Eyeing Chico but worried (San Diego, San Francisco: houses, neighborhood, wedding)

[mgforshort]

We spent two months in a motel in Red Bluff after the fire in Paradise. It is a lovely small town, many restaurants, OK shopping, traffic is, wait, there isn't any. The Five freeway is minutes away, the downtown has neat Victorian style homes, and the great Sarcamento River is in the middle of town.

If anyone needs more, Redding is really close.

Red Bluff has signs of powerty and homeless people, that is the only negative I could bring up.
We'd love to move to Red Bluff if not for the ever-increasing property taxes and insurance; that's the main reason we plan to get out of California after 41 years.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

We spent two months in a motel in Red Bluff after the fire in Paradise. It is a lovely small town, many restaurants, OK shopping, traffic is, wait, there isn't any. The Five freeway is minutes away, the downtown has neat Victorian style homes, and the great Sarcamento River is in the middle of town.

If anyone needs more, Redding is really close.

Red Bluff has signs of powerty and homeless people, that is the only negative I could bring up.
We'd love to move to Red Bluff if not for the ever-increasing property taxes and insurance; that's the main reason we plan to get out of California after 41 years.

Isn't it getting near impossible to get fire insurance in some of the locations after the state's largest fire in history right there? I was reading about it along with how many homes were built right on top of the most severe fire prone areas. Some are like ticking time bombs waiting the next mega fire to blast through. There's actually a state map showing the most fire prone regions. Though they apparently need to update them with the latest fire data.

A million California buildings face wildfire risk.

Derek

[mgforshort]

Property insurance near Paradise and Magalia is difficult to obtain. Now, after the fire of 2018, it will get worse.

The Red Bluff area is not so heavily forested therefore insurance is not hard to get and less expensive; that's what I heard.

[EscapeFromCalif]

Chico has a huge issue with transients that the City Council is doing NOTHING about. Police have their hands tied, all thanks to the current city administration. Until the administration is cleaned up so that the town can be cleaned up, I wouldn't even consider Chico. It was once a wonderful place to live, low crime, true community atmosphere, but not anymore and it breaks my heart.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by EscapeFromCalif

Chico has a huge issue with transients that the City Council is doing NOTHING about. Police have their hands tied, all thanks to the current city administration. Until the administration is cleaned up so that the town can be cleaned up, I wouldn't even consider Chico. It was once a wonderful place to live, low crime, true community atmosphere, but not anymore and it breaks my heart.

I wonder if its any worse than any of the other NorCal towns of similar size? Heck, even the big cities have a significant homeless population to deal with. This seems to be a much wider spread issue throughout the state - one not easily solved. Everywhere from San Diego to Crescent City to the sate capitol have this issue. And its not just California either. Though the milder weather does make it more attractive if one is living outside. We didn't see it as much while living in Colorado. Living a mile high on the continental divide is simply too brutal to live outside in. Between the lightning storms, severe hail, sleet, ice and snow it's harsh. Though I'm sure some may try.

Her's a surprising chart at least to me. Why would so many live in NY with the colder weather? Maybe that's where they grew up, perhaps?




Derek

[Count David]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

I wonder if its any worse than any of the other NorCal towns of similar size? Heck, even the big cities have a significant homeless population to deal with. This seems to be a much wider spread issue throughout the state - one not easily solved. Everywhere from San Diego to Crescent City to the sate capitol have this issue. And its not just California either. Though the milder weather does make it more attractive if one is living outside. We didn't see it as much while living in Colorado. Living a mile high on the continental divide is simply too brutal to live outside in. Between the lightning storms, severe hail, sleet, ice and snow it's harsh. Though I'm sure some may try.

Derek

Spoiler

There are plenty of homeless in both Denver and Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs recently bulldozed an encampment, and they are at virtually every off-ramp and park in Denver.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Count David

Spoiler

There are plenty of homeless in both Denver and Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs recently bulldozed an encampment, and they are at virtually every off-ramp and park in Denver.

That's surprising given the the very unstable and sometimes harsh climate. By comparison, I did not notice it at all while living in the Springs. It could be that the number is smaller in relation to the overall population. For example, go to LA and homeless seem to be everywhere. Here's a chart showing the relative amount by state from Statistica. A few surprises are places like Massachusetts and Alaska!




--Estimated rate of homelessness in the United States in 2018, by state

Derek

[Count David]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

That's surprising given the the very unstable and sometimes harsh climate. By comparison, I did not notice it at all while living in the Springs. It could be that the number is smaller in relation to overall population. For example, go to LA and homeless seem to be everywhere. Here's a chart showing the relative amount by state from Statistica:




--Estimated rate of homelessness in the United States in 2018, by state

Derek

Spoiler

They're all over the area around the Antlers hotel, along Fountain Creek, and in/around all of the libraries.

MOD NOTE: I'm going to get rid of this series of posts as it is off-topic.

[dylvargas]

Hippiegirl97......Its all about the housing in Chico. If you can find housing then you will probably love Chico. Yes its having some challenges but still an amazing place for most people. Tons of stuff to do and for FREE! One of the best parks to ride bicycles or walk in the entire United States. Look up 1 mile and 5 mile Park (Bidwell Park). Use a property management firm to avoid scammers on Craigslist about cheap rentals. Cheap rentals dont exist in Chico let alone Northen California. Auburn and Lincoln are nice but will be pricey. Neither town compares to Chico but are closer to cities with many amenities. The college offers a lot to the general public. Chico isn't the party town it used to be with the exception of Caesar Chavez Day and a couple other times. Red Bluff is a good financial fit but may be too small for your liking. Redding is having its own issues but has everything a person needs and many days of Sunshine. Redding is larger than Chico. Red Bluff and Redding are very hot in the Summer. They dont get the Delta Breeze Chico gets. Redding, Red Bluff and Chico are night and day different than Southern Oregon weather. I have lived in both. Northern California has better weather by far. Not even close (except this year with the rain so far). Redding has some cheaper options such as Anderson but Chico is different than all of these towns. The entire Sacramento area has some great options but again, costs will be higher than Chico, Redding and Red Bluff. Thats not to say you may find something but as a general rule. So in closing Chico, Sacramento suburbs and Sacramento are very nice places to fit what you are describing. Good luck!

[Radaghast]

Maybe check out Red Bluff? A town of about 15,000 people in the valley along I-5, roughly equidistant between Sacramento and the Oregon border. Housing is much cheaper than Chico, Auburn, or other small towns in those areas. The town itself is charming, and there's plenty of outdoor stuff that's accessible from there. Lassen National Park is a quick drive up Highway 36 and then you're surrounded by mountains, forests, lakes, creeks—pretty much anything you could ask for. You can drive to Sacramento in two hours or San Francisco in four. Redding also just recently restored commercial air service, so you could drive about 30 minutes north to Redding, and then fly to either San Francisco (1hr flight) or Los Angeles (2hr flight).

Food for thought.