davis, CA nice? (Sacramento, Fairfield, Vacaville: estate, housing, rent)

[christeen]

Yeah, I love the farmer's market and picnic in the park. Definitely seems like a great place at least for the younger kids. I can't imagine commuting to the Bay Area from Davis though -- ouch.

I'd probably drive to Trader Joe's in Woodland, but not that often since I'd hate to burn the gas to get there. I'll check out the site to request a location.

Ugh, I read the Andrew Mockus story. That's just so sick. I'm going to have to hope that was just a bizarre, alcohol-related, random acting out by very disturbed kids. It's sad we hear so many stories like that these days.

As for spoiled/entitled kids in general, sadly, I think we're seeing that a lot of places these days. I imagine the Davis kids are a bit more exposed to museums/culture, etc than the kids here in Napa. Probabably nowhere like the Bay Area, but as close as we can probably get to out in that region between Sacramento & Bay Area (I hope ). Thanks for the heads up on what to expect.

Few more questions . . .

(1) Is there a mosquito problem in Davis? I thought I'd read there were some West Nile cases in the area earlier. Any other critters like that that we should be aware of that are specific to the region?

(2) Are Central Davis homes ever on the market? Could be my search parameters, but seems most homes for sale are in the outlying areas. I'm hoping more homes come on the market as spring nears, but wondering if people just don't move out of that area.

Thanks again everyone!

[Judy & Randy]

Davis home owners are weird. That was my experience doing appliance work for a time. They all seem to be in their own little alternative world. No common sense. Maybe it's because of UCD. Maybe too many white collar types. Isn't Davis a nuclear free zone ? As if they really had any say in it. That tells you a lot of what they're about. If you're like that, you'll fit right in. 8^ )

[Cayceincali]

Hey go figure the UCD folks across the street from me are selling! It is in the core area.... if ya want more info send me a message!
THEY GOT THE HOUSE FOR A STEAL....... okay about 100 grand under market value... they added a new roof and some other updates as it was (no surprise here) a rental for the past 15 years before them.

Maybe you could come up this weekend just to have a peak???

[goodmau]

"And sorry to hijack this thread further, but what concerns do you Davis residents have or see re air quality there? Do you hear of high asthma rates amongst kids, etc? I'd think the town would have pollution considering its proximity to Sacramento area and Hwy 80, but it was always nice the times we've visited (including hot summers)."


Air Quality in Davis, while not fantastic, is generally not effected by and is cleaner than Sacramento. Unless you live next to it, I 80 shouldn't pose a major exposure issue. There are higher asthma rates for children in all of the valley, but Davis is nothing compared to Fresno, Merced, Modesto, etc.

I am a transplant from upstate NY and love it here, but having said that I will never be able to buy a house here. I work at a decent job (read: not high-paying admin.) at the university, but still have to rent AND have a flatmate for my below-market 2-bedroom apartment. There was a one bedroom townhouse in my neighborhood that went for $330K last summer.

[angelbug]

I haven't read this forum for awhile, but I saw someone quoted me about how much I like my son's high school, the New Tech high school, DaVinci, which is on the campus of Davis High. Well...one of the reasons I've been absent for awhile is that I've been attending a lot of school board and booster club meetings the last several weeks. DaVinci is a new school, only 4 years old, with mostly young teachers who are specially trained in the project-based learning style and technology they use. So, 9 of the school's 12 teachers received pink slips last week, and one who didn't is the principal, who no longer teaches. Even though my son is graduating in June, he and many of the other seniors, as well as the sophomores and juniors, are extremely active doing fundraising, manning information booths at the farmer's market, and doing all they can to convince the school board that these teachers' special training means they can't just be replaced by other high school teachers with more seniority. Not sure what will happen, but so much for Prop 98, apparently.

As far as his experience there, it has been an extraordinary school for him and his friends. Well over half the DaVinci students attended the last school board meeting to plead for their teachers to be allowed to stay on the "skip list." The kids' experience presenting projects at school in formal business attire to outside panelists who drill them during the presentations really showed when they took the microphone in a packed auditorium to address the board. The maturity, poise, and passion they exhibited was amazing to see, when you hear adults talk so much trash about teenagers these days. The kids have been at another student fundraising-idea meeting for the past 6 hours. I don't know too many high school kids that would go to all this effort day after day to try to save their school.

An interesting housing note: I was out walking today and a home in South Davis that is 1700 square feet and recently listed at $629K sold rather quickly. It's very well-kept and backs up to the park, but I thought the listing price was crazy, in this market. However, it sold within weeks. There are lots of other houses that have been sitting for a long time, not selling, so I'll be very curious to find out what it actually went for. The housing prices here are still too high!

Other folks were asking about allergies and air quality...I definitely have more problems here than when I lived in San Francisco. The walnut tree pollen bothers me in the spring and I have some minor coughing problems when the air is dirty in the summer, but with the Delta breeze here, I'd imagine it's not as bad as some other parts of the Central Valley.

