I don’t know about you, but It seems to me like hardly a week goes by without some scathing condemnation of Redding in the local media. The latest survey declared our city “unfit for human consumption,” or something like that. Who are the sadists who come up with this stuff? I have no idea. I do, however, think this is a great place to live, and here are 17 reasons why, just off the top of my head.
1. Location, location, location. We are ideally located for the future.
Thanks to global warming and the subsequent sea level rise, we are sitting on potential beach front property.
2. Last is the new first. Pay no attention to these surveys saying
Redding is the worst city ever. It’s just a game to sell advertising. Take pride in being the underdog.
3. You live in Shasta County if anyone asks. Not Redding. We have to clear our fine city’s name first. Shasta is a BANK name.
4. A vibrant cops and robbers economy.
5. Old people are smart, and there are a lot of old people here.
6. Amazon.
7. The best country roads in America.
8. Cable and satellite TV.
9. An enormous faith-based community. Despite what you’ve heard about Jews, Christians, Moslems, Pagans and Aetheists (yes atheism is a faith) they’re all nice people, once you get to know them.
10. A first-class homeless problem. Plenty of work for the aforementioned faith-based community.
11. Sporting Goods Stores. Our selection, from motorsports such as motorcycles, jet skies and snow mobiles, to outdoor sports ranging from running, hiking, hunting, fishing and frisbee golf, is unmatched.
12. Trader Joe’s.
13. Welcome to Cattle Country. Best beef in the world. See for yourself at R&R Meats.
14. Twin Peaks. Between spectacular views of Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta no people have greater claim to the name.
15. Diversity. We are mostly white, but have large Latino and Native American populations. We already have better communication than many communities, and have a great foundation to build upon.
16. Education. We have the best teachers in the state. My younger bro, who graduated from here in 1983, is CTO of a major tech company. My middle bro is a beloved teacher in the Shasta County school district. We need a CSU for all these great teachers.
17. The State of Jefferson movement. They are wrong about many things, but they are correct that the state’s politicians could care less about rural northern California.
