Grass Valley, California
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What type of job can be sustainable in a rural are - 2/7/2012

I want to move to a more rural environment and need to know how to support myself. What type of employment or business would be needed in Grass Valley? Thank you in advance for any reply[more...]

Pretty place, but lack of a middle ground - 10/6/2011

Whether or not you would like Grass Valley depends on your lifestyle and priorities. It's a beautiful hilly area, with a lot of greenery compared to lower altitudes. Traffic is easy. There are a fair to good amount of events going on here for a town it's size, such as street fairs, festivals, etc. There are great health food stores if you are into a health-minded lifestyle. There are also a decent amount of opportunities for interesting events and speakers. The economy has hit this place hard as there is a lack of large scale employers. The music and nightlife scene is very limited. Winters are very wet, cloudy, and sometimes snowy. Not much to do here between October and May except go to the grocery store or KMart (unless you are into winter sports). Summers are very hot and dry, with somewhat poor air quality (high ozone) making it difficult to do outdoor activities during daytime hours. Most of the air pollution from the valley settles in at this altitude. The air quality is good during the non-summer months. The Grass Valley/Nevada City area tends to have a interesting blend of people. There is a significant population of conservative fundamentalist christians, retirees from larger Cali metro areas, mixed with a large contingent of basic liberal-hating, tea party types who drive oversized monster trucks or loud Harleys, drink a lot of alcohol, and love watching cage fighting and WWF. There is also a significant presence of hippies, younger and older, who mainly live on growing and smoking marijuana. Our experience is that they can be very judgmental and unaccepting towards you if you are not one of them. So, it may be hard to fit in otherwise. There seems to be a relative lack of what many might see as "middle of the road", working progressive, professional types who don't have to use drugs/alcohol to be social and may wait until they are older than the age of 25 to start having a planned family. Many, if not most, teenagers here are heavy drug users and unambitious, and it is a norm for many of the girls to be pregnant and having babies by age 15 or 16. This, of course, provides a less than optimal environment for parents who aspire that their children go on to get a college degree or become intellectually oriented. However, there are many choices for good schools for children (charter, public, and private). Many people might aspire to come live here when they visit as they can be lured by the cute downtowns of Grass Valley and Nevada City and the surrounding landscape, but there are other sides to actually living here.[more...]

Scenic, but with a price - 12/28/2009

This little town is nestled in thick green forests of Gold Country. The weather is warm most of the year, with only light rain in winter. Some snow, but very little ice. For shopping there is almost nothing (unless you love KMart), requiring a trip down the hill to Auburn (about 15 miles) and the restaraunts are just average (in quality, the prices are sky high). Grass Valley and next door Nevada City are very historic, with lots of architecture and relics from California's gold rush. Unfortunately, the negatives mostly outweigh the positives for this area. Cost of living is ridiculous; homes less than fifty years old are almost all well over $300 K. That's why you'll see tons of little shacks on tiny plots all over town (even on main street). Traffic is bad because it's California, and also the roads are old, small, worn out and badly designed (get used to cars backed up through three or four stoplights). The whole town seems carved out of the hilly forests, so everything is squeezed in (many houses and places of business have their front doors less than ten feet from the street). The surrounding forests are also a haven for the criminal element. Anti-government survivalist types waiting for the apocolypse and druggies cooking meth are pretty common. Residents seem either very wealthy (to afford the ridiculous homes) or very poor (who live in the shacks). Also, young people between the ages of 18-28 seem an endangered species; mostly its families with young children or retirement aged. Sacramento is only an hour to the west, Reno 90 minutes to the east. If you don't mind paying for the beauty and suffocating in the crowds and traveling long distance for shopping and entertainment, then maybe you can handle Grass Valley.[more...]

No place is perfect but - 9/12/2007

It is a great place. It is beautiful. Crime reports in the newspaper usually consist of something like this...caller reported someone going door to door, selling meat (actually I've been buying meat from him for about a year), or, 2:35 a.m., a woman called to say she was locked out of her car...police responded and called roadside service, or a person refused to leave a driveway and stop blowing leaves. I also have a great bus story. At night there is/ was only one small half bus which runs between 2 towns, Grass Valley and Nevada City. I needed to pick up my car on the regular bus route and found out that they didn't travel that route at night only the hiway. I wasn't going to walk it is quite a hill and a hike. I figured I'd just go back home and try the next day but the driver said well, let's see what I can do.... On the way back he asked everyone if they minded and drove me right to my car but that is not all, as we were going down a hill a guy on a bicycle passed us going pretty fast, he sped right through the intersection and hit a car that was just driving normally, the guy flew and crunched his bicycle and scraped his chin pretty bad. We stopped the bus helped him up loaded his bicycle and dropped him at the hospital and then stopped and dropped off some lady at her car in a parking lot just because it was on the way. In fact you call the bus company at night and tell them where you are and they pretty much come and get you, or did anyway, we've grown a bit since then. Carol[more...]

Eureka! - 5/30/2007

We love theater and music. We are amazed at the professional standard and variety of productions at both the Foothill Theater in Nevada City and the Center for the Performing Arts in Grass Valley. I would like to attend productions this good in San Francisco![more...]

A Gem... - 5/18/2007

I was suprised to learn how well known in Southern California and the Bay Area are the reputations of Grass Valley and Nevada City as places to enjoy a stimulating life. It's true. Even though I commute every day to Sacramento, I can't wait to arrive home in these foothills.[more...]

A retirement town - 2/2/2007

There is very little to do in this town, especially if you have kids. Just dining out can cost you 60.00 for 2 adults and 1 kid, at a mediocre restaurant. I can't wait to move.[more...]

Grass Valley/Nevada City Growth - 6/25/2006

What happened to my home? The little town where I grew up in and raised my family has turned into an overcrowded, dysfunctional mess. Real estate prices are such that my kids can't even consider owning a home (median price $450K), the roads are overcrowded and deteriorating, you can't build a home without it costing tens of thousands just to begin, and the political climate is swinging to the left along with the influx of Bay Area retirees. No hard feelings or regrets. To city dwellers, this place probably seems like heaven. But,in five more years, Grass Valley will no longer be a "small town" or have that same feeling. It's just time for us to go.[more...]