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Just got accepted to Humboldt State and it seems like a good school, and the bucolic beauty of the area is quite attractive. However I have young children and a family, and really want to know if the Arcata/Eureka area is conducive to family life. We are not in the marijuana culture and do not party, and like to feel safe and secure. Is the beautiful scenery and the proximity to the ocean worth the hippy dippy vibe? Also heard the crime rate was astronomical for the size (almost as bad as Stockton), and that there is a huge meth problem (among others- heroin, party drugs, etc.) Are there really grow houses all over, tons of homeless people and drug cartels? It seems unreal all the bad press that is out there on the area!
Also went on Megan's law and found an extremely large instance of sex offenders in the the area (130+ in just Eureka alone.) that seems exorbitant for such a small community. Humboldt State seems like an awesome school with an abundance of opportunities, but I really need to know that my family is going to be safe. While not squares, we are normal folk that abhor blatant and glorified drug use. We went to Fort Bragg once which is relatively close, and we were taken aback at the amount of shady looking characters who looked "very alert" if you know what I mean. Is Eureka/Arcata just more of the same?
We would love some people that live in Humboldt or have lived there to let us know what's up with the area. Should we trust the statistics and the plethora of bad things we have read? Or is this just negative press simply locals trying to scare away carpetbaggers, and annoying Bay Area and So Cal yuppies "looking to get out of the city" types. We just want straight up answers, we are regular people trying to better ourselves, not idealistic ideological kids or delusional yuppies. Please help.
This topic comes up quite frequently and you will hear both sides from locals as well as those familiar with the area. Bottom line is it won't be as cut and dry as one side being right and the other wrong. There is truth to both sides of the coin up there. Its a beautiful place, one of my favorites to visit for coastal redwoods and gorgeous nature. But there is a drug culture. The Emerald Triangle did not gets it name by accident. Its the largest industry in the region. In fact "it is the largest region in the United States that produces cannabis."
Whether you believe all the hype or not is one thing, but simply looking at the facts and economics is another. Numbers don't lie. Then you need to visit the place yourself, really. Perform your own due diligence before making any rash decisions based on what another forum member's opinion is including my own. You may end up loving it. On the other hand you may end up hating it. It really boils down to your own families goals, preferences, likes, dislikes, etc... Based on some of the comments you've made alone about Fort Bragg I would say you got a little flavor already of the region there. The numbers you've quoted are real. Whether you can hang with that culture and feel comfortable as a family or not will differ greatly from the next individual/family.
Another consideration is the different neighborhoods/towns, some of which are more family oriented than others. Mckinleyville is pretty nice for example, at least for the area. My Coast Guard buddy was stationed there with a young family and liked it alright. Personally, I enjoy visiting but wouldn't want to live there. The region is just too depressed and it shows. But for a limited time to go to school it may be doable for you and your family. You gotta visit with them to see if they can handle that whole NorCal coastal scene. It definately has a vibe of its own, a throwback in time to the 60s in a number of ways. Though the pot business is much less about peace and love and more about cash. You don't want to wander off trail onto someone's grow.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 12-30-2012 at 10:16 PM..
Just got accepted to Humboldt State and it seems like a good school, and the bucolic beauty of the area is quite attractive. However I have young children and a family, and really want to know if the Arcata/Eureka area is conducive to family life. We are not in the marijuana culture and do not party, and like to feel safe and secure. Is the beautiful scenery and the proximity to the ocean worth the hippy dippy vibe? Also heard the crime rate was astronomical for the size (almost as bad as Stockton), and that there is a huge meth problem (among others- heroin, party drugs, etc.) Are there really grow houses all over, tons of homeless people and drug cartels? It seems unreal all the bad press that is out there on the area!
Also went on Megan's law and found an extremely large instance of sex offenders in the the area (130+ in just Eureka alone.) that seems exorbitant for such a small community. Humboldt State seems like an awesome school with an abundance of opportunities, but I really need to know that my family is going to be safe. While not squares, we are normal folk that abhor blatant and glorified drug use. We went to Fort Bragg once which is relatively close, and we were taken aback at the amount of shady looking characters who looked "very alert" if you know what I mean. Is Eureka/Arcata just more of the same?
We would love some people that live in Humboldt or have lived there to let us know what's up with the area. Should we trust the statistics and the plethora of bad things we have read? Or is this just negative press simply locals trying to scare away carpetbaggers, and annoying Bay Area and So Cal yuppies "looking to get out of the city" types. We just want straight up answers, we are regular people trying to better ourselves, not idealistic ideological kids or delusional yuppies. Please help.
Well, stay out of the forests and watch out for sharks in the ocean.
That's what my friend who went to Humboldt did and he was fine. He was normal and not a pothead type. I'm forgetting what he studied, but he went up there because they had a better program than Fresno State at home.
Thank you Derek for your insight. Having money would probably help the situation, allowing us to live in a safer area. But I am afraid we'd have to live in less than desirable area next to a grow house or a weed/meth/heroin/ecstasy dealer(or a whole neighborhood of them!)Sucks. I really thought it might be a viable option. Bummer, but family first.
