A good place to live-Oregon or northern CA

[AMINMD]

Originally Posted by ryuns

Notwithstanding the ridiculous "Sacramento sucks" comment above, it might be a decent choice for you. UC Davis Med Center is a world class institution and a lot of medical jobs will continue to grow around that. The hot summers are pretty easy to deal with in my opinion. The trees mitigate a lot of the urban heat island and the breezes from the bay make for really pleasant nights. (Our house is well-shaded and we have overhead fans and we didn't use the AC a single time this summer. No joke, our highest electricity bill was $30.) Surprisingly bike-friendly and continues to improve (League of Bicyclists rated it silver--which is the same as Santa Barbara and better than Chico, which is a little surprising). A good choice of different neighborhoods to choose from. Midtown is most dynamic, but lots of other good neighborhoods on the periphery. Great access to the mountains and Bay Area.

You'll definitely hear a lot of negatives (and there surely are) about the place, but it's really what you make of it. There are bad parts and lots of boring suburbs, but also lots of interesting areas. For us, I think the overall quality of life is better than anywhere else.

I'm just now seeing this post. Thanks for your insights. I suspect that if I visited, I would agree with you about the overall quality of life. When I read about things to do in Sacramento on sacramento365.com and the Sac Bee site, I'm puzzled at the people who call the city "boring". I've read about a French Film Festival, Japanese Film Festival, In the Flow improv/jazz/spoken word festival, 2nd Saturday Art Walk, iFest, the farmer's market under the freeway, Bike Month, etc. all going on this month. I read with great interest about numerous coffee shops, record stores, book stores, restaurants, the American River Trail, etc. The road trip opportunities are icing on the cake.

I love the idea of a bike-friendly area and though I read negative comments about the light rail, at least it's available, and that's a good base to improve on. I've never lived in an area with light rail as a transportation option. I'm a fan of mass transit, and was pleased to see one can take Amtrak to many destinations as well.

[felinius]

I'll put a disclaimer that I'm a Seattle transplant, and I've spent the past few summers in Portland.

When I read your initial post, I immediately thought San Francisco. Not Sacramento. San Francisco Bay is cooler than Sacramento (I can't stand the heat -- and it gets into 90's and 100's in Sac -- I have run up the power bill really high during the summer) and doesn't have the allergy+asthma problems like Sacramento does.

I'm puzzled at the people who call the city "boring"

College age disclaimer: Sacramento is pretty darn boring. You have a few malls, but the only one noteworthy is in Roseville. You have Lake Folsom, which is okay. There's Midtown, but also IMO lackluster besides Second Saturdays.

In San Francisco, I have a plethora of things to do. I can do touristy things and blow money on those, go find all the weird things in SF, go to all the numerous malls available, etc. SF Bay is HUGE compared to Sacramento.

I've found that SF has more things going on than Sacramento does. There are a few Asian festivals here, but I find more going on in SF. I'm a big matsuri girl and everyone goes to SF from Sacramento for the Cherry Blossom Festival.

The road trip opportunities are icing on the cake.

There are a lot of opportunities for road trips from SF, as well. Redwoods to the north, wine valley to the northeast, Santa Cruz + beaches to the south, Mt. Diablo and hiking to the East. The Bay is right at 101, which is a really interesting road to travel on. Tahoe may be two hours away from the Bay, but we've just taken an Amtrak up.

at least it's available, and that's a good base to improve on

Sac Light Rail is pretty bad, but I found it heads and tails better than the unreliable bus system in Sac. Nothing like people freaking out when the police jump on board ... I've gotten off at a light rail station to be met by a pack of police officers.


About your other initial points:

Sacramento is really dry when it comes to jobs. I had to look at the SF Bay Area for any jobs in health IT, where there are a lot of big AND small medical groups, as well as many more non-profit health organizations and clinics. Guess where I'm moving to now.

There's a niche in SF for people who are into green, who are real foodies, lots of ethnic foods, etc etc. You can find places under $1800 to rent in the SF Bay with no problem as long as you don't look to rent in the highly wanted areas or directly in SF.

[Olivia's Mama]

I can comment on Portland. If you can take the rain, it is a great place to live and fits your criteria well. Lots of outdoorsy people who love to bike up here, great bike paths, good transit, lots of interesting, friendly people, great place for foodies and people who like and appreciate organics. Two suburbs I would check out are Lake Oswego and West Linn. I have also lived in SLO and hope to move back there someday--amazing town if you can afford it. You also may want to check out Benicia in the Bay Area. From what I have heard, Auburn (No Cal) also may be worth exploring. Very fitness/bike oriented.

[NWbyNW]

The Oregon job market isn't too hot. Just keep that in mind when moving to Oregon. Ashland is nice, close to the commercial center of southern Oregon, Medford. A short 20 minute drive or less. Grants Pass is considered enjoyable to some as well. The farther north you go into Oregon, the more services, shopping, and job opportunities you will have.

Norther California is very rural, with little shopping or services unless you are at a "hub" like Redding. I am not including the SF metro.


Think of Washington State?

[Fargobound]

Originally Posted by ALMINAVL

When I read about things to do in Sacramento on sacramento365.com and the Sac Bee site, I'm puzzled at the people who call the city "boring".

Warning: The job market is Sac is just awful and if you do find a job you'll be so broke you can't afford $2 beer night in Rancho Cordova

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by NWbyNW

The Oregon job market isn't too hot. Just keep that in mind when moving to Oregon. Ashland is nice, close to the commercial center of southern Oregon, Medford. A short 20 minute drive or less. Grants Pass is considered enjoyable to some as well. The farther north you go into Oregon, the more services, shopping, and job opportunities you will have.

Norther California is very rural, with little shopping or services unless you are at a "hub" like Redding. I am not including the SF metro.


Think of Washington State?

I'm always amazed by the ton of CA transplants in both WA and Oregon.

Two of my co-workers bought homes this year around Portland... one last year near Ashland and last year two bought in Washington...

Every time I'm north it seems just about everyone I meet has some tie back to CA...

[.highnlite]

there has been a saying, it is at least 40 years old, and shows that people leaving California is not some new thing. "Will the last person out of California turn out the lights"

[Woof]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

there has been a saying, it is at least 40 years old, and shows that people leaving California is not some new thing. "Will the last person out of California turn out the lights"

That's "Will the last person leaving SEATTLE please turn out the lights". It was actually on a billboard.

California is the place that dumb people think is about to fall off into the ocean. But it's true that the economy has always been very cyclical, always up or down, though that doesn't seem to affect population numbers much (except for whites sometimes).