People are so quick to move to other states for housing cost ,political ideology etc,but there's nowhere like Cali ,beaches ,mountains, lakes and the best weather anywhere in the world
I used to say that, and then realized we never visit those places. I personally do not care at all for the natural destinations, when every day I’m confronted by drug addicts and libs. And the summers are hot as shit. Just not worth it for me.
Barstow is okay during the day, but you better have your head on a swivel if you’re out at night in Barstow because I had 2 cars try to box me in and then they tried to steal my car, but they quickly found out that I’m the wrong person to mess with.
I have lived in Banning since 1999 and the situation right now is horrendous. The surrounding rural areas are being developed with bedroom communities and large distribution warehouses. The roads cannot absorb the growth in population. Currently, the number of trucks on the 10 freeway has tripled, and it takes 25 minutes to travel from Banning to adjacent Beaumont via the main road. The only new businesses coming to town are fast food restaurants, dollar stores, and automotive shops. It takes close to 2 hours to get to my daughter in Long Beach and that is on a Saturday. No, Banning, is not quite the quality of living that one imagines here. It did have a small town vibe and a little bit of a community sense, mostly working class, years ago, but that has changed rapidly. There are persistent rumors of corruption in how Banning and Beaumont handle their affairs.
I lived in Banning in the early '80s, and it was nothing to speak of. I worked at the San Gorgonio Inn and at the Wheel Inn. I heard they tore down the San Gorgonio Inn, that is kind of sad. I would never live there again. Ever!
I was raised in Visalia (pop then: 15,000) and feel blessed to have grown up feasting on the abundance of the local farms and ranches. (There was so much, in fact, that it was not uncommon to wake up to boxes of extra produce, too ripe for shipping, left on our doorsteps by friends in the ag business.) In addition to that we had Sequoia/Kings Canyon as our back yard, so every weekend we were up hiking among the world's most magnificent trees and peaks. I noticed that Visalia was recently voted one of the friendliest towns in California by a top travel site. It's nice to see this charming little town get the recognition it deserves.
Of all these, Eureka/Arcata gets my attention because of redwoods, coastal weather and the remoteness but I also have heard it's rough up there and there aren't many jobs so I'd probably have to start a business if I were to move there
Yes, you are spot on! A childhood friend of mine lived in Eureka, from about 1990-2020. In fact one of the victorian looking houses in the ad for houses for sale, looked like my friend's former house. If you move there, you better buy earthquake insurance there. I told that to my friend when I went to visit him, in 2009, to buy earthquake insurance on his house, and I guess he did, because when I saw him there in 2017, he showed me all of the renovations that he did, because of earthquake damage.
It is both wonderful in natural beauty- And horrible in the masses of drugs and grime and willful homeless AND GROW OP DANGERS. In town are filth and crime and sketch everything everywhere. Outside of town or on the fringes are scary people in those woods, strangers on your property, and tweaker trash everywhere. Also very important to understand the cultural hostilities and extremes, from radical woke left to fanatical right libertarian, and very VERY little of moderate non combative types anywhere. So schools, businesses, government, events, organizations are a constant tightrope and tense vibe everywhere.
Born and raised in Fresno. Some perks : Close in proximity to major metropolitan cities, to the beach, to the mountains, to Vegas…access to fresh produce, great for real estate since it’s reasonably priced and great for raising a family. Cons: Air quality, SWELTERING hot Summers, bad fog in the Winters, crime in low income areas, not much of a city life, small art/creative scene, small town mentality with the community and a lack of community “leaders”. That city has all the tools for success but unfortunately not the best leaders to grow the city to its potential.
I would say that Visalia is a better version of Fresno. It's smaller, but it's much safer, and has a lot of the benefits that Fresno has (except a CSU or international airport).
@@JuanVasquezhasreturned I would agree. I lived in Visalia for a bit as a teen. It’s grown tremendously and in a good way. It also has that small town feeling but the people are super laid back and kind.
@@vjmotano835 Um it is much safer. If you got a gun pulled on you in Visalia, then you would have gotten a rocket launcher pulled on you in Fresno. I'm not trying to downplay your bad experience, but it's silly to say that Fresno is at the same safety level as Visalia. That's obviously not true, and Visalia is a much safer city.
