Considering moving from Wyoming to the California North Coast (San Francisco: sales, crime)

[Wyofan11]

I've lived in Wyoming my whole life and am feeling ready for a change. My wife and I recently visited the Eureka area and fell in love with the Redwoods, coast and weather.

I know California has its drawbacks but I want
some real advice on what to expect when it comes to relocating to that area. I have a journalism degree but work in media is extremely sparse in Wyoming. My wife will have an elementary education degree and while the jobs here pay well, they are extremely hard to come by. Most work in this state is low paying service industry or blue collar work but mining and such are on a rapid decline and cuts are being made everywhere as the state's economy and budget rely almost exclusively on the energy sector, which I'm not really looking to work in.

I just want to get a sense of how jobs and modest housing options (rent or buy) are along the North Coast of California, possibly even into southern Oregon. I was a substitute teacher for a school year, followed by working as an ISS supervisor at a school. I have also done photography for 10 years a
in addition to some newspaper work and other odd jobs. I understand Wyoming has far less taxes and is cheaper overall, but we're both very tired of the weather (long, frigid winters with subzero temps and wind followed by short, roasty summers). My ideal climate is 45-70 degrees constantly with some clouds and rain thrown in but not all year. The high elevation of Wyoming is increasingly affecting our health as well.

We want to live close to basic amenities which can be hard to come by here (I.e. Walmart) but not a dense population center like San Francisco. What are some good places to look in to? Are the jobs good? I'm relatively low maintenance and stingy... I live on less than 20,000 a year comfortably. I know that wouldn't cut in California though.

Any thoughts or advice? Sorry for the long post, just wanted to be thorough.

Thanks.

[BicoastalAnn]

One of my coworkers just moved to Lakeport so her husband could be the principal of a school there. They are nature-loving, and live modestly. They seem to love it up there, and it's within day-tripping distance of great towns to visit like Mendocino, Napa, Bodega Bay, etc. Good luck!

[sourdough]

Look into northwest corner of Cali and the Brookings, Or. area. I see those areas differently than many others because I'm retired. But if you find employment first and are frugal like you say, the locale might work. Where I'm at my wife's cats, " live on less than $20,000 a year comfortably". "I'm relatively low maintenance and stingy". My wife's cats, not so much

[TheDragonslayer]

I know many people that have taken the risk and moved to coastal Humboldt county, often without having a job first. Eureka's crime has spiked this past year, so I would not recommend Eureka, and Arcata is too expensive due to being a college town, likewise for Trinidad being a tourist town. McKinleyville is a bedroom community that is rapidly growing, Fieldbrook is just over the hills and Blue Lake is just up the Mad River from us and Arcata. We have two newspapers up here, the Times Standard and the Mad River Union that is a union of an Arcata newspaper and a McKinleyville newspaper, there is also the Lost Coast Outpost, local TV news stations are News Channel 3 and North Coast News.

We have a Walmart, Target and Costco, all in Eureka, there is a Kmart there too, Arcata has several grocery stores and grocery outlets, McKinleyville has two grocery stores and a large Kmart. Medical and hospital care are our biggest downfalls and the price to live here related to wages earned.


Martin

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

You'd find the weather you want and a Walmart here in Crescent City & Del Norte County. We do get a lot of overcast days, and sunny days that come with a lot of wind, and rains storms to beat the band in winter - but there are those perfect glorious days in there, too. I like it cool/mild, and am adjusting to the fog and clouds. You'll need to get checked for Vitamin D deficiency. After being here a year, I was low on Vitamin D. Started taking a hefty dose, and now I feel great. But, there is a trade-off to the mild temps. If you need a sun fix, though, you can just drive inland or take a weekend in Redding and go see a show or concert.

Jobs could be a problem. Here are some links to look at local jobs:

Employment Opportunities

Employment Opportunities - County of Del Norte

Pelican Bay state prison is just out of town. Not sure if that interests you:

Career Opportunities with CDCR

There's the Forest Service:

Jobs | US Forest Service

The local paper:

News | Crescent City California News, Sports, & Weather | The Triplicate

And sometimes jobs for Crescent City will be listed on the Humboldt Craigslist or the Oregon Coast Craigslists:

https://humboldt.craigslist.org/

https://oregoncoast.craigslist.org/

I think there are some private schools here, too. I'll let you Google those.

