Relocating to Humboldt County? (San Francisco, Santa Cruz: hotels, school, college)

[Sensimilla]

We are looking to relocate to the Humboldt County area to go to school at HSU. I have been to the campus once before to visit some friends and I fell in love with the place.

Our main concern is finding work before we move, I work in customer service and hotels, and my fiance works with kids who have special needs, but is willing to change jobs for now. She is working towards her education degree, after which she hopes to become a special education or early development teacher. I am working on my BAS in Web Development currently, but may be switching majors.

I heard students can get jobs "trimming" but you have to know the right people? Please PM regarding this info.

We are not big stoners or anything, but we do like to smoke. we are outdoor enthuasists who hope to embrace the lifestyle of the area.

Another concern we had was crime, I know people guard their plants with their lives, so what happens if I am out hiking and I stumble upon a field of plants? Does this happen often or do they go out far from the main areas? I am not looking for trouble, I just want to hike.

I am moving with my girl, and my best friend. We plan on finding a 2bd place, maybe even a small house. He's a server so finding a job for him should be simple.

Thanks in Advance!

[wburg]

Keep in mind that there are several thousand college students in Arcata who all want those low-end minimum wage customer service jobs, and quite a few out-of-work locals too. I was not kidding when I said that people with master's degrees work fast food in Arcata. There are some hotels on the north end of Arcata and in Eureka, so there is work to be had, but try to have something lined up before you arrive. Or, like I said, take a trip up there and see how you like it. Preferably in late fall to early spring, when you'll see the rainy season (most of the year) in action. If you like the dry Phoenix climate, the constant rain, fog and dampness of Humboldt County might not be to your liking. Bring resumes and check out the hotels and other businesses to find out what the hiring situation is like there. With the state in a downturn, tourism is down (a major draw for the hospitality industry) so they might not be hiring very many people.

On the plus side, HSU is a great school for educators--it was originally set up as a teacher's college and still focuses on teaching educators.

If you stumble across a crop while hiking: Turn around and GTFO the same way you came in. There are lots of stories of boobytrapped fields and people getting shot by paranoid growers.

One other thing to consider is your personal politics--it is very, very, very liberal. Like San Francisco liberal. I consider myself pretty liberal in most areas and I was one of the more conservative people I knew up there. Although outside of Arcata, there are plenty of bastions of conservativism--McKinleyville and other small towns in outlying areas tend to have a sort of uneasy truce between pickup-driving blue collar folks and dreadlocked VW van drivers.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Sensimilla

We are looking to relocate to the Humboldt County area to go to school at HSU. I have been to the campus once before to visit some friends and I fell in love with the place.

Our main concern is finding work before we move, I work in customer service and hotels, and my fiance works with kids who have special needs, but is willing to change jobs for now. She is working towards her education degree, after which she hopes to become a special education or early development teacher. I am working on my BAS in Web Development currently, but may be switching majors.

I heard students can get jobs "trimming" but you have to know the right people? Please PM regarding this info.

We are not big stoners or anything, but we do like to smoke. we are outdoor enthuasists who hope to embrace the lifestyle of the area.

Another concern we had was crime, I know people guard their plants with their lives, so what happens if I am out hiking and I stumble upon a field of plants? Does this happen often or do they go out far from the main areas? I am not looking for trouble, I just want to hike.

I am moving with my girl, and my best friend. We plan on finding a 2bd place, maybe even a small house. He's a server so finding a job for him should be simple.

Thanks in Advance!

Isn't this the 3rd post for you on the same of similar topic? By the way, finding a job for him will not be simple. There are hundreds of kids at HSU who are also servers and there are not a ton of restaurants.

As long as you have jobs before you move that would be a big help and remember, you will need to pay out of state tuition unless you live in the state for 1 year before returning to school.

Nita

[eureka1]

What they said. I will add my personal plea: do not move here just because you "fell in love with the area.". I know literally dozens of good people,longtime residents here, who have been laid off from the pulp mill or are otherwise out of work and I just can't get up any enthusiasm to encourage any more migrants. Unless you have a compelling personal reason for being here,please stay away. There are people trying to raise families who can't find work.

[Sensimilla]

You only need to live in CA for 6 months to gain residency if you are going to a college.

We are considering other places in NorCal, I was actually offered a job at the W Silicon Valley for $19/hr working the front desk, I wouldn't mind commuting from the Santa Cruz area.

[eureka1]

That sounds like an excellent opportunity!