Not speaking about hard drugs, but if you're not into the "marijuana culture," at the very least hope you are a live-and-let-live type, because the use of it by the locals cuts across nearly all social strata, including professors, lawyers, medical people, merchants, and "normal looking" parents, not to mention the hippies, transients, and of course, your fellow students. In fact, some students pick Humboldt State in part because of the availability of the local product. You will be surprised at the prevalence.
Marijuana is the (barely) underground economic engine of the area. It is tacitly condoned. It is entrenched and has been for 40+ years. It's the ironic Establishment of the area. Children know all about it, and early. If you are openly intolerant, you will not be trusted, and your potential for social linkage will be affected.
Not speaking about hard drugs, but if you're not into the "marijuana culture," at the very least hope you are a live-and-let-live type, because the use of it by the locals cuts across nearly all social strata, including professors, lawyers, medical people, merchants, and "normal looking" parents, not to mention the hippies, transients, and of course, your fellow students. In fact, some students pick Humboldt State in part because of the availability of the local product. You will be surprised at the prevalence.
Marijuana is the (barely) underground economic engine of the area. It is tacitly condoned. It is entrenched and has been for 40+ years. It's the ironic Establishment of the area. Children know all about it, and early. If you are openly intolerant, you will not be trusted, and your potential for social linkage will be affected.
Hahaa, yes, this reminds me of a story in a post a while back about a group of ppl having a smoke out. And the only thing the cops cared about was busting someone who accidently stepped on a 'native plant.' I mean, C'mon, those things are precious and endangered don't you! Who cares about the locals having a smoke off in the park. If you're are an intolerant, ganjaphobe, etc... you are vile, plain and simple.
Will someone please address my main concern which is the prevalence of crime and the ability to raise children in a safe and nurturing community? I am not so much concerned about the marijuana usage as the hard drugs and crime that seems to prevail (according to various reports and stats.) Also if it were just a bunch of people smoking pot and having a good time fine so be it, but it seems that the insidious nature of the drug trade in Humboldt is quite concerning. Like, for instance having grow houses and gun toting cartel members walking the streets.
All I want to know is it safe or is it not safe for families? plain and simple. Please don't turn this into some ganjaphobe discussion as that is not what I am. I just want what is best for my family, and am in the process of making quite a large and important decision.
It sounds like you want to be talked out of reality. The posters here and your own research have provided you with the facts. Everything said here is the truth. You seem to want to ignore it.
You CANNOT ignore the marijuana issue. It's more than people "having a good time." It is linked with everything. It is the lifeblood of the area. This isn't like the common party use on the other CalState campuses. The area ran out of fishing and lumber decades ago. They have raised generations of children on the pot trade. There are songs like "Family Felony." Everyone is in on it in one form or the other. They spend or accept the money the trade provides. As they say, everyone in the County has "sticky fingers."
Yes, there are grow houses everywhere, in every town in the County. Some empty except for plants, or resident people growing in their own garages; one garage-full can earn $100,000 or more, depending. They grow on public lands, which have been invaded with foreign nationals, especially Mexicans. They are especially dangerous. They are armed. They come into town for supplies. Hard for many people to resist the trade when there are no jobs and the population hasn't increased in 40 years. Yes, there is crime, the usual college town crime in Arcata, i.e., burglary, drunk and disorderly, sex crimes, assault. But now the growers have gone more underground as the FedGov comes down on quasi-legal growing. People are more paranoid. They have guns. Most of the County is semi-rural anyway; rural people have guns, by and large, but growers especially.
As the price of pot falls, and it has, some people who depend on that income turn to selling other drugs. The lower-level bud trimmers who are frequently street people have to turn to other forms of income. Those who are arrested for drug, sex, or other crimes are released back to the same towns. Eureka is the only "urban" area, if 30,000 people can be called urban, and that's where the County Jail is. Not to mention one of the most dangerous prisons in the state, Pelican Bay, is in the next county up.
But is it "safe" for you and your children? Safer than what? It's safer than Detroit. You gave no indication of where you're coming from or what you're used to, how your children will get around, their ages, if you will be employed, etc., so it's all relative.
Last edited by nightlysparrow; 12-31-2012 at 11:40 AM..
You're asking for a "yes-no" answer for an area that is larger than five states and has innumerable neighborhoods. If your family values are so weak that they would be destroyed by finding out that you are living next to a grow house, better stay away.
Last edited by eureka1; 12-31-2012 at 11:04 AM..
Reason: typo
My ex-brother in law and his wife live in Crescent City and work at Pelican Bay. They feel safe enough to live up there. And I felt fine when my daughter visited them over the summer. He's been trying to arrange a transfer as he wants to be closer to his parents in Porterville.
Can't promise you perfect safety though. /shrug.
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Who cares about the locals having a smoke off in the park. 
If you're are an intolerant, ganjaphobe, etc... you are vile, plain and simple.
