Considering Redding, CA (Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento: credit, equity, real estate)

[theslightedge75]

The truth about Redding: I have lived here since 1993 and I am more than ready to move away. It is WAY TOO HOT AND SUNNY ALL YEAR AROUND with temperatures reaching 118 in July, it is rarely cloudy and cool except for maybe 2 weeks in winter and then its sunny again. Its is very very lacking in the diversity department with the major population being about 90% white (nothing wrong with that) but theres too much racism and racial discrimination here. Real estate is a giant rip off with houses that used to sell for 80K are now 250K and rent is a rip off as well because I remember paying $425 for a nice house with a big back yard back in 1997, now that will cost you close to a $1000. GOOD jobs are very few and far in between, you would have to wait for someone to retire to get a shot at their good job. There are WAY TOO MANY police here, that have nothing better to do than hide behind stuff and write traffic citations. Meth is rampant, the sexual predators are shipped here intentionally after prison and the crime that happens DO NOT paint an acurate picture because it is intenionally kept supressed for tourism's sake.

But there are two lakes and alot of trees here.

[skitow]

Hi all. I had decided to move to Chico, but decided against that thinking a 60 year old man might not be accepted in a college town. So I decided on Redding, but after reading this whole thread, I have decided not to move to Redding. Too hot for my blood. I'm curious NOTMEOFFICER, I have read many posts by you, and have posted to you. I know you are sick of CA, and want to relocate. I do too. From what Iv'e read, Calis are not welcome in most states. I would like to move to OR, but don't want my property burned to the ground or my car trashed. What are YOUR plans to relocate? skitow.

[notmeofficer]

My plans are pretty simple

We want to develop our acreage here in Redding and take the money with us,, it would be irresponsible to leave such an asset on the table.. Im retired .. my earning power is done unless I want to work again doing something else.

Development of rural acreage is VERY difficult in this county if you need secondary access. The county hides behind this as a way to control growth,, Ive been battling them for 5 years now... neighbors wont cooperate.. so I have to wait for a developer to push a road through my area... its getting closer.

Im ambivalent about this.. I dont like unfettered development myself.. its what I am leaving California to avoid.. but Id be crazy to leave the potential dollars... so I will continue to try for it

We are looking for the following
Clean, safe, rural... nice small town...good medical (as we age we all look at this).. within two hours of a good airport... decent weather with little or no snow.. somewhere where it is green.. preferably in physical flora and fauna and secondarily in attitude.. yes I know.. tall order.. We dont like nuke power states and that cuts a lot of potential places out (We havent completely ruled out Ark).. We are used to the coast.. some of the Oregon coast looks good to us... but it comes with a California price tag.. there is no free ride

I could care less about "cultural diversity".. Ive had that experiment forced down my throat my whole life in California and Id prefer to live in an area where AMERICANS live.. I could care less about the color of their skin but I do very much care that they are citizens of this country

Ive lived in several states including on the east coast.. I do not like the east coast or south

For me.. and remember I come from a background that has seen the worst of what California has and I am defiantly affected by those experiences, California while having huge potential also has huge problems facing it. They aren't anything that every other place in the US (I mean that is pleasant to live in) isn't also facing... but it is the speed at which California is being overwhelmed by too many people, too much regulation, and too much abuse of its resources that I seek to get away from.

We have no boundaries.. we have even looked at other countries.. we traveled to many.. finding most of the ones to the south banana republics and to the east third world like.. all facing what we face.. but at a step lower in quality of life... even in these places money can only insulate you..

Nirvana is elusive,, but I know we will find it
but we will make some compromise....
for... there is no perfect place
.

[MRPD114]

Skitow, it appears true that other states seem to dislike Californians as we bring more money for real estate and other purchases that drive up their prices/taxes, especially for the locals there. Bend and Redmond Oregon are certainly in that mix.

Many Boomers are looking for their perfect spot to live, as is my wife and I. We have been researching, reading and talking to many folks while scouring the map and taking some trips to eliminate certain areas. It is a lengthy process, one I hope will pay off in the next two years when we retire, or semi-retire. If we haven't decided, we'll take off in the RV for awhile and search some more.

We have been visiting family in Redding for 33 years and spent many weeks on the lake and in town, but we don't have the true flavor of the town having not lived there. We own a nice condo there as an investment-which is up for sale now. Redding is on our good list!

NOTMEOFFICER has many posts here that accurately describe the region and it's good and bad points. Let's hope he, or someone, finds Nirvana, or a reasonable substitute, and quietly slips the info to us here...

[skitow]

notmeofficer. Point well made,but you can't wait too long as age catches up with you and I alike. As our good years keep slipping past, you and I have to make a choice. Might be in your good interest to take a hit in the wallet and move on. That is if you can afford to. I know this is off topic. So I will not dwell here long. I saw a show on tv that showed a CA couple that bought a nice home in New Zealand. That is beautiful country. Cost them about 500k. It truly looked like paradise. Got to end here or get zapped for off topic. Hope you get your goal soon. Stay safe,skitow.

