Just accepted a job in Rockin - where to live? (San Diego: to rent, appliances)

[moxie990]

I just accepted a job that is in Rocklin and will be relocating very soon. My fiance and I have been doing some research on where to live, but was hoping to get some opinions from people who actually live in the area.

The facts to help you out: Will want to rent to start off before buying a place and looking to keep rent modest ($1,600 or under). We have a dog (not sure if this matters in terms of where to live, but figured it was worth mentioning). The job is off the 65 on the northern side of Rocklin and I'd like to keep my commute 20 min or under. We're both in our low 30's and enjoy being able to go out for a couple of happy hour drinks every once in a while and dinners on the weekends (and would like to be in an area where there are similarly aged / minded people). We're moving up from San Diego (specifically PB if anyone is familiar with that specific neighborhood) so we're coming from an area that is literally exploding with people in their 20's and 30's and we know that we're not going to find exactly that (and we're OK with that), but we don't want to put ourselves into a retirement community either.

From what I've found so far, it appears that Roseville / Rocklin are pretty similar, but it's Roseville that has a "downtown" area to it where there's a few bars / restaurants that you can walk around to. Is this accurate? I don't need or even want to be walking distance from any bars, but would like to have the option of going to a place somewhat nearby that isn't Chili's or Outback to grab a drink. Are there any other towns that we should be considering? We have never been to the area before, but will be taking a house hunting trip this weekend so if there's other towns we need to put on our list, please let me know!

Since we're focusing in on renting to start, I need to ask if it's normal not to have basic appliances included? In SD, every place I've ever lived in came with a fridge and if there was a laundry room in the house, the washer & dryer came with it. And, all the houses I've lived in had the landscape services included. From what I've found so far (scoured Craigslist & Zillow) it appears commonplace for NONE of these items to be provide. Almost every house listed didn't come with a fridge and I counted all of two that came with a washer & dryer. I'll reset my expectations if necessary, but this just seemed crazy to me!

Thanks in advance for any insights / opinions!

[Fummins]

Rocklin and Roseville both have ample social opportunity lol. The housing choices are endless as well. Great community, welcome!

[shelato]

In Sacramento there really isn't anything like PB, because there isn't a beach in Sacramento. Rocklin and Roseville are pretty similar to living in Poway. The schools are good and the neighborhoods are safe, and the most of the housing is relatively new lots of housing built in the past 20 years. If you had a job in Poway and wanted to keep your commute 20 minutes or under, you probably wouldn't live in PB.

In Sacramento, you could live downtown, it is probably most similar to something like say Hillcrest, Kensington or Normal Heights. Lots of gays, lots of people without kids. But your commute is to work isn't going to be less than 20 minutes to where you work in Rocklin. My hunch is your best bet will probably be historic Roseville, specifically say around Royer /Saugstead Parks. You aren't that far from Rockin and that neighborhood is kind of similar to Kensington.

[moxie990]

Awesome! That comparison / analysis helps A LOT!! Thank you!! It's funny you mention the Royer / Saugstead parks area as there is a house close by that was already at the top of my "houses to see" list, so this just reenforces that!

[shelato]

Sacramento is going to be a transition from San Diego. But the longer you live here, the more you will appreciate its virtues.

There are seasons here. The leaves actually change color and when they do the fall leaves are pretty. Because Sacramento isn't a desert on the beach, there are actually real trees here, not just the weird Dr. Seuss trees that you find in San Diego. I also really liked how here at Christmas people aren't walking around in shorts hanging ornaments on Poinsettias and Palm Trees. Also there is a much wider choice of climates with in driving distance of Sacramento. In San Diego, the beach was nice, but the mountains near San Diego were underwhelming, Apple Hill near Placerville is just a much more scenic area than say Julian and there is nothing anywhere near San Diego like the Desolation wilderness or just Tahoe. Your weekend trips are just going to be a lot more interesting. Moreover, Coastal Northern California with Redwoods is nothing like Coastal Southern California and in this area you have a lot more choices for wine tasting between Napa, the Gold Country and Lodi all of which I thought were a lot more interesting than say Temecula.

I do miss Baja and I do miss diving off La Jolla.

[Rob98LS1]

Yeah Roseville is the one with more of a bar scene. In the historic downtown there's a handful of them all within walking distance of each other. Rocklin has a couple of places scattered around town but that's about it.

Any of the surrounding areas within 15 miles of Rocklin should be doable for that commute in my opinion.

[DontKnowIfImComingOrGoing]

Live in the Rocklin area. The commute up north east can be tough and if your going to have kids soon, you'll appreciate it getting home in 10 minutes fresh and energetic rather than in 30 minutes frustrated and tense after the stop start driving!