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Possible relocation to Northern California

I_Am_MikeI_Am_Mike Posts: 222
edited October 2009 in The Porch
This may be a longshot, but....I have a job offer in the small town of Quincy, Plumas County (about 3 hours northeast of Sacramento). Is anyone familiar with this area/town? I'm flying in on Thursday to check things out but I'd love to hear any accounts or knowledge about the town and area. I'm facing the prospect of moving almost 3000 miles from home so I have to be sure this is a good move for our family.

Anyone live there or been there?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Attaway77Attaway77 Posts: 3,438
    Northern California is an amazing place.. I'm in the Military and have been out here since 2004, with that given I have traveled and seen some places and the Bay Area is hands down one of the greatest places. I love it here, the weather is awesome, the food is always great, concerts come thru here non stop, the people are cool, so many places just a drive away like Big Sur (Jack Kerouac) Yosemite, Redwoods, not to mention just the great history in San Francisco, so on and so on... This place is great.... I'm 32, been around seen and done and when I leave this place I will always look back and say rite on, I'm glad I had some time to take it all in!! Nor Cal and the Bay Area is worth the move... Hope all works out for ya...
    1998 Dallas (7/5) 2006 San Fran (7/15,7/16) 2009 San Fran (8/28) 2010 Bristow (5/13) NY (5/21) 2011 Alpine Valley (9/3,9/4)
    2012 Missoula (9/30) 2013 Chicago (7/19) Pittsburgh (10/11) Buffalo (10/12) Baltimore (10/27) Dallas (11/15)
    2014 Austin (10/12) Memphis (10/14) St. Paul (10/19) Milwaukee (10/20) Denver (10/22)
    2016 Ft. Lauderdale (4/8) Miami (4/9) Hampton (4/18) Philly (4/28,4/29) NY (5/1,5/2) 2018 Seattle (8/10) Missoula (8/13) 2022 Nashville (9/16)
    E.V. - 2008 Berkeley (4/8) 2012 Austin (11/9,11/12)
    Temple of the Dog - 2016 Upper Darby


  • djonesrdjonesr Posts: 73
    Quincy is a REALLY small foothill/mountain town. You can consider it to be fairly remote and it takes a long time to get anywhere else from there.

    I have no idea what living there is like, but I do know that it's the home of the High Sierra Music Festival - a very hippie festival.
  • Attaway77Attaway77 Posts: 3,438
    Yeah, like I_Am_Mike said, small and remote, sometimes that's not a bad thing especially when raising a family .. I forgot to mention Lake Tahoe, beautiful place as well.. Just so much out here to venture into, California is a expensice state but it does have alot to offer.. All the places I mentioned earlier and So Cal is about a 6 hour drive away, not to bad.. Good luck!!! and long live Pearl Jam, future Hall of Famers....
    1998 Dallas (7/5) 2006 San Fran (7/15,7/16) 2009 San Fran (8/28) 2010 Bristow (5/13) NY (5/21) 2011 Alpine Valley (9/3,9/4)
    2012 Missoula (9/30) 2013 Chicago (7/19) Pittsburgh (10/11) Buffalo (10/12) Baltimore (10/27) Dallas (11/15)
    2014 Austin (10/12) Memphis (10/14) St. Paul (10/19) Milwaukee (10/20) Denver (10/22)
    2016 Ft. Lauderdale (4/8) Miami (4/9) Hampton (4/18) Philly (4/28,4/29) NY (5/1,5/2) 2018 Seattle (8/10) Missoula (8/13) 2022 Nashville (9/16)
    E.V. - 2008 Berkeley (4/8) 2012 Austin (11/9,11/12)
    Temple of the Dog - 2016 Upper Darby


  • I_Am_MikeI_Am_Mike Posts: 222
    Attaway77 wrote:
    Northern California is an amazing place.. I'm in the Military and have been out here since 2004, with that given I have traveled and seen some places and the Bay Area is hands down one of the greatest places. I love it here, the weather is awesome, the food is always great, concerts come thru here non stop, the people are cool, so many places just a drive away like Big Sur (Jack Kerouac) Yosemite, Redwoods, not to mention just the great history in San Francisco, so on and so on... This place is great.... I'm 32, been around seen and done and when I leave this place I will always look back and say rite on, I'm glad I had some time to take it all in!! Nor Cal and the Bay Area is worth the move... Hope all works out for ya...

    before kids, my wife and i vacationed in yosemite, kings canyon/sequoia national parks and fell in love with the sierras. for years i'd hoped an opportunity like this would come up. i just need to figure out if the finances work and can talk my wife off the ledge. she's pretty freaked about the prospect of moving so far from family and friends but this is a tremendous opportunity and in my mind worth the short term hell.
  • I_Am_MikeI_Am_Mike Posts: 222
    djonesr wrote:
    Quincy is a REALLY small foothill/mountain town. You can consider it to be fairly remote and it takes a long time to get anywhere else from there.

