Is Northern California receiving a big influx of remote workers?

[MechAndy]

Yeah I’m not feeling Temecula either.
One of my good buddies pulled stakes and settled near Prescott.
Built a fancy ass place that has no water.
Not a drop, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t allow rain collection there either.
He has to have his water trucked in into his holding tank.
Yeah, no thank you.

On another note,
I don’t think we could live where we do without StarLink.
I wonder how much that opened the options for people like us or rather how many more people were able to relocate to rural areas?

[18Montclair]

I would prefer La Jolla over Temecula, call me crazy.

[Outer_Bluegrass]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

I was kinda with you until I read the last sentence.

You'd rather live in Temecula than anywhere in SD county????

Really?

I don't like cool, cloudy, crowded places with bad roads.

[Axxlrod]

Originally Posted by Outer_Bluegrass

I don't like cool, cloudy, crowded places with bad roads.

So you'd prefer a hot, dusty crowded place with horrible traffic that's hours away from anything good?

[MechAndy]

18Montclair that was my first laugh of the day.
Thank you for that.

[Phil P]

So from what I'm hearing on here, Northern CA is still pretty much under the radar, for Californians and the rest of the US, despite all the changes.

As far as internet, it's much better than it used to be a couple years ago. Most towns have at least broadband now, if you're on 5+ acres, who knows, but actually in town, most communities seem to have reasonable internet. I have potential for 1 gig in Arroyo Seco, which is by no means a metropolis.

Originally Posted by AnythingOutdoors

Of the many remote workers I know, they all have two non-negotiables: Reliable high-speed internet and reasonable commute to the mother ship for monthly/quarterly in-person meetings. This can mean being a several hour drive from HQ, or reasonable proximity to a decent airport. Areas near airports and universities typically have decent enough internet. Most, but not all, remote workers prefer other urban amenities: restaurants, nightlife, shopping, culture, etc. Lower COL and QoL are the main draws.

Boise has had an influx of remote workers, whereas some of the more beautiful mountain towns... not as much (though still some). Take Baker City/La Grande OR, about 2-3 hrs from Boise. Stunningly beautiful, much lower cost of living, and the mountains in that area are breathtaking. But the nearest real airport is in Boise, so too remote for most remote workers.

What you're describing with Thompson peak sounds like a batholith, solid igneous rock that cooled underground and then exposed through uplift and erosion. The High Sierras are the quintessential example of this, including Yosemite valley and even better (in my view) the Yosemite high country. Similarly, much of the Emigrant Wilderness in the Stanislaus National Forest (just north of Yosemite) is essentially one enormous chuck of granite. I've done a ton of backpacking there, fantastic area filled with smooth glaciated granite pocketed with deep lakes and great trout fishing. But beware the mosquitoes in July!

Personally, I prefer rugged craggy mountains above tree line. Which is why I spent a lot of time in the High Sierras. The Trinity Alps in NorCal are great and fit this description, same for Mt Shasta and Lassen, yet these are relatively small areas. A big part of the reason we landed in Boise (vs North Idaho) are the Sawtooth Mountains of Central Idaho, which aren't as massive as the Sierras, yet more craggy and beautiful. As for trees, this is mostly a function of elevation. Throughout the mountain west, low elevations are dominated by Ponderosa Pine and sage brush; the middle elevations various fir, spruce, mountain hemlock, lodgepole pine, aspen, and alder; and higher elevations its white pine and related.

As much as I prefer Boise, it's not for everyone. It gets cold and snowy here, though not as much as many assume. And it gets hotter in summer than many expect, though not nearly as consistently hot as Redding, and we pay just $0.08 per kWh so we just run the AC. It's a bigger city than many expect with around ~800k in the Treasure Valley... I fairly regularly encounter folks who've moved here (usually from CA or NY) that are surprised by how urban it is, which I don't get, this stuff is super easy to look up online.

So it really depends on individual preferences. For those that really want more dense conifer forest, North Idaho/CdA/Spokane is a better option. Want a bigger city with world class skiing in your backyard? Salt Lake City. An even bigger city? Denver. For those looking for smaller cities, you have too many great options to list throughout CA, WA, OR, ID, MT, UT, CO, NV, AZ, NM, WY, and others.

Great post!

Ah that's interesting - returning to the mothership monthly means that it's just very flexible hybrid, not truly remote. I'm only obligated to once a year. Makes sense why people would be hesitant to be far from an airport then. And for what it's worth, it probably wasn't nature that drew people to the Bay Area, but work and maybe the urban environment - and I'd imagine many people working there in 2020 didn't have much family in the area.

Pikes Peak is a batholith too but it sure doesn't look like that, you can peel that rock apart with your hands a lot of times. It must be a much more recent, still hard version, cool! I just hiked Wheeler Peak yesterday, still got a mild burn from snow reflection despite putting on sunscreen 3 times , I was just thinking maybe I belong in the trees more than up above it all lol.

Originally Posted by AnythingOutdoors

I also wonder how many remote workers will end up doing the snowbird thing. Buy a house in Phoenix and a small house or condo in Spokane/North Idaho. Spend most of the year in Phoenix, then head north when it gets too hot. The northern residence can also be used for ski trips and the Holidays.

Usually remote workers are trying to make their paychecks go further so maybe a reverse snowbird , but trying get both of those during prime season sounds like a big hit to the wallet.

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

Yeah I’m not feeling Temecula either.
One of my good buddies pulled stakes and settled near Prescott.
Built a fancy ass place that has no water.
Not a drop, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t allow rain collection there either.
He has to have his water trucked in into his holding tank.
Yeah, no thank you.

On another note,
I don’t think we could live where we do without StarLink.
I wonder how much that opened the options for people like us or rather how many more people were able to relocate to rural areas?

That sounds annoying... I don't get people's obsession with having a lot of acreage and living way out... That's not convenient for daily living.

[SkyLark2019]

Originally Posted by Phil P

That sounds annoying... I don't get people's obsession with having a lot of acreage and living way out... That's not convenient for daily living.

One person's Paradise is another's Dullsville.

Just saying, wink wink.

[Ruth4Truth]

There's been a recent trend toward moving to Colorado mountain towns by the WFH and retiree contingents. These people are moving to the smaller towns outside the ski resort towns, where there are good medical facilities, good internet, and other services.

Places that were formerly populated by lower-middle class folks, some of whom worked in jobs related to the ski resort economies (construction/remodeling of vacation homes, medical tech and billing jobs, retail management, etc., as well as non-profit orgs) and by undocumented workers in the hotel and other service industries, have been taken over by people bringing their own jobs with them, and those looking for affordable places to retire. Many of the former residents have been pushed out by the sudden hike in rents and RE values, and the subsequent property tax re-evaluations. They've had to go farther away from the resort-town job centers, commuting in from an hour away, which in CO is problematic in winter.


This change in population has happened very fast, since Covid. I wonder if some of the influx may include people leaving CA. I haven't heard of such dramatic changes in the population base of small rural towns elsewhere, except possibly Pt Townsend, WA and maybe Bellingham? But not in CA, except for Eureka recently.

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by evening sun

I live on the outskirts of a small town in Butte county. We have Xfinity internet. A person would have to be really remote to not get good internet. There are choices for homes within or verging on town limits that are cheap & have good internet available. Now if you live on 10 acres 20 miles from town, that is a different story. But many housing options are available.

I was referencing places like on the northern coast that Ruth mentioned. I’ve driven there and it’s pretty isolated and some amenities you would have a long drive.