Where should a young single professional (25-40) live? (San Francisco, Sacramento: rent, condos)

[shelato]

In another thread you were asking about forests and nature in the area, but rather than hijack that thread, I will answer it here, with your other questions about Sacramento.


Along the rivers and some of the creeks, you will find riparian woodlands, mostly oak woodlands, but some Cottonwood, some vines. If you explore the area more, their is more stuff to see. Under the Yolo Causeway their are these huge bat colonies . The Consumnes River is wild river that creates these huge wetlands in the Spring with all kinds of birds that show up their because its part of the Pacific flyway. Sacramento is also in the middle of the Central Valley, but its between two mountain ranges. The Coastal Mountains aren't as tall, but they get more of a marine layer and more fog, so depending go along the Coastal Range. You can find pretty huge Redwood forests within say an 1:30-2 hour drive. Sacramento is closer to the foot of the Sierra Nevada Range. Below 3500 feet its more oak woodland, but as you go further up it transitions more toward a mixture of fir and pine forests. You can also find groves of Giant Sequoias in the Sierras and again you can reach them by car in less than 2 hours.

[TinyDancer2020]

Originally Posted by shelato

In another thread you were asking about forests and nature in the area, but rather than hijack that thread, I will answer it here, with your other questions about Sacramento.


Along the rivers and some of the creeks, you will find riparian woodlands, mostly oak woodlands, but some Cottonwood, some vines. If you explore the area more, their is more stuff to see. Under the Yolo Causeway their are these huge bat colonies . The Consumnes River is wild river that creates these huge wetlands in the Spring with all kinds of birds that show up their because its part of the Pacific flyway. Sacramento is also in the middle of the Central Valley, but its between two mountain ranges. The Coastal Mountains aren't as tall, but they get more of a marine layer and more fog, so depending go along the Coastal Range. You can find pretty huge Redwood forests within say an 1:30-2 hour drive. Sacramento is closer to the foot of the Sierra Nevada Range. Below 3500 feet its more oak woodland, but as you go further up it transitions more toward a mixture of fir and pine forests. You can also find groves of Giant Sequoias in the Sierras and again you can reach them by car in less than 2 hours.

Thanks for that great info! I gotta Google those places.
Is there any nature/parks with trees nears downtown or midtown?

Basically anywhere green within the city limits I guess.

[wburg]

Originally Posted by TinyDancer2020

Thanks for that great info! I gotta Google those places.
Is there any nature/parks with trees nears downtown or midtown?

Basically anywhere green within the city limits I guess.

I take it you haven't been here before? Sacramento has a lot of really great parks, and we're semi-legendary for our urban tree canopy. Downtown/midtown is only about 5% of the city, but there are a lot of parks right in the grid and immediately around it: Sutter's Landing and Discovery Park along the American River, Southside and Capitol Park are large urban parks within the grid, plus a dozen or so one-block or smaller parks throughout the grid (Winn, Grant, Cesar Chavez Plaza, Zapata, Fremont, Matsui, Truitt, etc.) Just outside the grid or within a few minutes' bike ride are Miller Park Marina, McKinley, McClatchy, William Curtis and William Land Parks, and the Old City Cemetery (which is a landscaped park.) But even most of the neighborhoods in Midtown are tree-lined to such a degree that from above the city looks like a forest with buildings poking out. Once you get out into the adjoining neighborhoods like Land Park and East Sacramento the tree cover is even greater. One of our nicknames is "City of Trees" although some don't like it because there are other cities with that nickname.

[TinyDancer2020]

Originally Posted by wburg

I take it you haven't been here before? Sacramento has a lot of really great parks, and we're semi-legendary for our urban tree canopy. Downtown/midtown is only about 5% of the city, but there are a lot of parks right in the grid and immediately around it: Sutter's Landing and Discovery Park along the American River, Southside and Capitol Park are large urban parks within the grid, plus a dozen or so one-block or smaller parks throughout the grid (Winn, Grant, Cesar Chavez Plaza, Zapata, Fremont, Matsui, Truitt, etc.) Just outside the grid or within a few minutes' bike ride are Miller Park Marina, McKinley, McClatchy, William Curtis and William Land Parks, and the Old City Cemetery (which is a landscaped park.) But even most of the neighborhoods in Midtown are tree-lined to such a degree that from above the city looks like a forest with buildings poking out. Once you get out into the adjoining neighborhoods like Land Park and East Sacramento the tree cover is even greater. One of our nicknames is "City of Trees" although some don't like it because there are other cities with that nickname.

Wow that's a lot! I just saw some videos. They look awesome!
Are there some areas of Sacramento I should avoid at night? or just avoid in general for that matter.

[Damnitjanet]

I don't know if you are a guy or a girl, but the homeless situation is pretty bad downtown/midtown and as a single woman I don't feel real safe walking around by myself downtown after dark and sometimes during the day. I have just had too many weird guys ask/threaten me for money. So I would look at either East Sac or Campus Commons. I also think Folsom or Roseville might also be much better choices.