Im living in Hidden valley Lake, lake county. Its about 20 minutes from Clearlake 40 minutes to Calistoga. Gated community 24 hour security, private lake, golf course and community pool. Love it and prices are very reasonable.
I grew up in Southern California and I went to Humboldt State for 1 year. It’s remote and quaint. Located in Arcata. Eureka is a much bigger city in comparison. My friends schooled me in the local weather forecasts. Never had heard this expression before but it was constantly being said. “colder than a witches tit today!” Returned home with something called the “Humboldt Crud” by a campus doctor. Coughed for almost a year after leaving.
I want to thank you for the work, U did in the video of the house price range. I lived in Lakeport of Lake County which is the county seat from 1988 to 2000. I used to drive all around taking pictures of the barns & grapes vines. I liked it back then but I'm not sure how it is now. I then moved to San Jose, CA in 2000 to 2015 that was alright, but I had to adjust to city living and then I moved to Sacramento, CA in late 2015 till now. Lately (June to Sept. 2024) temperature hot most it seems around 102 degrees. I would like to see living in areas like Ferndale, Ca. but near Hospitals and some services for older people next time in Northern California. Thank U for this
I currently live in Visalia due to my job in nearby Porterville, and it's a decent place to live with lots of conveniences. I do feel you missed a couple of semi-affordable CA places, and those are Guadalupe and Santa Clarita. And I agree, central California is nothing like Phoenix or Las Vegas as far as heat.
Yeah, it's hot in Redding and lots of other places in California, but have you every been to Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee. Florida, Nebraska, and many other states. Hot and humid (90+%), tornadoes, freezing rain, blizzards, mega thunderstorms, and much more. And all of those states live off of federal grants because they don't tax the rich and powerful, and big corporations enough. oh, and wages in those states is about 25% or more less than California, and real estate prices don't accrue nearly as fast. Hmm, I like it here just fine.
Midtown Sac is absolutely great. Spent 1 year during the lockdown there. Affordable home & office near the Capitol. Lots of restaurants and shops all around. Great walk city. Only downside was the HEAT but lots of shade from the incredible amount of trees in midtown. 100 years ago Sac used to be called the city of trees. Had no idea. :)
Eureka and Humboldt Co is so awesome. Life long friends live there for decades. Redding is off of Hwy 5 inland... horribly hot, avoid it... like the plague... and it has recent hostile politics. Read about that... Chico is wonderful, hot in summer, loved it.
I've lived in California since 1977. I started driving a tour bus in 2007. So, most of the places on your list I have been to on multiple occasions. I like the fact that you didn't 'sugar coat' the problems of some of the places on your list. In fact, no amount of sugar could diffuse the problems of some of the locations on your list. ( Like Clear Lake or Fresno) At the end of the day, you move to places on your list to get your feet on the ground, and own some California real estate. If you think about it, when people came here during the Gold Rush, California was a 'shit hole, dangerous place to live'. So, in my eyes, everything is relative. I live in Sac BTW, and love it.......
It's not that there's nowhere inexpensive in California, it's that there's nowhere inexpensive where the jobs are. Gotta drive an 1hr to work and yea that may not sound like a bad commute to some but I find it a hindrance and while I make more than enough to cover the cost, the monthly gas bill I feel is too much.
I could see Lake County or similar areas getting revamped, but there are many reasons it hasn’t happened in all these years, while being a stone’s throw from Napa, and more desirable places in the Sacramento Valley.
I live in Eureka, and you're right, it's gorgeous, small and manageable. We have three, count them, three art stores in addition to the typical big boxes. Four natural food stores and one small family owned food store that is in all the towns and is marvelous. So come on up here. But please don't come with the thought to pave it over like s. California. I love the open spaces, the marshlands, the untouched beauty.
I texas and Tennessee you can get a home for under 100k, And if you know the right people you can build your own 2500 sqft home with a pool and jacuzzi for in Tennessee for under 200k. However, Southern CA weather you cannot beat. I am in Las Vegas and we are discussing moving to CA for the outdoors greenery and weather.
