Crescent City, CA

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I wanted to add that a week is not long enough to go check out an area. You could go to Crescent City for a week, and even in terrible weather, spend it eating a fresh crab sandwich in a restaurant on a pier watching sea lions, driving by the lighthouse, looking at the ocean, going to see the giant redwoods - and feel the excitement of even a severe winter storm and the energy and ferocity of Mother Nature, and feel like you died and went to heaven.

Then, after living there for a while, get irritated that you get stuck for hours on Hwy 101 on your trip to the doctor or Costco or a concert you were looking forward to in Eureka - again. Realize that you'd really like more shopping options besides Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer, just all of the things that affect real day-to-day life, as opposed to a vacation.

One thing that I really missed about the Bay Area when I moved to Crescent City, was that there is no recreation department catalog. There are no adult education classes. There are no classes to sign up for - for anything - other than regular curriculum at the College of the Redwoods. There are no clubs to speak of. Very few volunteer options, and all of the ones I tried - about 5 different ones, are made up of a small tightly-knit group that really doesn't want anyone new in it.

For any type of hobby or sport, etc., you will have to travel. Far.

It's a beautiful place to go for a vacation, if you're into the outdoors.

I also made the mistake of moving to Mexico, with the intention of living there for the rest of my life. After a year, I couldn't wait to get back lol. Many places are great places to vacation, but not to live in year-round.

At any rate, a week is not enough time to find out if it will work for you. Really think about what you would want to do with your time, and really research whether or not you will find it there.

[DebSta]

Wow, many good points to consider. I noticed there are no meet-ups there and no Craig's List. The no college classes mentioned, roads to get to forest, and library situation, gave me pause. In Felton, I can get a state park pass and drive in, and then just wear shoes to slush through the trails. Today it was howly windy. As long as there's a wood burning fire place and heat. Not use to snow in San Jose, but it doesn't rain here enough; people are always out miking noise. Considering the bay area politics, dare I say Trump supporters would be refreshing to self-righteous entitlement and spoiled millennials without historical narrative. Although front teeth would be a plus.

Was virtual looking at Gasquet in that area because of the national park; have pass. Is it really a challenge to get to in a wimpy car? Even looked at Port Orford (they have a library and co-op market with organic). I truly don't know. Nature moves me and ideas/story. A old school neighborhood pub with grub chowder, wifi, and a fire place, would be fine and an open mic jam night better.

What can I say, I hung out in San Bruno when it was hot because there was winf, fog, a neighborhood swingset, a 24 hour coffeeshop with wifi, and in Pacifica an archery range and beautiful sunsets.

I don't know. Arroyo Grande is also of interest, just far from redwoods. IDK Gold Beach? Florenvce,....even Washington islands. Redwoos for apples, IDK. I'm open to suggestions and geeky places to visit and things to do on a roadtrip.

[Social Democrat]

You may want to check out Brookings OR. Beautiful place but a small town and a distance to larger towns.
I just bring it up because you mentioned Gold Beach and this would be a very nice alternative to GB.

[PNW-type-gal]

If you are currently living in an area of roughly 7 million + people and happy with the shopping and other amenities, or the many choices and wide selection available to you, it is a very bad idea to move to one of the isolated small towns on the Oregon or Washington coast, most of which are under 5,000 people and several hours' drive from any larger town (and, really, the only large city in Oregon is Portland). That probably also applies to the Northern California coast above about Half Moon Bay as well.

There is an "Oregon Coast" Craigslist, but it covers a huge area. There is no Meetup, Nextdoor, Uber, Lyft, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, chain restaurants, upscale clothing stores, large airports (and sometimes no airport with commercial passenger service at all) and frequently no Starbucks (although there will be small cafes/coffeshops)

[noregon98]

IIRC, the closest Fred Meyer from Gold Beach is about 28 miles, in Brookings.

According to Google maps, today Sunday, at 7:48 pm with light traffic, will take 37 minutes.

Add at least ten or so minutes during daytime hours in case you get stuck behind a slow vehicle of some sort.

It's a great drive if you aren't in a hurry, as in between the two, there is a nice beach that has a few large rocks in the water, one of which may have a hole in the middle type of thing.
I've traveled so much before and since, I can't recall for sure if that was one of the areas I encountered those.

I was there about six years ago and I do recall both a quaint library and (used and new?) bookstore, one of which occupied a two story building. I liked them both.

There was a fair percentage of 30-40 year olds, but according to other sources (maybe even here?), lots of seniors, which gives it the unofficial nickname of Old Beach, and sometimes due to the weather, Cold Beach.

You can rent boats/jet skis there if that’s your thing, and next to that there were two restaurants that were overlooking the water, that I was checking out in terms of starting a comedy venue there of some sort, but can’t recall if either had the space for a small stage or not and/or if it was in the right location of the building.

For better or worse, GB is certainly a small enough place that everybody pretty much knows everybody, and their business as well.

Me personally, I would choose GB over Crescent city any day, even though CS has more in the way of close by shopping options.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

OP, you mentioned Arroyo Grande. My ex-FIL & MIL retired there & loved it, & they probably could have lived anywhere. They stayed there until they passed away. I visited them frequently...loved it, actually, I loved all of SLO County.

You mentioned “Washington islands”...do you mean the San Juans? If so, I hope you’re rich.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by DebSta

Considering relocating to Crescent City area from San Jose. So thank you original poster. It's too loud, tech, and crowded (even Santa Cruz). Not a fan of temp above 80F or snow. So how do people get stuff to remodel and fix stuff? Coffee roasted places? Library system? Anybody ever sub in the school system there? I thought Crescent City was bigger than Brookings? Property tax is more in Del Norte than Curry county. What kind of cars fair well there or don't?

Maybe consider Eureka, instead; there's a bit more "there" there. More subbing jobs, especially if you're able to cover the whole, or a large part of, Humboldt Co. While you're in the vicinity, check out McKinleyville (more family-oriented than Arcata) and Arcata.

Let us know if you make a decision. Good luck!