Anyone Know what Chico, Paradise are like (Sacramento, Magalia: apartment, home equity)

[2007NorthDakota]

What is it like to live in this area? would you recommend living here? thinking about moving to california. just wanted some info thats all.

[graffixjones]

I currently live in Chico, and it's a wonderful town. We've been called the "crown jewel" of the Northern Sacramento Valley.

We're also a University town, so we have a lot more cultural events here than you'll find in the other surrounding areas.

The only unfortunate part is that housing prices here are insane. I think the average wage is somewhere around $8.75/hr, but we have prices on housing that compete with the big cities.

However, that being said, we have the second-largest city-owned park in the nation, that's full of recreational activities. We also have intelligent planning, that includes protected environmental areas as well as a defined agricultural area (the west side of town) to protect the agricultural element that our town was founded on.

These also serve to limit the availability of land, though, so that has contributed to the skyrocketing housing prices.

During the summer we regularly hit triple-digits, though it hardly ever freezes during the winter. The last time we had snow (that stuck for more than an hour) was back in the 80's. During the summer it's hot and dry, and it's wet and mild during the winter.

Paradise is about 10-12 miles up in the hills from Chico, and the prices there are a bit better than down here in the valley. It's main drawback is that it's basically a retirement community, and doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of amenities. People on the ridge (as we call them) come down to Chico for most of the necessities.

Overall, it's a great place to live. I've found, though, that I want to actually be able to afford a house someday, so I'm starting to look out of state. If you already have some home equity, you should have no problem buying into this market.

One thing I'll mention if you plan on looking into the area, is that the Chapman Town area (where I am currently) is the less desirable (i.e. "ghetto") part of the city, and most people don't walk around at night, and most neighbors don't talk to each other. This is the area between Highway 32 on the north, Highway 99 on the east, Park Avenue on the west, and 20th St. to the south. There is also a little enclave of Chapman Town beyond 20th St. on the east side of Fair St. that ends at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds.

You'll also probably want to avoid the areas immediately surrounding the University, since the college students are pretty boisterous (weren't we all), and loud parties / altercations are common.

Good luck, though. I love the area and wish I could stick around, but home ownership is high on my priority list, as well as living in a safe neighborhood for my kids.

[2007NorthDakota]

thank you for the info.

[graffixjones]

No problemo. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[MotleyCrew]

We left Paradise two years ago for Arizona. I miss it very much. It is above Chico, up in the foothills on a butte or ridge and is surounded by two beautiful canyons. The drive up from Chico to our home was sometimes breathtaking. It is a small "mountain" town and I remember when we left that there was much work going on restoring the downtown core. The snowfall is not much compared to where you are coming from. The homes are considerably less expensive than Chico and if you drive a little further up the mountain, there is a small town called Magalia and it is even less expensive, but you do get a little more snow and you are 10 to 15 min further up the road. The art center in Paradise was my favorite spots, lots of fun and many different classes you can take. It was only a 30 to 45 min drive down to the center of Chico from Magalia. They have a very good Adventist hospital in Paradise. Good luck in your search.

[ehs]

Chico is really a nice place. I visited it when my friend got the admission of Cal State Chico graduate school in Computer Science. On the ride from SF to Chico is nice with great view, farms, fruit trees ...etc.

The campus is nice, the dorm is brand new with many facilities like luxury apartment Avalon Cove at Jersey City ... You would sure to love it ...

[SI LIFER]

I lived in Chico for three years..i loved it, nice people cheap food, lots to do, beautiful nature. I miss it very much.

[2007NorthDakota]

thank you for your info