A woman who moved to a quaint Northern California town was desperate to escape after living among white supremacists and hippies, and having to travel an hour to get almost anywhere.
Jaime Alexis Stathis moved to Grass Valley, California, which is approximately 60 miles from Sacramento, in 2017 with her husband, Martin.
She had long dreamed of moving there, but soon realized that living in that picturesque, picture-perfect town was actually a nightmare.
“We both loved the architecture, the artsy and progressive community, the great restaurants, and the access to the cities, ocean, and mountains,” wrote Stathis, who moved from Missoula, Montana, to Business Insider.
“But once we finally lived in that Northern California town, we realized that maybe it would have been better to just visit.”
Jaime Alexis Stathis moved to Grass Valley, California, approximately 60 miles from Sacramento, in 2017 with her husband Martin
They moved to the city after her husband got a job that required him to live 60 miles from Sacramento and Stathis was excited to discover that her dream home was 56 miles from the big city.
After a journey of exploration, Martin accepted and they excitedly began their new life in a town of less than 20,000 inhabitants.
But Stathis found that the city was made up of drastically different demographics, from white supremacists to hippies to wealthy conservatives to Bay Area liberals.
“Big cities can contain those differences, but in small towns they are superficial, and the discord felt palpable,” he said, especially during the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 pandemic.
The masseuse found herself surrounded by hate crimes and violence, as well as protests, which disrupted the quaint feel of the small town.
Stathis found that the city was made up of drastically different demographics, from white supremacists to hippies, wealthy conservatives to Bay Area liberals.
It was also expensive to get there, as the cost of living in Grass Valley is about 38.2 percent higher than the national average.
Not to mention that it was already expensive to live there, and even more so to have your peace interrupted.
The cost of living in Grass Valley is about 38.2 percent higher than the national average, according to Stathis.
Grass Valley is also not located near a major highway, making living there a “convenience.”
“There’s only one major highway in any direction, and you have to drive 45 minutes to Sacramento to get to the suburban sprawl and the amenities that come with it,” he said.
To get to the doctor, they had to drive an hour and Grass Valley doesn’t have stores like Walmart and Target, so residents had to travel to buy their essentials.
“Forget about shopping for basic items like bras and underwear in Grass Valley,” she wrote.
After two and a half years, Stathis resigned and left the city where he once spent all his time trying to figure out how to live.
He now lives in New England, closer to where he came from, and says it “feels a lot more like home.”
Food, which has already been putting a strain on the pockets of most Americans, is even more expensive in the quaint city, especially compared to Missoula.
“I also found our local grocery stores to be small, expensive and poorly stocked,” she wrote.
The couple also had to buy a house because the rent was too expensive, which ruined Stathis’ dreams of exploring Berkeley, Lake Tahoe and wine country since her money would now go toward a property in need of repairs.
Rent in Grass Valley would be double what they were paying in Missoula, he told Business Insider.
Montanans were also unaccustomed to California wildfires, and when the Camp Fire came their way, it worried Stathis, who began keeping carryout bags by their front doors and in their cars for easy access.
Add to that the high summer temperatures and it just made his blood boil.
After two and a half years, Stathis resigned and left the city where he once spent all his time trying to figure out how to live.
He now lives in New England, closer to where he came from, and says it “feels a lot more like home.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Stathis for comment.
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