In Santa Rosa (California) the on-ramps to Hwy. 101 all say: South, San Francisco; North, Eureka. For the two years that I lived in the (SF) Bay area all I knew of Eureka was "North."
Several months after I began renting a condo in Rohnert Park I learned that the homeowners association was in litigation with the developer over construction problems. Last year the homeowners won their suit and that meant the whole place would be rebuilt-windows, doors, decks, heating systems, insulation, roofing tiles, siding-all to be replaced while the units remained occupied. As a self-employed graphic designer with a home computer studio (not to mention three pets) there was no way I could continue to live and work in what was rapidly becoming a construction zone.
Our short time in the Bay area followed three years in a home on the coast of Maine and I longed to have a house again. With Bay area prices sky high it seemed impossible but I couldn't help thinking there must be some place in California where regular folks can own a home. Suddenly those freeway signs seemed to take on new meaning.
I logged onto the Internet and did a search for Eureka, which lead me to the Humguide web site. Hours passed as the community came to life. There were natural food stores, movie theaters, computer and ISP services, real estate and climate information, churches and schools, organizations, all those things that make a place unique.
That day I contacted a real estate agent via e-mail and he assured me home ownership on the North Coast was within my reach. The next week I drove up to meet with him and spent several hours driving around to get the lay of the land. Two weeks later I returned to look at 10 very different houses he selected to give me a sense of what I could afford. The very last one was MY house. I made an offer that night, it was accepted the following day, and within a month we were living in our new home.
Without the Internet I'm not sure I would have followed through on Eureka. Being able to investigate the things I cared about from the comfort of home made the decision to drive up worthwhile. I was coming to see a place I already felt good about and had enough information to know what I was doing. Humguide is growing like crazy and continues to be my first place to look for local resources. We've just celebrated our first anniversary here in Eureka and I can't imagine a more beautiful home.
—————–About the Author————————————–
Su Wilson (sudonym@saber.net) is an immigrant to Humboldt County who runs Digital Production, a Macintosh-based typography service. With clients on both coasts, she depends on technology (and the folks at FedEx!) to maintain a successful business nestled among the redwoods.