Lake of the Pines, Lake Wildwood: experiences (San Francisco, Sacramento: real estate, rental)

[Samoi137]

Anyone have firsthand experiences living in either of these communities in the foothills east andnorth of Sacramento? How wouldyou compare the summers with those down in Sac itself? Did you feel isolated? What about likely costs (e.g., both use propane gas)? Thinking of these places and the Portland area for a retirement location. Thanks!

[loveLOP]

Hello. We just moved to Lake of the Pines form the Bay Area 8 months ago. My husband is retired and I work down in Roseville. We LOVE it!! It's the best decision we ever made. Why? We bought a fantastic lake front home in a gated community for less than it would have cost us for a house of equal square footage in a less than decent neighborhood! If you play golf, like the water, have a boat and/or kayak, love the trees and mountains, don't like crime and vandalism, then you too will love LOP. Summers are very warm but not as warm as Sac (about 10 degrees cooler). It stays around nineties to one hundred all summer. But the lake is right there. I pay way less for propane then I did in the Bay area. This place is the perfect retirement location. For an excellent realtor, I recommend Jon Paley [url=http://www.greenkeyrealestate.com/agents/jon-paley/]Jon Paley | Green Key Real EstateGreen Key Real Estate[/url]
Good luck!

[Samoi137]

Thanks for the input!

[opereng]

I lived in Lake Wildwood. It was OK but I wouldn't move there again. Lots of rude, older people (I am in my 50s.) Steep driveways in some areas.

Grass Valley has shopping but for big ticket items you have to go to Roseville.
The only thing I miss about the area is the Northridge Restaurant.

[Samoi137]

Originally Posted by opereng

I lived in Lake Wildwood. It was OK but I wouldn't move there again. Lots of rude, older people (I am in my 50s.) Steep driveways in some areas.

Grass Valley has shopping but for big ticket items you have to go to Roseville.
The only thing I miss about the area is the Northridge Restaurant.

Hey, you (middle aged) kids, get off of my lawn!

Yes, I agree about some of the driveways. Met just one older local, and he was pretty friendly, but maybe he was the exception. We decided Lake Wildwood was a bit too isolated.

[Susanne Reed]

I moved to Lake of the Pines in 1980 when I transferred with my job and worked in Auburn. I requested the transfer because I wanted to move out of the valley (I lived in Stockton). At first I rented and found my first rental in LOP. I was extatic as it seemed like I was on vacation as this is such a beautiful area. After relying for 5 years I sold my home in the valley and purchased the one I still live in. It has changed a lot since I moved here but it is still a beautiful place to be able to live. I do not golf but over the years I have used the lake for swimming and boating as of more recently. About the only thing we have to put up with are the deer and an occasional Racoon. We are above the fog and below the snow. We occasionally get snow but just enough to enjoy and not have to shovel or inconvenience you. I have only been snowed in once in all these years. We are right between Auburn and Grass Valley/Nevada City so you can explore both and decide which you prefer for shopping but we do also have Our summers are warm but not quite as bad as the valley. We had friends at Lake Wildwood but you are much further out living there. Some say LOP has too many rules, and sometimes I agree but it is basically to try and keep property values ywhere we live and own, looking nice and doing it the correct way. I retired the end of 2004 and now volunteer one afternoon a eek in GV but still love living here as I love gardening so do a lot of that. When I first moved here I was single and wanted a safe place and with 24 hr guards I feel we are safe and often don't even lock my front door. It is centrally located so you can go to San Francisco, Tahoe, Reno and many other places in a short period of time. I don't think you will be unhappy if you choose to live here, I think you will feel lucky to have found us. good luck!

[Aquaboy]

We moved to LOP this summer. So far we really like it. Its way quieter than Sac County, no helios circling our house at night. The population seems friendly and balanced between locals from Auburn and retirees from Sacto, Bay Area and SoCal. So far we have not been hassled by the HOA that has a bad rep.
However once you get outside the gate the locals are not that friendly, they tend to be of the NRA/monster truck world. They generally wont hassle you but don't expect to make new friends in Auburn or Grass Valley. My two cents worth.