davis, CA nice? (Sacramento, Folsom, Woodland: apartment complexes, renter, co-op)

[WheninRoam]

Can children from Dixon or other surrounding areas open enroll for school in Davis?

[quasi888]

Originally Posted by WheninRoam

Can children from Dixon or other surrounding areas open enroll for school in Davis?

Yes. My wife (Davis teacher) had a student in Sacramento enrolled in her class this year.

(Student and her parent turned out to be a nightmare, ended up transferring to another school thankfully, but that's another story....)

[Alisande]

Originally Posted by WheninRoam

Can children from Dixon or other surrounding areas open enroll for school in Davis?

I "think" if you can prove you work in the district and it would be a hardship for your child to attend the school to which they are assigned you can apply to be considered in the school of the district that you work in. However, I "think" your child would be at the very bottom of the waiting list. I know a few people that managed to get their kids into Dixon schools this way. Not sure if Davis works the same. Call the School District they could clarify the issue.

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by Alisande

Mosquito's here are rarely a problem. Someone was complaining about air quality and whatnot but you have to remember we are surrounded by FARMS. Last but not least WHY would you want to live in Central Davis? ugh

As an entomologist, I think parts of Davis have a terrible mosquito problem. I have about 20 bites right now as a result of doing one hour's worth of yard work in South Davis a couple hours ago, while wearing insect repellent. I'm not sure how much water stands in Putah Creek in the summer, but I suspect that's part of the problem. One of my friends who lives in Central Davis got West Nile two summers ago. As I posted in my black widow response, I worry much more about mosquito bites than black widow bites. Encephalitidies are nothing to mess with.

[kksue]

First one must define a good education. It is not homework in first grade. Academics in kindergarden, or getting good state testing results. If you have a child that you have not given over to media than you still have time to enroll him or her in a Waldorf school, in Davis, Folsom or anywhere in between.

[christeen]

Originally Posted by angelbug

As an entomologist, I think parts of Davis have a terrible mosquito problem. I have about 20 bites right now as a result of doing one hour's worth of yard work in South Davis a couple hours ago, while wearing insect repellent. I'm not sure how much water stands in Putah Creek in the summer, but I suspect that's part of the problem. One of my friends who lives in Central Davis got West Nile two summers ago. As I posted in my black widow response, I worry much more about mosquito bites than black widow bites. Encephalitidies are nothing to mess with.

Oh no, and I'm a mosquito magnet. How does Davis's mosquito problem compare with other areas? We're in Napa and haven't had much of a problem (just occasional ant invasions that were no fun).

Does this DavisWiki page sound accurate to you?: Mosquitoes - Davis Wiki
Thanks for the info.

[christeen]

Sorry for so many questions.

How is the Mace Ranch area perceived by most Davis folks? It seems to have more affordable homes and there are nice greenbelts and parks. The southern area worries me since it's closer to the Superfund site, but what about areas north, closer to Lake Alhambra Estates?

Is the Superfund site the reason prices are lower, or is it because it's East Davis?

How about Korematsu Elementary? What is that school like? Since it's so new, there's no info on greatschools.net or on the Davis school district website. Any concern about its proximity to the Superfund site?

Thanks.

[Beth26]

Mace Ranch has really high Mellos Roos fees (long story). That might be why the costs are cheaper. Some of the sites have small backyards. I think it is a really nice part of town.

Korematsu should be a good school. It will have GATE next year so, I'm sure it will have high test scores. Right now, I believe it is only a K-2 school this year. It will be a K-6 next year. The teachers will be transfers from other sites in town and a lot will come from Valley Oak (a good school that is older and is closing).

[angelbug]

Moquitoes: The wiki mosquito page actually looks pretty good (other than using "it's" when it meant "its" ). Thanks for pointing that out - somehow I'd missed it. I don't know if the problem is worse here but it could be that my part of south Davis is bad because I'm right by the Putah Creek bike path and parts of the creek have standing water in the summer. I'm a mosquito magnet, too, so that doesn't help. Anyway, a friend of mine in Davis, who coincidentally studied mosquitoes when we were entomology grad students together back east, got West Nile two summers ago and it was no picnic.

Mace Ranch/Superfund Site: The southern parts of Mace Ranch (Allegro Way, and that area) are indeed lower-priced because of the Superfund site. Last I read about 3 years ago, the plume had apparently stopped spreading, but it's only about 100 feet underground in some areas and some people don't want to live on top of it. But there are detailed maps that you should be able to get from a local realtor that show where the plume is.

[christeen]

Thank you both for your input.

I guess we won't totally eliminate all Mace Ranch homes from our search. It's just odd there isn't that much more info/discussion about the Superfund sites in Davis, especially this one in a residential area. There's a little discussion on the Wiki and more info on the community Oversight Group's website. I guess I'd thought people would be moving out in droves, or making a big uproar that it's still not cleaned up, especially so close to 2 new schools and the million-dollar homes in Lake Alhambra.

As for mosquitoes, ugh, sorry about your friend, angelbug. Hope s/he's recovered ok. Glad to hear the Wiki page passes muster with you (mostly ). Seems standing water is hard to avoid what w/ all the drainage ponds etc throughout the city. Thanks for the heads up.