    I have no idea what living there is like, but I do know that it's the home of the High Sierra Music Festival - a very hippie festival.

    i've seen conflicting population estimates of 2000-5000 people, but either way i love the feel of small towns. and i know that major shopping and medical services are a good drive away. i'm flying into reno and driving about 2 hrs. to get to Quincy. perusing realtor.com, it looks relatively affordable (esp compared to many parts of california). the music festival sounds sweet. i'll request some PJ covers!
  • Travels WithTravels With Posts: 609
    I'm about 2 to 2 1/2 hours from Quincy. It's a small town, not as remote as some foothill towns can be. It's not too far from Lake Oroville which has some beautiful spots. You're also a few hour drive from North Shore Tahoe which is remarkable. I can get pretty darn hot there in the summer. Overall, though, I love N. Cal. I wouldn't nor couldn't chose a better spot to raise my kids.
    “I suppose our capacity for self-delusion is boundless.” ― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
  • I_Am_MikeI_Am_Mike Posts: 222
    Travels With wrote:
    I'm about 2 to 2 1/2 hours from Quincy. It's a small town, not as remote as some foothill towns can be. It's not too far from Lake Oroville which has some beautiful spots. You're also a few hour drive from North Shore Tahoe which is remarkable. I can get pretty darn hot there in the summer. Overall, though, I love N. Cal. I wouldn't nor couldn't chose a better spot to raise my kids.

    that's great to hear about it being a great place to raise kids. definitely a priority. how about taxes? (personal income, sales, etc.). just trying to get a general gauge of living costs other than housing. thanks!
  • sfrenchsfrench Posts: 45
    I'm from a town a lot like Quincy in the Sierra foothills. Overall a good experience, but if you are used to big cities, the amount of "stuff to do" will be a big adjustment.

    For the bigger cities, Chico and Reno are about equally far away for you. Reno is probably a bit bigger, but I loved Chico when I went to college there, and they have the Sierra Nevada Brewery. You are also really close to two really good lakes... Lake Almanor and Lake Oroville, so you might want to take up boating/fishing/watersports if you aren't into them already.

    Quincy appears to be about 3500 ft elevation, so you'll most likely get a reasonable amount of snow there, but nothing ridiculous. I'd guess a good snowstorm might dump a foot or two at that elevation.
  • I_Am_MikeI_Am_Mike Posts: 222
    sfrench wrote:
    I'm from a town a lot like Quincy in the Sierra foothills. Overall a good experience, but if you are used to big cities, the amount of "stuff to do" will be a big adjustment.

    For the bigger cities, Chico and Reno are about equally far away for you. Reno is probably a bit bigger, but I loved Chico when I went to college there, and they have the Sierra Nevada Brewery. You are also really close to two really good lakes... Lake Almanor and Lake Oroville, so you might want to take up boating/fishing/watersports if you aren't into them already.

    Quincy appears to be about 3500 ft elevation, so you'll most likely get a reasonable amount of snow there, but nothing ridiculous. I'd guess a good snowstorm might dump a foot or two at that elevation.

    that sounds good. i currently live in the outer burbs of philly but only venture into the city for an occasional concert (like 3 upcoming PJ shows!) or flyers game. i'm an avid backpacker, angler, and boater so the area has tremendous allure. that's cool that SN brewery would be so close. their pale ale is one of my favorites. i'm liking what i'm hearing, so as long as the finances work and i can convince the misses....
  • JM18725JM18725 Posts: 46
    You have a job offer there? Hmmm. I was pretty much born and raised in Quincy. I absolutely love it there. I've lived there for 20+ years but I've moved to the bay area to work. I'd love to move back but my wife (who's also from there, actually Meadow Valley) doesn't like how remote it is. It's about a hour and a half from Reno to the east and Chico to the west. I love it because I'm pretty outdoorsy. And if you're into backpacking and boating there is ample opportunity all over the place. I love mountain biking there. There are plenty of adventures to be had for sure. there The population is about 6000 in the area. It's a pretty close community where every one pretty much knows everyone else. It has been going through some changes lately with the closing of parts of the Lumber Mill which has taken away some of the jobs. Quincy also has a junior college (Feather River College) that has pretty good sports and equestrian programs. Of course as previously mentioned it has the High Sierra Music Fest every summer. They get some pretty good music in there sometimes like My Morning Jacket, John Butler, Brett Dennen. Anyways I would highly recommend Quincy as long as living in a fairly remote mountain town works for you. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer and If it works out and you get the job up there we might have get a couple beers at the local pub.
    already in love
  • I_Am_MikeI_Am_Mike Posts: 222
    JM18725 wrote:
    You have a job offer there? Hmmm. I was pretty much born and raised in Quincy. I absolutely love it there. I've lived there for 20+ years but I've moved to the bay area to work. I'd love to move back but my wife (who's also from there, actually Meadow Valley) doesn't like how remote it is. It's about a hour and a half from Reno to the east and Chico to the west. I love it because I'm pretty outdoorsy. And if you're into backpacking and boating there is ample opportunity all over the place. I love mountain biking there. There are plenty of adventures to be had for sure. there The population is about 6000 in the area. It's a pretty close community where every one pretty much knows everyone else. It has been going through some changes lately with the closing of parts of the Lumber Mill which has taken away some of the jobs. Quincy also has a junior college (Feather River College) that has pretty good sports and equestrian programs. Of course as previously mentioned it has the High Sierra Music Fest every summer. They get some pretty good music in there sometimes like My Morning Jacket, John Butler, Brett Dennen. Anyways I would highly recommend Quincy as long as living in a fairly remote mountain town works for you. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer and If it works out and you get the job up there we might have get a couple beers at the local pub.

