Considering a Move to Sacramento (EDH, Folsom, Granite Bay)

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by wburg

If you don't have kids yet, is there a reason you want to move to such a far-off suburb just based on schools?

They plan to have them soon.

[Mattyshummel]

Originally Posted by Logic87

My wife and I are considering a move to the Sacramento area and from what we have seen online we like the areas in EDH, Folsom and Granite Bay. We like the EDH the best because of the school systems and it appears a bit more affordable compared to Granite Bay. We currently live in the suburbs of Chicago (30 minute drive to the city) and we are sick of the dreadful winters and the Sacramento area appears to be a nice draw consider it's weather, affordability and location (near Lake Tahoe and San Francisco.) I am able to relocate and my job would be near the Rancho Cordova/Rosemont area. My wife is a RN specializing in Pediatrics and is working on her doctorate, and we have researched places like UC Davis, Kaiser, etc. We are both in our mid 20s and looking to start a family in a few years. Our price range would be around $500k-$700k

1) How would the commute be from EDH/Folsom/Granite Bay to UC Davis and Rosemont area?

2) What is the job market for RN in Pediatrics in the Sacramento area? She has almost 4 years experience in inpatient and outpatient setting We have noticed the pay is much higher than the Chicago market. It appears nurses start around $50/ hour? Can someone confirm this and/or recommend a good recruiter?

3) We notice a lot of the homes in El Dorado Hills are part of home associations. We don't necessarily mind this because we currently live in a condo and have some experience in dealing with them. Which HOAs should we stay away from in EDH? We have read some bad reviews about Serrano.

4) Mello roos is something new to us. It appears some new development pay an additional fee used to build library, schools, etc? Why would some areas in EDH be subject to Mello Roos and others not?

5) We have heard about the hot summers in Sacramento (although we prefer Sacramento weather compared to humid hot summers we have here) and a pool is a must for us. If we are looking at a home in say a gated community how restrictive are they towards building a pool? Or does this vary by HOA?

6) How bad is the smog issue I am reading about? Flood zones? (is this even possible with all the droughts lol?)

7) COL. I understand income taxes are higher but property taxes are much lower. Car registration fees appear to vary. What else is there to consider?

I would like to chime in as a person who resided on the 50 corridor just above EDH for 20 yrs, was a realtor in the area and moved about 6 yrs ago to the Frwy 80 side of town where Roseville and Rocklin are. The schools here are rated very highly with scores over 900 in most cases. The two high schools are outstanding as is the middle school. The elementary schools in Rocklin are "distinguished" schools rating 10 on best schools website. Sunset Ranch Elm has an API of 930! Largest shopping center north of San Diego is hosted here as are many events and extra curricular activities for kids/teens/adults.

Our homes are of similar quality to Granite Bay and EDH but less expensive. We have lots of green space to protect the wildlands and their natural inhabitants. Whitney Ranch, Fiddiment area of Roseville, Crocker Ranch will all give you awesome choices of homes and schools. You will be a short hop onto Fwy 80 for your commute. An hour 15 min to the first ski slopes in Tahoe and a little under 2 hrs to Reno or SF.

There are huge Sutter Roseville and Kaiser Roseville trauma centers here in Rocklin. Sutter has a heli pad, not sure about Kaiser. 10 min drive to either from Rocklin or Roseville. LOTS of medical opportunities w/o having to be in Sac. I think the pay is higher as the cost of living here can be a bit higher but I have lots of friends in the Chicago area who make pay similar to mine and have less affluent lifestyles. I think you can find very affordable housing.

Mello Roos are defered infrastructure costs that the developers pass onto the counties when they complete a subdivision and these are administered though county taxes. These are over and above your CA property tax and will be itemized on your tax bill. Beware these are not static and can change substantially year over year. You pay for paradise, that is for sure. Our "property tax" is only about $2,230 but our Mello Roos make up the balance of a property tax bill of $6,200 a year. We live in a 2,200 sq ft home in a newer neighborhood with homes that range from $425K to $750K.

I paid less in state income tax than in prop tax for the past 3 yrs. Ca offers a lot of personal state tax deductions at least that we qualify for and we are not low income and have 2 teens.

Be wary of gated communities who "own" their own roads. Any road repairs will have to be absorbed by the residents rather than through the county.

No flood zones up here in Rocklin, killer sunrises and sunsets, breezes in the evenings, a spell of hot week or 2 in the summer but they are a short payoff for the other mild temps year around.

Car reg is high. About 1% of value.

Your HOAs come on top of that, ours are $84 a mo and include killer amenities like our pools and Ranch House you can use for parties etc. Our HOA also does TONS of activities for the community, the kids @ holidays and for the adults, ie: wine tasting, St. Pats day beer tasting, on and on.

We enjoy this area so much but because of the Mello Roos and the cost to live in the state in general, are leaving CA altogether for the beach on the east coast. I would rather pay hurricane insurance than for the privilege of living in CA, its been good to us, but we are breaking up.

School article:
Best Places to Live Article
Sutter Roseville
Kaiser Roseville