I live in the IE and just had a traffic ticket dismissed in Banning. It's a dump full of meth and fentanyl addicts. My ex fiance is currently in Banning jail. Understand clearly, people are leaving California for very good reason and this guy has absolutely no exclusive insight to offer. To even consider commuting to LA from Banning is simply insane and could only be the vision of a dissolute being. Most of southern California is a hot desert, the entire economy of banning is centered around a nearby casino.
I lived in Banning for a while. I loved it. You're in the middle of everything. LA and Orange County Metro and coast just a few hours to the West, San Diego just a few hours south, Big Bear just a quick drive north, and you're right next to Palm Springs and a bit closer to Vegas than LA. It is surrounded by mountains and forests with the mild coast on one side and the desert on the other, and had a small town, wide-open country vibe. However, I am extremely sad that they have plans to fill it all in with suburban sprawl and turn it into just another mid-size city and bedroom community to LA. 😢
I live in Eureka… not inexpensive anymore and it’s always freezing. I’m in Petaluma and it’s hot. About to drive back to Eureka, but first, put on my winter clothes because I know it’ll be in the 50s. It’s June and same temperature as January- always 50s year round. Eureka allows homeless tweekers to live on your property and do nothing! However, however, I prefer Humboldt any day, any time. Yes, passive aggressive Karens, but dealing with men up here are the kindest people. Love NorCal! Humboldt is soooo beautiful. I got my own Grimm Fairytale scenery. I can’t live s/o Mendocino County - true NorCal- Mendocino and up.
Chico..is a very community oriented town..all though it's hot from May till September..a high 102..the main attraction is the college and Bidwell park.Too many bars..and the homeless population is on the upper concerns.The price of housing is on the rise..through the roof.. !!!! Redding is very hot..if you don't have AC..you'll regret it.
Very hot! Also known as "the other Alabama" and "Worlds Largest Truckstop". There is fire danger here also... Religious Cults have moved in and now control the Redding Convention Center.
When I was a kid we were going to relocate further inland for my dad’s job. I still remember how hot it seemed to us in Redding when we went house shopping. Redding and Banning became a NO, and we ended up in Upland, which was pretty nice in the end. My Dad had to do more driving for his work.
Yeah, Redding temperatures vary 20 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. We get snow, lots of rain, sunshine and heat.😁☺️ Not a place for those that can’t stand significant heat from June to October. Sometimes even May is hot.
I went to Chico state back in the day which is the same general area as Redding and it never went under 80 for a month and a half. That is at night. You get used to it I guess.
@@thegratefulzebra2126 TY Grateful Zebra. Yes its expensive to live in but where can you surf, hike in the Mtns, Backpacking tugged areas camping.... Go skiing, go dune buggy riding or even boating in your lake of choice or deep sea fishing... All withing a relative 30 in to an hours drive...with mostly great weather Best thing its mostly free...
@LEFTaTIP Notice that the “guy” you called “someone” doesn’t move his eyes or forehead? His shoulders or arms? In fact, the whole lower half of his face (not including his nose) stays the same. He’s trying to tell us something, besides inexpensive places to live in California.
I have family in Redding and Clear lake.There are no jobs there period.....Redding is hotter than hell everyday in June, July ,and August......If your house doesn't have A C, your in trouble.......
@@MissAnn-xu9oo Stockton is mostly bad in the bad areas that most people stay away from those bad areas, there's a lot of money in Stockton and some very nice neighborhoods
I'm an old native San Franciscan who now lives in a small town north of Seattle. Moved up here 18 years ago from Sebastopol. Ironically, I live above another, smaller Clearlake WA. My house here was half the price of my Seattle house. If you can stand the overcast weather its a great place. Still, I long for California at times.
I know your area well, having lived in Everett for 24 years and Stanwood for 6 years. We happily retired in 2009 to Kennewick in southeastern Washington. Cheaper housing, cost of living, etc., and vastly better weather. Less greenery, but the abundant sunshine more than compensates. It's a great area for retirees.
@@leestamm3187 is there much to do out there. I did a work trip to the tri-cities once and all the homes were leftover government. And the did not seem to much industry there not related to the government or farming.
I love Mediterrean climate, the only climate with dry summers and wet winters. Seattle was too rainy for me, and LA is too hot/dry. I wish there was a medium size city near CA/OR border. Also I have been to half of these cities during a road trip. They are really nice. Buying fresh fruits in Fresno is priceless. Much better than tasteless stuff that is harvested raw and ripens during transport..
