choosing chico

 

The City of Chico boasts a wide variety of city, county, and regional events in the arts, culture, music, theatre, and recreation.

Housing Options

Chico has a variety of rural and suburban housing options, including single-family planned neighborhoods, retirement communities, historic homes and neighborhoods, as well as apartments, town homes, and condominiums.

Chico-Area housing is readily available at all levels of affordability. The median home price in 2004 was $277,000.

Recreational Opportunities

Abundant parkland and recreation facilities in the City of Chico and its vicinity are key elements of the quality of life enjoyed by area residents. In Chico, parks not only provide recreational opportunities, but are also a vital element to the City’s character and image.

Bidwell Park is the third largest public owned park in the nation. The park traverses almost the entire East-West length of the City, and is a key component of the City’s urban charm. Bidwell Park, coupled with the various neighborhood and community parks, creates a parkland-to-resident ratio that is five to six times the average of other Central Valley communities.

Chico is also just minutes away from the beautiful Sierra foothills, which offer abundant hiking, fishing, hunting and skiing, and is a short drive away from Lake Oroville Recreation Area, Lake Almanor, Black Butte Lake, Shasta Lake, and Lassen National Forrest.

Education

Chico boasts an education system that includes 12 elementary level schools, three junior high schools, two high schools, and a community college. Chico is also home to one of the 23 California State University campuses.

Culture and Media

Other cultural amenities include facilities for music, dance, drama and art. In addition, Chico is home to over 60 churches, two libraries, two newspapers, five network television stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, FOX), and one cable TV system with community access, and 16 theaters.

In 2005, Chico was also ranked the #10 art town in the U.S. by John Villani, author of 100 Best Art Towns in America: A Guide to Galleries, Museums, Festivals, Lodging and Dining. See a local article about the ranking.

For more about John Villani’s book, visit Amazon.com.

Additional Resources