Which one? Folsom, Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Yuba City (Sacramento, Davis: relocate, real estate)

[Guingirl]

Roseville and Folsom are both very nice. I would definately live either place. It just really depends on where your commute is. There are business areas in both and SACTO is a regional not for profit that has been and is always bringing in new business to the region.

It is a thriving area that has grown quite a bit in the last few years and while things (real estate) have been slowing down the last year or so, it is still someplace that is going to be moving forward.

The downfall is that homes have become very expensive in the last few years. It is not as affordable as it once was.

[Matt11]

thank you for your info . It has been very helpful .

[ironsteel]

Guingirl/KidBlue:

Thanks so much for your replies. Hmm...this is going to be tough. When we visited Folsom/Roseville, I wished we had more time to also visit out skirts of Sacramento like North Natomas or Elverta. A friend of mine who works at Intel in Folsom had mentioned Elverta so I may have to check that out.

So Guingirl, what was your main reason for moving from Roseville to the Natomas? In your earlier reply, I thought it was to be closer to the airport since you or someone in your family travel often? If Natomas is a good choice, it might be worth it for us to check it out. Is it part of Sacramento?

I tried looking up stats for Natomas and Elverta on city-data but to no avail. How are those places compared to Folsom and Roseville from these perspectives:

1) Cost of homes and overall housing development (we would rent first for a year or so and then buy)

2) Culture/people/ethnic groups?

3) Grocery shopping? malls?

4) School system compared to Roseville/Folsom? We live around Boston, MA and kids can only attend the schools in cities where they live. Is that the same there too?

5) Oh, for comparison sake... we initially looked at parts of the Bay area like San Mateo (modern, young tech area and yet not too over populated). We really liked San Mateo but still could not bare to look at buying a house there which is why we're considering the Sacramento area.

Thanks much!

[Guingirl]

Originally Posted by ironsteel

Guingirl/KidBlue:

Thanks so much for your replies. Hmm...this is going to be tough. When we visited Folsom/Roseville, I wished we had more time to also visit out skirts of Sacramento like North Natomas or Elverta. A friend of mine who works at Intel in Folsom had mentioned Elverta so I may have to check that out.

So Guingirl, what was your main reason for moving from Roseville to the Natomas? In your earlier reply, I thought it was to be closer to the airport since you or someone in your family travel often? If Natomas is a good choice, it might be worth it for us to check it out. Is it part of Sacramento?

I tried looking up stats for Natomas and Elverta on city-data but to no avail. How are those places compared to Folsom and Roseville from these perspectives:

1) Cost of homes and overall housing development (we would rent first for a year or so and then buy)

2) Culture/people/ethnic groups?

3) Grocery shopping? malls?

4) School system compared to Roseville/Folsom? We live around Boston, MA and kids can only attend the schools in cities where they live. Is that the same there too?

5) Oh, for comparison sake... we initially looked at parts of the Bay area like San Mateo (modern, young tech area and yet not too over populated). We really liked San Mateo but still could not bare to look at buying a house there which is why we're considering the Sacramento area.

Thanks much!

The reason we moved from Rocklin to Natomas (should really say North Natomas) is that yes the commute to the airport is the main reason. It takes ten minutes to get there instead of 35-45 depending on the time of day.

North Natomas is north of I-80 and had a few different master planned communities out here. It is part of the City and County of Sacramento, so our address says "Sacramento, CA". Elverta is more rural. Do you ever listen to Rush Limbaugh? He mentions Rio Linda a lot. Elverta and Rio Linda are really very close to each other To some extent is sits close to North Natomas as well, except North Natomas has planned housing here, where Elverta has little ranch homes for the most part.

I will be honest, I grew up in Roseville/Rocklin and Placer County used to be very white bread and moving down here to Natomas it is really diverse. We have an oriental woman next door, Sikh family on the other side, ukranian behind us and a handful of families that relocated from the bay area. So there aren't a lot of people that grew up here that live here. I guess that just tells you how much it has grown and how different people have migrated here.

All my neighbors are very very nice and have been great. There are pockets of mixed types of housing. Young families to established to retirees. Zip codes you might want to look up are 95835. It will give you a good idea of the types of housing you will find here.

There is a Section 8 area that you need to make sure you have your agent point out in a division of Regency Park.

Houses run here from 400K - 800K depending upon size. It is generally 200.00 a sq ft.

Here in Natomas we have some great grocery stores (Raley's & Bel Air) along with Safeway and we have a Whole Foods in Downtown. In North Natomas, we have about 800K sq ft of new retail going in with a bunch of new restaurants (remember we have Arco Arena here...currently home of the Sacramento Kings/Monarchs) and getting a new Sam's. http://www.sacramentogateway.com/retail.html Here is a listing of some of the new stuff that is here and going in. We just got a new Target, Old Navy, etc.

If I need something more, I just run up to Roseville to the Galleria (I swear we are the land of the stripmalls out here) which takes about 30 mins.

You will find some good elementary schools and we have a good charter school here as well. Honestly, I think the Roseville schools are better, but in reality I am not a big fan of the California public educational system. My sister in law is a teacher and went to Nevada to teach.

We are in the process of moving to Texas and one of the reasons we are going there is because the educational system is so much better.

