Employment in Crescent City Area (Los Angeles, San Francisco: rental car, rental, homes)

[CitrineRose]

Good Morning: I am looking to relocate, I currently live in a suburb of Chicago, I was out in Oregon in late March and fell in love with the Ocean and mountains in the west! I had originally been thinking of moving to southern coast of Oregon but with all the research I did in looking for housing and employment I started to expand my search and was looking at pics of Crescent City area and OMG the beauty is breath taking! Housing is difficult to find in OR and temporary homes are very expensive! I am a single mom of 2 boys ages 7 & 14 I have worked as bartender/server for last 14 yrs so I am wondering what employment is like in Crescent City area, I am not as worried about jobs as I am finding housing, I do have a small amount saved up to be able to move us. Any thoughts anyone would like to provide would be much appreciated, my thoughts are to move once my kids are out of school very end of May.
Blessings

[wburg]

You may have better luck in the California general forum. Crescent City is about a 7 hour drive from Sacramento (by comparison, driving from Sacramento to Los Angeles takes about 6 hours; about like driving from Chicago to Minneapolis.) so there isn't much chance that Sacramento residents will have useful advice, and readers in Del Norte County are unlikely to read this subforum.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, I flagged your post so a moderator would move it to the general California forum. There's someone on the forum who lives in Crescent City, so she may be able to help you.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by CitrineRose

Good Morning: I am looking to relocate, I currently live in a suburb of Chicago, I was out in Oregon in late March and fell in love with the Ocean and mountains in the west! I had originally been thinking of moving to southern coast of Oregon but with all the research I did in looking for housing and employment I started to expand my search and was looking at pics of Crescent City area and OMG the beauty is breath taking! Housing is difficult to find in OR and temporary homes are very expensive! I am a single mom of 2 boys ages 7 & 14 I have worked as bartender/server for last 14 yrs so I am wondering what employment is like in Crescent City area, I am not as worried about jobs as I am finding housing, I do have a small amount saved up to be able to move us. Any thoughts anyone would like to provide would be much appreciated, my thoughts are to move once my kids are out of school very end of May.
Blessings

Do you want to remain a bartender or server?

There are not many places with bartenders in that city.

You ought to drive out there for a few days and take 3 day vacation, hike and explore, and look around the town.

If you don't like the job outlook, the vacation will be fun. Bet you could do an entire week if you fly into Portland or Medford w/ rental car, for $1000

[2sleepy]

Crescent City has a population of 7,000. A good number of the people who are employed work at Pelican Bay St. Prison. The unemployment rate is 8.2%. I would not move there unless I had a job first. It's beautiful, but that doesn't mean much if you can't find work.

[owl6969]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Crescent City has a population of 7,000. A good number of the people who are employed work at Pelican Bay St. Prison. The unemployment rate is 8.2%. I would not move there unless I had a job first. It's beautiful, but that doesn't mean much if you can't find work.

You been there?

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by CitrineRose

Good Morning: I am looking to relocate, I currently live in a suburb of Chicago, I was out in Oregon in late March and fell in love with the Ocean and mountains in the west! I had originally been thinking of moving to southern coast of Oregon but with all the research I did in looking for housing and employment I started to expand my search and was looking at pics of Crescent City area and OMG the beauty is breath taking! Housing is difficult to find in OR and temporary homes are very expensive! I am a single mom of 2 boys ages 7 & 14 I have worked as bartender/server for last 14 yrs so I am wondering what employment is like in Crescent City area, I am not as worried about jobs as I am finding housing, I do have a small amount saved up to be able to move us. Any thoughts anyone would like to provide would be much appreciated, my thoughts are to move once my kids are out of school very end of May.
Blessings

I live in Crescent City. The town population is only about 5,000. The rest of the 8,000 or so population count is actually the prison population of about 3,000. You'd never know there was a prison, as it's about 7 miles north of town and down a side road - you can't see it unless you deliberately drive there.

My concern would be that it's hard for kids to break into the cliques here, or so I've heard. I've only lived here a year and I'm a senior - so no kids in my life here. There aren't a lot of jobs here, either.

I'd suggest you look at Eureka. The population there is around 26,000 and there is a large college influence there, as there is a state university in Arcata, just a few miles north. Close enough that college students also live in Eureka. So, there should be more job opportunities for you. More restaurants and pubs, etc., as well as just more jobs in general.

There is also a lot more to do. And it's a much more attractive town. Crescent City's old downtown, which did have Victorian structures, was wiped out by a huge tsunami in the 1960's, so there are very few interesting or attractive buildings here. The nature around the town is gorgeous. The town itself is not very attractive, but functional.

Shopping would also be better in Eureka, by far. And I think your kids would do better. It's also still pretty affordable - much more affordable than any other coastal towns of similar or larger size in CA any farther south.

You'd have a more diverse population, in that there would be fishermen as well as college professors. Whereas in Crescent City, the population mainly consists of blue collar workers. I also recently learned that there is a lot of domestic violence here - something like the highest in the state - it's significant. That doesn't affect me, but it might be something to consider if you plan to date, or even just knowing that your sons might be hanging around with kids who find violence at home to be common. Of course, this isn't the entire population, but it's something to think about.

In Eureka or Arcata, you'd still be at the ocean and close to the redwoods. And you'd also be a couple hours closer to the Bay Area, if you wanted to go to San Francisco, etc.

Anyway, for you, I'd vote that you check out Eureka. Best of luck to you and your boys.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by owl6969

You been there?

Yes, why do you ask?

[DCMann2]

OP, read this: Thinking of moving to the North Coast? Read this first!

I would probably skip Crescent City and look more towards Eureka if you want to live on the north coast. There's much more to do in Humboldt and we have far more amenities. The scenery in and around Crescent City is fabulous for sure, but that can only carry you so far, especially when it's 45° and dumping rain.

[owl6969]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Yes, why do you ask?

Seems like a nice place.