Shed some light on Redding (San Francisco, Sacramento: low income, crime, homes)

[surftherain]

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me a little bit about Redding? Economy, Industry, is it a retirement city? Any information and opinions are greatly appreciated.

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by surftherain

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me a little bit about Redding? Economy, Industry, is it a retirement city? Any information and opinions are greatly appreciated.

It's somewhat affordable compared to the Bay Area, but there are reasons for that.

It gets VERY hot. There are some drug problems in the rural areas out that way. There is no "glam" if you're into that lifestyle.

However it is affordable, Mt Lassen & Mt Shasta are close by, which are great for outdoorsy types. It also has the really neat bridge. I can't shed light on the retirement situation. It's definitely a more "blue collar" area sort of speak, which I actually prefer compared to snobby people in the Bay Area

[WizardOfRadical]

I thought it would be ugly, buy redding and red bluff are actually very pleasant. Almost feels like Montana. Rolling Hilld, open range, horses, mountains near by, rivers and woods.

It doesn't have that bleak, desolate, farmland look that the rest of the central valley and yucky outer east bay (925) have.

[Hemlock140]

I have a brother there, he loves the heat and is big on hunting. Redding has the highest number of guns per capita of any city in CA. I can barely stand a few hours there in summer, with temperatures 100-113 and not cooling much at night.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

search my name and "Redding" for my take on Redding. I moved there thinking I might stay and couldn't take the heat. It was around 100 degrees and up to 117 degrees from mid-May to mid-October, with no cooling until around 3am.

That wasn't going to work for me, and I moved after one year. Other than that, I could have stayed and been content, overall. Depends what you need to be happy, etc.

Not much in the way of work, no university if you care, not much in the way of interesting classes to take. No group bus trips, even for day trips, which I really enjoy.

Upside is there is very decent healthcare, it's really pretty, good outdoor recreation, dog friendly, good air quality, good entertainment, good shopping.

[2sleepy]

It's crazy hot and I live in a hot place (Sacramento) but the heat in Redding is just oppressive and it doesn't cool off at night. I wouldn't live there but I'm sure there are people there who love it.

[prosin]

(Note, I haven't lived in Redding for 10+ years, but much hasn't changed economy-wise or weather-wise)

Definitely a service economy--retail, government, and medical. Little manufacturing; what is available are small niche-type operations. (Asking the locals: Did Stillwaters Business Park ever get off the ground?)

No one is kidding when they say it's hot. Expect five months (May-October) of 90+ degrees, with a couple of weeks of 110s thrown in just because. Thankfully it is a dry heat and nighttime lows eventually drop into the 70s. Very few places do not have air conditioning. The places that don't can run swamp coolers due to low humidity. Also expect windy conditions in spring and fall--ask locals about the north wind. Winters are mild. The valley floor gets measurable snow about every five years.

Redding proper is kind of like bland suburbia. But some beautiful areas surround the town. I recommend anyone looking at moving there take a look at the towns/CDPs of Palo Cedro, Bella Vista, Jones Valley, Millville, Centerville, and Shasta. Some areas of Shasta Lake City just north of Redding are nice, too. Palo Cedro has enough services that one wouldn't have to go into Redding every day. Best feature of Redding by far is the Sacramento River trail that runs through town. Although a local may have to chime in on whether it is still a safe place to go. Sadly, some areas of Redding are unsafe and some businesses have had to close due to vagrancy.

Red Bluff, about 30 minutes south of Redding, has a different vibe. The river runs through town. Red Bluff did a much better job of maintaining some Victorian charm. RB has more of a western/cowboy vibe than Redding.

You may get some better "hits" on this thread if you ask the moderator to move it to the general CA forum. Redding is over 200 miles north of San Francisco.

[Fiddle Benplayed]

I grew up here and have seen many changes, some good and some not. I love and hate my home town. Redding used to be a good place to live, raise a family and retire. We have lots to do if you enjoy the outdoors with great fishing,hunting, boating and camping. We also have a great parade and Pro Rodeo in May. Great place if your a tourist, lots of history if you seek it out. But there are many things wrong here as well. Lack of jobs, over ridden with homeless,many of these are early releases from prison which the city gets money for (Redding is greedy for money, but does little to help its citizens. Can't eat those expensive ugly metal fish along hwy. Those $$ could have been better used.). Crime keeps going up too. Housing for low income persons and or families does not come close to being enough available for those needing it and the building restrictions and building fees are so high no one wants to build for the low income housing issue. Yet lack of affordable housing does not deter city from taking on more early releases for the money. Every where you look there are unemployed homeless persons and homeless camps can be found all over in and outside of town. The River trail has them and I don't think trail safe in lots of places. Many of these people are homeless from lack of work which then trickles down to losing homes because of no way to pay bills. Redding also has a huge Meth drug problem which includes not just the homeless. Many of those on the streets who receive food stamps don't purchase food, they trade them for drugs instead. Homeless camps are raided by RPD who will issue tickets which most if not all these people have no way to pay and the courts are backlogged and the jails are full. So whats the point? Yes we do have a pretty good medical system here with 2 great hospitals as well. The dental side of it is not though if you use the state mediCal. The wait list is almost a years wait to be seen. And you have to call back every so often to keep your place on list. Good teeth and available dentists are best preventive for good health, which would keep Doctor visits lower. Yet Dental seems to always be low priority. So these are some of the Bad things going for Redding.
And Yes we get triple digit heat that will last 24 hours for a month or two, but then we have the seasons of cold and rain and yes we even get snow at times. With summers of sun comes hot days but then you go to one of our lakes or to Clear Creek (we have many places in nature to go and cool off at. Another flaw here is we have no night life places to drink, dance and party at anymore! Visit Redding, but don't live here!

[Fargobound]

While I'd move back in a heartbeat, IMO Redding will always be an $8.00 an hour town with a view. There's simply no growth in decent paying jobs in Shasta County.

[Perma Bear]

Originally Posted by surftherain

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me a little bit about Redding? Economy, Industry, is it a retirement city? Any information and opinions are greatly appreciated.

I think the searing death rays from the sun shed plenty of light on Redding already.