SperlingViews - Arcata, California

I'm a working novelist, single female, on the young side of middle-age, selling my place in Venice CA and trying to decide where to relocate. I'm a diehard Californian, so I want to stay in the state. I've always lived close to the ocean and would like to continue to do so. Would anyone care to offer some feedback on Arcata and Humboldt in general for writer types? I'm looking for a walkable community, decent restaurants and coffee houses and public spaces. I don't need constant entertainment but definitely want some intellectual/cultural stimulation. Obviously I'll be making a visit before any kind of decision, but am curious to hear insider perspectives. [read more...]

Redwoods, rivers, beaches, mountains, herb. [read more...]

when they say behind the redwood curtain they mean it, it took a lot longer for the whole recession thing to hit here and I don't think it hit nearly as bad as other places. It is small community with tons of outdoor activities ranging from beaches, rivers, mountains, forests. Night life or city life stuff falls short and the winter rains and summer fog are probably the most detering factor for the area.[read more...]

I am considering a move to Humboldt County next summer. I currently live in SF, CA. The cost of living and parking wars is profoundly depressing for me now. I feel as a renter in this beautiful city, you're always struggling to make ends meet. And the cost of a 2 bedroom apt is astoundingly high. Even on my wage I cant move out of my 1 br apt now. As I'm a single parent w/ a daughter @ HSU, we're both considering saving some money and I move up there, get a hospital job and slow my pace down. Then I wouldnt have to pay for housing on campus for her, she would love to move in w/ me.[read more...]

Arcata is already way too crowded with well meaning, well educated, clueless carpet baggers. Please if you can't enjoy Arcata for what it is and have this over powering need for community involvement and cultural renewal-go to L.A.. there's lots of improvement needed there. Thank you.[read more...]

Arcata could be a great town but the drug use, marijuana and meth, is destroying it. The drugs have created a problem of crime, depression, homelessness,suicide, gangs, rising home prices due to so many homes being used as "grow houses", low-quality education,and an all-around poor place to try and raise children and teens. This is definately not a family-friendly town. I don't see it turning around any time soon because of an unwillingness on the part of government to take the steps necessary to turn it around. Good families are moving out of Arcata to try and find a more family-friendly, wholesome place to raise their children[read more...]

If you think that's bad, you should try Portland![read more...]

I would like to know more about the cost of living in Arcata, California.[read more...]

Politically very liberal. Excellent schools. Caring community. Art, Culture, Food and Recreation opportunities excellent, especially for a small rural area. No traffic. Clean air. Great place to raise kids. Spectacular surroundings. City council is a joke. Economically depressed. High housing costs. Low wages. Changing demographics. Families are leaving and seniors are moving here. Town itself is blighted and ugly. Big drug problems. Shopping and entertainment options limited.[read more...]

I am looking into relocating to Arcata and would appreciate any comments folks may have about the place. Good or Bad or Ugly! Thanks[read more...]

8/2005 - It's funny when you look at the median house price from the 2000 census it has tripled in just 5 years. It's insane. Like so many other scenic western cities, Jackson in Wyoming, Sedona in Arizona, etc. rich yuppies and realtor parasites have turned a once modest, low-key alternative town into a rich getaway, a la Half Moon Bay or Mendocino. If you haven't been here since 1998, don't even come back, you'll be reduced to tears. If you're determined to live in the area, in some shady parts of Eureka you can still get a $225,000 shack next to the welfare cheats who make meth, but if you actually care about living next to redneck stereotypes you thought had died out years ago, then I wouldn't do it. Most jobs here don't pay enough to enable you to live well, unless you are independently wealthy.[read more...]

This is a beautiful area: ocean, redwoods, kind open minded people, rasta culture, ordinary folks. Better yet this town is beautiful for what it does not have: urban blight, WAL-MART, Starbucks, and all the other homogonizing affects of American corporate pop culture. Come and visit, BUT PLEASE do not come here to get established. Local folks are totally priced out of the housing market here; you can not buy a dirty box to live in in this town for less than $300,000. The influx of rich folks from SoCal is turning this area into an elitist beach town. If you did not arrive here in the 70's please do not consider coming here to stay for good (We would like you to come, visist, and soak up some culture.) Keep up the Good World! [read more...]