Small Town Feel (Sacramento, Roseville, Davis: for sale, condo, how much)

[DevilDoll]

Can anyone give me an opinion about life in and around Sacramento? Maybe we're being unrealistic to think that in this time and age we cannot find a place where people actually love where they are living, where it's got a "small town" feel, where you know and LIKE your neighbors, where it's not all about the car you drive or the size of your bank account. We don't much care about nightlife, we can travel to La, or SF for that. We'd love a nice home/condo/townhouse that with todays market should be fairly affordable, a quaint downtown area, a grocery store to walk to. A place that strives to be green. Mixed cultures and races. Winter festivals and summer fairs. Is this too much to ask????

[Beth26]

Whew, that is a tough combination. For a small town feel I think Davis is pretty good. There are many people who are in to "green" living. There is a great downtown. However, it is not a very diverse community.

West Sac is very diverse and still has a small town feel. But, I'm not sure about the "green" part. There is definitely an element here that is into that...people who bike downtown to work. There is no quaint downtown, though. It is fairly affordable.

Fair Oaks has a nice little downtown and is a nice community. I wouldn't call it a small town feel.

Lodi has a great downtown and has a small town feel.

[Guevera]

There's no problem getting all that. All you need is 500,000 to a million dollars. That's the price of small town charm in big city california now. And because of that, all your neighbors will be sanctimonious yuppie scumbags.

[DevilDoll]

Originally Posted by Beth26

Whew, that is a tough combination. For a small town feel I think Davis is pretty good. There are many people who are in to "green" living. There is a great downtown. However, it is not a very diverse community.

West Sac is very diverse and still has a small town feel. But, I'm not sure about the "green" part. There is definitely an element here that is into that...people who bike downtown to work. There is no quaint downtown, though. It is fairly affordable.

Fair Oaks has a nice little downtown and is a nice community. I wouldn't call it a small town feel.

Lodi has a great downtown and has a small town feel.

Thanks for the info. We looked at Davis but the location isn't right for us. We are staying in Southport for a month while we look so hopefully that will give us a feel for West Sac, are you familiar with the neighborhoods there? I've heard good and bad about West Sac, so I'm trying to get a gauge on where the "good" areas are. I will look at both Lodi & Fair Oaks.
I notice you didn't mention Elk Grove which was where we were first looking, have read lots of negatives on here, wondering if you have an opinion of the place? Rancho Cordova as well, if you don't mind sharing your opinion.

[DevilDoll]

Originally Posted by Guevera

There's no problem getting all that. All you need is 500,000 to a million dollars. That's the price of small town charm in big city california now. And because of that, all your neighbors will be sanctimonious yuppie scumbags.

Ahh, that's what we didn't want to do: spend that much and live that way! Thanks for your opinion!

[wburg]

The term "small-town feel" is kind of mis-applied. The kind of ideal people seem to be shooting for, where people know their neighbors, there is a feeling of community and public events, is actually something you find in closely-knit big cities as much as in small towns. The population is fairly dense but not crowded, and because things are walkable and there are a lot of things to do, it increases the chances of running into people you know. It's kind of like living in an episode of "Seinfeld."

Midtown Sacramento is one such place. It's not a perfect place by any means, and it's not cheap, but it sure doesn't cost $500,000 to get in the door. You can choose between some of the newer condo/townhouse units, which can get pretty pricey but are cheaper than they used to be, or an older home in a Craftsman, revival, or Queen Anne style, in the $300-400K range and be very comfortable.

The population in the central city is still quite diverse, ethnically and economically, and there are frequent street fairs and events within the Grid: monthly "Second Saturday" art walks, annual events like the Pacific Rim Festival, and lots of smaller events.

[DyaneRiemer]

I don't know where you work, how much of a commute you are willing to do, or how much you are willing to pay, but there are some excellent small town communities a little further out of the city, such as Auburn, Cool, Grass Valley and Nevada City. My brother lives in Lotus, which is near Coloma and is rich in history with a lot of different community activities going on. The people there are very down-to-earth, and very environmentally concious. There is also Placerville off of the 50-corridor.

If you want to stay closer to town, you might consider Lincoln, as it is less expensive but still has a charming, (IMHO) downtown area with grocery stores nearby. Another community which is up and coming and is going to have a great "downtown" with little bistros and small businesses (no big-box stores will be allowed) is West Park/Fiddyment Farms in Roseville.

There are actually a lot of options for you, it just depends on how much you are able to spend and your preferences on commute time.

Good luck with your search!

:-)

[DevilDoll]

Does anyone have feedback on this area :44TH ST, East Sacramento, CA 95817. The realtor says it is Oak Park.

[CityGirl72]

WHOOOOOOOAAAA

a big no to Oak Park, unless you like drive by shooting and drug deals

They have put money into Oak Park but not enough to keep the riff raff from happening.

[wburg]

There's a house for sale at 3125 44th Street in Oak Park...

MetroList MLS Services - sacbee.com

...is that it? Or this one?

MetroList MLS Services - sacbee.com

Or this one?
http://template.metrolistmls.com/sacramentobee/cgi-bin/GetOne.cfm?MLSNum=80034131&

...and yeah. Take a look at the wrought-iron fences around the front yard, that's a hint right there. And it's tragic, because the homes are potentially really beautiful and due to the state of the market they're actually affordable! That second one would easily sell for $300,000 in Midtown.

I can only hope that an influx of new homeowners and some serious neighborhood action can help improve things. Oak Park has a reputation for grass-roots activism, hopefully that trend will continue.

But the person who moves into that house will probably have to deal with some issues. In all likelihood, Oak Park will get better: Oak Park now is as dangerous/run-down as midtown Sacramento (currently the gentrified darling of the region) was 15 years ago, and 15 years ago Oak Park was a lot worse. So if you're willing to move into a neighborhood with some risk attached for a beautiful, inexpensive home (that needs some serious TLC) and the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of what will probably be an incredible place to live in a decade or so, go for it...but do so with your eyes open.

(Incidentally, there is no city called "East Sacramento", that's a neighborhood in Sacramento, as is Oak Park.)