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If you are into early 20th century California architecture then Davis is not the most interesting place by far. Even in Yolo County I would assume that Woodland should be a more interesting place in this regard. Davis was not a significant place until the University Farm came there. after that, slowly but surely Woodland started losing that local competition.
Sounds great to me! I'm definitely not a midtown hater but I wouldn't necessarily choose it to be a single mom raising kids. What is the age distribution like? All of those things listed sound cool but is there a good community of other parents raising kids? Or is it a lot of younger adults that want to be close to the action and older folks and couples that never had kids or whose kids are grown up? Sometimes those types of people aren't always the most tolerant of toddler-age kids!
I will say that if you are comfortable on a bike then the Sac grid is awesome. It's definitely more bikeable than walkable.
It kind of depends. The stereotype is, move to Midtown when you're in college, meet spouse, swim upstream to spawn in the suburbs like salmon, then when their kids get bored they move to Midtown and repeat the cycle of life. But in every cycle, there are people who really do consider walkability, diversity, community in the old-fashioned sense more important than schools where the kids are predominantly rich and white. (but speaking of rich white kids, norcalsocal mentioned some of the private schools in Arden-Arcade but may not be aware that there are also private schools in Midtown, like Merryhill in the old Newton Booth school, St. Francis Elementary on K, Courtyard on C Street, or arts education centers like the E. Claire Raley Center for the Arts in the old Fremont school on N Street.) Of the parents I know in the neighborhood, some opt for private school and others attend public school in Midtown or East Sacramento. Some I have known long enough that their kids are now adults, and they seem, at least to me, to have turned out fine. And since when are young adults intolerant of toddlers? I guess I don't have a whole lot of detailed demographic information to back it up, but my own perspective is that I see quite a few strollers, toddlers, kids playing on Midtown streets and in Midtown's plentiful pocket parks (there are small 1 block parks throughout the grid located every mile or so, plus a few larger regional parks) these days, as well as kid-oriented activities.
I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with Willy Street in Madison before this post; while I have a couple of friends in Madison, I have only visited once. Next time I'm there I will have to have one of them give me a tour. Just from Google Street View, if Willy Street is your idea of a nice place to live with a community vibe, you will love Midtown. Tree-lined streets, diverse 19th-20th Century architecture, mixed use and kind of an eclectc vibe--some here might turn up their noses at such a place because it's not upscale enough for their taste, but for others it's a perfect fit.
(but speaking of rich white kids, norcalsocal mentioned some of the private schools in Arden-Arcade but may not be aware that there are also private schools in Midtown,
what makes you think so ?
Oh, whatever...
You can believe whatever you find convenient to believe. It is just that a quick half-baked opinion in black and white colors is often wrong
P.S. Personally, I have nothing against Midtown. But I do find it well, underwhelming- sorry it is just my personal opinion- in comparison with any decent European city. And I can compare
Last edited by norcalsocal; 03-11-2021 at 06:59 PM..
You can believe whatever you find convenient to believe. It is just that a quick half-baked opinion in black and white colors is often wrong
P.S. Personally, I have nothing against Midtown. But I do find it well, underwhelming- sorry it is just my personal opinion- in comparison with any decent European city. And I can compare
The fact that you didn't mention them made me assume you were unaware of them--but if you were aware of them and simply chose not to mention them for some other reason, that's fine too. I just felt like they might be worth mentioning in addition to the fine private schools you presented in your post.
I haven't been to Europe (closest I've been to Europe is Baltimore), but given the dramatic differences between European and American land use, transportation policy, etcetera, it's no surprise that Sacramento, or really just about any American city, isn't going to stack up well against the great (or even middling-okay) cities of Europe. But the OP isn't asking us to compare Sacramento to Lisbon or Copenhagen, they're asking whether there are neighborhoods in Sacramento comparable to the quirky, hipster districts in other American cities, and the answer to that question is an unequivocal "yes." It may not meet 100% of their requirements (the public schools aren't the best in the region, and downtown empties out at night due to unfortunate land use decisions by regional real estate moguls and the political leaders they elected in the 20th Century) but that's not exactly uncommon in the other American cities mentioned in the OP: a quick look at a website that ranks schools ranks the schools around Willy St., Haight Ashbury, Ballard, SoCo, and Bushwick all rank kinda middling as far as schools go, just as they do in Sacramento's central city.
Is there room for improvement in Sacramento? Unequivocally so! People don't form community support organizations because everything in their neighborhood is totally perfect, they do so in order to address problems and make their neighborhood a better place. That's very much what is going on in Midtown, largely separate from the higher-level efforts to turn the area around the arena into "DoCo" or rebrand Old Sacramento with a Ferris wheel, or the long-delayed efforts to turn the Railyards from an industrial brownfield site into a long-needed, densely-populated extension of downtown. But they're trying, and some progress has been made, while Midtown and other central city neighborhoods have been desirable and much-beloved neighborhoods, since at least the 1980s, and over the long term, have shown dramatic improvement and regional interest, while retaining their charm. And, as I hope you will agree, compared to pretty much every other part of the region with the possible exceptions of downtown Davis and parts of Oak Park, are closer to your European ideal of walkable urbanity than any other part of the Sacramento metro region.
Anyhow, I'm eager to see how the original poster responds to all this feedback and rather vigorous debate regarding whether a Sacramento neighborhood will meet up to her needs. I think they will. You are more than welcome to disagree.
Anyhow, I'm eager to see how the original poster responds to all this feedback and rather vigorous debate regarding whether a Sacramento neighborhood will meet up to her needs. I think they will. You are more than welcome to disagree.
