Moving to Eureka from a hot Southern Cali! (San Francisco, Riverside: how much, university)

[PrettyRican]

I hate the heat...and when i say hate, I mean HATE. Rain and cold doesnt bother me as long as it isnt all of the time. I am looking at going to Humboldt University and am worried about the affect the weather will have on my mood. I currently live in Riverside, (or as we call it, Egypt) and it is almost always upper 70's and higher. Will I survive the rains of Eureka?

[ImRandy]

Eureka is about 300 miles north of San Francisco. You might get more responses if you post the question in the general California section.

[northbayeric]

Well let's see if the moderator moves this forum string over. Meanwhile, it depends on how much you like the sun and rain. Eureka averages about 38 to 40 inches of rain a year, most of which falls from early October to mid-May. Because it's right next to Humboldt Bay and close to the ocean, it stays overcast a lot even when it's sunny a couple of miles inland. It usually doesn't get warmer than about the mid 60s in the summer. Therefore you might want to find a place that's just a bit inland--more sun but not really hot in the summer. You'd have to go as far east as Willow Creek for that. So I would look at Eureka and McKinleyville. I don't care for Arcata, but hopefully you'll have the chance to comb the area before settling on a place. A bit to the south, there's Fortuna. And Ferndale is a terrific place to visit, especially just before Christmas, but it's a small town with limited and probably very expensive housing. Best of luck to you!

[northbayeric]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

Well let's see if the moderator moves this forum string over. Meanwhile, it depends on how much you like the sun and rain. Eureka averages about 38 to 40 inches of rain a year, most of which falls from early October to mid-May. Because it's right next to Humboldt Bay and close to the ocean, it stays overcast a lot even when it's sunny a couple of miles inland. It usually doesn't get warmer than about the mid 60s in the summer. Therefore you might want to find a place that's just a bit inland--more sun but not really hot in the summer. You'd have to go as far east as Willow Creek for that. So I would look at Eureka and McKinleyville. I don't care for Arcata, but hopefully you'll have the chance to comb the area before settling on a place. A bit to the south, there's Fortuna. And Ferndale is a terrific place to visit, especially just before Christmas, but it's a small town with limited and probably very expensive housing. Best of luck to you!

MORE: Eureka can really get a lot of rainfall from December through February, but still not as much as places like Crescent City (about 70 inches a year) or anywhere about 5 to 10 miles inland from the ocean where the terrain is mountainous. If you're attending Humboldt State, give McKinleyville a look. Fortuna would be a bit too far south, come to think of it. It takes a little while to drive on 101 through Eureka, since you're on a city street (part of it one-way) with a lot of traffic lights.

[gizmo980]

Moving to general CA...

[sammyjane]

the rain isn't that bad. it's that drizzly rain that isn't really enough to need an umbrella but still wet enough to not want to be outside much. i moved here from a hot summer area, too, and the rain doesn't bother me -- it's the lack of a real summer i don't like. in eureka summer lasts about 45 minutes. the two seasons here are wet and dry. there is no summer, winter, etc.

the total isolation from the rest of the world is another issue to consider. if you like to be able to get out and go places and do things stay away from this area. since you are looking at the university i'm assuming you are a twenty-something (although i recognize not every college student is). i haven't heard of much in this area for young people to do, but then i haven't really looked either.

you should try to get in touch with students at humboldt and get their opinions.

[minorbrew]

Originally Posted by PrettyRican

I hate the heat...and when i say hate, I mean HATE. Rain and cold doesnt bother me as long as it isnt all of the time. I am looking at going to Humboldt University and am worried about the affect the weather will have on my mood. I currently live in Riverside, (or as we call it, Egypt) and it is almost always upper 70's and higher. Will I survive the rains of Eureka?

I want to second the comments made by "northbayeric" and "sammyjane". They both presented a pretty accurate picture of how it is around the Eureka area.
I'm quite familiar with both Eureka and Riverside. Whether you'll be bothered by the considerable rain and overcast in the Eureka area is largely a personal thing. Those who stay in the area for several years generally just love the cooler climate and small town mentality and think anybody's nuts for living in any other part of California. Those who don't, generally move on in 2-3 years, if they can.
After a year or two at HSU, you should have a pretty good feel for whether this area is your kind of place or not.
minorbrew

[TheDragonslayer]

I moved here to Humboldt county in 1992. For seven years I lived in the southern interior part of the county where it gets very hot in the summer and cold with snow and considerable rain in the winter, up to 141 inch's in 1996 where I lived. I moved here to McKinleyville in 2000. It is much cooler here, it got into the nineties twice and hit 100 last May 15th. It hits the low 80's once or twice a summer with most days in the sixties and seventies. Fall is the best time here, right around late September to mid October, then the early rains hit right around the end of the month. In the eight years that I have been here, the least amount of rain I recorded is 37 inch's and two years ago we got 77 inch's here in McK. We get about 10 or so days a year with frost, some years a few more and a few years we did not get any frost. I happen to love the weather here. I hate the heat and the dry.