Help! What Is Life Like In Sacramento? (Los Angeles, San Diego: crime rate, house)

[mmcguire]

I think it is best to get a feel through pictures.

http://www.fromthecapitol.com

[dreagin@sbcglobal.net]

Could someone give me their opinions of Citrus Heights, Carmichael, Rocklin, Orangevale, and FairOaks? Of these areas which do you think are the best to live in? Which of these do you think would have the best schools and recreational areas? I'm a native Californian from the Bay Area that is moving from high plains of Texas back to the Golden State.

[CAdarcy]

Hey, Dreagin! Welcome back to CA, especially northern California. All the suburbs you mentioned have their various aspects of appeal. Here is sort of a breakdown:

Citrus Heights, older (but therefore cheaper) housing, lots of strips malls, a nice big old park (Rusch Park) plus a library near that (Sylvan library) older but decent schools. Good freeway access, mall, etc.
Fair Oaks, much more charming, housing a little harder to find, schools should be good, Nice park and library, more expensive.
Orangevale -- I like Orangevale, it's more rural and a little farther out. No major park, although it's close to the others (these last three suburbs are close to one another.) All kinds of different housing is available, although fewer big apartment complexes than in Citrus Heights. Orangevale is sort of a throwback community and it has its charm.
Rocklin, up toward the foothills, further out from downtown, sort of a hassle getting into downtown because there is a bottleneck on the westbound freeways at the Roseville exits just west of Rocklin.
Carmichael -- similar to Citrus Heights in that there is lots of cheap apartment complexes, a major park and lots of strip malls. It's a little harder to get to a freeway from there; in fact, if you live all the way in by Fair Oaks, you can spend a lot of time making your way up Alligator Alley, which is what we call El Camino avenue because all the oldsters make their way along it so slowly on weekdays that you feel like you're in Florida.

You may want to consider living in the city itself. There are some wonderful victorian or edwardian houses with flats to rent and the prices can sometimes be cheaper than in the burbs... and you get a much more urban experience with wonderful mature trees being able to walk to charming little cafes, etc... I would look in the middle streets -- middle of the alphabet (J-P streets) and middle of the numbers (22-38th streets).

Good luck! Welcome back!
~D

[KidBlue]

Since your choice of cities is heading east, you may want to go just a little further east (right next to Orangevale) and check out Folsom. The schools in Folsom (stay away from Rancho Cordova) are excellent. Folsom is booming right now and there a lot of homes to choose from. If Folsom is too expensive, Orangevale is close and the homes are less expensive.

The elementary schools in Orangevale are OK but the high school is very good. Folsom is also where there is a large lake and camping areas and there is an outlet mall if you are into shopping. It's also relatively close to great skiing in So. Lake Tahoe and national forrests.

[Tiare]

It is so funny how readily everyone points out that areas like Folsom Roseville, Rocklin and Granite Bay are the best places to relocate. Sure, these areas are dynamic, family friendly,and have good schools. However, they are VERY expensive (especially Granite Bay, where the median home price is frighteningly close to $1million!).

Many "average" families live in and enjoy Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Orangevale, and Carmichael. Older homes with a sprinkling of new construction. Terrific San Juan School District schools (with a few standout schools whose API scores are well above state average). Wide variety of incomes. Beautiful parks, creeks, river areas, natural areas in all four communities. Great middle of the road shopping at and around Sunrise Mall. Typical big box stores like Lowe's, Target Greatland, Costco, Old Navy, etc.

There isn't much to do if you are into nightlife, but the commute to Downtown Sacramento is pretty decent (about 20-30 minutes or so from these four communities).

Families seeking (almost) affordable new construction may look to Elk Grove (South of Sacramento, but beware awful South Sac area along the way, due to high crime and poor schools). Natomas is also available, but all of the new construction (which is everywhere) is in a known flood plain. Come on, guys, doesn't everyone remember how Natomas was a virtual ocean in the flooding of 1995 and 1986?

[Michael I. Pulskamp]

The great thing about the Sacramento area is CHOICE! Do you want to live in an old Victorian, walking distance to small shops and nightlife? Maybe an Arts and Crafts style bungalow on a tree lined street? Do you love the Americana of mid century ranch homes? Or do you long for space to have a garden with chickens, and a horse? Maybe you want the feel of old Beverly Hills, just with a lower price? (and fewer celebs) Do you like brand new construction? Small, low maintenance yards? and good Schools. It's all near by. Two rivers within minutes, the bay area less than two hours West, Tahoe the other way.
I love the area. I grew up in LA and the lifestyle here works so much better for my wife and me.
Choice continues with people. Whatever your bend is you will find folks to connect with. From Rush to Cindy, Great music, jaz to punk, good theater. and still a small city feel.
[moderator CUT]

Mike

[CUT]

[alyndan]

Well sacramento is actually i really nice place to live. i grew up in the elk grove area and loved it, i now live in the rocklin/roseville area and love it even more. those two places are expensive but worth living in because of the schools, atmosphere, the people, and the housing. it's nice too because you're only 2 hours or so from Tahoe in one direction and only about 2 hours from say Santa Cruz and the beach. Plus you've got the bay area which is pretty close as well. there's a lot to do for all ages. And even though we don't have a lot of sports teams or anything like that, there's always concerts and festivals and other types of activities. it's alot different from LA but in a good way...you've got the big city feel without ALL of the hussle and bussle of a city like LA. although i swear it feels like our traffic is getting just as bad as LA?!!?!?

[Marinka]

California is too liberal and is getting too crowded. I lived here all my life and now I am moving to Idaho. It's too crazy here and the crime rate is scary. If I were to choose a state to move, it would not be California. Too overcrowded.

[Guingirl]

Originally Posted by dreagin@sbcglobal.net

Could someone give me their opinions of Citrus Heights, Carmichael, Rocklin, Orangevale, and FairOaks? Of these areas which do you think are the best to live in? Which of these do you think would have the best schools and recreational areas? I'm a native Californian from the Bay Area that is moving from high plains of Texas back to the Golden State.

Hehe...the nicest area out of your list is Rocklin because it has the newest construction on homes and has a few master communities along with a lot of retail, huge regional mall, but traffic has gotten really bad.

Citrus Heights, Carmichael, Orangevale and Fair Oaks are all nice but have older homes with spotty neighborhoods. Some really nice and some not so nice.

Edit - We are going to be moving to Texas very shortly

[SoCalGuy]

We have a shortage of nurses in CA, so you should be able to find a job in a LOT of places. And you can always find a nice place to live that's a decent commute to work. I'd be optimistic if I were you.