Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm hoping people can give me some more pointed information than the general factoids and statistics I come up with for neighborhoods. Schools are paramount for us, as is square footage in a house (need 3Ksqft+ to buy). My wife has fallen in love with El Dorado Hills. I liked EDH, but am also intrigued by Rocklin, Roseville, and Folsom. Can anyone give us some more specific feedback on these areas? Maybe add more beyond them if you think we're missing one?
Basically hoping for some nuance - for example, I see the 9s and 10s on the schools but that doesn't tell the story as people who live there know it. THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Buying or renting
We currently live in San Jose and, while we absolutely love it here, we simply cannot afford to settle down and buy a place. Hell, as transplanted east coasters, even if we had the money I'm not sure we'd be able to go through with paying what is essentially a $1 million premium to live in the area when it came time to sign the papers. But again, we absolutely love what the weather and topography of the area have meant to our kids happiness/development.
We're definitely looking at buying, having taken trips up to the area to scout neighborhoods. However, we'd be open to renting, too if it made more economic sense (home prices falling? timing the market with the seasons?). We'd rather not move twice though, and we'd like to avoid yanking kids mid-school year.
Budget or price
We're potentially looking at a $600K budget at the absolute max.
Employment situation and location
I quit my job to be a stay at home dad when my wife's tech company moved us to California from the NYC area several years ago. She would be able to work remotely for a while, but would probably need to find employment in the SAC area eventually.
School consideration
Might be the most important part of any home we buy. Our oldest is currently in kindergarten, so we're looking to settle down somewhere which makes us feel comfortable making what is essentially a two decade commitment to the school system.
Urban, suburban or rural preference
Suburban or even more rural. We love hiking, cycling, and outdoor exploration in general. And the kids specifically love to be outside, sometimes just digging in the dirt with sticks and stuff for hours on end. In this regard, we'd rather not be in one of those tightly packed neighborhoods with very limited grass/trees on the outside, but massive space on the inside.
Also, a centralized downtown would be a bonus. We really enjoy the downtowns of the Bay Area - walkable shopping streets where they have eateries, weekend farmers markets, etc. It's definitely not a top priority though.
Thanks again!
Last edited by Snatch Catch; 01-11-2016 at 01:22 PM..
I live in EDH so can speak to that area specifically, the others more generally.
EDH has great schools, all ranked 10s. My 4th grader has been in the system here since Jr. Kindergarten, and we intend to stay until he graduates high school. I can't say enough good things about this area, but of course I live here so I'm biased!
The neighborhoods vary with some being older with larger lots, more trees, more outdoor explorations possibilities. Others are newer, gated, and typically small lots. The area north of Green Valley (in Lake Forest which includes Waterford, Marina View, and more) has homes in your price range that are the right size for you with large lots. Fairchild Village also has homes on larger lots, but many are just barely in your 3K sq ft size requirement.
EDH is right on the edge of what is an increasingly rural area and close to Folsom Lake for nice hikes and outdoor time.
Folsom also has many great schools. But if you're looking for larger lots that might become an issue. Same with the size requirement, that size home in Folsom tends to be a bit higher than your price range. Folsom does have an extensive hike/bike trail system that would be great for you and the kids if you enjoy your outdoor time.
Just from your comments, I think you might find Roseville a bit congested. It is a nice benefit to have the mall and more options for dining and entertainment there, but the flip side of that is the amount of traffic in the area.
Rocklin has lots of small lots, but some of the areas are older with big lots. It's also right on the edge of a somewhat rural area so it's close to free space to roam.
Both Roseville and Rocklin offer more house for the money than EDH and Folsom. But much of Rocklin and the newer homes in Roseville have pretty high Mello Roos fees, so be careful to check for that in your house search.
If you don't mind, can you give me some information about the community as it relates to youth activity outside the school? So does the town organize family events? Fireworks on the 4th of July? How are the organized youth sports leagues? Are the community/rec centers thriving? Classes for kids and stuff?
We have a very active community for youth sports and other family events. El Dorado Hills Community Services District - CSD --- Recreation, Parks, Events, El Dorado Hills Community Services has most of the information you need. Youth sports start with basically clinics at age 4 and go from there. The younger ages are mostly though the CSD (Community Services District) and as they get older there is still CSD but also other league teams for sports like soccer, baseball, basketball, football, lacross, wrestling, softball, and so on. The CSD also has all kinds of classes for kids and adults, you might be able to see what's available on the CSD website but it changes every season.
During summer we have community concerts in the park every other Friday night. It's a great family event, bring a blanket, picnic dinner, and drinks to watch the band. Many kids running around in the park, and they set up free bounce houses for the littler kids. There are also concerts on Thursday nights in the Town Center, but I feel those are more appropriate for adults as there isn't much grassy area for kids to run.
We have a big all-day even every 4th of July ending with Fireworks. Bands, vendors, games for the kids, and more. We go there every year.
The fire department has a Santa Run every December. They dress as elves and Santa, and drive through the neighborhoods in the fire trucks handing out candy canes. While out, they pick up donations for Toys for Tots. They go 4 nights, then finish on Saturday at the Town Center for the tree lighting ceremony and more family fun.
Thanks so much for the information, Nina, it's extremely helpful.
