This is the best place to go if you’re a hippie.. well, besides the Haight-Ashbury. It’s located in Humboldt County, which is pretty well-known for it’s marijuana growing. The community is great, there are always festivals going on about the earth, such as the Mushroom Fair, the Hemp Festival, North Country Fair, everything you can imagine. I love it here! The people are so supportive of you.. they’ve even made a law which states that women can indeed go topless around the plaza in the centre of town. ; )
Arcata is a totally unreal place to check out and LIVE too! The rents are cheap and it seems everyone is way laid back, with Humboldt next door and being amongst the greatest redwoods in the world, how can you go wrong!
arcata is a HYPOCRITICAL place,people talk of being progressive and liberal, what a crok, and diversity is a JOKE,time to get real, its just another lily white area living a lie,if your are white,then itz your place,any other colors need not come
I’ve lived in this area for a long, long time, and boy, has Arcata changed. I don’t know why this is listed as a “Hippie” hangout, no real hippies live here (They moved down to Garberville, or sold out a long time ago) Crime has gone up, another person was beat up on the Plaza the other day, but at least the stabbings have died down for now. The roads have completely fallen apart, and the “City” council is too busy trying to out do the last city council, and have forgotten that they are the City Council of Arcata, not the Mighty City-State Council of Green Party Rejects. For the people who lived here in the 70’s, it’s completely different. Housing Index has hit 13% (Only 13% of the people who live in Arcata, can afford to BUY a home in Arcata) our fuel prices have gone up, and the town doesn’t have that small, clean, wholesome feeling anymore.
No, Arcata doesn’t have a Starbucks, which is too bad, because the only places worth getting Coffee from are Starbucks and the Udder Place anymore. I can’t believe that I have to drive to Eureka (Heroin and Meth oh my!) in order to get a coffee that doesn’t taste like crap.
Maybe I should review the coffee shops and eateries in Arcata…..
What have you done to my Arcata? Where have you taken it, and why do you hate it so much?
I just got done with highschool and I’m 19 years old. I’ve had a really hard time trying to decide what to do with my life but I think I want to be a writer. I had a friend that has hitch hiked all over the country for over a year and when he came back he told me the best place he had visited was Arcata. He told me stories about the gigantic red trees, the beach, and the people there. I don’t know if I dare say “paradise” or “Utopia” after some of the things I’ve already read on here but at the very least a place worth seeing. I would like to travel to Arcata before I go to college and live in the forest and on the beach for a short time. I am not rich at all, it will take me a month or two to get what I need to go on this trip. I’m not a hippy, I’m not a yuppie and I’m not a stoner, just some writer-wanna be kid that has no intention of doing any drugs harder then pot and shrooms a bit and needs something to write about. It sounded fantastic, the way he described it but I don’t want to spend the month or so I might stay there under constant harrassment and scrutiny of the townspeople and the law. I read one posting about how no young, dumb kids should come. About how anyone who doesn’t know the real deal should just steer clear. Well I’m sure I would pass as one of those young dumb dreamers but at least I’m aware of it and at least I want to learn what you mean by proper respect. I don’t want to free load off of society, I just want to write and experience the area. I want to know everything I can about Arcata. What are tweekers? What is the Endeavor? Is it true there is a place that will do your laundry for you on certain days of the week? Are the outsiders that come to the area really as bad as some say or are they still more or less peaceful? Is there any way I can come to this place without facing oppression by the locals? I could probably think of more questions but if anyone can tell me any useful information about this town then that would be a help. I don’t want an easy ride, I hate people that litter, I understand the importance of respect and honor, and I just want to write. And I may be a dreamer but I know I’m not the only one. Thats one of the reasons I want to visit Arcata. I need to meet other people that have an imagination, people that live with their heart. I need to know these people exist and if they do then I’m going to write about them. My email is bigmac202000@yahoo.com if anyone feels like helping me out a little. Thanks for any advice or information you can give me.
Hi, i recently decided that instead of going to college i want to travel and soon end up at Arcata, California to live. I plan to save a lot of money this summer, the trouble is i to do this trip alone because my friends arent crazy enough to give up the idea of a secrue life with college and to live life free and exciting, im detremined to live my life this way. so it will be a lonely trip in a way, but well worth it, the problem is..where to live when i get there, does anyone need a roomate? i am free spirtied and fun. i love havin a good time, of course seeing as how far i would go to live life on the edge. im and 18 yr old girl from Ohio, and i need out, im not like these ppl 🙂 i need the sunshine and the best kind of weed 🙂 a true stoner you might call me! but if anyone has any suggestions on what i should be doing to plan for this please email me at lucky13cw@aol.com ( ya i know the adress is lame) or IM me at Corrin13o5!! Thanks a bunch! 🙂 Corrin
Hey Pete i just wanted to say that i live in a city that loves there starbucks and their nice cars. WELL I HATE STARBUCKS! im a coffee shop kind of girl i have worked at a small local coffee shop for 2 yrs now and sadly all of our business has been taken away by yet another FREAKIN STARBUCKS! i hate starbucks, they are money hungry bastards, and one day i plan to own my own coffee shop/art gallarie and hopefully pete, you will find the true meaning of having a good cup of coffee if my dreams ever come true 🙂 do us all a favor and stay away from starbucks before they take of the world 🙂 i mean this in the nicest way possible.
