I’m in Northern California in the Sacramento Valley.
I’ve spent most of my life here, and absolutely love it. The Mediterranean climate is fantastic, and you don’t have to worry about getting rained out in the summer, because we don’t see a drop of rain from June to September. Our winters are wet and mild, and it rarely hard freezes, though we’ll occasionally have some frosty mornings in January and February.
It can get hot in the summer, sometimes 110+, but the humidity hovers between 20-30%. Much more comfortable than summers in states where the humidity is 85%+. Being outside isn’t so brutal, and sitting in the shade actually cools you off. Plus that’s what the mountains and the coast are for, to get out of the heat.
It also has some of the most beautiful landscape you’ve ever seen. I live at the base of the Sierras in the transition zone into the Cascade range, and the Pacific Ocean is a 4-1/2 hour drive to the west. We spend time every year in the mountains and at the ocean, so it’s nice to have that variety to choose from.
We’re primarily an agricultural area, with lots of public land around, and lax airgun laws, so there’s plenty of places to go shooting. We’re also very conservative in this area, which you’d expect being primarily agricultural, and we still value our freedom.
The cost of living isn’t bad either compared to the rest of California, and we’ve got roadside fruit stands all over the place if you like fresh farm-grown produce in season. I’ve looked into moving to other states whenever I get a wild hair, and housing prices are actually comparable to here. It’s mostly if you want to live in the Bay Area or SoCal that housing prices start climbing rapidly.
The photos attached weren’t taken by me, but this is all within twenty miles of my home in Butte County. Springtime is breathtakingly beautiful.
The main drawback that has personally affected me is wildfires. They can be a problem if you’re way out in the sticks, but thankfully the State has started to address the worst areas after we lost two towns in two years.
I’m a former resident of Paradise, that was almost completely destroyed in the Camp Fire, so I got to start life over again in 2018. That has been quite the journey. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost five years already.
Funnily enough, earthquakes are the least of our problems here, despite California being known for them. They plague the southern half of the state mostly.
