other areas and we do enjoy four seasons (even if it's for a short time). People are friendly and in a some ways old-fashioned which is what we like about this area. However, we're seeing trendy new restaurants, new "boutique-style" shops, and new businesses coming in to Redding like Trader Joe's and Kohls which just opened this month. As to housing affordability, it can't get any more affordable when compared to the rest of the state. A standard, clean, move-in ready home in a nice subdivision will cost you anywhere from $275,000 - $350,000 depending on the square footage, views, location, etc. Moderator cut: realtor advertising