Sorry for the rambling post...just trying to catch up all at once.

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by clairerandall

Trader Joe's will never come to Davis, unless pigs fly or the City Council gets desperate or actaully listens to its citizens. I used to work there, so I know. Trader Joe's is non-union and they've gotten very poor reception from the City of Davis because of that. What a shame. They have better pay and benefits than many other grocery stores.

Huh? TJ's told the city a couple years ago they want to move into University Mall. The issue holding it up is moving the Radiological Associates offices, which that firm remodeled to the tune of over $1.5 million. Otherwise the store would have opened last year. This is common knowledge in Davis; it's been in the Enterprise repeatedly.

Trader Joe's - Davis Wiki

[Mercutio02]

Check out the website Davis Wiki - The definitive resource for Davis, California It's a great guide to living in Davis.

[Tims1977]

Davis isn't entirely a bedroom community. There is a college, schools and some cool little places to shop. But generally a lot of people in Davis commute to either Sacramento or places like Vacaville and Vallejo. It's extremely hot in the summer months but sometimes there's a Delta breeze which brings some relief. But the $5,000 mortgage you'll pay may not be worth it considering that you could get a house for the same price in the Bay Area (not to mention the O.C) which would have a lot more uniqueness and charm to it.

[christeen]

Originally Posted by angelbug

I haven't read this forum for awhile, but I saw someone quoted me about how much I like my son's high school, the New Tech high school, DaVinci, which is on the campus of Davis High. Well...one of the reasons I've been absent for awhile is that I've been attending a lot of school board and booster club meetings the last several weeks. DaVinci is a new school, only 4 years old, with mostly young teachers who are specially trained in the project-based learning style and technology they use. So, 9 of the school's 12 teachers received pink slips last week, and one who didn't is the principal, who no longer teaches. Even though my son is graduating in June, he and many of the other seniors, as well as the sophomores and juniors, are extremely active doing fundraising, manning information booths at the farmer's market, and doing all they can to convince the school board that these teachers' special training means they can't just be replaced by other high school teachers with more seniority. Not sure what will happen, but so much for Prop 98, apparently.

As far as his experience there, it has been an extraordinary school for him and his friends. Well over half the DaVinci students attended the last school board meeting to plead for their teachers to be allowed to stay on the "skip list." The kids' experience presenting projects at school in formal business attire to outside panelists who drill them during the presentations really showed when they took the microphone in a packed auditorium to address the board. The maturity, poise, and passion they exhibited was amazing to see, when you hear adults talk so much trash about teenagers these days. The kids have been at another student fundraising-idea meeting for the past 6 hours. I don't know too many high school kids that would go to all this effort day after day to try to save their school.

An interesting housing note: I was out walking today and a home in South Davis that is 1700 square feet and recently listed at $629K sold rather quickly. It's very well-kept and backs up to the park, but I thought the listing price was crazy, in this market. However, it sold within weeks. There are lots of other houses that have been sitting for a long time, not selling, so I'll be very curious to find out what it actually went for. The housing prices here are still too high!

Thanks for the add'l info. Yeah, that sucks about the pink slips. Looks like it's happening all over the state, but I'm impressed with the response from your kid and his peers! Been reading the different proposals on the Enterprise and hope they can keep Da Vinci and it's teachers in the shuffle. Definitely sounds like a great program and a good alternative to the traditional model.

Originally Posted by angelbug

Other folks were asking about allergies and air quality...I definitely have more problems here than when I lived in San Francisco. The walnut tree pollen bothers me in the spring and I have some minor coughing problems when the air is dirty in the summer, but with the Delta breeze here, I'd imagine it's not as bad as some other parts of the Central Valley.

Originally Posted by goodmau

Air Quality in Davis, while not fantastic, is generally not effected by and is cleaner than Sacramento. Unless you live next to it, I 80 shouldn't pose a major exposure issue. There are higher asthma rates for children in all of the valley, but Davis is nothing compared to Fresno, Merced, Modesto, etc.

I am a transplant from upstate NY and love it here, but having said that I will never be able to buy a house here. I work at a decent job (read: not high-paying admin.) at the university, but still have to rent AND have a flatmate for my below-market 2-bedroom apartment. There was a one bedroom townhouse in my neighborhood that went for $330K last summer.

Glad to hear the air isn't as bad as most of the valley. Grew up in LA so I'm trying to avoid that scenario again. But sounds like I"m really gonna suffer with my seasonal allergies. Ugh.

Yeah, the housing prices are still very high, but they do look like they're coming down. Not as low as the rest of Sacramento, but definitely low compared to lots of the Bay Area.

Thanks again everyone for your continued feedback and info.

[Alisande]

Have to comment on the closure of the one school in Dixon. It was an old elementary that has been replaced by 2 new ones. It was long due for closure. As for Davis, no way would I want to live there. The housing rates are crazy. Dixon is just down the road has more to offer than Davis. Check out how many Prof's live in Dixon and/or Woodland.