    i'm so glad to hear from someone that knows it so well. in my internet research i've seen some things discussing the mill closing and the ongoing battles from environmental groups. the job offer is w the USFS so i'm sure i would be getting front row seat at the debate. besides the mills, is there enough industry to support a vibrant economy or would you say the town is struggling? just trying to gauge what jobs might be available for my wife.

    can you tell me what taxes are like? i already know how the real estate and bond taxes work. what are state personal income and sales taxes? if this works out i'll be glad to find a friendly face to share a few beers. here's to hoping for that beer w a fellow PJ fan.
  • JM18725JM18725 Posts: 46
    I kinda figured it would be for the USFS. I use to work with a private contractor doing timber cruising and working with the Forest Service. My father in law is a Battalion Chief at Mt Hough and my sister works on the spotted owl crew. Small world :) I don't think the town is struggling, just changing a little. Of course as with the rest of our country the current economic situation has effected it just as much as everywhere else. I think there is enough economy to keep it going but I don't see it exploding any time soon. Ca state tax is at about 9.25%. Definitely pretty high but as far as the other taxes, I'll have to look into that for you. If you haven't already, you could probably find out some more info at http://www.plumasnews.com/.
    already in love
  • I_Am_MikeI_Am_Mike Posts: 222
    JM18725 wrote:
    I kinda figured it would be for the USFS. I use to work with a private contractor doing timber cruising and working with the Forest Service. My father in law is a Battalion Chief at Mt Hough and my sister works on the spotted owl crew. Small world :) I don't think the town is struggling, just changing a little. Of course as with the rest of our country the current economic situation has effected it just as much as everywhere else. I think there is enough economy to keep it going but I don't see it exploding any time soon. Ca state tax is at about 9.25%. Definitely pretty high but as far as the other taxes, I'll have to look into that for you. If you haven't already, you could probably find out some more info at http://www.plumasnews.com/.

    Well I'm here checking out Quincy. Got up at 3am East Coast time to catch a 6am flight out of Philly, ran around like a lunatic getting a layover fight out of Dallas, and got to Reno, NV around 11am West Coast time. I rented a car, stopped for McDonalds since I hadn't eaten anything in hours but couldn't find the highway entrance since I couldn't make a left out the lot. So I'm driving blind looking for the highway and didn't notice I was doing 30 in a school zone....doh! The Man on his bike pulled me over, but thankfully just a warning.

    That is a small world. This position is out of the Mt. Hough Ranger station. I'm meeting w my potential future boss tomorrow. The town is small but pretty cool. Met w a realtor today who was VERY helpful in showing me around town and talked it up quite a bit. House prices have come down quite a bit but they're still a bit on the high side in my opinion compared to where I'm coming from. So far I like what I see, but still need to convince my wife to abandon her job, her family, and friends for my dream. I can be very convincing (when I'm holding my breath like a 3 year old). Maybe will will share that beer or four...
  • jammergirljammergirl Posts: 599
    I grew up in susanville, which is a small town about an hour from quincy. My dad was a battalion chief for cdf (now called calfire) and for the most part I really like growing up there. It is pretty isolated, reno and chico are your big towns that are closest to get to. (I went to chico state). Quincy is pretty progressive as far as small northeastern cali towns go, more open-minded and such. all of my friends who were raised there said it was great, especially if you like the outdoors. If you have any other questions just drop me a line.
  • anakin_pdxanakin_pdx Posts: 393
    If you took the job and moved to Quincy, you could make it to Seattle in a 12 hour drive...

    http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Quincy& ... ttle&2s=WA
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