@davidwang4364 Per Wikipedia: "Such climates typically have dry summers and wet winters, with summer conditions ranging from warm to hot and winter conditions typically being mild to cool." Note: Not wet like a rainforest, but wet relative to the summer.
@davidwang4364 Med. climate is a spectrum. The wet season can be short/long or can have little or a lot of rain. But it's always in winter months. LA is indeed very dry with 360mm of rain and 80% of it happens between Dec-March. Compare this to Wilmington, NC on the east coast with similar latitude. Only 25% of the precipitation in during Dec-March months.
I went to Cresent City last September for vacation, Did the coast from Santa Cruz up, and I would really love to move there. I know it's not the greatest city in the world, but you're right next to the Redwoods and the ocean. It's beautiful.
I'm from Northern California originally so I've been to all these places except Banning. The reason they're less expensive than the Bay Area/L.A./San Diego is the weather. Eureka is often windy, foggy, damp, similar to the Pacific Northwest. Everywhere else is hot as blazes in the summer. Prepare to be living at Jamba Juice for half the year in order to survive. I remember going to an event in Redding in August and the daytime temp was like 108-112.
I live up in Berkeley, but Banning is between Palm Springs and Riverside. I drive through there sometimes when I drive down to Coachella. Place is fire even in April. You've made very points, and you didn't even mention the inability to often get home owner's insurance due to wildfire risk or the poor air quality in many of the rural communities.
Much worse in other places. At least the humidity is down. Our family in Austin has to endure months of 100s with high humidity. It hardly gets any cooler even in the middle of the night. A/C was running 24/7 for 3 months last year. I don't every remember doing this when I lived in Fresno.
I live in Eureka and I concur with your assessment. It's more affordable than other parts of California but definitely going up. Not many career choices here unless you work for local govt and medical is subpar.
@@JBoy340a True- Texas heat IS intense and maintains all through the night & doesn't cool down like in the West/ Southwest evenings until the shoulder seasons.
Great video as always! I always thought that the cities in the Central Valley were underrated. As another Californian living far away, I’m still California Dreaming!
Fresno is really 'Hotter than Hell' from June thru September, easily 4 months over 100 degrees EVERY DAY... with July and August at 110+ EVERY DAY thru-out both those months.
Spent a lot of time in Fresno. At least it is not humid. My relatives in Austin on suffering through 100-degree days and high 90 nights with humidity in the 80-90% range. The A/C has to be kept set low to get rid of the humidity, so it runs nearly 24/7.
There is a big difference between North, Central, and Southern California. As a native, I see the North/Central and South as completely different states. Southern California is unique to the rest of the country, price included.
I’m not going to read the comments cause I know they are a mess. Great video, I think you hit a lot of key points. I moved to Texas for 3 years, one of the worst mistakes of my life. Left there and moved to Nevada, job market sucks, cool place to visit. I’m back in California, working and living in Anaheim. Yes things are expensive but my daughter is in a great school in Cypress. You know the vibe in Orange County.
Do you ever see any old classic cars from the 1960's, with the Black and yellow calif. plates, that start with the letter "I" ? As a kid in 1968, they were all over Visalia.
Kyle, the Geography King, with a second channel? That's awesome! As a former New Yorker living in Florida now, I'm realizing this isn't quite the place for me. Too hot, too many tourists, zero geographical variety, deceivingly expensive. I ain't returning to NY and I've always desired to live out west, but Cali seems wildly out of price range. However, I would gladly consider places like Sacramento or Fresno, large cities for sure but not wildly so. Great video and thanks for the info!
Just FYI the central valley is still hot, dry, but HOT. Think over 100F, just want to give you a heads up that those areas are not really that much of a trade off, just less humid. If you are looking for someplace reasonably priced yet decent weather, around Lake County are other hidden gems that are not as affected by the opioids. Try looking into Sonoma County that is close to Napa but much easier weather, roughly 75F almost all year round, not too dry but not crazy humid. Close to Portland weather imo. Probably a little pricier than Lake County, but certain areas are not outrageous like Napa or other highly expensive areas in California. Likely easier to get a decent job there too as they have a better economy than half of the cities listed in this video imo.
