What defines your neighborhood? (Sacramento, Arden-Arcade: low crime, to buy, school districts)

[xenxes]

We're looking to buy a place in Sacramento proper (close to city center) and have been looking for a few weeks (only been here that long). We've done a lot of homework already, property prices, school districts, census data, crime mapper, etc.

However, all that aside, there's an intangible element I think only you guys who've lived here for some time can fill in -- what do you feel defines your neighborhood?

Positive comments, negative comments, stereotypes, sarcasm all welcome.

I'll start with some examples of what I heard:

Midtown - yuppies, bars, new restaurants, LGBTQ epicenter
East Sac - hear this is the most sought after area, with pretentious fab 40 Republicans living in bubbles (E. Sac is huge though, what about River Park, McKinley Park? other subdivisions?)
Elmhurst - old UCDMC employees, parking ticket nazis, illegal watering whistle-blowers and general do-gooders
North Oak Park - gentrification, being redefined as the new "Medical Center Neighborhood"
South Oak Park - the ghetto, where you get shivved
West Tahoe Park - ?
Tahoe Park - ?
South Tahoe Park - ?
Land Park - ?
Curtis Park - ?

[caligirlz]

This review has done before, I'd be curious to know if anything much has changed. looking for the thread..

[unsureSac]

Great topic. Looking forward to the replies, if any. I'm wondering the same myself.

[Majin]

I seriously doubt fab 40s residents are republicans. They are probably only slightly less liberal that midtown.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by Majin

I seriously doubt fab 40s residents are republicans. They are probably only slightly less liberal that midtown.

When I lived there, I noticed that very few were.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by xenxes

East Sac - hear this is the most sought after area, with pretentious fab 40 Republicans living in bubbles (E. Sac is huge though

living in bubbles?
East Sac huge?

Where do you currently live? Perhaps you could tell us more about yourself.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by xenxes

East Sac - hear this is the most sought after area, with pretentious fab 40 Republicans living in bubbles (E. Sac is huge though, what about River Park, McKinley Park? other subdivisions?)

Tell me about this alternate universe. What color is the sky in that world?

[wburg]

A lot of old-school East Sacramento folks are Republicans, dating back to the era when Republicans were a different breed than they are today--before the hard right turn into Crazy Town. That includes lots of the old German and English families, plus the Italians who moved into East Sacramento after World War II (old-school Italians tend to vote Republican.) My impression is that even the Dems in East Sacramento are more the "Business Democrat" model (basically what Republicans supported before the aforementioned rightward/crazyward shift) than hard-core lefties. River Park may be more liberal/Democrat than East Sacramento proper, due to its high population of academics and professors who teach at CSUS (there's just something about knowing facts, I guess.)

Generally, though, rich people tend to be rich people first, and everything else (including Republican/Democrat etc.) second. The stereotype of the Forties is rich people--just maybe not as rich as those in the secret wealthy pockets of Arden-Arcade, Rancho Murieta, or Granite Bay. But they might go to the same parties, even if they don't belong to the same ones.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by wburg

A lot of old-school East Sacramento folks are Republicans, dating back to the era when Republicans were a different breed than they are today--before the hard right turn into Crazy Town. That includes lots of the old German and English families, plus the Italians who moved into East Sacramento after World War II (old-school Italians tend to vote Republican.) My impression is that even the Dems in East Sacramento are more the "Business Democrat" model (basically what Republicans supported before the aforementioned rightward/crazyward shift)

As opposed to the Democrats' abandoning working class Joe and Jane Sixpack families and embracing radical "alternative lifestyle", academic, bureaucracy and media elites....

Originally Posted by wburg

River Park may be more liberal/Democrat than East Sacramento proper, due to its high population of academics and professors who teach at CSUS (there's just something about knowing facts, I guess.)

Like the "historical inevitability" of socialism, I suppose.....

They know so many "facts" that just aren't so.

[ryuns]

Since a terse description doesn't add much to one's actual knowledge of the place, I'll just add stereotypes.
Land Park: wealthy families with short commutes, low crime and good schools, which, according to people on city-data, doesn't exist unless you drive at 45 minutes each way to get downtown
Curtis Park: huge NiMBYs, uber-active and well-funded neighborhood association. Land Park with less pretension. (I live here; Nimby's drive me crazy, but the neighborhood association is pretty awesome, all told.)