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I was wondering if anyone has experience with these 2 cities.
In specific I am wondering about climate and months of activity.
In phoenix there's about 4 months where you cannot go outside. I was wondering if Sacramento has more, or less, good days to go golf, bike, dog park, hike, etc. compared to phoenix.
Also: a friend of mine said he lived in Sacramento for 8 months in 2004 and said his personal opinion was the city was a bit boring for him, compared to his home in Raleigh, and his other place of residence in Toronto. Is sac a more slower/sleepy city?
I lived in Phoenix while attending grad school at ASU. I've never lived in Sacramento, but have spent most of my life in Northern California and have visited frequently so can speak about the cities.
-Activity - Phoenix area is about 2x the size of Sacramento, so its naturally going to have more of everything. I've gone out in Sacramento (mid-town) and of course Phoenix (Scottsdale and Tempe). I'd say that the nightlife in Phoenix (Scottsdale in particular) blows away anything in Sacramento. Its not even close. Phoenix also has 4 professional sports teams vs Sacramento's 1. If you're talking the metro area, there's just a lot more to do in/near Phoenix. That said, Sacramento isn't far from SF, Napa Valley or Lake Tahoe, so there's better options for weekend road trips (although Sedona / Grand Canyon are pretty nice). Otherwise, there are just more options in Phoenix when considering jobs, direct flights from the airport or other aspects of major cities.
-Weather - I agree that from June - Sept, Phoenix weather is miserable. If you're going to go hiking/running, better do it very early in the morning (before 8am). If you're outdoors, you want to be in a pool. If you're having dinner outdoors, you'll want misters spraying on you for more comfort. Phoenix does get cool thunderstorms during the monsoon season though. Sacramento's summertime is much better. Even when its hot, its very pleasant in the evenings to sit outside. I think the rest of the year, Phoenix has better weather. Spring and fall in Phoenix tends to be warm to hot (not terribly hot) and dry. Its perfect. Winter in Phoenix is mild to warm and mostly dry, with an occasional rain shower. You can be in shorts frequently and almost always in t-shirts. If it gets chilly, its only for a couple days. In Sacramento, fall and spring are variable. It can range from chilly/rainy to warm and sunny. It can be very nice or chilly. In the wintertime, it also varies but has become warmer and drier as of late. It can be cold and rainy or cold and foggy most of the day. Nowadays, its more frequent there will be mild/warm dry days for an extended period in the winter. Overall, I prefer Phoenix's weather as its nicer for 8 months out of the year. However, some people do not because those 4 months are much more extreme than anything they'd experience in Sacramento.
Sacramento is not as hot as Phoenix, and has a lot of street trees, which makes going out in the hot weather slightly less horrific--with the notable exception of fire season, like what's happening right now. Golfing might not be that advisable on the hottest of days, I suppose, but I'm not sure how tree-shaded our golf courses are. And our nights are a lot more comfortable, due to the Delta breeze, so during the summer months there's a lot more late-night activity.
Regarding your friend, where did they live in Sacramento? Out in a far-out suburb, or in the city itself? In a relatively happening neighborhood like Midtown, or out in one of the residential areas like Natomas? Having never been to Raleigh it's hard to judge, but in Sacramento there are a few select parts of the city where there are more things happening and the rest of the region is pretty quiet. Also, Sacramento has a lot going on under the surface--often it's hard to find out what's happening here, because things are kind of spread out, and because we have that long-held reputation of being quiet and sleepy, people sometimes literally do not believe that events and things happen here even with presented with evidence to the contrary. But if you take the time to seek things out, you'll never be bored here.
I lived in Phoenix while attending grad school at ASU. I've never lived in Sacramento, but have spent most of my life in Northern California and have visited frequently so can speak about the cities.
-Activity - Phoenix area is about 2x the size of Sacramento, so its naturally going to have more of everything. I've gone out in Sacramento (mid-town) and of course Phoenix (Scottsdale and Tempe). I'd say that the nightlife in Phoenix (Scottsdale in particular) blows away anything in Sacramento. Its not even close. Phoenix also has 4 professional sports teams vs Sacramento's 1. If you're talking the metro area, there's just a lot more to do in/near Phoenix. That said, Sacramento isn't far from SF, Napa Valley or Lake Tahoe, so there's better options for weekend road trips (although Sedona / Grand Canyon are pretty nice). Otherwise, there are just more options in Phoenix when considering jobs, direct flights from the airport or other aspects of major cities.
-Weather - I agree that from June - Sept, Phoenix weather is miserable. If you're going to go hiking/running, better do it very early in the morning (before 8am). If you're outdoors, you want to be in a pool. If you're having dinner outdoors, you'll want misters spraying on you for more comfort. Phoenix does get cool thunderstorms during the monsoon season though. Sacramento's summertime is much better. Even when its hot, its very pleasant in the evenings to sit outside. I think the rest of the year, Phoenix has better weather. Spring and fall in Phoenix tends to be warm to hot (not terribly hot) and dry. Its perfect. Winter in Phoenix is mild to warm and mostly dry, with an occasional rain shower. You can be in shorts frequently and almost always in t-shirts. If it gets chilly, its only for a couple days. In Sacramento, fall and spring are variable. It can range from chilly/rainy to warm and sunny. It can be very nice or chilly. In the wintertime, it also varies but has become warmer and drier as of late. It can be cold and rainy or cold and foggy most of the day. Nowadays, its more frequent there will be mild/warm dry days for an extended period in the winter. Overall, I prefer Phoenix's weather as its nicer for 8 months out of the year. However, some people do not because those 4 months are much more extreme than anything they'd experience in Sacramento.
correction above,
Sac does not only have 1 professional team. They have 3:
Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Republic FC
Sacramento River Cats
I lived in Phoenix while attending grad school at ASU. I've never lived in Sacramento, but have spent most of my life in Northern California and have visited frequently so can speak about the cities.