Hey Corrin I read your posting and it interested me. It sounds alot like my posting which is the one directly under it. If your heading to Arcata on the road and you don’t want to travel alone then I might have an alternative for you. IM me at Irishmac85 on aol. It sounds like we have the same problem and if you want to talk more about it just message me. See yas.
what up heading to arcata next tuesday no maoney any suggestions
If you don’t have a means of supporting yourself, don’t bother coming to Arcata. All of the street corners are already taken by begging travelers holding cardboard signs and with dogs on strings. The rest of us are trying to live here peacably and make a small-town living, much of which is based on the tourisim trade. Problem is folks, no one wants to come here because our plaza is overrun with stoned, amped up waifs who agressively panhandle and harrass anyone walking by. Unless you have something productive to contribute to this area, please don’t bother.
I’m heading up to Arcata for a few days, and I’m wondering if Arcata is the kind of city where a newbie could go up to someone and make a friend, or if it’s got a hostile inviornment. In other words, anything I should know about the social life in Arcata?
Also, is it safe to sleep outside, or will cops/residents bug you?
Please IM me at CryingNeedle on AOL.
six rivers in Arcata! vegitation june 24th… gona be sweet
i lived in arcata from 2000 to 2001 and found it to be wonderful. the scenery and many people there were and still are absolutely amazing. however, the rents are not cheap and you have got to make a living just as anywhere else. still there still is a bit of anarchy left that reminded me of the days gone ( i am 57 now and studied in calif. in the 60’s and 70’s). despite the complaints about the coffee in one of the replies: the coffee at ‘sacred grounds’ is very good. glad to tell you more if you contact me at catshats@web.de
bruni
I’m not commenting on any specific review, but wow what a handful of different thoughts and feelings. I’ve been once, my sister attends HSU so I was down in early September to visit… I have to say it was incredible. I loved how we could bike to the beach, hike through the beautiful redwoods, chill out in the quad and do a little people watching… My mind and spirit felt free in the warm California sun. The people I met were great, the bud was most excellent and the scene was over all totally awesome and its made me want to come back. I’m a free spirit that definitely wasn’t feeling college for the next year if not more, I’ve wanted to just pack up and go, see the world a little bit and meet some great people that would like to do the same. I’ve decided that beautiful arcata is just the place for me to be. I’ll be at HSU this coming fall and if your feeling new adventure and good times find me… lizzabell86
I’m not commenting on any specific review, but wow what a handful of different thoughts and feelings. I’ve been once, my sister attends HSU so I was down in early September to visit… I have to say it was incredible. I loved how we could bike to the beach, hike through the beautiful redwoods, chill out in the quad and do a little people watching… My mind and spirit felt free in the warm California sun. The people I met were great, the bud was most excellent and the scene was over all totally awesome and its made me want to come back. I’m a free spirit that definitely wasn’t feeling college for the next year if not more, I’ve wanted to just pack up and go, see the world a little bit and meet some great people that would like to do the same. I’ve decided that beautiful arcata is just the place for me to be. I’ll be at HSU this coming fall and if your feeling new adventure and good times find me… lizzabell86
Within 10 minutes of getting to Arcata square was asked if I had herb and was then handed about an 1/8 of the best trim I ever smoked. (Plenty of little bud bits not just leaf.) So happens I arrived during harvest. A lot of people travel through going to various music festivals like myself. Its a cool little town, but is unfortunately over-run with belligerent street kid spangers. From what I saw the atmosphere was mainy laid back, but there was the occasional sudden episode. I agree with what was previously said, that you shouldn’t stick around this town if you have nothing to contribute to it. As for a place to sleep, hike up above Humboldt State to redwood park, its a nice area of redwood forest with plenty of room to make camp. You’ll find family and many magic mushrooms during season. Just watch out for ranger bob and frisbee golfers. OR catch a ride north to Clam Beach, if you have wheels park east of the hwy on a small road(to avoid a ticket), and hide in the dunes/thicket south of the parking lot(beach has fees). lovin’ U
I just got done with highschool and I”m 19 years old. I”ve had a really hard time trying to decide what to do with my life but I think I want to be a writer. I had a friend that has hitch hiked all over the country for over a year and when he came back he told me the best place he had visited was Arcata. He told me stories about the gigantic red trees, the beach, and the people there. I don”t know if I dare say “paradise” or “Utopia” after some of the things I”ve already read on here but at the very least a place worth seeing. I would like to travel to Arcata before I go to college and live in the forest and on the beach for a short time. I am not rich at all, it will take me a month or two to get what I need to go on this trip. I”m not a hippy, I”m not a yuppie and I”m not a stoner, just some writer-wanna be kid that has no intention of doing any drugs harder then pot and shrooms a bit and needs something to write about. It sounded fantastic, the way he described it but I don”t want to spend the month or so I might stay there under constant harrassment and scrutiny of the townspeople and the law. I read one posting about how no young, dumb kids should come. About how anyone who doesn”t know the real deal should just steer clear. Well I”m sure I would pass as one of those young dumb dreamers but at least I”m aware of it and at least I want to learn what you mean by proper respect. I don”t want to free load off of society, I just want to write and experience the area. I want to know everything I can about Arcata. What are tweekers? What is the Endeavor? Is it true there is a place that will do your laundry for you on certain days of the week? Are the outsiders that come to the area really as bad as some say or are they still more or less peaceful? Is there any way I can come to this place without facing oppression by the locals? I could probably think of more questions but if anyone can tell me any useful information about this town then that would be a help. I don”t want an easy ride, I hate people that litter, I understand the importance of respect and honor, and I just want to write. And I may be a dreamer but I know I”m not the only one. Thats one of the reasons I want to visit Arcata. I need to meet other people that have an imagination, people that live with their heart. I need to know these people exist and if they do then I”m going to write about them. My email is bigmac202000@yahoo.com if anyone feels like helping me out a little. Thanks for any advice or information you can give me.
