Chico, CA (Sacramento, Richmond, Roseville: apartments, crime, house)

[outaPA]

Have done some research and Chico sounds like a nice place to live in. It got a good write-up as an art town. Is there a strong artists's community? Are there many farms to provide fresh, local produce (I'm vegetarian)? Is there easy access to trails for horseback riding? Is good horse boarding available? How is the public school system? Is Chico affordable on a teacher's salary? It appears housing is reasonable, is that correct? Any drawbacks or something one should be wary of? What are other's experiences? Thanks to all who respond.

[Arngautr]

I've lived here nearly my whole life (I'm 23, and moving to VA for a Software Engineering Position). Chico is a decent town. Cost of living is not high but housing has gone way up over the last few years - all relative but try to find current market values and not stuff from the 2000 census. Agriculture is pretty big around here and during growing season the city holds 1-2 weekly farmers markets where they block off a good portion of downtown. It is a college town, but if you aren't near the college (eg downtown esp. at night and near apartments) you would hardly know it, though if you have kids you might want to keep them from having too much fun (considered a party town so that's there if one wants it or if, as a parent, one doesn't want it). Traffic has gotten quite a bit worse over the last few years and crime has increased moderately, may just be a blip but who knows. The public school system has some very good schools and less good schools, if you do some research you will be pleased but really, as anywhere the parents matter most (secondary: PV is very good, more the 'preppy' school. Chico High has a more drugs and that sort of element, but it is next to the college so the students can easily take advanced classes there and it isn't bad I'm just stereotyping). Going back to the fact that it is a college town: the college historically graduates a lot of teachers so competition for a job might be tough if that's your field. The art element is pretty strong and the city has been trying to foster its development while at times cutting back public school art programs <- also look into that if that is your profession. WRT horses you really can't beat Bidwell Park, though I don't know much about boarding. Generally you should steer clear of ChapmanTown, not terrible but a lot poorer than the rest of the city and has all the things that go along with that. Consider also Durham and Paradise, they are more away from the city. I don't know where in PA you are from but Chico may be quite a bit different, Summers are HOT AND DRY, and Chico is surrounded by farmland on one side and the foothills on the other (check out Google Earth), the area is not one big city like parts of the East and other areas of CA.

Keep in mind that I don't have a lot to compare it to so that may bias my response, and hopefully someone with a better perspective responds.

Wow, that turned out quite a bit longer than I expected, well bedtime for me. good luck with all that.

Edit: I guess I should mention that the general populace doesn't care at all about the art stuff but the crowd that does is large enough.

[outaPA]

Thanks a lot for your response, Arngautr. Sounds pretty good so far. I used to live in Florida, so hot is good for me. I'm anglo but also speak Spanish, so would that present more opportunities for somebody there? There doesn't appear to be many hispanics there from what I've read.

Best of luck to you with your new job in Virginia. That will be a big change. Virginia has milder winters than here but I've heard once you get in some of the smaller towns (or even Richmond I heard) there are a lot of conservatives and biblebelt types. It is a pretty state. Definately check out the Blue Ridge Parkway for sightseeing in the beautiful Appalachian Mts..

[Arngautr]

Chico is pretty white, too white really. Spanish helps some but its not that important; I rarely use it (in school it was my worst subject but with 5 years of it, 2 AP, even I picked up enough to crudely communicate). If you go out to Hamilton City or Orland it would be more important. Lots of places for Mexican food though.

Politically Chico is more conservative than the rest of the state (the Coast). With the exception of the Governator the state has a one party system which sucks no matter which side is in power.

I'm moving to the Tidewater area; actually touching on your mention of religion I'll be an atheist in Churchland, which I'm not to keen on but it should be alright. Here I'm more of a conservative, there I'm probably considered more of a liberal but we'll see.

My concern though is that if you are a teacher and don't have a job in the pipeline finding a job might be tough. Awhile back the teachers were fighting the school district for higher wages; I'm not sure how that turned out but you should look into it too.

[Sharinali]

I have lived in the surrounding area of Chico all of my 55 years. I live currently in Lincoln about 40 miles away from Chico. May I suggest some areas that you may want to check into?

First, check out the Marysville and Yuba City area. The areas there still have affordable housing. They are agricutural areas and grow a lot of the fruits, vegetables and rice in the whole Sacramento valley. Both are in rual areas and a lot of the homes are in the country with cattle, horses and other animals. There are several cattle ranches and horse ranches. There are a lot of Spanish speaking people there because of the work available. The schools are still small enough that the student get individual attention. Education is very important there. Marysville High School is very beautiful and the hospitals are good. There are great restrauants and beautiful places to visit, places to fish and places for recreation. If you like to bicycle, there are numerous bike trails.

