Is Chico area good for family??? (Santa Cruz, Paradise: for rent, how much, home)

[AbbeysMama]

My husband and I have been looking to move to a smaller town. I have been reading through alot of the Chico threads on here and have gotten good info but still have a few questions that really pertain to US. My husband is a tow truck driver. Does anyone know if there is work available for him? If so, how much do they make in/around Chico? He has 7 years of experience, and he is a clean shaven, professional guy, not a dirty, smelly, druggie type tow truck driver! He is a hard worker and loves towing. Also, we have a 10 month old little girl. Are there alot of family activites, i.e. Farmers markets, playgroups, parks (I have read that Bidwell is awesome), outdoor activites, etc? We really want a nice place to raise our daughter an maybe have more kiddies in a few years. We are in the bay area now and absolutely hate the urban feel. No outdoor activities, oh unless you like "hiking" through open space with no trees! Lame!

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance

[naomisday]

AbbeysMama,

Chico is known mostly for its university....you might wanna try and see if you can talk to someone
working up there..or alumni in the Bay Area...

I have heard it is pretty up there....it will be a LOT different then the Bay Area...make sure
it won't be too much of a shock or it may be just right...

Good Luck....

[AbbeysMama]

Oh yes, I forgot to say I've visited there when my husbands friend went to Chico state. Unfortunately we weren't there for the scenery, but to party... This was about 5 years ago... We are going to go visit for the weekend and check out other parts of town, and also other areas around Chico, like paradise. We don't want to be around all the college kids all the time, but still like the town We are 25 years old... And both over our partying days

[rdane1010]

I used to live there for a couple of years when I started college out of high school.. I would say its only a place to consider if you like the outdoors as the mountains are right there and there are a lot of outdoor areas like upper bidwell that you can go to.. there isn't much in the way of skiing or snowboarding that I know of nearby although you can get to snow within a half hour or so in the winter depending on the snow level. Also there is a large man-made lake in Lake Oroville nearby.

I kind of thought that a lot of the people there who weren't going to the college seemed like they wanted to just be away from everything but it is cheap to live there. It may be worth checking out but its definitely not a place that would appear to most people who live in more urban areas of California.

As far as farmers markets and activities.. I don't know about that, the town had sort of a dead feel in my opinion once you got outside the immediate downtown / college area. I would guess there is work there for a tow truck driver since there are a lot of outlying areas where people may break down in isolated areas so he would probably have to do a lot of driving around.

Actually just remembered that they do have a farmers market in downtown during the warmer months.. also they have fruit stands and stuff outside of town.

[Hawk J]

My Bro got a masters degree in psychology at Chico.

We would visit & sometimes go fishin' & campin' up at the lake.

[Curmudgeon]

My oldest daughter and her family live in Paradise and love the town as well as the schools for the children. You could do a lot worse!

[AbbeysMama]

Yes,we love the outdoors! That is one of the positives about Chico. We like the idea of biking, the river, hiking, right there where we live, instead of driving forever to get there. And we do love the prices for rent. Here it is 900 for a 1 bd in a bad area, and up there it's 650 for a 2 bd! Just from what I've seen on cragslist, I'm not basing everything on that though.

My friend has a co-worker who owns a home in Chico and lives here in the bay area, so that might work for our benefit. And my husbands co-worker knows some business owners in Chico as well, who may have conctacts in the towing field.

We are definately going to visit a few weekends before deciding anything. But I'm kind of excited

[Paige5]

I have lived in and around Chico for the last 15 years. (avoid Oroville) My home town is Santa Cruz and I feel like Chico is my second home town. I'm in my later 40's but with no kids.

Chico used to be nice and cheap housing wise and while prices have come down they have not come down in Chico as they have in other surrounding towns.

I really really like Chico. Downtown has a lot of students during the school year. But I have always felt at home here and hope to stay here when I retire. All the services you need but without the congestion of the bay area.

If you would consider renting first and have pets there are quite a few, nice, complexes that take pets. Good luck.

[Paige5]

Yes, do check out Paradise if you come to Chico. Cheaper housing. Be aware though, there is great fire danger up there.

[WesternPilgrim]

Chico has at least three farmers markets every week, and there are others in the surrounding communities. Many people find this is a very tough job market, but maybe it's different for tow truck drivers?