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I've lived in both places and it sounds like Sacramento might be right for you. San Diego is expensive as you mentioned and if you need to live somewhere more affordable down there, it will be inland and probably a good distance from all that quality of life stuff like cool neighborhoods and beaches. Sacramento is super affordable by comparison and has some cool arts and culture stuff too. Weather might be the big difference between the two, with Sac being hot as hell (and surprisingly cold, though probably not for you), and San Diego being consistently perfect, which is a bit boring to me.
Sacramento is clearly the more affordable option but when your housing budget is $500-750K that definitely makes SD a viable option as you can get a SFH in a good area for that amount. You can get newer and bigger obviously in Sac but outside of housing I don't there is a significant difference in COL between the two areas.
Another major concern for me, though, is a need to have “black” professionals for networking. I know there is no local chapter of the NMMBA, though not a deal breaker, but #7 what’s the population of black professionals really? I expect Sac to do better than Minneapolis in this metric? In Minneapolis, though we have about 16% of pop being black, finding black professionals can be a challenge, and if you do, they are mostly “stuck” in the entry level jobs, so I don’t expect a nice burb with a high concentration of middle class people of color --- or are there any?
Really appreciate the feedback.
Finding other black professionals for networking might be more of a problem than in Minneapolis or San Diego. First, the Sacramento region is just much smaller, their are probably somewhere around 3.5 million people in the Twin City region, 3.2 million in San Diego while its closer to 2.2 million in Sacramento, which means that there are fewer jobs here. Second, Sacramento is more of a government town than a corporate headquarters. Even compared to regions closer in size to Sacramento, Sacramento tends to have fewer Fortune 500 companies headquartered here than say in Cleveland, or Kansas City. The corporate base is just smaller. So finding other middle and upper level African American managers to network with is a problem because there are fewer of those types of jobs in Sacramento than in other areas of comparable size. Moreover in San Diego, there is a pretty large bio-tech industry that I suspect may have some cross over career opportunities that Sacramento probably doesn't offer in the same abundance.
While I agree that the cost of living is higher in San Diego than in Sacramento, what I am not sure is if wages in your field or in your wife's field might be higher in San Diego which might offset the higher cost of living.
$500,000 can probably get you 2000 sq ft house in a pretty nice part of the Sacramento region , but I suspect that $750,000 would probably get you a similarly sized housing in a comparable neighborhood in the San Diego region. Compare this home in Folsom with the house in Poway area in San Diego. In both places the public schools are similarly strong, and the housing is fairly new. Don't get me wrong, I like Sacramento, but if you thought you liked the San Diego region better, I definitely think you could pull off something nice there, still in your price range. I have family in Northern California that tends to make Sacramento work better for me right now, but I have lived in San Diego in the past and I have also thought about relocating down their again possibly in the future at your budget, if I didn't have family in Northern California I might choose San Diego over Sacramento.
The quality of life difference will be huge. You get what you pay for. If Sacramento and San Diego are your two options, I would recommend San Diego. But if you can, visit both and see for yourself.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for the thought provoking comments. As I mentioned, we were set on SD, though the COL issue kept creeping up, so we wanted an alternative, thus Sacramento. From what I gather though, it appears SD is probably the better choice. I never realized Sacramento was mostly a government town, and as someone who's primarily worked in corporate, that makes it less attractive. As many people have pointed out via DM or above, while we may get less bang for the buck in SD, the quality of life appears optimal in SD, no offense Sacramento.
We are set on relocating late 2015, so I'll definitely update you guys where we land. But seriously, thank you all. I really appreciated candid assessment on Sac in particular, as that is the place I was least familiar with.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for the thought provoking comments. As I mentioned, we were set on SD, though the COL issue kept creeping up, so we wanted an alternative, thus Sacramento. From what I gather though, it appears SD is probably the better choice. I never realized Sacramento was mostly a government town, and as someone who's primarily worked in corporate, that makes it less attractive. As many people have pointed out via DM or above, while we may get less bang for the buck in SD, the quality of life appears optimal in SD, no offense Sacramento.
We are set on relocating late 2015, so I'll definitely update you guys where we land. But seriously, thank you all. I really appreciated candid assessment on Sac in particular, as that is the place I was least familiar with.
I will keep in touch --- Thank you!
Good luck. Prob can't go wrong with SD. Great infrastructure, it's a nice looking city and if you l:ke sun, you'll get plenty of it. Since your decision is made, probably to late to tell you; there is not much in the way of a "corporate" or "professional" vibe in SD. It has the feeling of a big beach town. I honestly don't feel that it differs at all from Sac in this regard (SD is a military town whose primary industry is tourism), and in some ways is on even a slower pace than.Sac. But there is no debating it is more pleasing to the eye for most. Overall I am sure you can find your niche' there.
Sacramento is the capital of California, and thus is the administrative center for a $2 trillion economy and nearly 40 million people. Obviously, government is a major aspect of life in Sacramento and the largest single employer. That's not uncommon in high population states: Austin, Texas's largest employment sector is government, the same goes for Albany, New York. State capitals are political places, and in wealthy states with high populations, even more so. It also means that many of the private organizations that lobby state government for one reason or another do a lot of business in Sacramento. They may not have headquarters here, but they often have a field office or at least a lobbyist representative at one of the local firms. The employment sector of dealing with state government (from lobbying firms to catering/event logistics companies specializing in government functions) is, in itself, a billion-dollar industry!
