Cottonwood/Anderson (Sacramento, Redding: real estate, homes, to buy)

[NWGirl31]

Hello,
We are considering a move to Northern CA. A job will not be an issue as we telecommute, but would like to live in a town where the real estate prices are not sky high. We are coming from Seattle (: I have researched Cottonwood and Anderson as small town alternatives.

What is up with these places? Air quality, schools ect... I would like to buy acreage and build our own home.

Thanks for your help!

[humboldtrat]

The only thing I know about this area is what I have seen driving by on I-5, but the area is rural with lots of open spaces. Some homes are on large lots and some people have horses. The landscape is pretty much grassy with a few trees here and there. I don't think there is much shopping in those two towns - you would have to go to Redding for that. There is a lot of outdoor stuff in the area such as Mt Lassen Nat. Park, Lake Shasta, Trinity Lake, Whiskeytown Lake, etc.

Now for the bad news: it gets very hot in this area in the summer - about 105 or maybe a little bit higher, sometimes for many days on end.

[notmeofficer]

They are both in the shadow of redding.. so if you see a redding post you can get a flavor of the bigger town just to the north

Both are pretty laid back.. cottonwood is more cowboyish.. anderson has the fairgrounds

they can be pretty hot unless you are near the sacramento river

look at all of shasta county before you decide.. there are many good deals up here right now...

search for redding posts and you will learn more about the area in general

[Zapparulez]

I grew up in Cottonwood and loved it there. Anderson is a hole and a crappy place to move too. Full of crack heads in my opinion. Cottonwood is pretty well-to-do and has plenty of homes with acreage. There is also a community called "Lake California" that is pretty neat. I was thinking about moving there(if I can ever afford to leave Sacramento!!!). Lake California - Home

There is a realtor there that I really like. He and his daughter run Vintage Realty there in Lake California. Honest people are hard to find, but he "seems" honest to me. He could probably help you find places around Cottonwood too. Send him an email, he answers his emails almost daily. You can get his contact info on their website: Vintage Team - Home Listings

To answer your other questions:

Air Quality - It can get bad during the summer months when the temperatures average 100+ every day. It is better the farther away you live from the freeway(I-5). They have some good acreage properties far down a raod named Gas Point.

Schools - I know Evergreen Elementary(have to live out Bowman Road area or Lake California) rates a 96 statewide and is excellent. I went to East Cottonwood Elementary and West Cottonwood Middle Schools and I thought they were good schools at the time. They also just built a new school called North Cottonwood for 7-8 grades. I graduated from West Valley High School...was rated very high when I went there in the late 90's, but it appears to have dropped just a bit. It rates in the mid 80's now statewide...not bad, but not in the 90's either.

There is also a landfill between Cottonwood and Anderson that can stink up the joint, so be mindful of that as well. Cottonwood has a great parade that runs through the historic part of town. All in all, I would rate Cottonwood as one of the most desirable places to live....for me anyway. I fully intend to save enough cash to move back there and raise my family before my oldest turns 10(she's 8 now).