I think you will find that the Sacramento Valley has a lot to offer and not only is it a less expensive place to live, you have a lot of the amenties that you find other places. The thing that I personally will miss the most is that here, I am an hour and a half from the beach and one of the most beautiful cities in the world (SF) and two hours to the mountains.

[ironsteel]

Guingirl,

Is there a specific area of Natomas that is more residential than others? Do you mean planned housing as in like Folsom where there are gated communities on Iron Point road? I see those for about a mile on that road.

Do you know the names of some of the housing developers building the new planned communities? I am familiar with KBHomes and Centex Homes.

We love diversity. We come from two different Asian backgrounds and I have lived overseas in two countries. When we visited my brother in SF, we enjoyed seeing diversity, more so than Boston.

Before we thought about the Sacramento area, we had considered Austin and Atlanta. We visited Atlanta and didn't like that it could get terribly humid from April till September. And we also love water, so a 5 hr journey to the beach isn't an option. Which is why going from Boston to Sacramento would be ok. And like you said, 1.5-2 hrs to the beach.

Looks like we need to check out Natomas. I only have Folsom and Roseville for comparison.

Oh yes, when we move, we would rent first. Do you also have recommendations in the Natomas area in terms of renting? We're looking at 3 bedroom 2 baths, in-unit washer/dryer, hw floors preferred and covered parking. I found Deer Field apts in Roseville with that criteria but haven't in Natomas.

Thanks.

[Guingirl]

Originally Posted by ironsteel

Guingirl,

Is there a specific area of Natomas that is more residential than others? Do you mean planned housing as in like Folsom where there are gated communities on Iron Point road? I see those for about a mile on that road.

Do you know the names of some of the housing developers building the new planned communities? I am familiar with KBHomes and Centex Homes.

We love diversity. We come from two different Asian backgrounds and I have lived overseas in two countries. When we visited my brother in SF, we enjoyed seeing diversity, more so than Boston.

Before we thought about the Sacramento area, we had considered Austin and Atlanta. We visited Atlanta and didn't like that it could get terribly humid from April till September. And we also love water, so a 5 hr journey to the beach isn't an option. Which is why going from Boston to Sacramento would be ok. And like you said, 1.5-2 hrs to the beach.

Looks like we need to check out Natomas. I only have Folsom and Roseville for comparison.

Oh yes, when we move, we would rent first. Do you also have recommendations in the Natomas area in terms of renting? We're looking at 3 bedroom 2 baths, in-unit washer/dryer, hw floors preferred and covered parking. I found Deer Field apts in Roseville with that criteria but haven't in Natomas.

Thanks.

North of 80 on Truxel is Natomas Park (Truxel at Del Paso), then there is Westlake Village west of I-5 (they have a gated community over there). I would rent a house not an apartment that way you can get a better idea of your neighbors.

I would honestly stay away from KB homes (used to be Kaufman Broad) and they had quite a few issues. Lennar isn't much better (we live in one). I think you will find most of the builders here put these up pretty quickly and they had some issues. You get your inspection upon buying the home here so make sure that you feel comfortable about what you are buying when it comes time.

[KidBlue]

I lived in Elverta many years ago. Back then the area was rural and I guess for a better word, run down. But there has been a lot of building both in Elverta and also near Watt Avenue close to Elverta. Some of these homes are newer with nice neighborhoods. So if you check out Elverta, you might want to check areas of Roseville and North Highlands that are close to Elverta. Most of North Highlands isn't very nice, so just the far north area would be worth checking out.

Another area I didn't think of at first is West Sacramento. There has been A LOT of building in West Sac and some homes are very nice. With the newer extension of Highway 80 in West Sac, this wouldn't be a bad commute to Yuba City and you would have a lot of homes to choose from, in a wide range of prices. The traffic is not too bad starting from West Sac also.

[ironsteel]

Guingirl, I just looked up www.natomaspark.com (broken link) with limited info. I need to research more. I guess most people would prefer to live among the upscale and best communities. So my first search would be to go for those communities. Would like to stay away from highrise condos though. My search for Westlake Village ended up in Westlake Village, CA (near LA). So I'll try other key words.

KidBlue, I have not read up on other parts of Sacramento except for the North. Which ever location, we're aiming for the best community we can afford to live in. And I think the rule of thumb is to follow the higher home prices which usually indicate the better school systems. At least that's how they work here in Boston.

[Iseman]

Hi..

How long is the commute from YC to Response Road, SAC during peak hours.

Thanks

[KidBlue]

I like Folsom more. I might be biased because living in the foothills, I usually do most of my shopping in Folsom. Folsom has a nice old town section that has been restored with boutique restaurants and stores, whereas Roseville's old town is more run down. It has been fixed up some, but nowhere near as nice as Folsom. Folsom has the outlet stores and also has light rail service to Sacramento. Roseville does have good commuter buses, however.

Roseville is always so busy and congested with cars, I can't wait to leave, but that's my opinion. Lots of road rage in Roseville. Roseville has lots of business and homes, whereas Folsom has more homes and less businesses. Both have WalMart, Target, etc. You could always live in Citrus Heights or Orangevale and then you would be between both cities.