Paradise CA any advice? (Sacramento, Davis: fit in, for sale, houses)

[bjewell]

Hi folks,

I retired in 2016 and returned to the northcoast from Sacramento, bought an old (1912) craftman in Fort Bragg and looked to settle in. Unfortunately, the coast is nothing like when I lived here from '70 to '84. I'll leave it at that. I also miss the warmth of Sacramento and the climate to grow a good garden.

I have a budget that makes $300K the top of my housing purchase; I know that isn't much and it rules out places like Nevada City. How about Paradise CA? I want to be close enough to Sacramento to be able to see my doctor, dentist, old friends. Paradise is on the outer limits of that but doable I guess.

I don't see an actual town there. Seems like some miles of strip malls and gas stations, franchise places. I'm your basic long(gone) haired redneck hippie I guess. Like to play music out again, shoot my guns at a range, be able to go to a few decent places for dinner on Saturday.

Would Paradise fit the bill? Anywhere else?

Big thanks and God Bless....

Tq

[Snort]

I don't understand the appeal of Paradise. I'd rather live closer to Chico, if I had to be in that area.
Is Fort Bragg getting too "druggy" (for lack of a better term)?

[JGC97]

bjewell, there are other places closer than Paradise. That's over 90 minutes away from Sacramento and not a good choice should you need immediate care.

Nevada City is indeed unique but lots of places nearby that would suit you (maybe). Not sure what you want in a place but see what's available in El Dorado County. Nevada County's prices are a bit higher than right next door in ED Co. Placerville is good but if you want something a little less congested, where you hear yourself think (so to speak), look at a place like Pollock Pines. It's a little higher up the mountain and you'll see snow in the winter but it's very nice and bit closer (1 hr) to Sac than Paradise. Besides that, there's something about the area that doesn't make you think you're cut off from the rest of the world.

Paradise is nice, don't get me wrong, but it's pretty isolated. If you're retired (like many of us are) the last place you want to be is stuck in nowhereland where help is a little farther away. Not that being near a facility will save your life but you have a better chance than if you have to be air-lifted to the nearest hospital.

Some suggestions for other counties. Example of searches for a 2-bedroom house. I left in manufactured homes, just in case you're interested.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...ct/8_zm/0_mmm/
https://www.zillow.com/homes/nevada-county-ca_rb/
https://www.zillow.com/homes/placer-county-ca_rb/
https://www.zillow.com/homes/amador-county-ca_rb/

You can always look at Placer, Plumas and even Amador. Actually, thinking of Amador County, there are some pretty nice places up in and around Pioneer and in your price range but beware of something most people don't consider. When you live a little higher in elevation, you're likely to require propane for your gas source and propane has gotten horribly expensive. A good wood burning stove will suit you, though, if you keep a good wood supply. Good luck in your search.

[BeauCharles]

Paradise isn't really "isolated". Its a town of 27,000 people with a 100+ bed acute care hospital (Feather River) and should they need to they can take you to Enloe Hospital in Chico (a small city of 90,000). Its only 30 minutes by ambulance or a few minutes by helicopter. Probably half the town are retired people. If it were that hard to get medical care I doubt they'd live there. Its a hell of a lot better situated for medical care than Ft. Bragg or some of those areas you mentioned.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by bjewell

Hi folks,

I retired in 2016 and returned to the northcoast from Sacramento, bought an old (1912) craftman in Fort Bragg and looked to settle in. Unfortunately, the coast is nothing like when I lived here from '70 to '84. I'll leave it at that. I also miss the warmth of Sacramento and the climate to grow a good garden.

I have a budget that makes $300K the top of my housing purchase; I know that isn't much and it rules out places like Nevada City. How about Paradise CA? I want to be close enough to Sacramento to be able to see my doctor, dentist, old friends. Paradise is on the outer limits of that but doable I guess.

I don't see an actual town there. Seems like some miles of strip malls and gas stations, franchise places. I'm your basic long(gone) haired redneck hippie I guess. Like to play music out again, shoot my guns at a range, be able to go to a few decent places for dinner on Saturday.

Would Paradise fit the bill? Anywhere else?

Big thanks and God Bless....

Tq

cost of property, I really can't advise as it has been several years since we have dealt with selling in Paradise. My parents lived there from 1974 when my dad retired until my step mom died about 5 years ago. We sold their duplex for about $200,000 I believe. As for just one shopping strip on top of another, Paradise has a lot more than that to offer. I always thought if we had stayed in CA we would have retired there It is a wonderful city for retireees. I do wonder about the commute to Sac. I don't think you can do it in less than about a hour and 1/2. As you get older this can be a huge negative. Long haired, redneck hippy: should fit in fine. As far as I know the town is very much a mixture of conservative and liberal or it used to be.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Snort

I don't understand the appeal of Paradise. I'd rather live closer to Chico, if I had to be in that area.
Is Fort Bragg getting too "druggy" (for lack of a better term)?

If the OP doesn't want to live with one mall on top of another, why Chico? Not to mention the difference of the beauty of Paradise versus Chico and the feeling of small town USA? Sorry, I totally disagree with your view. Again, just my opinion which probably means little.

[Snort]

Originally Posted by nmnita

If the OP doesn't want to live with one mall on top of another, why Chico? Not to mention the difference of the beauty of Paradise versus Chico and the feeling of small town USA? Sorry, I totally disagree with your view. Again, just my opinion which probably means little.

Different courses for different horses.

[MinimalistMary]

Sierraville or Loyalton would fit though my favorite town is Sierra City. There are many nice homes under 300K right now. Better weather & air

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...rice-na-300000

Sierraville is the easiest town to jump on Intestate 80 to Sacramento but it's a bit more expensive and very few homes come up for sale

[bjewell]

Thanks all. I really appreciate the input. I have a friend who retired to Drytown from Davis. He loves it there. I-50 works as well as I-80 so the Placerville -> south area would be doable. Nevada City/Grass Valley is an ideal place for me because I still hope to get back to playing music live, something I did a good part of my younger days.

This is OT, but I cannot for the life of me understand how regular folks make the money to live in NorCal. I saw a duplex house for sale in my old Sacramento neighborhood (East Sac/McKinley Park) going for $1.4M. ??? This is standard for that neighborhood now. And Marin/Sonoma Counties are even more expensive. What do you do to make that loot especially when all of the houses cost that much and even the slums are $400K to get into?

[semispherical]

Originally Posted by bjewell

Thanks all. I really appreciate the input. I have a friend who retired to Drytown from Davis. He loves it there. I-50 works as well as I-80 so the Placerville -> south area would be doable. Nevada City/Grass Valley is an ideal place for me because I still hope to get back to playing music live, something I did a good part of my younger days.

Have you looked into the Penn Valley/Smartsville area? You may find it called "Smartville" -- the locals have been trying to fix the name.