-Activity - Phoenix area is about 2x the size of Sacramento, so its naturally going to have more of everything. I've gone out in Sacramento (mid-town) and of course Phoenix (Scottsdale and Tempe). I'd say that the nightlife in Phoenix (Scottsdale in particular) blows away anything in Sacramento. Its not even close. Phoenix also has 4 professional sports teams vs Sacramento's 1. If you're talking the metro area, there's just a lot more to do in/near Phoenix. That said, Sacramento isn't far from SF, Napa Valley or Lake Tahoe, so there's better options for weekend road trips (although Sedona / Grand Canyon are pretty nice). Otherwise, there are just more options in Phoenix when considering jobs, direct flights from the airport or other aspects of major cities.
-Weather - I agree that from June - Sept, Phoenix weather is miserable. If you're going to go hiking/running, better do it very early in the morning (before 8am). If you're outdoors, you want to be in a pool. If you're having dinner outdoors, you'll want misters spraying on you for more comfort. Phoenix does get cool thunderstorms during the monsoon season though. Sacramento's summertime is much better. Even when its hot, its very pleasant in the evenings to sit outside. I think the rest of the year, Phoenix has better weather. Spring and fall in Phoenix tends to be warm to hot (not terribly hot) and dry. Its perfect. Winter in Phoenix is mild to warm and mostly dry, with an occasional rain shower. You can be in shorts frequently and almost always in t-shirts. If it gets chilly, its only for a couple days. In Sacramento, fall and spring are variable. It can range from chilly/rainy to warm and sunny. It can be very nice or chilly. In the wintertime, it also varies but has become warmer and drier as of late. It can be cold and rainy or cold and foggy most of the day. Nowadays, its more frequent there will be mild/warm dry days for an extended period in the winter. Overall, I prefer Phoenix's weather as its nicer for 8 months out of the year. However, some people do not because those 4 months are much more extreme than anything they'd experience in Sacramento.
Do not underestimate the nightly cool off into the 60s in the Sacramento area.
In Phoenix, when it never goes below 90 for 3 months, it makes for a whole different experience with many things. One big thing is that if you live in a house built by cheapskates, the pipes are not buried deep enough and you will not have cold water in the summer. Sorta/kinda/maybe/not-totally warm or cool, but not cold. This should be illegal, in my opinion.
You wake up here at 6-7am, and it's already 95. In Sacramento, it'll still be plenty cool. Here, it's hot round the clock. Not face meltingly hot overnight and early morning, but definitely not a 'cool morning to run' or a 'cool evening to dine outside'. It's hot during the day, and very warm overnight.
Disclaimer, this is not a complaint from me (aside from the cheapskate home builders). I don't mind the summer here in Phoenix, as my body type is built for it. But there are those who will have a hard time without cold/cool evening/overnight/morning periods for so long.
I was wondering if anyone has experience with these 2 cities.
In specific I am wondering about climate and months of activity.
In phoenix there's about 4 months where you cannot go outside. I was wondering if Sacramento has more, or less, good days to go golf, bike, dog park, hike, etc. compared to phoenix.
Also: a friend of mine said he lived in Sacramento for 8 months in 2004 and said his personal opinion was the city was a bit boring for him, compared to his home in Raleigh, and his other place of residence in Toronto. Is sac a more slower/sleepy city?
I know both well. Sacramento definitely has better weather on average that Phoenix. Phoenix has 6 months of miserable weather in my opinion. Sacramento has pretty brutal weather for about 10 weeks in Summer and there are maybe 4-5 weeks in Winter where it can be a little wet and cool, but the rest of the time the weather is pretty great.
Phoenix has more to do in the city metro itself, but that's it. There's nowhere else really to go. Sacramento is surrounded by amazing places to visit with 2-3 hours. Napa, San Fran, Ocean, Monterey, Tahoe, etc. etc.
As for the comparison with Raleigh and Toronto. Raleigh is one of the most boring cities I've ever spent time in, way more going on in Sacramento than Raleigh. Sac is also about twice the size of Raleigh. In terms of Toronto it's a massive city, difficult to compare with Sac. Although it is one of the most overrated big cities I've ever visited.
I know both well. Sacramento definitely has better weather on average that Phoenix. Phoenix has 6 months of miserable weather in my opinion. Sacramento has pretty brutal weather for about 10 weeks in Summer and there are maybe 4-5 weeks in Winter where it can be a little wet and cool, but the rest of the time the weather is pretty great.
Phoenix has more to do in the city metro itself, but that's it. There's nowhere else really to go. Sacramento is surrounded by amazing places to visit with 2-3 hours. Napa, San Fran, Ocean, Monterey, Tahoe, etc. etc.
As for the comparison with Raleigh and Toronto. Raleigh is one of the most boring cities I've ever spent time in, way more going on in Sacramento than Raleigh. Sac is also about twice the size of Raleigh. In terms of Toronto it's a massive city, difficult to compare with Sac. Although it is one of the most overrated big cities I've ever visited.
But within a 2 to 3 hour drive you can be at the beach, mountains, another State, a variety of cities with a lot to do if in Raleigh.
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