Hello everyone. I am starting graduate school in Humboldt County this fall and I have never been north of the Bay Area. Everyone tells me it is beautiful and that it rains constantly, which I gather is both true and an understatement. Beyond the weather I do not have much of a picture: what the local economy looks like now, how isolated it feels, what people actually deal with day to day. Where should I be reading to get up to speed before I show up? I will be living on a graduate stipend, so budget is tight and I cannot absorb many surprises.

The rain is not an exaggeration, plan your wardrobe and your expectations accordingly, and know that the wet season is long rather than intense. Isolation is real too, the drive south is longer than the map suggests because of the terrain. For local context I read the Humboldt page on CA Today https://catoday.news/humboldt-county , which covers county government, the local economy and the coastal stuff. Tip: get a decent rain jacket before you arrive rather than after, and expect fewer sunny days than any brochure implies. On the upside, the area is genuinely spectacular and the tradeoff is worth it for a lot of people, myself included. One practical thing, mold in older rentals is a real issue up there, so ask about ventilation before you sign a lease.