Nevada City on cover of Sunset: praised for its arts scene

Nevada City has been named in a number of “best of” lists, including one in Outside magazine, as we’ve regularly reported (examples are here, here and here).

Now Sunset magazine has named Nevada City No. 1 on its 2017 “Best Value Towns” list. In an interview, Sunset also cited the town’s arts scene: “It has a long history of being a haven for makers, artists, and musicians because of its affordability and a community that, to this day, welcomes creative types. Those progressive, artistic roots are very much alive today, making it a popular move for people coming from the Bay Area who always dreamed of renovating a classic Victorian near a quaint Main Street.”

The February cover of Sunset features Broad St. in downtown Nevada City: local resident-artist Tehya Shea is standing in front of the National Hotel. It was part of a photo shoot of the town (which mentioned a few other businesses) by Sunset photographer Tom Story.

“With housing costs rising, the great cities of the West — San Francisco, Denver, even L.A. — are creating an existential challenge,” it reads. “We’ve come up with 20 compelling options … We’d be happy to call any of these places home.” Nevada City is listed #1 of the 20. Others, in order, include Ventura (#2), Boise (#3), Prescott, Az. (#4), and Vancouver, Wa. (#5). Runners-up for Northern California and Northern Nevada were Reno, Santa Rosa and Fremont.

You can read the PDF HERE, which we received from Sunset. Here’s an excerpt from the article: “(An) artsy sensibility (is) what’s luring big-city escapees … to Nevada City. It also doesn’t hurt that the alt-folk musician Joanna Newsom hails, famously, from here. That counterculture dates back to the 1960s, when young back-to-the-landers drifted away from the Bay Area to colonize a half-empty logging town.”

Sunset will be promoting the best value towns story through a PR campaign and ongoing social media engagement.