small towns near Yuba City, CA (Sacramento, Salinas: house, schools, university)

[Cigaboo]

Hi. My parents are moving to Yuba City, and I'm in a transition where I could move also. After visiting Yuba, I found it to be too densely populated and fast-growing for my taste. Doing some research online, I found there are some smaller cities/towns near Yuba, including Sutter, Live Oak, Gridley, Biggs, Wheatland, and Palermo.

I am looking for a place that is not densely populated, won't be growing fast, and has natural beauty and places for solitude within arm's distance. I am going to take a trip to visit these places, but thought I'd ask this forum for any thoughts/insights on these locations if you've visited or heard about them.

[humboldtrat]

Check out Colusa, west of Yuba City. I've been there several times and thought it was a nice little town on the Sacramento River with some nice old buildings in town. There are a couple of national wildlife (wetlands) refuges in the area near the river. There is also an Indian casino nearby (never been to it). The area is surrounded by farms in most all directions.

[rgb123]

I really liked Wheatland though I think it will grow fast due to its proximity to Lincoln and the Air Force Base.

Great area though, I miss it very much!

[sd2ca]

Paradise and Magalia are also good places to check out. Both really don't have any more room to grow due to their location on the mountain ridge. Lots of solitude and natural beauty.

[Cigaboo]

Cool, thanks for the input. I'll look into the other places mentioned.

[MegAsh]

I lived in Wheatland for 20 years. Safe, small, schools are fine. But driving distance is the biggest drawback.

[sunny days]

Can anyone tell me more about what the town of Gridley is like? Or the small towns around it, such as Biggs? Are these reasonable commuting distance to Sacramento? Are there job opportunities in Yuba City? I live in the Bay area now and want to find a more affordable life style, slower pace, safe and friendly community. Has anyone lived in Gridley? Would you recommend it? Another town that interests me is Grass Valley. Thank you for any insights.

[sunny days]

Can anyone tell me more about what the town of Gridley is like? Or the small towns around it, such as Biggs? Are these reasonable commuting distance to Sacramento? Are there job opportunities in Yuba City? I live in the Bay area now and want to find a more affordable life style, slower pace, safe and friendly communiity.

[sd2ca]

Gridley is a pretty decent little town. Definitely a "farming community" atmosphere. Like any town these days, there's parts of it with very nice well kept homes and there's parts where you wouldn't chose to live. Gridley lacks the big box stores, which in my opinion is just fine. Yuba City & Chico have them and it gives you a reason to get out of town.

Biggs.....well, there is nothing there. I think they may have a mom & pop owned grocery store, a bar & a gas station. That's about it. Pretty much a bedroom community.

Both are about an hour to an hour & 15 minute commute to Sacramento.

I can't answer the question regarding job opportunities in Yuba City. The town is growing. Not a bad place to consider.

Me personally, I would look toward the foot hill communities. If you get into the 2000-2500 ft elevations, you'll be above the fog line, below the snow line and the summer temps are 10-15 degrees cooler than they are in the valley.

Grass Valley is a very nice place, as is Paradise (Grass Valley is less of a commute to Sac).

Take a weekend trip and spend some time driving through the communities. I think you'll find one that suits your desires.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Yuba City and Marysville are hot, and they flood. The air quality in the valley in that area is terrible. I used to live in Woodland and Davis, and took some classes at Yuba City College. The town is cute, but I wouldn't want to live there. I don't think there is much in the way of work.

Remember, that places are affordable for a reason. The commute to Sacramento would be horrible.

For safe, with a reasonable commute to Sacramento, look at Davis. Also, perhaps you can find work with the university? It's not cheap, though.

The traffic in and around Sacramento is horrible, in all directions. If you're going to work in Sacto, you should live there, IMO.

Why don't you consider a job in Chico and live in Paradise? Something like that? It's horribly hot in summer - which lasts about half the year - but it is very pretty and has good recreation.

Or maybe work in Monterey and live in Salinas? That's not a bad commute and the weather is perfect. South Salinas is quite nice. My daughter had a house there, and she worked in Monterey.