[TinyDancer2020]

Originally Posted by Damnitjanet

I don't know if you are a guy or a girl, but the homeless situation is pretty bad downtown/midtown and as a single woman I don't feel real safe walking around by myself downtown after dark and sometimes during the day. I have just had too many weird guys ask/threaten me for money. So I would look at either East Sac or Campus Commons. I also think Folsom or Roseville might also be much better choices.

Is Midtown bad at night too?

[Damnitjanet]

Originally Posted by TinyDancer2020

Is Midtown bad at night too?

I am a girl. I don't feel comfortable walking around there alone after dark. The issue is just the huge number of mentally ill/homeless people in the area. Most are just dealing with their own demons, but some are pretty aggressive. Some seem to be asking for money, but some seem to be asking the way the mafia does, where there is an element of extortion involved, where they may key your car, after you leave if you don't give them cash, if you are a guy and if your female the real aggressive pan handlers will start following you, they will get in your personal space or just call you a b*tch, stuff like that. If I was with other girls or with I would feel less worried. But in general its not a place I feel comfortable alone after dark. Its not Folsom. Its not Roseville. Its not Campus Commons.

[wburg]

TinyDancer2020 wants a neighborhood near a lot of nightlife, ideally one that is still active at 3 AM, so I assume they have a little bit of risk tolerance, because there's really no such thing as a neighborhood that is safe and crime-free but also has tons of nightlife (drunk driving, fights, vandalism, robberies etc. are part and parcel of any nightlife district)--those neighborhoods also tend to draw homeless folks because there are people there. East Sac and Campus Commons are safe and quiet but don't have much in the way of nightlife. I suppose being male and having been here long enough that I know a lot of the street folks makes me more comfortable with the central city, but I'd feel safer walking around here at night than Campus Commons where I don't know my way around. Familiarity and awareness are sometimes bigger factors than the overall safety of the neighborhood--but for a neighborhood with nightlife in the United States, Midtown is fairly safe.

[TinyDancer2020]

Originally Posted by wburg

TinyDancer2020 wants a neighborhood near a lot of nightlife, ideally one that is still active at 3 AM, so I assume they have a little bit of risk tolerance, because there's really no such thing as a neighborhood that is safe and crime-free but also has tons of nightlife (drunk driving, fights, vandalism, robberies etc. are part and parcel of any nightlife district)--those neighborhoods also tend to draw homeless folks because there are people there. East Sac and Campus Commons are safe and quiet but don't have much in the way of nightlife. I suppose being male and having been here long enough that I know a lot of the street folks makes me more comfortable with the central city, but I'd feel safer walking around here at night than Campus Commons where I don't know my way around. Familiarity and awareness are sometimes bigger factors than the overall safety of the neighborhood--but for a neighborhood with nightlife in the United States, Midtown is fairly safe.

I don't mind like fights etc...just not murders and homicides etc. Like I know there are areas that are dangerous. I'm more interested in downtown/midtown. I know it's not like NYC or Vegas where it is like a 24/7 area, but I keep hearing that is dark and after a certain time, maybe 6p.m it starts getting scary?

[shelato]

Originally Posted by TinyDancer2020

I don't mind like fights etc...just not murders and homicides etc. Like I know there are areas that are dangerous. I'm more interested in downtown/midtown. I know it's not like NYC or Vegas where it is like a 24/7 area, but I keep hearing that is dark and after a certain time, maybe 6p.m it starts getting scary?

Where are you moving from? In general, California has a problem with homelessness and its getting worse just about everywhere in the State. I think the problem is worse today than 5 years ago and I think the homeless problem was better 10 years ago than it was five years ago, I can't say that there is any region in Sacramento that doesn't have issues with homelessness, but its most acute in the Sacramento area, in the Grid basically downtown and midtown.

Where ever you have homeless people you are going to have the problems associated with homeless people, think urine, feces and needles. The needle situation downtown is bad enough where a coworker who lives downtown, that he now carries nitrile gloves and pliers in his cycling rescue kit because he is worried about the bio-hazard of removing used needles from his bike tires when gets flats riding downtown. Most of the homeless are just dealing with some combination of mental illness/drug use and are mostly harmless. But a few are aggressive. Along the bike trails closer to downtown are numerous fairly extensive homeless encampments. along the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail, between the California Almond Growers Exchange Building and the American River bike trail, I don't think I have been through that area without seeing at least 50 or 60 tents. On both sides of the American River downstream of I 80 to the Sacramento River, there is probably 400 or 500 homeless people on both sides of the American River. It would be a pretty place to run along the river if you didn't have to worry about stepping in human feces or needles. Along the Sacramento River you don't have quite the density of homelessness, but you do have them under the freeway overpasses and just spread through out the grid.

I do thing the homeless problem is worse in Berkeley and San Francisco than Sacramento and also that its worse Downtown LA or Santa Monica than Sacramento. But I would say compared to the rest of the country the homeless problem seems worse for a similarly sized city in California, than in similar sized cities in other States.