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After 22 years of living in the Bay Area (the last 11 in Oakland), we want to leave as it's just no longer affordable. We have thought about Colorado, but we have family here so want to stay somewhat local. Some friends recently moved to Sacramento and love it, and just bought a house for $325k. We know nothing about Sac besides driving through it on the way to Tahoe, and it has never appealed to me (always thought it was TOO HOT).
Can anyone give insight on the best, low-crime, family-friendly neighborhoods with good schools (we have a 7yo and 4yo), and house prices for around $400k? I have read about Roseville and Rocklin, but are the people mostly conservative? I will admit I like living in my progressive, liberal bubble, especially during current times. Fair Oaks looks nice and seems to have some good schools (and non-tract/cookie-cutter homes on larger lots). What about Citrus Heights?
What about the heat? Is it unbearable and can kids play sports outside in the summer or is it all water play during those months?
Thanks so much in advance!
Last edited by pinksaffron; 05-18-2017 at 03:51 PM..
After 22 years of living in the Bay Area (the last 11 in Oakland), we want to leave as it's just no longer affordable. We have thought about Colorado, but we have family here so want to stay somewhat local. Some friends recently moved to Sacramento and love it, and just bought a house for $325k. We know nothing about Sac besides driving through it on the way to Tahoe, and it has never appealed to me (always thought it was TOO HOT).
Can anyone give insight on the best, low-crime, family-friendly neighborhoods with good schools (we have a 7yo and 4yo), and house prices for around $400k? I have read about Roseville and Rocklin, but are the people mostly conservative? I will admit I like living in my progressive, liberal bubble, especially during current times. Fair Oaks looks nice and seems to have some good schools (and non-tract/cookie-cutter homes on larger lots). What about Citrus Heights?
What about the heat? Is it unbearable and can kids play sports outside in the summer or is it all water play during those months?
Thanks so much in advance!
Welcome to Sacramento
In June and May I think Sactown has better weather than Oaktown. No May Gray nor June Gloom in Sacramento. Winter, Fall and most of the Spring is almost identical to Oakland weather.
Look at it this way: There are only 2 months out of the year when Sacramento weather is different than Oakland that would be July and August when Sac Averages a high of 90-92F while Oakland averages a high of 72F.
Bay Area folks don't know about Sacramento's Delta Breeze. Typical low temps in Sacramento are just a few degrees warmer than Oakland in the middle of the summer.
Sacramento has cool and comfortable evenings, nights and mornings in the summer. Sac averages a low of 58-60F in the middle of the summer very similar to Oakland or San Jose.
It cools down quickly and dramatically in Sac, we have cool comfortable mornings at least up to noon time. Having said that, you should definitely have central A/C in Sac but you will NOT have to use it 24/7 like you would in Texas, Vegas, Phoenix and most of the rest of the country in the summer.
You might like the added sun and warmth when rafting down the American River, or boating on the Sacramento river, or water skiing on Folsom Lake. :-)
Almost every neighborhood with a "Sacramento" address, and/or zip code will be California liberal, and in some cases Bay Area liberal. Folsom, Roseville, Rocklin can as conservative as the Silicon Valley or Santa Rosa/Petaluma.
"Too hot" is totally a matter of perspective. Having moved here from Texas, I never find it too hot. But my clients that moved here from the Bay Area find the first summer miserable, then adjust and love it after that. Even in the heat of summer, if I find shade I'm good.
Kids sports play all summer.
I find the Bay Area too cold and windy. I'm always freezing there. But that's must my perspective. I think the weather here is awesome.
I think the Sacramento climate is awesome, and as mentioned, you get used to the heat. You really only get super hot weather for several days at a time in heatwaves, then it cools down. And there are some nice days even in summer (like mid-80s), even if others in the triple digits. But I think Chimerique is being modest -- it's even better than Oakland much of the rest of the year (except in winter). Half the year in Sacramento averages warmer than Oakland averages all year (from May through October), and it's way sunnier. Spending time strolling midtown on a beautiful Sunday morning, grabbing breakfast, walking through the parks -- it's a totally different city vibe than Oakland that I think you'll really like.
Colorado is supposed to be pretty nice, but I have heard from friends that the weather is pretty bad. It's also known for being sunny, but everyone has said it's a bit of a false stereotype. Plus it gets really really cold in Colorado in the winter. Wouldn't you rather pick oranges off the tree than shovel your sidewalk? :-)
After 22 years of living in the Bay Area (the last 11 in Oakland), we want to leave as it's just no longer affordable. We have thought about Colorado, but we have family here so want to stay somewhat local. Some friends recently moved to Sacramento and love it, and just bought a house for $325k. We know nothing about Sac besides driving through it on the way to Tahoe, and it has never appealed to me (always thought it was TOO HOT).