Fair points I agree with a lot of it! However I think you might be disappointed if you are expecting a reply from the OP. I find the original posters rarely return to comment on threads such as these. But hopefully these opinions will help others learn about Sacramento. They did for me when I was looking to move here from San Francisco 7-years ago which is why I began contributing to this forum myself.
The fact that you didn't mention them made me assume you were unaware of them--but if you were aware of them and simply chose not to mention them for some other reason, that's fine too. I just felt like they might be worth mentioning in addition to the fine private schools you presented in your post.
It is much easier than this and I am surprised that you did not get it. I mentioned only high schools; one of the four mentioned (Sacramento Country Day School) is actually Pre-K through 12. Specifically, I wrote: "Best private high schools are probably...". For example, Merryhill in Midtown is an elementary & middle school as far as I know.
The reason I mentioned private schools is because the OP specifically mentioned private schools. The reason I concentrated on high schools is because the choice of elementary and middle schools is much wider and very often significant educational problems are more pronounced in high school.
I hope very much (OK, actually I really do not care) that your worldview allows "decent" in your eyes people to send kids to private schools It is just some people (maybe you?) as soon as they see a hint of "rich white kids" start making assumptions very quickly. This is what I meant by half-baked bi-chromatic opinions. Once one goes into this mode it is hard to see the whole spectrum.
A full disclosure. My kid did go to a private high school. In the circle of about 7-8 closest school friends were a Mexican American kid, a Filipino kid, a Black-Asian kid, and an Asian kid. We are a family of immigrants ourselves with very unprivileged upbringing (if this matters). The atmosphere in the high school was much nicer and more humane than in public schools attended before. Now, I am sure that all mentioned schools have their own problems and I am not advocating one way or another...
Last edited by norcalsocal; 03-12-2021 at 11:57 AM..
If you are into early 20th century California architecture then Davis is not the most interesting place by far. Even in Yolo County I would assume that Woodland should be a more interesting place in this regard. Davis was not a significant place until the University Farm came there. after that, slowly but surely Woodland started losing that local competition.
And nobody said it was the most interesting place for architecture, but I think you're making too much of an offhand comment about charming houses. Sure, Woodland has prettier Victorian homes than Davis, but aside from a couple of places (like my friends Marco and Jennifer Fuoco's cafe off Dead Cat Alley), Woodland doesn't quite meet the criteria of the OP's punch list. But of course, if they live in Midtown, they can easily enjoy all the other little foothill, valley and delta towns within a short drive (or a long bike ride) of Sacramento, from Marysville to Isleton and Auburn to Dixon, certainly including Woodland!
We'll see if the OP is one of those "post and never return" types or provides some feedback.
First, I don't think that Willy St. in Madison is anything like Haight-Ashbury in SF. That being said, I think that Willy St. is possibly comparable to Midtown in Sac and maybe the area around R St.
First, I don't think that Willy St. in Madison is anything like Haight-Ashbury in SF. That being said, I think that Willy St. is possibly comparable to Midtown in Sac and maybe the area around R St.
What's your take on this Willy St.? As mentioned above, I'm not familiar with it, just a quick Googling and a bit of street view; my assumption, from what little I know of Madison, is that it's a less diverse city than Sacramento.
I know Haight-Ashbury, well enough to know that the Haight of the 2010s is a far cry from even the Haight of the 1990s, let alone the 1960s--you can still go to Amoeba or the anarchist bookstore or Ben & Jerry's, but it has been a long time since one could walk down Haight and hear people offering "kind doses" up and down the street, largely because of the effects of hypergentrification and the tech economy on San Francisco's cultural districts, whether it's the Haight, the Castro, the Mission etcetera. So in some ways, one may be more likely to find that neighborhood vibe in the hip parts of Sacramento than in San Francisco--unless the current exodus from San Francisco causes systemic changes, reversing the flow of people escaping Bay Area rents, we're likely to see similar effects on our neighborhoods, although from what I've seen in the Business Journal, it looks like more of the Bay Area arrivals are flocking to wealthier suburbs like Elk Grove and Roseville and just coming to Midtown/Downtown for a taste of culture.
I’m so grateful for all of you who took the time to write back and help me paint a picture of Sac. Thank you. I have been locked out of my account for ages! Frustrating. But I’m back in. I’m so thrilled to say I just signed a lease and move soon! And after a week long trip there, no other neighborhood is home to me except the East Sacramento neighborhood. But at first glance I do not see the variety in locally owned shops and classes as I see in the Willy St neighborhood in Madison. But I’d love to be proven wrong. You’re all Right on the Haight Ashbury points. My parents met there in the 60’s. I lived there 20 years ago and it’s kind of a joke now. Midtown is not for me to live in though we’ll walk down there. My kid is 3 and we go to bed early and like to walk the streets safely. A bit easier in East Sac I think. Plus public elementary and magnet schools were a really a big driver.
Sacramento may be more demographically diverse but it seems so much more segregated by hood and zip code. It made me really sad. As a white ally I hope I can participate in changing that somehow. I want to help homeless and displaced families to have more access to safe neighborhoods in good school districts. Having lived in a red state I want to try to bridge gaps in political conversations. I’m single. So Davis is too small and would be a potential concern for seeking a quality dating pool. Suburbs were never a remote consideration. You all made some really interesting points. I am especially looking forward to enjoying and celebrating diverse Asian cultures. I missed that cultural presence down South. Thanks everyone! East Sac or bust!
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