My fellow Californians..Are you struggling with the possibility of leaving? (Sacramento: best cities, motels)

[deaddoc]

Originally Posted by nicenailznsd

WOW...........I really have to comment here. Everyone is talking about moving elsewhere. California has gotten very expensive. Here I just thought it was just San Diego. It is absolutely beautiful here but, you pay for what you get and see. Pretty much paradise. Even tho its a beautiful place to live, Rent is off the charts, $10.99 for a pound of turkey.....$5.00 for a gallon of milk....$4.00 for a loaf of bread if it isnt on sale......dang !!
As much as i would love to stay living here, its gotten bad. It is SLOW everywehre and is getting hard to make that $1600.00 a month rent on a single parent income, for just a small two bedroom.
I was thinking of moving back to FLorida, maybe Virginia......I really dont want to move to the cold or the humidity Soooo..............
I also have a very special someone who lives in SAC. Wants me to move up there with him because he has his kids there and a job he has had for over ten years and doesnt want to move. After reading all these comments on SAC. Maybe its just better i stay where i am. The crime rate is very minimal, school system is great......moderate upscale...........then again there is that BUT ??????

Donno what to do...........

Sacramento can really be more than okay - if you live in the right areas! I grew up there and have been back from time to time. First, really hot summers! Second, there are areas where crime is high - south sac further south until Elk Grove. West Sac, stay away! North Sac - Del Paso Heights - another Watts, no go! Roseville, nice, Antelope nice, not too bad now out to Elverta and Rio Linda, Carmichael okay, American River Parkway, be a millionaire! Sac State neighborhoods, pricey, Fair Oaks, nice, Orangevale, nice, North Highlands - mixed bag. Rancho Cordova- mixed bag. Central Sac/downtown - mixed bag. The traffic is pretty heavy everywhere, better live close to work!! Last I knew the parks in Sacramento County were excellent. William Land Park in Sacramento is/was nice, Ansel Hoffman in Carmichael was wonderful. American River Discovery bike-hike trail is 26 miles long from the mouth of the American River on the Sacramento River to Lake Natoma near Folsom is good except certain stretches.

There is a lot of interesting history in Sacramento and a good number of historical spots and Old Sacramento is touristy perhaps, but a lot of fun. Sutter's Fort is a must. The railroad museum is incredible, with steam train rides in season. The summer nights are epic, but they encourage crime too. The Capitol building and park is very beautiful. The downtown area has improved a great deal and not bad (as far as I last knew). Was there two years ago and it seemed pretty much okay.

So my advice is that if your special someone is located in a decent area and you can have access to a swiming pool in the summer, what's holding you back? Sac isn't that far from San Diego! Give it a try!!!

Why did I leave California? Too much crowding and crime in general but consideration of shrinking water supplies and future planning made me move to Southwest Washinton. Less jobs here, more provincial, but less crime (but that has been changing as it seeps up from California. I prefer cooler climate. Do I miss California? Yes, but I miss what it used to be, not what it is today. Still, in a world that is running down, Sacramento might still be what is best still around.

[cityx]

[quote=deaddoc;3615790]Sacramento can really be more than okay - if you live in the right areas! I grew up there and have been back from time to time. First, really hot summers! Second, there are areas where crime is high - south sac further south until Elk Grove. West Sac, stay away! North Sac - Del Paso Heights - another Watts, no go! Roseville, nice, Antelope nice, not too bad now out to Elverta and Rio Linda, Carmichael okay,

I've lived in four different urban areas of the country and I've always thought, in my opinion, that for a region the size of Sacramento, there seems to be a disproportionately high amount of crime ridden and dumpy areas. Even the nice neighborhoods seem to be a stone's throw away from the worst of the worst. What's really getting to me is all violence that is occuring lately. The bike trail where I usually go running was the location of a stabbing last evening and there was a shooting last month at the gas station on Freeport Bl near my house. I moved here in 94' and the overall crime rate seems to have really have increased here in recent years. <sigh>

[CityGirl72]

CityX - what part of the trail was the stabbing?

[AuburnJack]

Originally Posted by deaddoc

West Sac, stay away!

Not all of West Sacramento is bad.

Interestingly enough, I see this attitude most by people who have lived in the area for a long time, often equating all of West Sac with Broderick (being redeveloped) and W. Capitol Ave. (being redeveloped), and giving me a blank, confused stare when I mention Southport.

Hey, that's cool. In the era of $4 gas, I will gladly "risk" living in a new neighborhood that is blocks from a nice new Target, Nugget Market, and some very good hole-in-the-wall taquerias, which also happens to be ten minutes from downtown Sacramento.

