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.
OP, I'm not from Sac, so I have nothing invested in this discussion either way. I'm wondering to what extent your difficulties meeting "good" people are due in part to simply being new to the place. Did you find it easier in the other cities you've lived in? I'm also wondering what "granular" means in this context.
Homelessness, unfortunately, is a growing issue all over the US, but especially on the West Coast, because of the mild weather. I think some serious studies need to be done on this issue, because the huge volume of homelessness can't possibly be all due to substance abuse or mental illness. I think it must be a symptom of deeper ills in society, like huge shifts in the economy/employment trends, skyrocketing housing costs in some markets, etc., and as such, should be addressed constructively. But that's a topic for another thread.
Your positives sound very intriguing. Almost motivate me to visit Sac! And I've heard they have a great Russian restaurant or two--worth a visit to Sac, just for that.
Hi there. Being new to a place is fun in some ways. I have met people here in Sac, but they are drug addicts or turn out to be very bizarre. For example, when I 1st came here, I rented a 2nd bedroom from a woman in Citrus Heights. She seemed perfectly normal, but in the mornings, I would find, she would wipe herself on the bathroom hand towel, leaving a foul brown stain.
I thought she was just a one off, but it turns out, bizarre verging on hostile behavior isnt unusual here in Sac.
I was mugged for the 1st time in my life here (on my birthday).
Ive been threatened twice not to call police or the person in question would get me arrested by claiming a hate crime, "I'll tell the police you called me the 'n word'".
About meeting people. I stayed in Elko, NV for 6 weeks last year. I became friendly with 2 of the women who worked at the hotel where I stayed and exchanged Christmas cards last Dec. I havent met a single person I would send a Christmas card to in Sacramento and I'm not expecting anyone here even knows what Christmas cards are.
Years ago, when I 1st came to CA, I stayed in Pasadena for 6 months. I didnt know anyone and found people werent too friendly. But then I moved to Venice and met people right off the bat.
So, basically, I find, it depends where you are, even in the same county. Maybe there is a section of Sacramento where the people are friendlier? They say the people make the place and I've discovered that is very true.
The homelessness is in part because CA law makers passed a law, so that landlords can not ask for an additional deposit for high risk renters.
This law sounded like they were looking out for us, but, it was in fact a money maker designed for the insurance companies to have a boon.
Now that renters can not "insure" themselves with landlords, the insurance companies offer bond contracts, insuring the rental agreement.
The insurance company sets the guidelines by which they will allow a renter to rent. So if you had an eviction in 2008, they will not rent to you, even if your circumstances have changed.
Add insult to injury, the same law makers, create homelessness programs paid for by us, to "fight" homelessness that their laws have helped to create in the first place.
CA law makers need to make it easy for LL to evict non paying tenants and make it so that LL can ask for additional deposits for high risk renters. This would make it easier for people to rent apartments in the first place because LL wouldnt have to worry about bad tenants.
I had to buy a condo here because I could not rent an apartment. Not everyone is so lucky.
We are moving to the area in a few months - are these issues you are describing prevalent in the actual city of Sacramento or do they overflow into the suburbs as well? I've been researching the Rocklin/Roseville areas and I haven't seen one negative thing about that area. This post makes me wary.
We are moving to the area in a few months - are these issues you are describing prevalent in the actual city of Sacramento or do they overflow into the suburbs as well? I've been researching the Rocklin/Roseville areas and I haven't seen one negative thing about that area. This post makes me wary.
Pick your zip code wisely but your choices are a function of your finances. Just visited Rocklin earlier this week accompanying my wife to a dentist appointment. It is absolutely spectacular. I personally wouldn't want to live there because of where I am at this point in my life and having done the Folsom thing (similar) but Rocklin appears to be a great place to raise of family. Roseville/Granite Bay is nice too.
I think the OPs review is anecdotal in nature, but there are things we can all agree on. Certainly, the homeless problem is a massive issue that city leadership is more than aware of and something we need to address. Since I have lived in a lot of good weather big cities, it personally doesn't bother me that much but I can attest to the fact that it is much more noticeable here than it should be. I'm not sure what the solution is outside of giving people free bus tickets to anywhere they want in the country.
Sacramento for me has been good compared to LA. While not the value it once was, it's still much more affordable to live here than other major California cities. I really love it's proximity to so many great places, and since I like to snowboard it's a great place for me to live given it's proximity to Tahoe. While I agree that the people could be a bit friendlier, I think it's really tough to expect that in a larger anonymous city. Building friendships is often what you make of it and I learned that when I first moved out west from the east coast.
As far as contracting costs are concerned, I am hoping its not too outrageous as I am buying property that requires minor fixes (new flooring, painting, etc.). It does hurt that we share a labor pool with the bay area for this type of stuff which is surely making it less affordable.