Can anyone give insight on the best, low-crime, family-friendly neighborhoods with good schools (we have a 7yo and 4yo), and house prices for around $400k? I have read about Roseville and Rocklin, but are the people mostly conservative? I will admit I like living in my progressive, liberal bubble, especially during current times. Fair Oaks looks nice and seems to have some good schools (and non-tract/cookie-cutter homes on larger lots). What about Citrus Heights?
What about the heat? Is it unbearable and can kids play sports outside in the summer or is it all water play during those months?
Thanks so much in advance!
In Carmichael, Fair Oaks or Citrus Heights schools will be hit or miss in areas with $400,000 houses. We live in Carmichael, our house cost 300k 2 and a half years ago. My son and his 5 year old live with us, the school designated for this area is horrible, it's so bad that we were going to put him in private school if he didn't get in a good school through open enrollment, but we got lucky and he's going to the best school in the district this fall. One of my friends lives in Fair Oaks but her kid's designated school is in Carmichael and is rated 3 which really sucks and her kid didn't place high enough in the open enrollment lottery to get him in a better school. This entire area seems rather apolitical most people don't talk politics and don't seem particularly interested in them.
If you consider buying a house, make sure you find out the school boundaries and check the schools online with a site like Great Schools Most of the Real Estate sites do not show the correct school boundaries so double check by calling the school district, or check their website.
I think the more liberal areas of Sac County would be in East Sacramento or South Land Park, but I don't know what 400k buys there any more and I don't know anything about the schools. Hopefully someone more familiar with that area than I am will be able to help you.
We love the weather, we have lots of trees in the yard which really cools it off, and Sacramento cools off at night. The heat doesn't seem to slow the kids down at all, our grandson plays outside all summer.
an affordable neighborhood in the City of Sacramento is Tahoe Park, perfect for young families. Google map Tahoe park, in Sacramento. The neighborhood surrounds a large park called, Tahoe park, next to it is an elementary school called Tahoe Park elementary school. The homes are $300k to $500k. Lots of trees, very diverse population. Close to the light rail (48th, 59th and 65th street stations). Easy 5 mins to midtown, 10 mins to downtown by car and you don't have to take the freeway to get downtown. Close enough to commute with a bike downtown, 20-30 minutes. Private schools nearby, public high school is Hiram Johnson.
Another neighborhood in City of Sacramento is Hollywood Park similar in price to Tahoe Park.
Curtis Park, Land Park, South Lank Park, Greenhaven, and The Pocket more pricy, nicer and bigger homes all in the The City of Sacramento. The Pocket is called the pocket because it's like a "pocket" or bend in the Sacramento River
Don't forget East Sac and West Sac, Rosemont, College Greens, La Riviera, La Riviera East and Butterfiled, all Sacramento addresses and all in that $400K price range except for East Sac. East Sac is more like $500k on up.
And then there is Oak Park....I'll let others pipe in on this neighborhood, excellent prices.
Lots of East Bay transplants here in the central city: East Sac, midtown, Oak Park, Curtis Park, Tahoe Park. Some of these areas will be out of your price range but you should check them out. The central city tends to be not as hot as some of the outlying areas because we have more trees and we have the delta breeze at night.
Roseville, Rocklin, Citrus Heights are all fairly conservative. Fair Oaks is a little more mixed. The central city is very liberal.
There are a lot of good schools in the central city but they won't necessarily be in the neighborhoods you can afford. We have a pretty robust open enrollment system here, and also a city-wide effort to boost schools with more parent involvement. (We live in midtown, my kids go to school in East Sac, and most of their friends live in Oak Park or Tahoe Park.)
I would look in Sacramento proper and see what you can afford. Skip the suburbs.
Weather: It will take time to adjust. The summers are hot, period. However the mornings are usually comfortable as are the summer nights
Conservative vs liberal: Roseville, Rocklin, El Dorado Hills, and Folsom are conservative. However, unless you absolutely feel the need to engage in conversations about politics I doubt you'll notice the difference except for political bumper stickers and yard signs around election time. One exception is Orangevale. People tend to stare if you aren't the regular bread and butter type person. My wife is Asian and I'm not and our children, of course, are mixed race. Maybe it's a novelty for some folks there and its not a glare but it does make one feel awkward. Skip it.