Also check out the Lincoln area. Lincoln has everything to offer. Wonderful places to live, go to school, eat, play and enjoy life. The population has grown by triple in the last five years. From about 6,000 people to about 20,000. Lincoln is 10 miles from Roseville, 20 miles from Marysville, 25 miles from Yuba City and 30 miles from Sacramento (California's capital). Because of it's growth, Lincoln is building new schools, medical centers, shopping centers and arts centers. There are jobs available. Lincoln was claimed as the fastest growing city in California in 2004 & 2005.

Roseville has more than enough to offer any person. But Roseville is too expensive to live. Population there is about 120,000. Medium house range is about $425,000. Where as Lincoln's medium is about $375,000. Marysville medium is about $345,000 and Yuba city is about the same.

Elevation is very important. We are below the snow and the weather is warm and pleasant in the area. Our average cold weather is about 32 degrees to 55 degrees in the winter and from 55 degrees to 100 degrees in the summer. We have hit 110 degrees at times, but rarely.

Our worst problem may be too much rain which can cause a lot of standing water. We have had areas in the Sacramento valley which have had some flooding. This again is not all the time and is rare. We have had unusual amount of rain this year.

So if you want a good place to live, work, play, raise children have wonderful weather, good schools and great medical, check out our area. Marysville and Yuba City are farms, ranches, and rual areas. Lincoln is urban and farming with some beautiful ranches. Roseville is city. We do have very nice lakes and rivers and we are located about 2 hours from just about any environment. Head west for 2 hours and be at the ocean. Head north 2 hours and be in the mountains, head south about 4 hours and be in the desert. We also have high plains desert about 2 hours north. The Redwoods are about 3 hours northwest.

So yes our area is a wonderful area to live. Check it out for yourself. Good luck to you and happy hunting.
Sharinali

[outaPA]

Thanks very much for your reply, Sharinali. The whole area sounds nice, actually.

Being a farming area, do they have farmer's markets where they sell their produce? Are organics big around there?

One of the reasons I had been considering Chico, was because it got written up as having a strong artist community and I am also an artist and thought that it would be a good area to make connections with other artists. Are you familiar at all with Chico?

[fastfilm]

outaPA, I'm not from the area you inquired about, but am an artist. Most true "artist's areas" are in expensive locales, where the people have a lot of disposable income to spend on art and gallery-hopping. Think Carmel and Sedona, both far from cheap! Keep asking whether or not the well to do ranchers in this area support art.

[the_dallas_dean]

I have been looking into Yuba and would like to know the (real) differences in South Yuba city and Yuba City.

After reading the $375,000 for "medium" it discourages me. I realize that is not a shock to some but I live in Dallas....2500 Sqaure Feet, Beautiful, well kept neighborhood (on a creek and wildlife preserve), centrally located (5 minutes from the Galleria and 635), ...will probably sell for 250 max, SO, Yuba might not work.I guess we have not reached the Shock Price tags in Dallas yet...it is still so affordable to live here......but getting really crowded, and I would like to be in a smaller community with a lower cost of living.
Any suggestions for a DRY climate-Low Cost of living? I am fairly open and adaptable.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by the_dallas_dean

I have been looking into Yuba and would like to know the (real) differences in South Yuba city and Yuba City.

After reading the $375,000 for "medium" it discourages me. I realize that is not a shock to some but I live in Dallas....2500 Sqaure Feet, Beautiful, well kept neighborhood (on a creek and wildlife preserve), centrally located (5 minutes from the Galleria and 635), ...will probably sell for 250 max, SO, Yuba might not work.I guess we have not reached the Shock Price tags in Dallas yet...it is still so affordable to live here......but getting really crowded, and I would like to be in a smaller community with a lower cost of living.
Any suggestions for a DRY climate-Low Cost of living? I am fairly open and adaptable.

Northern California is a "dry" climate only in terms of the summer growing season. From November on into May, in can be quite damp. Sounds like your ticket is right next door: New Mexico...maybe some place like Silver City.

[Pepper]

Thought the housing prices are pretty high. It is a lovely area in the hills just around the snow line. They have lots of organic farms and markets.

Northern California is not a dry climate though, that would be more of the Southern end of the state.