Everything in CA is not more expensive than everywhere else. In Del Norte County, you only have to get your car smogged when you buy it, and then when you sell it, but not in-between as long as you live in this county.

Property taxes in CA are actually pretty low - and they never get reassessed as long as you own the property. They can only go up something like 1 - 1.5% per year by law.

There is no tax on food. And if you live here, you just drive into Oregon to buy big ticket items where there is no sales tax :-) Also, gas in OR is about 50 cents per gallon cheaper. Same for on the Indian reservations in the area, which are closer than going all the way to OR.

I think your biggest challenge will be jobs.

Now, if you can take it much hotter for 6 months of the year, and maybe get a little dusting of snow in the winter - but otherwise lots of sunshine year-round, Redding would suit you. Lots more jobs and lots of shopping. I lived there for a year and would have stayed, but couldn't handle the long hot summers.

Good luck!

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, you might be able to get a job in something related to media at Humboldt State U. Don't underestimate the job potential of a university. I don't know what your experience in media has been, but there can be a variety of related jobs at a university.

For example, a writer for the alumni newsletter and other PR; sound specialist for concerts and lectures; recording specialist for the music department and archivist; studio photographer in the media dept., for faculty and students (and gen'l public, sometimes) needing photo documentation of documents, art, artifacts, etc. for various purposes (Power Point lectures, scholarly articles, etc.); staff photographer for various campus publications, course catalogs and university PR. Those, just off the top of my head.

A university gig can be a good one--good benefits, state pension, etc. Just saying: Don't overlook that potential job source. There's also College of the Redwoods, in Eureka.

[Wyofan11]

Thank you all so much for the thought out and helpful posts. They are helping greatly in my research. I really, really appreciate it!

[Wyofan11]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OP, you might be able to get a job in something related to media at Humboldt State U. Don't underestimate the job potential of a university. I don't know what your experience in media has been, but there can be a variety of related jobs at a university.

For example, a writer for the alumni newsletter and other PR; sound specialist for concerts and lectures; recording specialist for the music department and archivist; studio photographer in the media dept., for faculty and students (and gen'l public, sometimes) needing photo documentation of documents, art, artifacts, etc. for various purposes (Power Point lectures, etc.); staff photographer for various campus publications, course catalogs and university PR. Those, just off the top of my head.

A university gig can be a good one--good benefits, state pension, etc. Just saying: Don't overlook that potential job source. There's also College of the Redwoods, in Eureka.

Thanks so much for the tips.

[Wyofan11]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OP, you might be able to get a job in something related to media at Humboldt State U. Don't underestimate the job potential of a university. I don't know what your experience in media has been, but there can be a variety of related jobs at a university.

For example, a writer for the alumni newsletter and other PR; sound specialist for concerts and lectures; recording specialist for the music department and archivist; studio photographer in the media dept., for faculty and students (and gen'l public, sometimes) needing photo documentation of documents, art, artifacts, etc. for various purposes (Power Point lectures, etc.); staff photographer for various campus publications, course catalogs and university PR. Those, just off the top of my head.

A university gig can be a good one--good benefits, state pension, etc. Just saying: Don't overlook that potential job source. There's also College of the Redwoods, in Eureka.

Thanks! Something to look in to.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OP, you might be able to get a job in something related to media at Humboldt State U. Don't underestimate the job potential of a university. I don't know what your experience in media has been, but there can be a variety of related jobs at a university.

For example, a writer for the alumni newsletter and other PR; sound specialist for concerts and lectures; recording specialist for the music department and archivist; studio photographer in the media dept., for faculty and students (and gen'l public, sometimes) needing photo documentation of documents, art, artifacts, etc. for various purposes (Power Point lectures, scholarly articles, etc.); staff photographer for various campus publications, course catalogs and university PR. Those, just off the top of my head.

A university gig can be a good one--good benefits, state pension, etc. Just saying: Don't overlook that potential job source. There's also College of the Redwoods, in Eureka.

There's a College of the Redwoods campus in Crescent City, too. Forgot to mention that.

And you could look at work in Brookings, OR. Brookings is a wayyyy nicer town than Crescent City. But, the property taxes are higher in OR, so you might want to consider that. But, the town is eons cuter and classier. It's also only about 30 mins away from Crescent City, though.