Many of the inland lower foothills cities are still good bets, depending on your work. Having said that, many have been built as building bedroom communities where buyers have a 2 hour one way commute to the coastal jobs.
Counterpoint on Clear Lake and Lake County: it has next to no job opportunities. The county is very rural, so you'll need to spend a lot on gas to get anywhere. My family only moved to lake county because it was the only place my dad could find work as a teacher in Middletown, before middletown was destroyed by a wildfire. I packed up and left for Chico almost twenty years ago for school and stayed after I got a job here.
Lake County kid here (living in Sacramento now). Nice to see it make the list. The west side of the lake is very nice and with less of the impact of the opioids. Kelseyville is a very nice town.
I've lived in coastal Cali now since 1997 (8 years in Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach/Playa del Rey, and 19 years in Berkeley/SF/Oakland). The people who are fleeing to bigger cities outside of California (like Phoenix or Austin) do so for job opportunities, mostly, and because they enjoy living in a busy metropolitain area and not small or rural areas. Crime in California is another huge issue, as well as the drug problem that is often fueling the crime. Most everywhere you mention, aside from Sacramento, has very few &/or low paying jobs, plus high crime, AND rural drug problems, as well as an inability to get home owners insurance due to fire, and poor air quality. Combine all those problems together and you develop an understanding of why the real estate is so cheap there. I've never watched any of your videos before this one, but you don't seem to have any understanding of the difficult *thousands and thousands* of home owners are having getting home owners insurance (and I'm talking right in the multi-million dollars homes in Montclair Oakland, not up in wildfire country). Before anyone considers *any area of California*, you had better call multiple insurance companies FIRST and find out if you can even get homeowners insurance in that town/city. This is not an exaggeration. I've never seen California in the state it has been in since 2019-2020, and I mean both LA and SF and many, many cities I travel to all over this state are having drug/crime issues. Here is the truly salient point, though. What are you accustomed to??? If you've lived most of your life in Manhattan (NY), LA, and San Francisco, DC, or other major cities, it is *extremely* hard to downgrade from that kind of lifestyle. If you were born and raised in podunksville, you may move to a small or mid-sized city and be content. It all depends on what lifestyle people want. If they want a huge metropolitan area, rural isn't going to work for them, and vice versa.
In March 2024, the median listing home price in Eureka, CA was $454.5K, trending up 3.3% year-over-year. And there are NO jobs The unemployment rate is 6%.
That's pretty much why my friend moved from there, after living there for about 30 years. He moved to the upper peninsula of Michigan. I told my friend that it's bigfoot country up there, as I leased a house in Arizona to a woman that lived there, in Michigan, and she, and her friend had an encounter with bigfoot, on three separate occasions, she even started trembling, as she related her story of seeing them, to me. My friend even told me that he moved to the same county in Michigan, (Emmett), where this lady had her three encounters.
I work remote and do just fine...direct flights to Burbank. Can go do the city thing when I feel like it and fly home. Only thing that sucks are the earthquakes but they always seem to happen in Decembers for some reason. The area's infrastructure sucks though for the amount of vehicles on the roads these days. It's becoming Santa Rosa north.
Had family out in Visalia and lived there for about a year. They've since left and I'm not sure when I'll ever be back. One of my favorite places in the country...but there's a reason it's priced so cheaply. Worst air quality in the country, very remote, and poor white collar jobs market.
RE: Santa Cruz Area for renters Hi Kyle and others, My hubby and I moved to a small city just south of Santa Cruz to retire. We first lived in a one bedroom, 20 unit building for 4 yrs (2014 - 2018). The rent started at $1200 then went to $1695. That last year was really tough. But we were selected into an affordable senior only complex. Now, we have been very happy living in a spacious 2 bedroom (720 square. ft.) Starting at $900mo. Now, $1295 but worth it. For seniors and those in the medical it's a great place to live for those in the medical profession. The local hospitals are in dire need of RNs. And other supporting clinics, physical therapy, mental heath are booming. If you live out of the area, seniors can apply for affordable housing here. It would be important to call the facilities you apply, periodically. My hubby called every month until we were selected. So, this might be helpful for some. Love & kindness, CL ByTheSeashore
I work for the Larger Utility Company in Ca, and have been traveling everywhere for almost 20 years. I named almost all those cities before you did lol. I will add, Oroville, Yuba City/ Marysville, Grass Valley, Los Banos and Bakersfield. All are very nice towns. I would take off Clear Lake though. Opioids are on their way out, but are still present, and it’s old communities with no real industry in the area. I’d add Ukiah on the list, but that area has gotten expensive. But yes, no idea why people are moving out of state. We have more usable open space than anywhere east of the Rockies.
