Best Place (not Midtown!!) to Live In If You Like A Urban Walkable Lifestyle (San Jose: low income, leases)

[raria]

Hi,

I want to live in an area which is urban and walkable (i.e. I can walk to restaurants, shops, libraries, supermarkets etc.). I tried Sacramento midtown which was good but I have school kids and the local schools are not very good and the amount of registered sex offenders is ... well ... staggering so that's off the list.

Are there any other candidate "cities" that have nice downtown with homes within walkable distance near by?: Folsom? Roseville?

Thanks.

[KC6ZLV]

The grocery store part is going to be difficult if what you mean is a real grocery store and not one of the rinky-dink stores which specialize in selling 40ozers, tobacco products and potato chips. You also have to decide what distance is walkable. I don't think anything about a mile. Most people ball about having to walk across the parking lot to get to Safeway's front door. Time-wise, a mile is somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes for most people.

Try looking in the neighbourhoods off of Freeport Blvd around Sacramento City College.

You could also try Del Paso Blvd south of Arden. No grocery stores. You could take light-rail directly to the Safeway on 19th. There are a few good restaurants. It is really an area of Sacramento more people should look at. I guess the con is the element in the neighbourhoods north of Arden.


Some suburban areas with walkable shopping: Fair Oaks Blvd about Munroe St. This area is Mid-century suburban, but is pleasant. Sunrise Blvd at Madison Ave. Very suburban, but that area has a lot of things within a half-mile you can walk to. Add another half-mile and you have Target, Best Buy, and a bunch of specialty stores.

Downtown areas of suburban communities. What used to be the downtown area of Fair Oaks right around Fair Oaks Blvd and Winding Way, California Ave, etc. Downtown Roseville and Rocklin. Older parts of Folsom. If you don't mind living out in the foothills, take a look at Auburn, Colfax and Placerville.

There area few other areas out in the suburbs. But like living in Midtown, choosing a location is about compromises. The schools aren't that great around Downtown and the suburbs may not have a grocery store nearby.

[KC6ZLV]

I forgot to mention Woodland. I think Downtown Woodland is kind of neato and it is surrounded by old houses.

[wburg]

No. Folsom and Roseville were, until recently, pretty small towns. Their development is primarily suburban, due to the era of their construction, and because the largest nearby city is about a quarter the size of Sacramento. The next-closest places that have an "urban" style of downtown are in the Bay Area.

[KC6ZLV]

My reference was to walkable areas.

They type of walkable area you like is actually in short supply in the Bay Area too.

[vdy1985]

Try the Bay Area. Here is a thread about the walkable areas in the towns on the San Francisco Peninsula. You get nice walkable areas, without the craziness of the City itself.

Does the SF penninsula have the best string of Suburban Downtowns and Midtowns in the country?

urban and walkable (i.e. I can walk to restaurants, shops, libraries, supermarkets etc.)

Downtown San Jose actually meets all of your criteria here.

[krudmonk]

I was just in midtown. Didn't see any offensive sex. Methinks you're overreacting.

[kb07]

I think overall you might like Davis. I am not sure about the schools but I think crime wise its "safer" and pretty walkable, and very bike friendly :-) And as for sex offenders, just check out the meghans law site before signing a lease!

[raria]

Actually Folsom old town does kind of qualify (sans the grocery store). Lots of nice homes behind Sutter.

[raria]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

I was just in midtown. Didn't see any offensive sex. Methinks you're overreacting.

Me thinks your ...

Never mind what everyone thinks. The facts are according to
California Megan's Law - California Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General the number of sex offenders in:

zip 95814, 198
zip 95816, 17
zip 95811, 20

Note this is only midtown. The reason why is that CADA likes to rent out to low income earners and that brings in some undesirables. CADAs a great organization, but they can't deny leases based on prior offenses.

I lived in midtown for 18 months so I check this all out before.

Compare this to West Elk Grove (95757) 5000+ homes, where there are only 18 in total.