San Diego's second largest industry is also government, due to the enormous role of the United States military in San Diego. So if you're looking to San Diego as a place where government doesn't play an important role in civic affairs, you may be surprised! The biggest industries in San Diego are often industries that also depend on money from the military-industrial complex to make most of their profits, like shipbuilding and electronics manufacturing. The proximity of US/Mexico border at the southern end of San Diego means that part of the city is also a zone of strong government influence. I know some folks have difficulty with it, but the armed forces of the United States are a government function paid for by our taxes. The presence of the Navy and Marines are an everyday and celebrated part of life in San Diego, and the private military-industrial complex of San Diego requires entirely on their presence and continued financial support. It adds up to a lot more money than Sacramento catering jobs, I'll admit!
Sacramento used to have military bases--two Air Force bases and an Army base. The Army base was closed 20 years ago and converted to an industrial park, and the city just announced its sale to the main tenant of the base. The two Air Force bases still have some amount of military presence, in the form of a VA hospital and a maintenance facility for US Coast Guard C-130 aircraft, but have primarily converted to private industrial facilities or other uses. The private operator of the former Mather AFB site is in negotiations to buy the old Southern Pacific railyards from Union Pacific based on his experience with repurposing industrial facilities. The closest industry still retained is Aerojet, a rocketry company who is currently working on the new Orion spacecraft, but in some of the neighborhoods around the old military bases, the loss of those federal dollars is still strongly felt.
Sacramento is the capital of California, and thus is the administrative center for a $2 trillion economy and nearly 40 million people. Obviously, government is a major aspect of life in Sacramento and the largest single employer. That's not uncommon in high population states: Austin, Texas's largest employment sector is government, the same goes for Albany, New York. State capitals are political places, and in wealthy states with high populations, even more so. It also means that many of the private organizations that lobby state government for one reason or another do a lot of business in Sacramento. They may not have headquarters here, but they often have a field office or at least a lobbyist representative at one of the local firms. The employment sector of dealing with state government (from lobbying firms to catering/event logistics companies specializing in government functions) is, in itself, a billion-dollar industry!
San Diego's second largest industry is also government, due to the enormous role of the United States military in San Diego. So if you're looking to San Diego as a place where government doesn't play an important role in civic affairs, you may be surprised! The biggest industries in San Diego are often industries that also depend on money from the military-industrial complex to make most of their profits, like shipbuilding and electronics manufacturing. The proximity of US/Mexico border at the southern end of San Diego means that part of the city is also a zone of strong government influence. I know some folks have difficulty with it, but the armed forces of the United States are a government function paid for by our taxes. The presence of the Navy and Marines are an everyday and celebrated part of life in San Diego, and the private military-industrial complex of San Diego requires entirely on their presence and continued financial support. It adds up to a lot more money than Sacramento catering jobs, I'll admit!
Sacramento used to have military bases--two Air Force bases and an Army base. The Army base was closed 20 years ago and converted to an industrial park, and the city just announced its sale to the main tenant of the base. The two Air Force bases still have some amount of military presence, in the form of a VA hospital and a maintenance facility for US Coast Guard C-130 aircraft, but have primarily converted to private industrial facilities or other uses. The private operator of the former Mather AFB site is in negotiations to buy the old Southern Pacific railyards from Union Pacific based on his experience with repurposing industrial facilities. The closest industry still retained is Aerojet, a rocketry company who is currently working on the new Orion spacecraft, but in some of the neighborhoods around the old military bases, the loss of those federal dollars is still strongly felt.
Well said. Lol was going to say, SD for a person wanting less government and more working professional vibe? That's the place people go to surf, party or retire.
I grew up in the Midwest, but have lived in Sacramento for 16 years...lived in suburban Twin Cities before that.
Quite different places. I wouldn't even consider San Diego unless you have nailed down two really good jobs and can affored that lifestyle, housing, etc.
Minneapolis/St. Paul are bigger cities with a smaller feel. Sacramento feels like smaller town place, but sprawling. Minneaplolis/St. Paul I found very much friendlier, but Sacto is ok. It is more enthically diverse and you may like that. You will like the fact that the weather is better.
Pros and cons of course. Good luck in Sacramento. You will miss the Twin Cities though.
While Sacramento is primarily a government town, let's not mistake it for Hartford, Boise, or even Salt Lake City. Sacramento, as others mentioned, is the capital of the largest state in the union, and thus has a much bigger population base. The Sacramento area is around 2.5 million residents, so I wouldn't exactly call it a small capital city. Sure, it isn't Boston, Atlanta, and Phoenix but neither is it Olympia. I think it resembles Austin the most. Attractions are plentiful if you know where to look and as the saying goes, "We are close to everything." SD is a fine town and very pleasing to the eye. It is a very attractive city so I hope you're happy in Southern California. But lest not forget, SD is build on military and tourism. In fact, SD is more conservative than Sacramento. If the COL becomes a burden, you should rethink Sacramento. I think you would like it.
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