Considering Redding, CA (San Diego, Cypress, Anderson: 2010, foreclosure, sex offender)

[Zapparulez]

Originally Posted by UTBFRED

Living in Tulare County right now and may be moving to Redding before the end of the year. I wonder if any of you long-term residents can tell me where the bad areas are in Redding. For instance, where I live, the NE and SE areas of town are undesirable. Usually every town has it's good/bad areas, just trying to narrow the real estate search. We are also looking for some property, at least an acre if not more. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

You can usually tell by driving around the neighborhoods. Just scout out the areas before committing to moving to a particular area. I live in Sacramento now and you can drive by a dilapidated apartment complex full of gangs and drugs and not a block down the street you'll find McMansions. It's absurd.

[UTBFRED]

I'm 400 miles from Redding. Driving by an area is not an option.

[Zapparulez]

Originally Posted by UTBFRED

I'm 400 miles from Redding. Driving by an area is not an option.

Plan a vacation trip up there. You can find a relatively cheap place to stay for a weekend. Drive up and explore the area. Everyone has their own tastes...I'd probably recommend the more rural parts of Redding, but you might prefer urban life...at least as much urban as can be offered by Redding, CA. lol

My only advice is to stay away from Shasta Lake City to the north of Redding and most parts of Anderson just south of Redding. I really like Cottonwood, 10-15 minutes south of Redding...I grew up there so I am biased. I also like Northeastern Happy Valley area(which is southwestern Redding I guess).

I know of a few hotels that are reasonable but not crappy if your interested.

[UTBFRED]

Zapparulez, your advice is just what I was looking for and greatly appreciated.

I am definitely interested in your choice of hotels that are reasonable but not crappy!

Thank you very much!

[Zapparulez]

Originally Posted by UTBFRED

Zapparulez, your advice is just what I was looking for and greatly appreciated.

I am definitely interested in your choice of hotels that are reasonable but not crappy!

Thank you very much!

Most of my family lives in Cottonwood or Redding, so I usually stay at this hotel in Anderson since it is located right in the middle. There is a Walmart superstore nearby and also various places to eat out. The prices are reasonable and they have smoking rooms so be careful to choose accordingly. I'm an ex-smoker and I had to upgrade to their suite because they had no non-smoking rooms available. They have an indoor pool and spa which my daughter enjoys, an okay continental breakfast, but no room service for meals or anything.

This link is how you can map for directions, its the rectangular building in the middle of the picture: to: Factory Outlets Dr, Anderson, CA 96007 - Google Maps

Also, you can check rates and book reservations here: Baymont Inn & Suites | Anderson California Hotel | Anderson, CA 96007 | Near Recreations, Anderson Bowling Alley & Factory Outlets - Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Payless Shoes, Dress Barn, etc.

I've read mixed reviews, but I have stayed there 3-4 times without any major issues. It's around $80 a night for the regular rooms and $150 for the suites. I have AAA and I also work for the state so I get discounts, but I'm not sure if you have any discount possibilities.

In Redding, I've only stayed at the Hilton which was pricey($150 for a basic room). I know they just recently built a new hotel near Redding that I was thinking about staying in my next trip. I hear it's really nice and I checked the prices which start at about $110 a night without any discounts. Check out their website here: Gaia Anderson Hotel - a new full-service hotel near Redding, California.

I travel for work alot and am used to staying in higher end hotels, so the Baymont Inn is a step down to what I am used too, but since I am paying the bill it doesn't bother me too much. lol Plus my daughter loves the pool. The Gaia sounds like a nicer place if you don't have any kids to worry about.

Let me know how it works out.

[Zapparulez]

Oh and check out the "Redding Nickel" and craigslist for rental prices. If you don't mind a 20-30 minute commute along the freeway, I also recommend checking out Lake California in Cottonwood for some rentals. It's a gated community with pools, horse stables, a lake, and all sorts of great things...even a small airfield. lol I've been looking and it appears that you could rent a 3 bedroom/2 bath house for less than $1000 a month.

[SSIwillbebrokeby2010]