You still can't escape the highest taxes in the country, more regulations, restrictive laws, the highest gas prices and utility prices no matter where you live in California.
@@helenkotowske3829 One woman's regulations are another woman's protections, taxes are not the highest in California, our air is much cleaner now thanks to more expensive fuel additives and utility rates have increased everywhere. Can you tell I love my State? A fifth generation Californian who's not going anywhere (unless trump gets re-elected, then I'll probably leave the country).
Have a friend who just bought a place in beautiful Grass Valley, almost didn't get their loan approved due to difficulties obtaining insurance. So many companies not writing here anymore. State Farm said they would start insuring again as soon as the state passed laws making it easier for them to raise rates, ain't that nice of them?
I had expected, as you go south from Sacramento, you would have mentioned Stockton. We are within commute distance of the East bay area, but you can find a livable house for $300K, and a really nice one for $400K. You are around 2 hours from San Francisco, Yosemite, Tahoe and world class ski resorts. If you like boating, the Delta is right here. I berth my boat 10 minutes from my $400K 1600sqft 3/2 house in Stockton for berthing of
@@maidenthe80slawe left ca in 2021, moved to Indiana. We absolutely love it here , weather here is nice and it’s very affordable. We are about 1.5 hours from Chicago and frequent there when we want to have some big city fun.
@@brianrogers2709 we are in northern Indiana ( Michiana ) , are you near us ? 😃 congrats on your move ! Yes we are born and raised too! Ca all our lives. I’ve ran in to a few Californians here as well who also moved between 2020-2023
Super interesting list and ideas! Shout out to the Central Valley! I live there and I've been to Visalia several times. Visalia is a nice town with a cool downtown and good music scene.
I grew up in Butte County near Chico and what you save in housing prices you spend on 24/7 air conditioner on from May-September. In the summer the days get up in the 100's everyday and cool down to 90's at night. No Thanks!
Your comments were spot-on accurate. Thanks for reminding us of all that California has to offer. FresNo? FresYES! Food and arts scene are coming along nicely. And the PRODUCE! There are a million people in Fresno County!!
Fresno gets a bad rap. But I go to Fresno a lot and it is actually a beautiful city overall. Nice and green and big forest trees line up the streets. It has a big city vibe and lots of amenities. If ppl cannot afford the bay but don’t want to leave California, they should consider Fresno. It’s growing and so Is the tech coding companies there.
Visalia is the best place on this list, I wouldn't say you are too biased. Most of the other cities are objectively worse, with much higher natural disaster risk or more unpleasant climates. I think once high speed rail is built it will become a more desirable place. I just hope they're adding a lot more mixed use zoning in the future instead of those giant swaths of single-family neighborhoods that stretch for miles.
It's still very much a big single family home kind of place. I think many of the people moving there are from the LA or Bay Areas with kids and want a bigger house they can afford. I think when the rail is eventually finished, it will benefit the Valley a lot.
@@nadogrl Yes, things happen much more quickly, and more efficient here, in Arizona, and that's why more people keep moving here, despite the heat! I went back to California, a couple of weeks ago, first visit in 5 years, and I remembered vividly why I left, couldn't wait to get back to Arizona!
@@helenkotowske3829 LOL You cannot compare it. Neither LA or SF are tweaker towns. You have small areas (Skid Row in LA and the Tenderloin in SF) where you have the same level of drug use/saturation that Eureka and Redding have. Most of the areas surrounding LA and SF are NOT that way, the vast majority, in fact are not that way.
Benicia is lovely (but housing is expensive there)! I'm in Contra Costa County (30 years now) and can no longer take the heat. I've looked at Benicia, but sadly, can't afford the housing prices.
