Calling all Sacramento Transplants from Big Cities

[cw68]

You're going to find a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE difference between EDH and Evanston. One, it seems that people in Evanston think that they live in the city. In EDH, the people are proud to live far out from "the city" and, in general, can't understand for the life of them why anyone would want to live in "the city." Even though I grew up in Elmhurst, I'm a liberal and I definitely feel out of the loop in that respect. However, there's enough of us to go around and you'll find like-minded people.

The job search can be very hit or miss. There's a lot of people looking for jobs in the area, lots of people who are coming from big markets with lots of experience along with less experienced people from smaller markets. The companies seem to already know which segment they want to pick from (usually based on salary).

The bottom line is, it's an easy and enjoyable life here.

[radioheadCA]

Hi, I grew up in atlanta, then lived in manhattan for 5yrs, Cambridge and Boston for 6 yrs and then Washington DC for 4yrs before moving out here to Sac. I'd say that in terms of similarities, there are: very good ethnic restaurants, a lot of diversity in general (Sacramento and Long Beach I believe are the two most diverse cities in the country - SF is less so b/c there are more wealthy white and asian people), there are two decent film theatres that show independent movies (Tower Theatre and Crest Theatre), there is some decent live music (not as good as NYC or SF but not terrible either, they have a pro baseball team (minor league but that kind of adds to the fun in my view- nice park also), lots of shopping centers in and outside the city, Although Im not gay, there is a fairly vibrant gay scene and gay area in midtown which is a good sign in my view, good used record store in midtown, good parks (ie, McKinley), plenty of outdoor getaways outside the city; many Bay area people have moved here for the better cost of living so they're more similar to big city type people in general; Relative weaknesses: art museums are lacking compared to international cities, music scene could be better as noted, more difficult to walk to restaurants and stores but not impossible (if you live in midtown or some parts of downtown, it's easy), there are many Republicans (it's about 50/50) which was very different from NYC, Boston and DC for me, the suburbs are pretty bad as most suburbs are vs. big cities; I have noticed a lot of people who seem to really value suburban life and who are pretty right wing (ie, shopping/consumerism, valuing what you have vs. what you do with your life, appreciating the finer things in life, not caring about poverty and suffering, huge SUVs, not caring about the environment, etc) in the city itself but not nearly as bad as the suburbs and as you get closer to midtown/downtown, there are others who are more much more big-city type people to offset the yahoos/hicks and religious fundamentalists. Regarding the weather, It's really nice in general. Winters are very mild compared to NYC, DC and Boston, Fall are Spring can be fantastic for days on end and even though it can get very brutal in the summer in terms of temperature, at least it's not real humid (like the south or east coast) (and sometimes i really enjoy the warmer weather - shorts, swimming, etc, which the Bay Area rarely gets). I would bet that at first you'll think Sac is pretty dinky compared to Chicago but it will probably grow on you if you give it a chance. It's not great but it's not bad either.

[Calidreemer]

Thanks CW68 - I appreciate your candid remarks. We love EDH because of the foothills and how new and clean everything is. I don't really care about the attitudes (we used to live in Winnetka too so we understand the suburban culture) if we have a nice, clean area to live in that is safe and has amenities like nice shopping and entertainment close by we are happy. Besides, I am sure we can find like minded people out there (you're out there in a neighboring suburb). I also like being closer to the rural areas because riding is a hobby of mine and I would like to get a horse of my own once we are settled. The trails around Folsom lake would be amazing to ride around.

As for employment my husband is in the finance industry and I work in the Pharmaceutical industry so we hope we can find something in those industries out West. We both keep getting bites from the Bay area (surprise) but we want to be in the Sacramento area where your $ goes much farther. I know we just have to be patient, but it's hard to do.

Radiohead that was a great comparison of Sac to other large, urban settings. I would say we walk a fine line between enjoying the creature comforts while still caring about the welfare of others, the environment (we want a solar home) and enjoying art and theatre. We have chosen to live in the suburbs for the last several years and really enjoy our elbow room so that is part of why we want to live in EDH. That's not to say we wouldn't mind going into downtown Sac for fun either. We are looking forward to exploring all areas of Sacramento and Northern California.


You both describe Sacramento and the reasons for moving there as we do and that's really reassuring. Thanks for your input!