[skitow]

Hi MRPD114. Yes, that is a problem. Calis move to different states and tend to drive up costs. From what I have read on this forum, some Calis move out of state and brag about how much money they made selling their CA property. Also trying to influence the locals by saying "this is how we did it in CA". I feel if more Calis would bite their lip and accept and blend in, could be more states would be more accepting of us. I can see why that would PO the locals. As far as Redding goes, I would be there yesterday if it wasn't for the heat. I can handle the high 90's, but 118 or so, is a bit much for my personal taste. If I ever find my perfect place, I'll be sure to post it. Take care,skitow.
P.S. If you have never rented a houseboat on Lake Shasta, for gods sake do it. There is nothing like towing your skiboat behind your houseboat. Go water skiing whenever you feel like it, then go inside for lunch. Fun times!

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by star13

I see that Redding has potential snow in the forecast today... I was under the impression from a lot of the statistics that I've seen that Redding didn't get snow... Is snow getting to be more common?
Also, when I was doing some apartment hunting on-line, almost all of the apartment listings stated that cats were not allowed. I think I saw only one ad that said they would only "consider cats". Is there an anti-pet attitude in the apartment complexes in Redding? I'm a little concerned about being able to find somewhere to live since I have a cat.
Thanks again!

We had a dog and now a cat - since while I love dogs - they chew everything in sight, including computer wires, electrical wires and musical instruments.

I'm an expro musician arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh.

But most of the damage is something you can see them doing.

Our cat is strictly indoors since we are also bird lovers - he is a great pet but in his younger days - took down and totally mutilated some drapes - I imagine that's what the apartments are thinking. People go to sleep and their cat does whatever he/she wants to quietly. Our also turned up on our bed and nearly gave us a heart attack a few times. <G>

So - now he's always in a little wire cage whenever we are gone or in bed. That way we can keep an eye on him. <G>

MajorHart

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by skitow

Hi all. I had decided to move to Chico, but decided against that thinking a 60 year old man might not be accepted in a college town. So I decided on Redding, but after reading this whole thread, I have decided not to move to Redding. Too hot for my blood. I'm curious NOTMEOFFICER, I have read many posts by you, and have posted to you. I know you are sick of CA, and want to relocate. I do too. From what Iv'e read, Calis are not welcome in most states. I would like to move to OR, but don't want my property burned to the ground or my car trashed. What are YOUR plans to relocate? skitow.

>I would like to move to OR, but don't want my property burned to the ground or my car trashed.

Does this happen in Oregon?

We lived in Medford 2 years and I lived in Klamath Falls and LaGrande one summer.

Did see of have any problems but we often came to redding because is was so much more lively that medford.

As far as people caring whether you are form California - I don't think they do - we've moved into and out of california 4 times and nobody cared that we had lived in California.

MajorHart

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by MRPD114

Skitow, it appears true that other states seem to dislike Californians as we bring more money for real estate and other purchases that drive up their prices/taxes, especially for the locals there. Bend and Redmond Oregon are certainly in that mix.

Many Boomers are looking for their perfect spot to live, as is my wife and I. We have been researching, reading and talking to many folks while scouring the map and taking some trips to eliminate certain areas. It is a lengthy process, one I hope will pay off in the next two years when we retire, or semi-retire. If we haven't decided, we'll take off in the RV for awhile and search some more.

We have been visiting family in Redding for 33 years and spent many weeks on the lake and in town, but we don't have the true flavor of the town having not lived there. We own a nice condo there as an investment-which is up for sale now. Redding is on our good list!

NOTMEOFFICER has many posts here that accurately describe the region and it's good and bad points. Let's hope he, or someone, finds Nirvana, or a reasonable substitute, and quietly slips the info to us here...

We also are considering Boise and Lewiston Idaho. Lewiston is quite a bit smaller than Redding - but I lived there one year and liked it. It's on a great area of water - the snake and clearwater rivers and mann lake and the mountains are very close. It's much more barren in general than redding but I've seen people in Cour D'alene talking of moving to Lewiston/Clarkston because it wasn't that much hotter in the summertime and was much warmer in the winter (due to snake river channel bringing warm air from the pacific)

Boise doesn't seem to have anything that is attractive to us - big city, high prices, and pretty much the same dry foothills as lewiston.

Both Lewiston, Cour D'alene and Redding (and Medford) have talk groups like this but Boise has nobody talking at all - that must say something.

We're old too - I work strictly on the internet and so far am far from wealthy, my wife works out and as lovers of the western mountains, we don't want to spend the rest of our lives here in Missouri.

MajorHart

[skitow]

Originally Posted by MajorHart

We also are considering Boise and Lewiston Idaho. Lewiston is quite a bit smaller than Redding - but I lived there one year and liked it. It's on a great area of water - the snake and clearwater rivers and mann lake and the mountains are very close. It's much more barren in general than redding but I've seen people in Cour D'alene talking of moving to Lewiston/Clarkston because it wasn't that much hotter in the summertime and was much warmer in the winter (due to snake river channel bringing warm air from the pacific)

Boise doesn't seem to have anything that is attractive to us - big city, high prices, and pretty much the same dry foothills as lewiston.

Both Lewiston, Cour D'alene and Redding (and Medford) have talk groups like this but Boise has nobody talking at all - that must say something.

We're old too - I work strictly on the internet and so far am far from wealthy, my wife works out and as lovers of the western mountains, we don't want to spend the rest of our lives here in Missouri.

MajorHart

Hi. I'm not going to answer your whole post. I'm just going to say that you are not OLD, just aging. Your mind is what counts. You seem young to me! Take care,skitow.