I think long term Sacramento would have a better culture if they tried to make the community more professional. It's still too much of a government town and is not home to a single Fortune 1000 employer. To me, that's a bit of a red flag. Cities tend to dramatically improve with the higher percentage of white collar jobs they attract and I just don't see the mayor doing a great job emphasizing that. Hopefully that will change.
It sounds like you live in one of the weird areas of Natomas. I've lived in Midtown and East Sac and have met some awesome people. Seems like you've made up your mind on Sac though so I won't bother to discuss it further. FYI, next time you do a 'review' don't generalize millions of people, by calling them all bizarre or drug addicts, based on your small experience. Not a good look.
You are saying a metro of 2.4 million people does not have any quality contractors or medical professionals? UCDavis Med Center offers some of the best Cancer and Pain treatment in the entire state and in fact has a great reputation throughout the entire country.
And Ethnicities don't mix here? Considering almost everyone is of mixed ethnicity, here, I'm not sure that's even possible. Ironically, you're from New York City, which is known for strong, ethnic neighborhoods that are predominantly limited to one particular culture.
Not trying to hammer on you, but the most of the analogies you made were too subjective to really be taken seriously. Your point on the homeless was probably the only objective point you made, and I agree on that one.
I think the OPs review is anecdotal in nature, but there are things we can all agree on. Certainly, the homeless problem is a massive issue that city leadership is more than aware of and something we need to address. Since I have lived in a lot of good weather big cities, it personally doesn't bother me that much but I can attest to the fact that it is much more noticeable here than it should be. I'm not sure what the solution is outside of giving people free bus tickets to anywhere they want in the country.
Sacramento for me has been good compared to LA. While not the value it once was, it's still much more affordable to live here than other major California cities. I really love it's proximity to so many great places, and since I like to snowboard it's a great place for me to live given it's proximity to Tahoe. While I agree that the people could be a bit friendlier, I think it's really tough to expect that in a larger anonymous city. Building friendships is often what you make of it and I learned that when I first moved out west from the east coast.
As far as contracting costs are concerned, I am hoping its not too outrageous as I am buying property that requires minor fixes (new flooring, painting, etc.). It does hurt that we share a labor pool with the bay area for this type of stuff which is surely making it less affordable.
I think long term Sacramento would have a better culture if they tried to make the community more professional. It's still too much of a government town and is not home to a single Fortune 1000 employer. To me, that's a bit of a red flag. Cities tend to dramatically improve with the higher percentage of white collar jobs they attract and I just don't see the mayor doing a great job emphasizing that. Hopefully that will change.
Sac is probably the only place I've ever been where people continually strike up a conversation with me out of nowhere. People are more easy going here than in any other west coast city I've been to.
Sac is probably the only place I've ever been where people continually strike up a conversation with me out of nowhere. People are more easy going here than in any other west coast city I've been to.
I think that's because you are just looking at west coast cities. In general I'd rank all west coast cities on the low end with respect to friendliness. Certainly not as bad as the northeast, but not too far behind. I've found people in Oregon to be overtly friendly but really nowhere else.
I grew up in the Atlanta area and the southeast is by far the friendliest place to live in the country (even if it's sometimes not genuine/passive aggressive).
I moved here to Sacramento 3.5 years ago and found this very interesting. You and I have had vastly different experiences.
1) While I make an effort to fix most things myself, we've found a quality plumber, excellent appliance repair (and sales), a great realtor, and some other good services. We make use of the Nextdoor site for recommendations and have had great luck with that.
2) While some of our neighbors are a bit quiet and reserved, we definitely have several to are helpful and friendly. We've been fortunate to have met some great people through a variety of avenues (our church, kids' activities, etc.). They have watched my kids, helped us move, brought us meals, connected us to great activities in the community, etc.
3)There's a lot of homeless, yes. I don't know if I would say it's "beyond belief" as the west coast in general has a large homeless population due to mild weather. More importantly, I see a lot of help for the homeless, such as nurses who go out to them to check on them and vets who treat their animals.
4) Healthcare has been great for us. I have one kid with a chronic illness and we've been pleased with his care and with the options we have here for him. Our family docs have been great. I've had two babies since moving to the area and am pleased with the choices I had and with the experiences I had as well. I have had some trouble finding docs who are accepting new patients. We've mostly used Sutter, but I have some friends who love UCD.
5) I'm not clear on what you're looking for when you complain of diversity issues. There are numerous ethnic clubs and organizations. I've been to some ethnic festivals that have been great fun. Many people are made up of numerous ethnicities, just like you, and some identify strongly with one or several while others don't have any interest in ethnic stuff at all.
There are definitely some negatives to living in Sacramento and there are some places I would rather be living than here. But I'm pretty intrigued by our differring experiences.
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.
