McKinleyville, California

[rlwspring]

Hi Derek,

About when did your family relocate? We arrived in CS this past August. It's OK; my heart has always been in CA since living [and leaving] there in the mid-late 80's.

It looks like Monterey is very expensive. Your advice to lease first is good; I found our current rental on Rentals.com;
That is what we're doing here in the Falcon area. Our rent is $1,295/month.
We would like to settle down and buy; just need to agree on a place that would fit our family's lifestyle.

Good churches, low crime, low property taxes, available and decent health care, and affordable housing are important to us. It's been so long since I've lived in CA, that I'm not familiar with the things I mentioned here.

How far of a drive is Seaside to the beaches/coast?

What is the job market like for geeks/software engineers?

-Thanks
Roslyn

[MtnSurfer]

Roslyn,

We relocated back to CA ~ 1.5 years ago. The thing with CA is it is a mixed bag just like CO or anywhere really. Although a great to to live for a lot of reasons, its not perfect by any means. So if you want to move back you will need to be willing to take the good with the bad. The reason I say this is that you probably won't find all the things you listed right along the coast for a low cost. CA is expensive bottom line - at least the most desirable parts. That said you can search out the deals like you have out in Falcon to find lower priced options. Some of the places I mentioned would be worth exploring near us - Seaside, Marina, Prunedale, Oak Hills, But that will take some research and work to do. In other words its not going to be easy. Monterey County does have some more affordable places - some you wouldn't want to live in, some may be marginal, while others are ok - just a farther drive to things. But you will most likely be spending significantly more than $1,295/mo for anything.

Affordability is a relative thing based on one's family income and expectations. If either or both of these are out of synch CA may not be the right place for you guys. As I first mentioned that is one of the down sides to life in this beautiful part of the state. Now there are parts much more affordable like McKinleyville. There are just more removed from larger cities, amenities, etc... and of course they have there own cons like those which were already mentioned.

Since your husband's work is flexible at least for now you may want to consider other options as well such as Oregon, Florida, the Carolinas, etc... where the COL is lower. You guys will definately need to count the cost carefully before moving to CA. It is not nearly as affordable as CO, the South, the MidWest, or even the Pacfic North West. Hence there is a migration of Californians to these other regions - secondary migration. After having both - the big new house with the view of the Rockies and less in CA we still opted for less with regards to housing for the other pros. Of Course YMMV.

There is work out here for ppl with in demand technical skills even during the latest downturn. Our group has hired two new ppl recently. But there are also ppl out of work. So one has to be careful when making a move.

Derek

[rlwspring]

Hi Derek,

Thanks for sharing. Your right, there's good and bad in all places to live. We've been checking out SLO area, very expensive.
That's the original reason I wanted to know more about McKinleyville/Eureka areas; more remote, less costly. However, it is far from cities.
Who do you work for, may I ask? [my husband was wondering]
What does YMMV mean? [new at these threads...]

Thanks,
Roslyn

[MtnSurfer]

Hi Roslyn,

Glad to help some. I do software work for the Gov't. Send me a direct message if you would like and I can discuss this more with you offline. To do that just click on MtnSurfer on the upper left of this message. YMMV - Your mileage may vary.

Derek

[michaelpenney]

Hi, lived in Mckinleyville-Arcata area for 20 years, just moving now in fact:-).

Affordable housing - yes pretty good for California, inexpensive houses tend to be either small or old.

Great outdoor activities - yes indeed - great parks, un-crowded beaches, miles of trails - we're ~ 1/10 mi from the ocean ourselves, walk/bike over to Hiller trail frequently - this is a long bike trail along the ocean/river that goes from Arcata through Mckinleyville, being extended on up the coast.

Close to the ocean - yes right along it, many houses have ocean views - very family friendly with lots of young kids/young people.

Mckinleville is a moderately sized bedroom community, not much in the way of restaurants, our nightlife. Just down the road Arcata is a college town with a good number of nice restaurants, and plentiful, sometimes crazy, nightlife.

Eureka is more of a little big city, with many good restaurants, some nightclubs, more crime and other cityish issues.

Best of luck!

Originally Posted by rlwspring

Hi there,

Could someone please enlighten me on the quality of life here? It looks like there is affordable housing, great ourdoor activities, and it's fairly close to the ocean. Is all this true? How close is it to the ocean?..in miles....
Family friendly?

Thanks in advance,

RLWS

[SoCalTwinkie]

Originally Posted by rlwspring

Hi Derek,

Thank you for the picture, and the facts about the area. We have a 6 year old son, we homeschool. We are conservative, and have zero tolerance for weed or drugs.
We're church going folks who did not vote for Obama.

Yet we love the outdoors, hiking, camping, etc....As we were looking at this area, online, we were shocked to see how cheap it was to buy a house. I guess I know why now. The area is depressed with lack of career opps.

We've never been in the area, just online info. I suppose we should look at areas closer to bigger cities to find any conservatives. I love CA, lived in San Diego in the 80's.
However, I have noticed CA has major problems; I was hoping to find a place in CA that wasn't so effected by the pitfalls of drugs, gambling, and the associated depressive attitudes that go with it.

Does a place in CA exist?

-Roslyn

I think you would fit right in here in the Temecula valley!
Less than one hour from San Diego.
Lots of conservatives here.

[mdvaden]

If I had to settle in the Redwood area, I'd probably pick Trinidad or Arcata.

But if small towns near there interest you, maybe check prices in Brookings, OR, just 30 miles or so north of Crescent City.

Aethetically I like Trinidad, but its too small for me. I grew up a rural kid, but got acclimated to city atmosphere as this Beaverton, OR, area grew.

But the redwood coast is a place I drive down to about every 8 weeks.

[rlwspring]

Why would you be moving after 20 years? Had enough of CA?
Thanks for sharing, all this info.
We're not nightlife people, but do appreciate a good college hockey game.

How would you rate McKinelyville/Arcata area to say...Paso Robles or San Louis Obispo?

Is the weather up there warm enough to go swimming?

Thanks,
Roslyn

Originally Posted by michaelpenney

Hi, lived in Mckinleyville-Arcata area for 20 years, just moving now in fact:-).

Affordable housing - yes pretty good for California, inexpensive houses tend to be either small or old.

Great outdoor activities - yes indeed - great parks, un-crowded beaches, miles of trails - we're ~ 1/10 mi from the ocean ourselves, walk/bike over to Hiller trail frequently - this is a long bike trail along the ocean/river that goes from Arcata through Mckinleyville, being extended on up the coast.

Close to the ocean - yes right along it, many houses have ocean views - very family friendly with lots of young kids/young people.

Mckinleville is a moderately sized bedroom community, not much in the way of restaurants, our nightlife. Just down the road Arcata is a college town with a good number of nice restaurants, and plentiful, sometimes crazy, nightlife.

Eureka is more of a little big city, with many good restaurants, some nightclubs, more crime and other cityish issues.

Best of luck!

[rlwspring]

Why would you be moving after 20 years? Had enough of CA?
Thanks for sharing, all this info.
We're not nightlife people, but do appreciate a good college hockey game.

How would you rate McKinelyville/Arcata area to say...Paso Robles or San Louis Obispo?

Is the weather up there warm enough to go swimming?

Thanks,
Roslyn