@@MT_20_24 Really? Wow, that's great! Where I'm at that will only get you a studio. I've not looked at apt costs in Benicia I've only looked at houses for sale. Everything I've seen is above $550,000 and that's just for a small two bedroom. Good to know that at least apts are still somewhat reasonable!
I wanted to move to Visalia to be close to the organic farmers. But I've read of issues with water supply and wells going dry. I moved from Seattle to Long Beach 10 years ago, but it's ridiculous how much we spent on rent for an apartment. My husband has gotten into woodworking and needs more space. But he thinks Visalia is too Republican/backward for us. He's from Oregon farm country and is sensitive to the discrimination and inequality of how some people are treated.
Love redding. Chico/Oroville are rising in price due to proximity to Sacramento and remote workers, chico is a lot like davis was a while ago. Also some beautiful gold country towns in amador, calaveras, and mariposa (mariposa is way more expensive) are really nice places to be and have great weather, also, like redding you can get easily to the snow.
@@barbarapaige4587 Yep, and the Paradise/Magalia fires which wiped out both towns in 2018 sure didn't help w/ the local housing 'demand'. Though Chico summers are cool by comparison to Redding & Red Bluff, where temps routinely hit 100°F, and occasionally reach >115°!
This is a great video! As a native Californian I've been to a lot of the places on this list. Some things to mention are that Visalia is super conservative. I went to a wedding there and was floored by some of the things I heard people say. But we went to the coolest reception on this ranch property out there! I grew up near Banning. It used to be borderline nothing, and I like that it's growing. The surrounding area isn't bad to look at, but beware: it's basically the Southern California desert. Highs can easily get in the 110+ range through summer. Otherwise, quick and easy access to a lot of Southern California, including less than 1.5 hours to the beach!
California are starting to experience the brutality of the opiate epidemic. How long before it’s a state-wide problem? Take Lake County, for example. Lake County, California (about 100 miles north of San Francisco) has the highest rate of drug deaths in the state. This county’s annual drug deaths come in at 48 fatalities for every 100,000 residents in what amounts to a mostly rural county. Compare that to the state average of 12 drug deaths for every 100,000 residents. Lake County has a population of 64,095 and a poverty rate of 22 percent, compared to a statewide average poverty rate of 15 percent. Just in this one county alone, about three people die from drug overdoses every month. In a county that’s the epitome of rural, small-town America, three overdose deaths per month is a huge blow.
I have grown so much appreciation for our state. Tulare county is very undervalued & in my opinion, has a great future, along with Fresno & Bakersfield. Nonetheless, while it's still relatively affordable, I'll recommend Sacramento first.
Hysterical video. Eureka, Redding, Lake County??? Drug trafficking, cartels, earthquakes, wildfires. Get a clue. Born and raised in NorCal and escaped to Georgia. Good luck with the cheap real estate with crime and natural disasters. Sigh. My hometown Sacto is absolutely NOT affordable unless in a drug/crime area. Yes, Midtown is great. Too expensive. Why would you post this ridiculousness??😂😂
In my travels the last two years, I saw way less issues in Chico than I did in Eureka. I live in Portland, and while certain cults want you to believe it’s still burning, I know what are and aren’t issues. Chico ain’t bad at all.
A couple FYI's Have friends/fam in SAC, Redding, Fresno, Summer time is too dang hot. Air con must be on 24hrs a day. Can't even enjoy summer BBQ at evening urg. also Sac and Fresno have bad air quality and crime issues.
Fresno has been improving in their crime numbers going down. More police/security presence and even Homelessness I dont see much of. There are signs all over Fresno that say by giving money to homeless you are not helping but rather contributing to the problem which is good to have.
I live in NorCal between two of these places. I suppose everything is relative, but you really are comparing ridiculously stupidly expensive places to live with just stupidly expensive places to live. Also, the job situation up here is not good, and housing availability is awful. This video is long on wishful thinking and short on reality, unless you have tons of money and do not need to work.
Now… factor in the rise of WFH or otherwise remotely. The Valley has its issues, pretty serious ones, yet they’re booming because many are priced out of the major metros. These factors change several equations.
