Eureka

I just moved here a week ago and have yet to meet anyone friendly. I’m getting sad :(

I grew up here and saw the city decline… Truly sad… Close to some of the most beautiful places on the California and Oregon coasts, it should be a paradise; but under-funded law enforcement can’t keep up with the drug gangs…

It’s still a great place to visit—there are many, many wonderful people, parks, and businesses—but I can’t say I’m unhappy I left…

I live in Eureka, and while it is worth visiting to see the Redwoods and such, it is NOT worth living in unless you like the small town, nothing-interesting-to-do-half-the-time, hippie environment. If you are into that, then more power to you. If you are a liberal (and I mean like Berkeley liberal) democrat type of person (not moderate-conservative democrat like me) then you will probably fair well here. I get slack all the time for supporting the war in Iraq and President Bush.

{Sigh, the impermanence of internet links. HERE is why everyone should visit! From http://www.scifi.com/eureka/}

With the help of Albert Einstein and other trusted advisors, President Harry S. Truman commissioned a top-secret residential development in a remote area of the Pacific Northwest, one that would serve to protect and nurture America’s most valuable intellectual resources. There our nation’s greatest thinkers, the über-geniuses working on the next era of scientific achievement, would be able to live and work in a supportive environment. The best architects and planners were commissioned to design a welcoming place for these superlative geniuses to reside, an area that would offer the best education for their children, the best healthcare, the best amenities and quality of life. A community was created to rival the most idyllic of America’s small towns — with one major difference: this town would never appear on any maps. At least, none that haven’t been classified “eyes only” by the Pentagon.

Thus, the town of Eureka was born.

Rumor has it that Eureka is infested with marmots. Can anyone confirm or deny?

Hippies rule the place. It’s their magic kingdom of dreadlocks.

I’ve been living in Eureka since 2004 to save on rent while going to Humboldt State University. A lot of Eureka is pretty seedy, especially where I live, but there are some nice parts, especially Oldtown. Scattered among houses that look like they belong in a slum are beautiful old Victorians, many of them restored and painted in magnificent colors. I live in the top half of a Victorian built right about 1900, with a bay window—and orange shag carpeting from the 1970s!

Something nice about this area is that there is a lot of local art and culture. There are open mic nights with really good local musicians. Once a month is “Arts Alive” night. Definitely something to see.

Once a year, there is a parade of trucks decorated with Christmas lights. They drive all around the city and honk their horns while people watch from the sidewalks. Sort of like the Rose Parade in Pasadena, but at night, no flowers, and a whole lot louder.

I lived here and in Arcata Till I started first grade.

It’s a place I call home. It will always be home. I’ve lived here since I was 3, so that’s 17 years. So I can answer what i can about my home.