Sacramento vs Knoxville (house, university, income)

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by Aquaboy

There's a saying around here that Sacramento is two hours from anything interesting. You can hike your tail off in the hills near Roseville and Tahoe is about 90 minutes away.
If you have a solid job offer here I'd say take it!

I don't ski, and I was shocked the first time I went over to South Tahoe. Tahoe is overrun with development, and there's algae in the lake. I personally find Tahoe WAY overhyped. You might as well be at Lake of the Ozarks... its the same except with lower humidity and ski resorts.

[Phantom Hornet]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

I don't ski, and I was shocked the first time I went over to South Tahoe. Tahoe is overrun with development, and there's algae in the lake. I personally find Tahoe WAY overhyped. You might as well be at Lake of the Ozarks... its the same except with lower humidity and ski resorts.

I know it's your personal opinion, but that is mind-bottling to me....yes, I said mind-bottling. Go to Incline or Tahoe City, away from the tourist trap of South Shore.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by Phantom Hornet

I know it's your personal opinion, but that is mind-bottling to me....yes, I said mind-bottling. Go to Incline or Tahoe City, away from the tourist trap of South Shore.

I've driven all the way around the lake, and I was horribly disappointed on how overdeveloped the entire area is. Its too late, but we should buy EVERYTHING within a 5 mile radius of the lakeshore, tear it down, and return it to pristine wilderness. Its basically just a playground for the rich rich and the tacky now, as I see it. Too much development and too much overdevelopment.

[bluevelo]

Be interesting to find out if the OP has made a decision yet...

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by kansasgirl326

My husband and I have the opportunity to either move to Sacramento or Knoxville. We live in Kansas (aka the land of the flat and cheap), but are looking for a place to live with access to outdoors (hiking, trail running, biking, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, snowboarding). We are in our late 20's, no kids yet, in good shape, and love to be active. We've done the whole pro's and con's thing, but it's not the same as talking to someone who has lived there. A few things could help us decide about Sacramento (specifically my job is in Roseville, my husband would need to get a job)..

1-Hking-We went to Yosemite when we were there, but is there closer "good" hiking? Also are there close places to trail run?

2-Really how bad is the traffic?

3-Cost of living-Housing is obviously way more expensive, as is gas, and taxes. Are there other things which are cheaper to offset this? We're really worried about sacrificing our financial situation.

Need to make the decision this weekend so I appreciate any guidance!!!!

Both have their pros and cons. A lot depends on what hubby will do for al living and you as well, if you are going to work. Another condideration is your overall views of live, politically, religious, life style, and housing budget for starters.

Sacramento is my favorite part of Calif and I was born and raised in Ca, but TN is beautiful, have no state income tax and has a much lower cost of living. If salary is similar I think I would opt for Knoxville, but that doesn't mean Sac wouldn't be a good choice. I am sure you have asked this question on the TN thread as well. If you haven't you need to.

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by kansasgirl326

Yes, Knoxville being cheaper to live in is a big draw. Do you know how close outdoors activities, like hiking, are to Sacramento? And is traffic pretty bad to go to places like Tahoe?

Traffic in Tahoe is bad certain times of the year. Other times it is not. Both areas will offer great outdoor activities. Knoxville is so close to DC and other wonderful cities on the Atlantic with so much history. Sac is close to the beautiful Lake Tahoe, though the city of Sac is not particularly pretty.

[bluenoter]

Go to Fayetteville, Arkansas. It has everything Knoxville has as far as being a college town, outdoor activities, bicycling, hiking, etc. Fayetteville is at the foot of the Boston Mountains in the Ozarks. Also it is within 100 miles of SE Kansas.

Originally Posted by kansasgirl326

My husband and I have the opportunity to either move to Sacramento or Knoxville. We live in Kansas (aka the land of the flat and cheap), but are looking for a place to live with access to outdoors (hiking, trail running, biking, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, snowboarding). We are in our late 20's, no kids yet, in good shape, and love to be active. We've done the whole pro's and con's thing, but it's not the same as talking to someone who has lived there. A few things could help us decide about Sacramento (specifically my job is in Roseville, my husband would need to get a job)..

1-Hking-We went to Yosemite when we were there, but is there closer "good" hiking? Also are there close places to trail run?

2-Really how bad is the traffic?

3-Cost of living-Housing is obviously way more expensive, as is gas, and taxes. Are there other things which are cheaper to offset this? We're really worried about sacrificing our financial situation.

Need to make the decision this weekend so I appreciate any guidance!!!!

[hydro]

This could possibly be the time of your life to invest in CA property. On the other hand, our state certainly has its share of problems.

[GoldCountry80]

I might as well revive an old thread because I looked for this specifically on google. Sacramento vs Knoxville.

To me it seems like both cities have one thing in common, outdoors and near some mountains, family friendly and some good schools. Knoxville does seem more sophisticated overall and of course cheaper if you're seeking lower costs. One person told me they didn't like their experience in Knoxville and someone tried to rob them twice. But no matter what I hear, I can't keep my mind off it as a possible future place to locate to when I am no longer single anymore. Its only going to be a family location for me if I do consider it. I wouldn't come by myself. I think Knox from my research is a more desirable town than Sacramento and what their midtown is does not seem as crazy as Midtown Sac.

I would like if maybe I could revive this and get more peoples responses who been to the 2 places though.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I lived in the Nashville area for 5 years. I miss the fireflies. That's all.

Hated the humidity, and I never could figure out how to navigate the southern culture. People aren't straightforward with you. It was like living in a riddle to me - do they want to do business with me or not? Be my friend or not? Are they being sincere or pretending to be nice, and hope you eventually realize that they keep saying "we should do lunch" but they never really intend to...

I was a fish out of water. Not to say I didn't make good friends, but they were all from somewhere else LOL! Like Canada and New York (I worked for Vanderbilt University at the time).

The weather in TN was too humid to be outside comfortably all summer, and was very icy and cold (as in minus 7 degree kind of cold) in the winter. There's a little window of good weather for being outside in the spring and fall. But, you better hurry and enjoy it.

On the other hand, Sacramento can get hot in the summer, but it is a dry heat, and there is almost always a nice cool evening to follow a hot day.

There are decent hiking/biking trails along the river right in town. You should be able to find decent outdoor places to exercise close to town for doing things during the week, and on weekends you would have a ton of options.

And what are those guys talking about saying Lake Tahoe has algae and is all built up??? It's gorgeous and clear. And it's a tourist destination, so of course it's built up. But, it's far from being covered in concrete. Anyway, you don't have to go that far for good outdoor recreation.

The traffic is horrible - IF - you have very far to commute. The traffic was horrible when I lived there in 1995, and it's only gotten worse. But, if you live and work in the same area, it should be fine. Then, go beyond that area during off-peak hours.

During the seasons in the Lake Tahoe area (ski season and summer) traffic can be bad getting there, as the entire SF Bay Area heads up there, too. But, if you go off-season, it's not bad at all and you can get off-season rates. I went once in the fall and we took one of the cruises on Lake Tahoe, and it was really fun. It smells so clean up there. You get out of your car and the clear pine smell hits you - just heaven.

Anyway, I've lived in Sacto and Nashville/Franklin, and personally, I'd choose Sacramento over Knoxville. Especially for being able to do things outdoors and be comfortable weather-wise. And if you aren't familiar with the southern culture, you should also keep that in mind as a possible barrier to being happy there.