I’m from Lake County. It’s got no job market, but many people live there on fixed incomes, or remote jobs. It’s also separated from everywhere else by windy mountain roads. The fire risk is high. OTOH, it’s got the cleanest air in the state, and 8th cleanest in the nation. It’s beautiful. You’re about 2 hours from Sacramento, or Santa Rosa, or the bay. The city of Clearlake is where all the lake pollution drifts to, and it has the worst drug problem, but Lower Lake, which runs into it, is pretty nice. Kelseyville is the most racist town. Middletown and Lakeport school districts are probably the best. Cobb is mountain living, cheaper, but more extreme weather. I would recommend Shasta or Lassen counties over some of those listed here, because the average income to average rent/mortgage is better.
400,000?? I can't even afford 100,000. I was forced into retirement 20 years ago from the tech industry. I was lucky to buy a house 100 miles from the Bay Area and paid it off doing menial jobs. Now I struggle just to pay the bills on a fixed income.
Outside of Sacramento and Fresno there’s no jobs that pay anything for the working class. All these cities and towns you mentioned are more for retired people to live in
Concur with you 100% especially regarding Redding, Fresno and Visalia, I’ve never understood the “Ocean View “, the waves roll in, the waves roll out = a half a million x2, although it’s nice to visit the coast in August when it’s hot in the Valley!
My friend who was originally from Sac recently left Bakersfield for Phoenix and it's because he got a job in his field of work, that helped pay him to move there.
This is a great video but I wish you could have mentioned Paradise & Magalia, 20 or so miles northeast of Chico… It’s a little pricier to buy in Paradise than it used to be since the Camp Fire (all new construction has new requirements with respect to fire codes and solar panels. Also be aware that fire insurance is EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE!!! Most larger insurers are leaving the State. There are ways to mitigate the cost though, so do be sure and ask your realtor about insurance & mitigation.
@@CaliforniaView_Kyle Excellent! Glad you got to see it. I drove my two kids to Vernon, Indiana, 50 miles north of Louisville and we too saw the totality as well, such an awesome celestial experience! Thanks for all that you do!
All these places have no jobs with good income growth. You’d be relegated to finding one of the few employers that still do fully remote to be even worth considering unless you are retired. Low housing cost usually indicates the local economy is pretty poor.
I knew Visalia was going to be on the list. The Twin Peaks of the Central Valley. My sis-in-law moved there, and couldn’t wait to move up into Three Rivers for mountain living.
All TRUE. I live in CA. These are real nice cities and the people of the state NEED to pull away from the coast and Re gentrify the valley towns. I’ve been to all of them, and more. THEY ARE THERE!
I moved to Sacramento (From Visalia) about 20 years ago. Although the summers are relatively hot, we get the breezes off the Delta that cools things off most evenings. We do have a great foodie and microbrew scene. I also concur about Visalia.
@@TMendocino I beg your pardon? I think you need to dust off your map and reread my post. I currently live in Sacramento and the California Delta lies just to the south of Sacramento. We do get the cooling breezes which come up through the Delta from the Bay Area.
Okay, but how's the walkability, bikeability, and public transit in these towns? Eureka is small enough that you can walk anywhere. Fresno made City Nerd's *bottom* 10 walkable cities, so that's a bust. Yeah, I'd live in most of these towns over any town in Texas. But the next place I live will probably be my last, and I may not be able to drive when I'm my parents' ages. I don't want to be stuck in my house because I can't walk, bike, or bus anywhere.
Consider also the availability of quality health care which will become more critical as you age. Good health care is generally found in larger cities or in university towns.
I agree with your choices (especially redding 😃) , though I think you could have better clarified that there are areas in the sacramento area that are cheaper and frankly nicer than the ones you showed in the city proper, like folsom or Rancho cordova
California also has rational tax which protects homeowners from being taxed out of their home by capping the allowed rise in valuation each year regardless of market conditions. California also has a lot of well provided and funded healthcare. Like anywhere, there are great areas and areas you avoid so you can choose how your surroundings are. To me it is very weird how negative some people tend to be about California when it is such a huge place with so many really nice areas. The only truth is that it does tend to be expensive because so many people want to live there with good reason. This is a good info video.
The property tax does protect homeowners. But it's incredible unfair. Generally poorer people rent. And they do not enjoy this protection as rents go up quite massively. So what is the justification for homeowners to pay so little? It's just another contributing factor why housing prices are so sky high
