Help finding an area of No.California! (San Francisco, Sacramento: rent , work)

[looking2moov]

Hello, we're currently weighing out places to move in the Spring, as I graduate, and we're strongly considering Northern California (Napa/Sacramento area).

We're hoping there would be a town or area that is:
- SAFE
- clean
- within commuting distance of Sacramento, Napa, and or San Francisco (ect) to give ourselves more options (I will be looking for an accounting position, and S.O. will be looking for work as a chef, )
- plentiful in moderately priced single family homes for rent (we can probably swing up to around $1800 a month)
- family friendly (we do plan on having children someday, not sure how soon, but it'd be best if we did not have to move the second one came along)
- not a "downtown" vibe (more suburbia-like, we're down with cookie-cutters!)

I've read a lot about gangs in California, as well as high cost of living, so I'm hoping there is somewhere in between gang land and lifestyles of the rich & famous that we could settle down in.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by looking2moov

within commuting distance of Sacramento, Napa, and or San Francisco (ect) to give ourselves more options

You're going to have to narrow it down a little bit as to where you're going to work. Fairfield and Vacaville, maybe American Canyon are more or less centrally located to the above mentioned places. However the commute would be hell .

Both Fairfield and Vacaville have a suburban feel and have decent housing prices compared with the Bay Area.