Tell me about rural areas in NorCal for a getaway property (San Diego: how much, houses)

[blockzilla]

Hi, I currently live in San Diego and am considering a 2nd home either in the Eastern Sierra town of June Lake, or somewhere in Northern California around Redding where I could get more property. When I say "around Redding" I mean anywhere within a few hours of there, that entire region of Northern California.

I love June Lake and the Eastern Sierra for the outdoors, hiking, backpacking, fishing, scenery, etc. but the village of June Lake is postage stamp properties, its just the way it is. Tahoe area seems similar. As much as I love both I've always dreamed of owning more property as I grew up on a large acreage in the Midwest.

How are the areas around Redding? Max price would be around 500K which seems to get you a lot of land up there, but I'm curious how the land is since I've never been up there and wondering if it is worth a scouting trip. I work remotely so I'd need reliable internet service, and I want to use the property year round so I know some very rural areas up there have winter access issues. Just the realities of rural Northern California properties I guess?

Another concern is weather, I don't like the heat and June Lake would be a great escape in the summer for warm days and cool nights. Are there areas within a couple hours of Redding where you can have some acreage but also get into a mild summertime climate? I love snow in the winter so that is a bonus as well.

Initial thoughts appreciated, I know i have a lot to learn about Northern California! June Lake seems to make more sense on paper - small easily managed property, right in town for amenities, and obviously all the awesome outdoor stuff at your fingertips. Part of me just can't give up the large property dream though :-)

Thanks!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

You might want to consider Del Norte County. Fire can still be an issue, but it's not as hot.

[Electrician4you]

You can look into Alturas, McArthur, Fall River Mills, Susanville, there are a few properties with acreage. June Lake Loop Area, Lone Pine, Big Pine, all those areas have houses along 395 and some are for sake and have acreage.
I would contact a local agent in the area you want to live and start searching for your criteria. Something pops up here and there I’m sure

[Mr5150]

As some know here, I am partial to the Gold Country. You need to take a road trip. Several in fact

[semispherical]

Originally Posted by blockzilla

When I say "around Redding" I mean anywhere within a few hours of there, that entire region of Northern California.

I work remotely so I'd need reliable internet service, and I want to use the property year round so I know some very rural areas up there have winter access issues.

Another concern is weather, I don't like the heat

If you don't like the heat, stay away from Redding! And remoteness and reliable internet service are pretty mutually exclusive.

How much land do you need? Do you want an existing structure on it? Want power, well & septic already installed?

500K would get you a HUGE spread in Modoc County, IMO one of the prettiest parts of NorCal, but also one of the poorest, with a lot of problems. I wouldn't expect reliable internet up there!

If you'd be happy on 5-10 relatively undeveloped acres, I suggest the areas around Cool, Colfax, Foresthill, Grass Valley, Nevada City and the other little foothill towns along Hwy 49. You should have lots of options for $500K.

[Vic Romano]

Any reason not to consider Reno/Sparks/Carson City/Minden/Gardnerville and vicinity? 1.5 hours to Bridgeport and 3 hours to Mammoth...

[Adriatica]

Weaverville and environs (Trinity County) and the western parts of Colusa and Yolo Counties.

[TacoSoup]

I’d look to your own backyard first. We live in San Diego too and bought a second home in the San Bernardino Mountains. We considered Mammoth/June, as well as Tahoe, but realized we wouldn’t utilize a place that was 7-10 hours away (in a perfect world) vs only 2-3 hours. We have friends with places in both Mammoth and Tahoe and they only use them a fraction of how much we use ours. It’s hard to getaway for a weekend, or even overnight, when you’re logging 15-20+ hours driving. Just some food for thought. Good luck and have fun searching. Having a getaway, especially in the moutains, is great.

[blockzilla]

Originally Posted by TacoSoup

I’d look to your own backyard first. We live in San Diego too and bought a second home in the San Bernardino Mountains. We considered Mammoth/June, as well as Tahoe, but realized we wouldn’t utilize a place that was 7-10 hours away (in a perfect world) vs only 2-3 hours. We have friends with places in both Mammoth and Tahoe and they only use them a fraction of how much we use ours. It’s hard to getaway for a weekend, or even overnight, when you’re logging 15-20+ hours driving. Just some food for thought. Good luck and have fun searching. Having a getaway, especially in the moutains, is great.

Thanks to all for the replies! I've been doing alot more online searching and it seems like Gold Country along Hwy 49 would be my best option for acreage not TOO far from SoCal, with June Lake area still an option as well. I love the areas in Mendocino and around Macarthur etc. from photos online but probably just too far of a drive that would get old QUICK.

Like TacoSoup, I'm also looking into the local mountains. The long drives will probably get old really fast, especially given the exponential growth of traffic all over the state. Even compared to 10-15 years ago going up 395 toward Mammoth has gotten way worse with all the Adelanto construction. It's a big concern.

I like the towns of Idyllwild and less so Big Bear, but with the "new" SoCal weather of heat, heat and more heat over the last 5 summers it stays pretty darn hot in the summer months even up in those towns. June/Mammoth at least get much cooler mornings and evenings when the now normal June-November heat and humidity hits SoCal.

I think it comes down to the tradeoff of: do I want to escape the oppressive summer heat and humidity of San Diego enough to go up in elevation to a place like June and forget the acreage, or can I deal with the heat enough to make Gold Country acreage worth it for an escape?

Additional tradeoff of driving farther to a place I like alot more or shorter 2-3 hour drive? Seems like no perfect choice. Maybe I need to forget all this and buy an RV with satellite internet to work out of :-)