[AuburnJack]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

CityX - what part of the trail was the stabbing?

CityGirl, it was on the part of the American River trail that is directly adjacent to downtown... basically, in the homeless camps. It was one bum stabbing another, most likely over drugs. As usual, cityx exaggerates the dangers of yucky, poopy Sacramento to us innocent bystanders.

[cityx]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

CityX - what part of the trail was the stabbing?

The stabbing took place on a connecter trail that hooks up with American River parkway. This connector trail is located right behind Downtown Ford off 16th street. There are a lot of homeless camps in that particular section so I usually run pretty fast through there to get to the main trail. I guess I'm not surprised that something like that would happen there. I do like running or riding my bike through the trail because it can take you from midtown right into Discovery Park avoiding all the street traffic. Anyway, it was reported today that the police caught the two suspects thankfully.

[cityx]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

CityX - what part of the trail was the stabbing?

The stabbing took place on a connecter trail that hooks up with American River parkway. This connector trail is located right behind Downtown Ford off 16th street. There are a lot of homeless camps in that particular section so I usually run pretty fast through there to get to the main trail. I guess I'm not surprised that something like that would happen there. I do like running or riding my bike through the trail because it can take you from midtown right into Discovery Park avoiding all the street traffic. Anyway, it was reported today that the police caught the two suspects thankfully. It's difficult to exaggerate the facts on this one.

[gypsy77]

I am born and raised in northern CA, lived in Sac for 15 years, still here. My husband is from the midwest and always talks about moving back there. We have a baby now soooo....things have changed. I used to want to stay in CA no matter what the price or sacrifice, I used to think my husbands hometown was a hicktown with nothing to do and boring people. So I dragged him to CA. He hates it here, too many people, too much traffic, too expensive, lots of crime, etc.. I agree with him now. Every morning when I drive up hWY 80 to commute to work I have some a-hole tailgaiting me in his Lexus or Mercedes, I get honked at for going 80 ph in a 65 zone, apparently I' not going fast enough. And every square inch of nature is taken up by a Starbucks or housing development. Some of my fondest memories of childhood are those spent out in nature, camping, hiking, or horseback riding. If I stay here, I don't think my child will be able to enjoy any of those things. Unless I all of a sudden I get rich. Which isn't going to happen. CA is not realistic for blue collar families. It used to be ok, but not anymore. If I was a doctor or lawyer I'd stay here. I never thought I'd say that I would agree to move to the midwest! What has happened to me?! It's out of love for my daughter. I don't want her growing up in an apartment in a bad neighborhood because we're in CA and that's all I can afford. If she can have a better life in the midwest, then I will sacrifice being bored and dealing with crappy cold weather. I guess. It's hard to leave CA though, I have some family here too, but they are all spread out and don't get together much. My husbands fam is very close knit in the midwest. When I looked at real estate in his hometown the 3/2 houses are $90k. That is just unreal to me. Now granted, I will probably be making $10/hr because the jobs there don't pay squat, but all the other cost of living expenses are much, much less than CA. I guess we all have to make sacrifices as our lives change and providing for our children becomes our main priority.
And for the people who were asking why all of a sudden we are saying we can't afford CA, is not because we are overspending. It's because of the gradual increase in everything, mainly cost of living/housing. And the wages for blue collar jobs not increasing. I used to rent a house here for $700. That same size house is renting for $1400. I'm not joking. Look in the Auburn Journal for rental homes, and see all the 2 bd 1 bth shacks for $1350+. I don't know why or who they think people can that much. I sure can't. Not when I'm also paying $700/mo for daycare!!

[WheninRoam]

I've left twice..in search of the grass is greener ideal, which it hasn't been.

We first moved to Dallas, as my DH is from the area. We moved for the cheaper homes and a slower way of life. We came back running. Even DH, who had missed TX so, so much saw it differently since moving to CA.

We then had to move to Las Vegas for work. We thought we'd do well there because we had visited and liked it, plus it's close proximity to family in CA was attractive. Newp. Hated it more than Texas.

While certainly CA or Sacramento isn't for everbody, I urge you to reallllly think your re-location through. It's easy to get down on CA with all the crap that's been going on, but there will be problems anywhere you go. I suppose trial and error is the only way to go for some; it's unfortunate the amount of $ we wasted moving in search of something better. Just look around, you may find it in your own backyard.

Good luck!

[shiphead]

Originally Posted by nonibiz

I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying put, right here in California. For those who want to make it work, they'll find a way. I'm not leaving this beautiful state for anything.

i had to leave because i don't have a degree. I might be back one day