P.S. Hey Utopiaseeker22 I’d be interested to talk to you if you see this message.
FUCK HIPPIES
I’d suggest you change the beginning review that the rents are cheap in Arcata. Not only are they not cheap, housing is so scarce that renters are going in and bidding-up the price of the rent to find a place to live.
Its an awsome place its way sweet if your a hippie! ^_^
Whatever Arcata once was, it is mostly controlled by conservatives, as is the university. I commend the straggler leftwingers for hanging on.
The day after I left Arcata, I read online in the Eye that the police had swept the Plaza and arrested 30 hippy kids on bogus chargers. A week later the Eye had removed the article from their archive. It also said there was a crackdown on people living in buses and such.
The leaders of this town pretend to be liberal, but it’s a huge sham, merely intended to bring in tourist dollars and students. Every attack by the city on hippy kids has been while students were away during break.
But, as a student, nevertheless heard of cops abusing students for trivial things like jaywalking or riding a skateboard.
The writing is on the wall. I was glad to leave Arcata. The only people who still like Arcata are either rightwingers or those politically unconscious potsmokers who hail from suburbia and couldn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone but themselves.
When i arrived in homboldt i was living somewhere on the lost coast. In the basement of the house i was in i found a hat that said on it: “Welcome to Humboldt: set your mind back 40 years”
the timelessness of humboldt is definately its most amazing trait, the relativity of time and the true ridiculousness of it are found in odd spectrums that constantly change everywhere here.
Arcata is a chill place for chillers. but if your a street clown you best watch yourself these days the bums are rather cracky. but amongst the few bad things there are still more than enough good about this town. dont bother lookin for the chron here, unless you make your own. cause it doesnt stay here long enough to see usually 😉 the best about this place is the energy and beauty of the land and its people. It is not easy to find a way to live here and the winter can be harsh with shit loads of rain so if you camp you better know what yur doin. rent is the highest in arcata out of all of humboldt because of the students, but the students bring $ to the community.
-Overgrow The Government-
I’ve never been in Arcata, but I’ll be at HSU fall 05 so I’ll c u guys there
ulisesbuve
Wanting to know if there is any good music in Arcata between May 31, and June 3rd. Will be in town and would love to know if anything might be happening…..
I was along time resident of Arcata, and am married to a local who grew up in Arcata for 25 years.
While some of these posts are accurate, I want to address some things about the “Plaza Hippys”.
They are not a “hippy” in any sense. Plain and simple, they are teenage street bums. They don’t just beg for change they demand it. While this seems absurd, they are often yelling across the street, or up in your face about getting your money.
An average example comes anywhere from asking for change, dollars (because they don’t accept change), beer, buy them a beer, give them pot, or purchase it for them.
While Arcata has a local sect of street personalities, like Rag Tag Pete and the guy that stands down near the 101 on ramp from G Street, who are respectful and actually very nice……….these transient street bums are too aggressive in thier pan handeling.
So much so that many Arcata residents, new and old, don’t shop on the plaza in the evening hours anymore because they don’t want to be harassed and verbally abused buy these kids / bums for their money.
Some of these posts state that there are police wipes of the plaza on bogus charges, which may be so, but honestly the true locals don’t care. They hate these transients who invade their town during the summer months when the rain lets up, who piss and throw garbage in their yards, and who disrespect and verbally abuse the local residents, and thus hurt the local business and economy.
I know this sounds very “Republican” like or “right wing” it addresses a major concern for local Arcata residents and city government with the truth. I am not passing judgement, but personally, as I just got back from a Arcata High School Alumni Event, wouldn’t mind seeing this problem dealt with as it has gotten worse since my wife and I moved 3 years ago.
Yeah, I’ve lived in Humboldt County all my life. It’s the most beautiful place to be, that’s for sure.
-Rachael
what is the deal with all the brothers in arcata calling themselves “bartholomuew” and talking in a faux-surfer accent? How can there be ten black barts in one little town?