Schools: The above suburbs will have solid performing K-12 schools in most of the neighborhoods (Roseville, however, is more neighborhood specific vs the others). Sacramento has some high performing elementary and middle schools however they are in specific neighborhoods as opposed to most neighborhoods. It's similar to the situation that exists in the suburb we live in. Most neighborhood schools aren't high performing except in the neighborhood that we live in. Can't think of a public high school in Sacramento that is considered high performing compared to public high schools in the above suburbs. Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks do not have strong public schools and Carmichael is hit and miss depending on where you live.
Here's a link to look up specific schools. For example, our neighborhood school is Sunrise, Rancho Cordova:
Here's a link to look up by school district and you can sort by highest to lowest in terms of math or English proficiency. For example our school district is Elk Grove:
Crime: Some neighborhoods in Sac are unsafe others aren't. However most neighborhoods in Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Rocklin, and Roseville are low crime.
Charm: I love the tree canopy and non cookie cutter neighborhoods of East Sac and Land Park. Plus there are more dining options and cafes vs the common chain restaurants and ubiquitous Star Bucks found in the burbs. Although The Fountains in Roseville has good places to eat like Zocalo and The Yard House (yes, its a chain but nevertheless good food).
Weather: It will take time to adjust. The summers are hot, period. However the mornings are usually comfortable as are the summer nights
Conservative vs liberal: Roseville, Rocklin, El Dorado Hills, and Folsom are conservative. However, unless you absolutely feel the need to engage in conversations about politics I doubt you'll notice the difference except for political bumper stickers and yard signs around election time. One exception is Orangevale. People tend to stare if you aren't the regular bread and butter type person. My wife is Asian and I'm not and our children, of course, are mixed race. Maybe it's a novelty for some folks there and its not a glare but it does make one feel awkward. Skip it.
Crime: Some neighborhoods in Sac are unsafe others aren't. However most neighborhoods in Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Rocklin, and Roseville are low crime.
From someone whose lived in both SF and Sacramento.
Perspective....
Weather: 10 months out of the year, Sacramento weather is near identical to the Bay Area. For about 2 months out of year, Sac's temps from 2pm to 8pm will average 10 degrees warmer. Ever spend some time in Walnut Creek/Concord/Napa, Sacramento summer weather is very very similar to that. You will have to adjust to summer weather, make sure you have a good quiet, central A/C. Remember, the Bay Area is the odd man out as far as summer weather is concerned as it is unusually cool/cold, most of the rest of the USA has normal warm/hot summer weather like Sacramento.
Conservative vs. liberal: Most of the City of Sacramento is very liberal, a few neighborhoods are on the level of Berkeley liberal. Davis is very liberal. The rest of Sacramento County is liberal to moderate. Folsom is moderate. Orangevale is Sacramento's version of Petaluma on the conservative spectrum. I've walked down streets in the avenues in SF and got stared out because I'm not Asian, and same with streets in Oakland because I'm not black. It was an uncomfortable feeling, maybe it's the novelty for some folks not expecting a non-asian or non-black person walking in their neighborhood. Orangevale is very suburban and mostly moderate to large homes with big yards, if you are a stranger in a well-kept "neighborhood-watch" suburban neighborhood you might get stared at.
The last 6 mayors of Sacramento have all been very LIBERAL and I'm sure before them the mayors were democrats.
Current Mayor - Darrell Steinberg - Liberal Democrat, White Jewish man from the SF Peninsula (Millbrae, Burlingame. San Bruno) grew up in Millbrae, graduated San Bruno High, grew up attending Burlingame's Temple Shalom(Synagogue). His wife is the Cantor at Sacramento's Congregation B'nai Israel. Sternberg is a UCLA undergrad, UC Davis Law School Grad, For 4 years Sternberg was the Senate Pro Temp of the Democratically controlled California Senate. Mental health advocate, Environmentalist.
Kevin Johnson - Liberal Democrat, Young Black man, graduated UC Berkeley, married an Asian woman, Sacramento Native. NBA star-player.
Heather Fargo - Liberal Democrat - White Woman, - UC Davis grad, grew-up in Stockton, Gun Control, and Environmentalist.
Joe Serna - Liberal Democrat - Latino Man, grew-up in migrant labor camps in Lodi, born in Stockton, Farm Worker Activist, Sacramento State Grad, Peace Corp.
Anne Rudin - Liberal Democrat - Catholic white woman from Philadelphia, Nurse, Activist, Environmentalist.
And then we have - Jerry Brown - Liberal Democrat, Not our Mayor, but our Governor, Long time Sacramento resident, San Francisco native, Catholic St. Ignatius HS, Undergrad College at: Catholic - Santa Clara University and UC Berkeley, Yale Law school grad. Started political career as a Los Angeles Community College Board member.
Sacramento is liberal to the Core. :-)
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