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Arcata.........views on life there?

Arcata.........views on life there?

Old May 4th 2008, 12:41 pm
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Default Arcata.........views on life there?

Hello Everybody,

I was wondering if any of you out there new anything about life in Arcata, CA...
My husband is originally from Marin County - but forget going back there - the cost of houses is just astronomical!!! And so I was looking further north - and have heard some good things about Humboldt County. Want to be near the coast - is very important to us and don't want to live anywhere too rural.
A good size town is essential - with good schools and health food stores....vegan family.

Times have changed since Alex last lived in Cali - so his views on places aren't so relevant anymore!

Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks, minka
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Old May 29th 2008, 5:32 am
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Default Re: Arcata.........views on life there?

never lived there, but have visited there a couple of times, nice little town, not big (downtown is basically a "plaza" ie: large grassed square with the stores around it), a large student population as there is a university there. lots of hippie types both young & old, has organic/natural food stores but i never saw any commercial stores, only saw small independent types.
is rural though, other than eureka (the next town - which is bigger & has some of the usual larger stores & a mall) its a long way (& i mean a long way.....) to anywhere else. close to the sea (beautiful coastline close by with big deserted beaches). close to the redwoods - watch out for the bears! i'd definitely visit before committing yourself 'cos if you are not content with an outdoor lifestyle & need civilization you may find it hard.
hope that helps.....have you thought about Oregon???
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Old May 29th 2008, 6:54 am
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Default Re: Arcata.........views on life there?

Originally Posted by kaseystaff
never lived there, but have visited there a couple of times, nice little town, not big (downtown is basically a "plaza" ie: large grassed square with the stores around it), a large student population as there is a university there. lots of hippie types both young & old, has organic/natural food stores but i never saw any commercial stores, only saw small independent types.
is rural though, other than eureka (the next town - which is bigger & has some of the usual larger stores & a mall) its a long way (& i mean a long way.....) to anywhere else. close to the sea (beautiful coastline close by with big deserted beaches). close to the redwoods - watch out for the bears! i'd definitely visit before committing yourself 'cos if you are not content with an outdoor lifestyle & need civilization you may find it hard.
hope that helps.....have you thought about Oregon???
Thanks for that Kaseystaff. All information is valuable information! I live in a fairly rural area of France - so lack of civilisation doesn't really bother me all that much! Arcata is sure to be better than my nearest town here!!
We have thought about Eugene,OR. We have friends there already - and it is a place that I have visited and liked. Bit far from the sea though - and that is quite a big one for me. Am 3 hours from the sea here - and we all really miss being close to a beach. I grew up on the Dorset coast in the UK.
But Eugene does have Portland not too far away - which is a bonus - airport etc.
Is very hard to make a decision without visiting. And when you have kids your choices get smaller and the decisions definitely get more difficult to make!
Thanks again for your input! Hope you having a great day!
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Old May 29th 2008, 3:44 pm
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Default Re: Arcata.........views on life there?

Originally Posted by minkoak
Thanks for that Kaseystaff. All information is valuable information! I live in a fairly rural area of France - so lack of civilisation doesn't really bother me all that much! Arcata is sure to be better than my nearest town here!!
We have thought about Eugene,OR. We have friends there already - and it is a place that I have visited and liked. Bit far from the sea though - and that is quite a big one for me. Am 3 hours from the sea here - and we all really miss being close to a beach. I grew up on the Dorset coast in the UK.
But Eugene does have Portland not too far away - which is a bonus - airport etc.
Is very hard to make a decision without visiting. And when you have kids your choices get smaller and the decisions definitely get more difficult to make!
Thanks again for your input! Hope you having a great day!
Hi:

Very nice area -- never lived there. However, it is isolated -- a good four drive from Santa Rosa. Airfares are somewhat pricey.

Also, when you say "beach", I hesitate and would say "sea". The Channel Coast is more sheltered than the Northern California Coast. [Take a look at a California Map and you will see why the coast south of Point Conception is a lot milder and warmer]. The US Coast Guard has a large presence in Humboldt County for a reason. See http://www.uscg.mil/d11/grphumboldtbay/.
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Old May 29th 2008, 9:05 pm
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Default Re: Arcata.........views on life there?

Originally Posted by Folinskyinla
Hi:

Very nice area -- never lived there. However, it is isolated -- a good four drive from Santa Rosa. Airfares are somewhat pricey.

Also, when you say "beach", I hesitate and would say "sea". The Channel Coast is more sheltered than the Northern California Coast. [Take a look at a California Map and you will see why the coast south of Point Conception is a lot milder and warmer]. The US Coast Guard has a large presence in Humboldt County for a reason. See http://www.uscg.mil/d11/grphumboldtbay/.
Hello and Thank you - I look forward to checking out the links you have given.
I do love a wild and rugged coast though!
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Old May 30th 2008, 3:05 am
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Default Re: Arcata.........views on life there?

Originally Posted by minkoak
I do love a wild and rugged coast though!
its definitely wild & rugged, if you want a sea to swim in it probably is not going to be northern california or most of oregon. really cold, very rough, lots of nasty currants & crazy drifting logs....oh yes, lots of logs get brought in by the sea - makes for the most incredible driftwood though. if you want beautiful empty beaches (with it's fair share of wet/misty/windy weather) for walking & beach combing, it is truly stunning.
eugene is about a 50 minute drive to the sea at florence, where you can go south onto the oregon dunes (40 miles long & up to 2 or 3 miles wide) or north towards cape perpetua & newport. i bring my dog down regularly (i live about 40 miles north of eugene so hit the coast easily a bit further north at newport), its a wonderful coastline & i personally find it much more accessible than the california coastline.
hope this helps, it has to be a tough decision
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Old May 30th 2008, 12:02 pm
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Default Re: Arcata.........views on life there?

Originally Posted by kaseystaff
its definitely wild & rugged, if you want a sea to swim in it probably is not going to be northern california or most of oregon. really cold, very rough, lots of nasty currants & crazy drifting logs....oh yes, lots of logs get brought in by the sea - makes for the most incredible driftwood though. if you want beautiful empty beaches (with it's fair share of wet/misty/windy weather) for walking & beach combing, it is truly stunning.
eugene is about a 50 minute drive to the sea at florence, where you can go south onto the oregon dunes (40 miles long & up to 2 or 3 miles wide) or north towards cape perpetua & newport. i bring my dog down regularly (i live about 40 miles north of eugene so hit the coast easily a bit further north at newport), its a wonderful coastline & i personally find it much more accessible than the california coastline.
hope this helps, it has to be a tough decision
Thanks. I had forgotten how inhospitable the sea was in that part of the world - it may be cold in england a lot of the time.......but the sea off the coast of dorset is great for swimming........! Where we are here we are equi-distance from both the Med and the Atlantic. Obviously we favour the Mediterranean for swimming...!
What we don't have here on the same scale as you do in the States - is the wilderness - and places empty of people........that is what I look forward to.
What is it like that far north of Eugene? I don't know that area at all. Is it very forested and beautiful?
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