Moving to Sacramento: which neighborhoods to look for housing and school for families? (Oak Park: apartment complexes, rent)

[SunMoonEarth]

Hi Sacramento folks

We are moving to Sacramento in about 3 months or so. We are looking for housing and school for a family of three (our boy is 3 yrs old). I want a place around 15 minutes (by car) from my workplace (near Gateway center). Our budget is around $1500/month for housing and $1000 for childcare.

What are the safe areas with good schools that you guys would recommend? We're looking at the North Natomas, South Land Park, Land Park, Curtis Park, North Oak Park and East Sac because of the low crime rate and reasonable commute time to work but not sure about the school qualities in those areas.

By the way I’d rather use public transport or carpool for work. Is there any legit website or forum for finding carpool to work?

We’re finding a decent used car too (~ $15K-16K). What reputable dealer would you recommend?

Greatly appreciate any input anyone might have.

[Robertfchew]

Originally Posted by SunMoonEarth

Hi Sacramento folks

We are moving to Sacramento in about 3 months or so. We are looking for housing and school for a family of three (our boy is 3 yrs old). I want a place around 15 minutes (by car) from my workplace (near Gateway center). Our budget is around $1500/month for housing and $1000 for childcare.

What are the safe areas with good schools that you guys would recommend? We're looking at the North Natomas, South Land Park, Land Park, Curtis Park, North Oak Park and East Sac because of the low crime rate and reasonable commute time to work but not sure about the school qualities in those areas.

By the way I’d rather use public transport or carpool for work. Is there any legit website or forum for finding carpool to work?

We’re finding a decent used car too (~ $15K-16K). What reputable dealer would you recommend?

Greatly appreciate any input anyone might have.

All these neighborhoods are good but near bad areas. Rent might be tough depending on what your standards are.

For a car I would check the yelp reviews and make sure it is a real dealer not some shady place off howe avenue

[SunMoonEarth]

Originally Posted by Robertfchew

All these neighborhoods are good but near bad areas. Rent might be tough depending on what your standards are.

For a car I would check the yelp reviews and make sure it is a real dealer not some shady place off howe avenue

Thank you! If it were you, which neighborhood would you choose?


We don't have any specific requirement for housing: 2-bedroom, dishwasher, off-street parking or gated if possible

[mikefong123]

Rent has gotten out of control in Sacramento. And it is very competitive at this moment. Best to check property management's website to see if there are competitive price range in an area you are interested in.


When it comes to buying car, I would go with buying from a private person vs dealer if you have the patience to hunt for a deal. There is only 1 car dealer I would deal with. Hertz Car Sales. They have the best and most competitive prices when I was thinking about buying another used car.

[SunMoonEarth]

Originally Posted by mikefong123

Rent has gotten out of control in Sacramento. And it is very competitive at this moment. Best to check property management's website to see if there are competitive price range in an area you are interested in.


When it comes to buying car, I would go with buying from a private person vs dealer if you have the patience to hunt for a deal. There is only 1 car dealer I would deal with. Hertz Car Sales. They have the best and most competitive prices when I was thinking about buying another used car.

Thank you!


I read about roaches problem in Sac. Is that big of a deal? Should I be worried about that?

[FelixTheCat]

the area where you are working in the n sac area is generally not a good area. your budget could get you a 2 bed apartment, but houses would probably be higher. i don't know the area that well. the closest area that is better than north sac, would be west sac. that would be a short commute. south sac has more rough areas. the cities just east of downtown are generally better...east sac, and the 2 or 3 cities to the east. getting as far as rancho cordova may be too far. Also, make sure you have decent freeway access the further east you go. the positive side is sacramento has a ton of apartment complexes, especially outside of the urban area.

[SunMoonEarth]

Originally Posted by FelixTheCat

the area where you are working in the n sac area is generally not a good area. your budget could get you a 2 bed apartment, but houses would probably be higher. i don't know the area that well. the closest area that is better than north sac, would be west sac. that would be a short commute. south sac has more rough areas. the cities just east of downtown are generally better...east sac, and the 2 or 3 cities to the east. getting as far as rancho cordova may be too far. Also, make sure you have decent freeway access the further east you go. the positive side is sacramento has a ton of apartment complexes, especially outside of the urban area.

That is very helpful. We are thinking about Southport of West Sac too. I read that area is getting better and better

[FelixTheCat]

Originally Posted by SunMoonEarth

Thank you!


I read about roaches problem in Sac. Is that big of a deal? Should I be worried about that?

i've never heard of anyone having roaches. in northern ca, I've only seen roaches in either dense downtown areas or commercial buildings. I've never had a roach at home. I don't think it's common. Maybe in poorly maintained apartment buildings, but that's just a guess.

[FelixTheCat]

Originally Posted by SunMoonEarth

That is very helpful. We are thinking about Southport of West Sac too. I read that area is getting better and better

It's probably good, if it looks that way to you. I don't know that specific area, since I live to the east. I gave generalities of the overall areas. But the good and bad areas can be a little patchy. The really consistently nice area are farther east in el dorado county, but the commute is kind of far and the prices are much higher. It takes some time living here to get better ideas of the good and bad areas in the entire county. But if you find a decent area close to work for your budget, then you have most things going for you.

[SunMoonEarth]

Originally Posted by FelixTheCat

It's probably good, if it looks that way to you. I don't know that specific area, since I live to the east. I gave generalities of the overall areas. But the good and bad areas can be a little patchy. The really consistently nice area are farther east in el dorado county, but the commute is kind of far and the prices are much higher. It takes some time living here to get better ideas of the good and bad areas in the entire county. But if you find a decent area close to work for your budget, then you have most things going for you.

Thank you! Is that true that crime rate in East Sac is much lower than in Sac? As we're from a pretty small town in the northwest, it will take us some time to get used to life in a big city.