Today the President of the United States is coming into the Redding Municipal Airport in the Air Force One.
So, Airport Road is going to be very crowded!
Also, we have had so many Forest Fires here that the Fire Fighters are staying in many of the Hotel/Motels.
Are you sure you want to have a searching visit right now?
I mean that it's very crowded and a bit chaotic right now in the Redding area...
I hope you don't have any problems getting a room or driving around with all these things going on here in Redding right now.
If you want to stay away from all the things that are happening right now in the Greater Redding area, why not try smaller B & B's right outside of town?
I know in Anderson, there's an adorable old 1900's house B & B. It's right near the Anderson High School.
But, that will cost you more gass to get into Redding from Anderson. You would have to take the 273 to get into Redding. Although, the 273 has a faster speed limit.
Watch out for the I-5 today. The turn off's are very sharp!
Don't try any of the older Downtown area Motel/Hotel places, they are Full to the Brim with Section 8's, that live there all the time. You won't get any sleep!
My girlfriend and her mom are cleaners for the Hilltop drive Hotels. Those Hotels are much nicer than the older downtown area of Redding.
I would suggest as far as a Real Estate investment, to avoid buying in the South Western part of Redding.
There's going to be more low-income housing units going up there.
It will pull down property values. Also, the areas of older Downtown Redding like Placer Road, Court Street, and the area around Buenaventura and Market Street, are really going down in a bad way. Not a good investment area. Way too many low-income there, that only brings down property values.
That Parkview area, well it get's all this cutesy write up's in Magazines, but I don't think you want to live there!
I'm trying to tell the truth here, about what areas are not going to increase in value.
Area's that I might consider in the Real Estate of Redding. Well there's the newer Jenny Creek Subdivision. I think for awhile it would be good to raise a family there. You could send the children to Old Shasta Elementary and then onto Shasta High or the lovely restored Shasta Learning Center on Eureka Way., it's for very intelligent children and has an excellent music and arts division as well as U-Prep which is for younger brillient children that have a future in Universities right after High School.
The other newer subdivision there is very pricey, and very new. It's located near the Sunset Market Place store. Nice little market there.
The only problem with Eureka Way and Buenaventura is that they have just built nice new Senior Citizen housing Unit, and it will have lots of traffic. That can be cured by putting in plenty of traffic lights to control that. But, I'm sure in the beginning it will be a traffic hazard.
Also, way on the North Eastern part of Redding, closer to Hilltop area and the Mall, there's lots of nice older houses with land out nearer to the Shasta Community College as well as the housing nearer to Simpson College.
Simpson College is one of the most beautiful colleges I have ever seen.
There are lovely subdivisions way up above Redding, if you take a left at Caldwell park going up to the newer subdivisions there.
But, I have to say the Jenny Creek Subdivision is so perfectly located there. You can get to the Wiskeytown Lake and to older Redding where the 2 hospitals are located really easy.

[Zapparulez]

Like I said, it's all about taste. I wouldn't stay anywhere near Anderson Union High School...I lived in that area in high school and I found it to be drug infested. Perhaps the poster above doesn't see that anymore.

Southwestern Redding(southwest of Win River Casino), is actually quite nice. Out in the China Gulch area is really nice. I'd be wary of the older buildings in the inner city areas...better to look for the REO market. It should be getting cheaper and cheaper each month going into next year.

As for visiting, I would recommend waiting until at least late August. Give the firefighters a chance to really get on top of these fires. It doesn't help to have the President coming to slow things down. Of course, he has to look "Presidential", but he should just leave the business of putting the fires out to the firefighters already there. It's true that the firefighters are using up most of the hotel space right now, along with the large tent city out at the Anderson fairgrounds. At least that's how it was during my last visit, this past weekend.

I suggest ignoring "new subdivisions" or even new homes in general. You'll get ripped off in this market. REO is the only way to go right now. The market is getting flooded with them and now that the banking crisis is going into full swing (see IndyMac), they will finally start slashing prices on their REO properties. I personally am looking to buy next year...it'll be the perfect time to snatch some of these properties up.

btw, Highway 273 is 65MPH speed limit...but unless you have a map you will get lost once it gets into the city of Redding. I-5 is the safer place for out of towners. Get a map of Redding and find a good realtor. I like this guy(Vintage Team Bob and Kelli Neher - Lake California Real Estate), cause he seems honest. If you want more than an acre, look in the China Gulch area or in the Northwestern Redding. Cottonwood and Happy Valley also has some good property for sale. I'm talking way too much, but I've been doing a lot of ledwork of my own to find the best possible place for us to relocate too next year.

The only bad areas I can think of are most of Anderson, Shasta Lake City, and many of the inner city parts of Redding. Ok, I'll stop giving my opinion on the subject. And yes, SSI will be broke within the next decade.

[UTBFRED]

You guys are great. Just a wealth of information. This really helps quite a bit. We'll probably look at Cottonwood and the areas of Redding that have property. We are done with living in the burbs, children are grown and we have replaced them with very spoiled dogs! So, good schools are not an issue, in fact, we would rather not be in the vacinity of schools. I am well aware of the presence of the firefighters as my husband works for the local fire department and our group of firefighters just got back from there. I like the Hotels in Anderson (thanks Zappa dude!) and we probably will be looking at a trip middle to late August. Did someone say snow?!! I didn't think the elevation in Cottonwood or Redding was high enough for that. Except for the outskirts like Bella Vista and Shingletown area. We have a realtor that we like in the Redding area, but I will look at Vintage's site as well, never know when you might need to change realtors.

[Zapparulez]

Originally Posted by UTBFRED

You guys are great. Just a wealth of information. This really helps quite a bit. We'll probably look at Cottonwood and the areas of Redding that have property. We are done with living in the burbs, children are grown and we have replaced them with very spoiled dogs! So, good schools are not an issue, in fact, we would rather not be in the vacinity of schools. I am well aware of the presence of the firefighters as my husband works for the local fire department and our group of firefighters just got back from there. I like the Hotels in Anderson (thanks Zappa dude!) and we probably will be looking at a trip middle to late August. Did someone say snow?!! I didn't think the elevation in Cottonwood or Redding was high enough for that. Except for the outskirts like Bella Vista and Shingletown area. We have a realtor that we like in the Redding area, but I will look at Vintage's site as well, never know when you might need to change realtors.

It snowed the first year I lived in Cottonwood back in 1988...it didn't snow and stick again until a few years ago. It does snow in Redding more though...by more I mean not as many years in between. lol

PS I envy you. I want so badly to move back...but my wife's umbilical cord is still attached. heheh Enjoy your trip!