I was wondering if maybe you could also help me out with a question I have about Granite Bay. I know you are from EDH, but you seem to be very knowledgeable about the area in general. I've looked at a handful of homes in Granite Bay and almost all of them seem to have depreciated, or at the very least remained level with, their pricing of nearly a decade ago. Is there a reason for this? Is it an anomaly in the 5 or so houses I looked at? Was GB overpriced previously? Is there an issue with the community I'm not aware of? Because I don't recall seeing the same pattern in the other towns we're looking at.
" I've looked at a handful of homes in Granite Bay and almost all of them seem to have depreciated, or at the very least remained level with, their pricing of nearly a decade ago."
I think it's a problem endemic to the region. I usually discount self-interested anecdotes, but consider El Dorado Hills CA Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow and Granite Bay CA Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow . Granite Bay's Zillow Home Value Index in 2006 was about $800k and only $658k today. EDH's ZHVI was $650k in 2006 vs $547k today. 2006 was near the peak of the housing boom, and that's part of the problem. But the Sacramento area is also not very economically dynamic, and demand for housing is relatively weak.
I think you will need to resign yourself to relatively anemic house price appreciation if you buy in the area.
To answer some of your other questions...
Employment...
There's very little tech employment here, and what there is is usually in support or sales. HP in Roseville and Intel in Folsom do development work, but your wife will have to decide if she wants to hitch her wagon to those companies and sites long term. There are various IT jobs in the area, but again bear in mind the slower growth economy here.
Schools...
Again, I prefer more objective and less self-interested measures. US News ranks Western Sierra Collegiate Academy in Rocklin the 8th best high school in CA. Granite Bay High School is ranked 89th, Woodcreek HS in Roseville 179th, Folsom HS 184th, and Oak Ridge High in EDH 201st. Of course, if your oldest is just in Kindergarten, you'll have years before you have to worry about high school.
In general, schools here are MUCH less competitive than Bay Area schools in comparable areas. Extracurriculars are also much less competitive. For example, my son's piano teacher in PA graduated from Eastman, and he could have his pick of teachers from Juilliard, Peabody, etc. In Granite Bay, he can pick his piano teachers from the best graduates of Sacramento State and UC Davis.
Oh, have you looked into the asbestos question? People on this site will tell you it's not an issue, but you should do your own research and come to your own opinion.
BTW, our biggest complaint moving to Granite Bay is the lack of good restaurant food in the area. We expected ethnic food to be horrible, and we were not surprised. However, we were surprised by the low standard of even American and Italian restaurants.
I read this study, and all the factors that went into it. One of the major factors is how diverse the school is and how well they handle low income students. By default, a school district with less diversity and fewer low income students will score lower than those that have it. Not saying it's good or bad, but a person should ALWAYS read the parameters of a research study before making decisions based on that study.
Again, I prefer more objective and less self-interested measures. US News ranks Western Sierra Collegiate Academy in Rocklin the 8th best high school in CA. Granite Bay High School is ranked 89th, Woodcreek HS in Roseville 179th, Folsom HS 184th, and Oak Ridge High in EDH 201st. Of course, if your oldest is just in Kindergarten, you'll have years before you have to worry about high school.ad the parameters of research studies before making decisions based on the results.
[/i]
Thanks so much for the information, Nina, it's extremely helpful.
I was wondering if maybe you could also help me out with a question I have about Granite Bay. I know you are from EDH, but you seem to be very knowledgeable about the area in general. I've looked at a handful of homes in Granite Bay and almost all of them seem to have depreciated, or at the very least remained level with, their pricing of nearly a decade ago. Is there a reason for this? Is it an anomaly in the 5 or so houses I looked at? Was GB overpriced previously? Is there an issue with the community I'm not aware of? Because I don't recall seeing the same pattern in the other towns we're looking at.
Thanks again!
The homes in this area (north and eastern suburbs) have still not recovered to the previous high prices in 2006 or so. The percentages vary a bit, but there really isn't a huge difference in the recovery. Granite Bay is a very nice community. The western edge of the city starts to feel a bit like Roseville, with more shopping, restaurants, etc. The very eastern part near the lake has large lots and lots of trees. There are some extremely expensive neighborhoods within Granite Bay. For the most part, the same home in Granite Bay will cost quite a bit more than in EDH or Folsom.
Stats from Trendgraphix:
High point in 2006 was $298/sq ft in Granite Bay. Now it's $238 sq ft.
High point in 2006 was $246/sq ft in EDH. Now it's $206 sq ft.
I read this study, and all the factors that went into it. One of the major factors is how diverse the school is and how well they handle low income students. By default, a school district with less diversity and fewer low income students will score lower than those that have it. Not saying it's good or bad, but a person should ALWAYS read the parameters of a research study before making decisions based on that study.
"the second step assessed whether their disadvantaged students – black, Hispanic and low-income – were outperforming disadvantaged students in the state.
We compared each school's math and reading proficiency rates for disadvantaged students with the statewide results for these student groups and then selected schools that were performing better than their state averages."
In other words, when a school has disadvantaged students, their performance is compared to the performance of other disadvantaged students in the state. So, no, a school with few disadvantaged students are not penalized for having few disadvantaged students; schools with few disadvantaged students are only down-graded when their disadvantaged students perform poorly.
Are you saying the few disadvantaged students in EDH perform poorly?
BTW, I should think that Granite Bay HS would have a similar socio-economic student body as EDH, yet GBHS is ranked 89th instead of EDH's 201st? How would your claim about schools with few disadvantaged students account for this?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
