Which foothills town? Chico, Grass Valley, Nevada City or other? (Sacramento: real estate, 2014)

[la_cavalière]

Originally Posted by Suttersmill

Me:
Looking for a rental $2500 per month budget, 2 bed/2 ba house/backyard with a dog.

Seeking moderately liberal, safe and friendly walkable community that likes dogs. Has mountain biking nearby. Seeking town less than 100k people that has a good scene, foothills desired.

No kids, late 40’s, music scene would be great (not hard core country)- Folk/rock/bluegrass.

So, does Chico, GV or NC make sense? If not, any recommendations?

Many thanks!

Nevada City (pop. 3,000) or Grass Valley (pop. 13,000) would be perfect for you. Both NC and GeeVee have charming walkable historic downtowns, miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, and a vibrant music/arts/theater scene. (Tiny Nevada City has two radio stations!)

People are very friendly, and and many have dogs. Politics lean blue (especially in/near town), with some libertarian streaks in the rural areas. Whatever our political slant, we all appreciate the beauty of the area. Rentals can be difficult to find, but if you look hard enough, your budget should suffice.

Before moving to Nevada City, we considered Auburn and Placerville. Auburn (pop. 65,000) has a cute downtown and is next to the awesome Auburn State Recreation Area. Placerville (pop. 11,000) also has a nice historic downtown and pretty scenery. Both are lower in elevation (read: hotter) and in more conservative counties. GV/NC is woodsier (lots of TALL pines) with a quirkier, bohemian vibe.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by la_cavalière

Nevada City (pop. 3,000) or Grass Valley (pop. 13,000) would be perfect for you. Both NC and GeeVee have charming walkable historic downtowns, miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, and a vibrant music/arts/theater scene. (Tiny Nevada City has two radio stations!)

People are very friendly, and and many have dogs. Politics lean blue (especially in/near town), with some libertarian streaks in the rural areas. Whatever our political slant, we all appreciate the beauty of the area. Rentals can be difficult to find, but if you look hard enough, your budget should suffice.

Before moving to Nevada City, we considered Auburn and Placerville. Auburn (pop. 65,000) has a cute downtown and is next to the awesome Auburn State Recreation Area. Placerville (pop. 11,000) also has a nice historic downtown and pretty scenery. Both are lower in elevation (read: hotter) and in more conservative counties. GV/NC is woodsier (lots of TALL pines) with a quirkier, bohemian vibe.

Good info! Thanks for posting. What are the summer temps in GV/NvC like?

[MechAndy]

Grass Valley, Nevada City and Auburn are nice.
Out of the three I would probably find something near Auburn.

Thinking out of the box I would go south in a heartbeat given a chance.
Your money would go farther in areas like Twain Harte and the area has more of the vibe you might like.

Good luck to ya.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

Grass Valley, Nevada City and Auburn are nice.
Out of the three I would probably find something near Auburn.

Thinking out of the box I would go south in a heartbeat given a chance.
Your money would go farther in areas like Twain Harte and the area has more of the vibe you might like.

Good luck to ya.

I was wondering about Twain Harte myself. But doesn't it get more snow in winter than Grass Valley?

[tikkasf]

My thinking is that Nevada City/Grass Valley area most likely would be the best match, going by what OP posted in her/him posting thread starter. OP had inquired about the Santa Cruz area in the past....these Sierra foothills Gold Rush type towns are likely more affordable from a housing standpoint. Perhaps OP can start planning a road trip to explore the area. I would assume that if OP was not up to driving fro CO, flights from CO to Sacramento could be easily had.....

[la_cavalière]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Good info! Thanks for posting. What are the summer temps in GV/NvC like?

Summers are hot and dry, with high temps in the 80s or 90s and the occasional heat wave. Luckily we have low humidity and lots of shade, and we're a short drive to higher (and cooler) elevations. NC is just below the snow line, but still get a few snowfalls a year. Last year we had two mega back-to-back storms right after Christmas, then nothing for the rest of the winter.

The main drawback, of course, is the fire risk and smoky air from surrounding fires -- but it seems that's a problem in a lot of the West now. We received a decent amount of rain this spring in addition to the two big snowstorms, but we are still in a drought.

It really helps to have a generator in case you lose power due to storms or PSPS (public safety power shutoffs), which they occasionally do in times of high fire risk.

[la_cavalière]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

Grass Valley, Nevada City and Auburn are nice.
Out of the three I would probably find something near Auburn.

Thinking out of the box I would go south in a heartbeat given a chance.
Your money would go farther in areas like Twain Harte and the area has more of the vibe you might like.

Good luck to ya.

Auburn would be a good choice for the OP, especially with all the mountain biking in Auburn State Recreation Area. It's closer to Sacramento and has more amenities (big box stores etc.). It feels more suburban than a quaint foothills town, though. And there are lots of mountain bike trails in GV/NC as well as other foothill communities.

Never been to Twain Harte, but it looks charming. Not sure it has the music scene or the liberal slant the OP is looking for.

[MechAndy]

My sister just bought a place in Auburn and she loves it.
She bought a new golf cart and is now learning how to golf .

I have friends from High School that live near Twain Harte.
We have stayed there over night and explored the area.
It’s really nice.
Looks like it does snow a bit and the lake near there house was close to dry but that currently is California.

Thinking about it I think I’d probably go with Auburn even though I don’t much care for Sacramento.

[Teacher Terry]

Placerville is a beautiful area but it’s definitely trump country so keep that in mind.

[Radaghast]

Originally Posted by Suttersmill

FYI, I read that the Chico city council flipped from Dem to Rep because of the homeless issue. Fine by me! When I say liberal I mean a town where carry/conceal and etc is not allowed. While I’m a straight male I support the rights of others in their sexual preference. I’m probably more libertarian - don’t tread on me (and others)

For what it's worth, if you're concerned about open and concealed carry laws you're less likely to be satisfied in most of the interior cities and towns. Outside of the coastal areas and Sacramento, California is pretty red and most county sheriff's will issue permits to anybody who passes a background check.

Chico's a pretty purple place nowadays but it resides within a county that's still deep red. I've never seen or heard of a broad prohibition of carrying firearms in town, such laws generally just pertain to city parks, as seen below:

12R.04.220 Firearms or Other Projectile Weapon - Possession and use - Prohibited - Exception.
A. No person shall take or discharge any firearm or other projectile weapon upon, through, across, or within any city park or playground except by special permission from the director.
B. All applicable federal, state, or municipal statutes, regulations, or ordinances related to firearms or other projectile weapons including, but not limited to, any park rule or regulation now or hereafter adopted by the city shall have full force and effect in city parks and playgrounds.
C. Notwithstanding the above, a person may take a firearm or other projectile weapon in Upper Bidwell Park while going to or coming from the Chico Rod and Gun Club facility. Such persons may only discharge a firearm or other projectile weapon in Upper Bidwell Park within the Chico Rod and Gun Club facility.
D. For the purposes of this section, “firearm or other projectile weapon” includes, but is not limited to, any pistol, revolver, rifle, gun, flare gun, paint ball gun, zip gun, spring gun, air gun, BB or pellet gun, rocket, rocket launcher, rocket propelled projectile launcher, slingshot, wrist rocket, bow and arrow, or crossbow or compound bow designed to propel an arrow.