santa cruz vs sacramento (Watsonville: budget, apartment, rent)

[faceofdeath]

im interested in moving to santa cruz or sacramento possibly. i will be visiting both in a week but just wanted to ask a few questions. is there much to do in sacramento? obviously in santa cruz there is the beach and other nature things. i am intersted in only getting around by bicycle and public trans. when i have to. is that possible in sacramento? as far as rent im looking for someting around 650-750/month. how does the over all cost of living compare? im moving from the midwest so i am not quite sure what to expect. any help or comparisons to the two would be greatly appreciated.

[wburg]

Santa Cruz is a college town and recreation destination. It's a lot smaller than Sacramento and so may be more practical for getting around without a car. Because it is a college town and recreation destination, it's kind of expensive for what you get. Many who live there are from the Bay Area, where rents are really, really high.

Sacramento is a bit cheaper, and a lot bigger city. There is less nature stuff to do nearby but we're fairly convenient for quite a bit of nature stuff that surrounds us. There's quite a bit to do here, but a lot depends on what sort of things you like to do. Getting around by bike and public transit is not really practical unless you live to the central city or a major bus or light rail line.

$650-750 will get you a studio or small 1-bedroom apartment.

[volleyballer]

Sacramento is not as bike friendly as Santa Cruz. It depends where you're going to live. Are you going to college, or is this move for a job. Your price will get you a 1 bed, or possibly you can find room mates on craigslist. But my sister and her husband live in Santa Cruz. They rent a non-special apartment for 1500 a month. It has 2 beds, and it is old. I hope your budget will be different if it is in Santa Cruz because there is probably very, very little places to rent for that price. But good luck!

[faceofdeath]

Originally Posted by volleyballer

I hope your budget will be different if it is in Santa Cruz because there is probably very, very little places to rent for that price. But good luck!

thats what im afraid of. i should also mention, one of my main intrests is cycling, so i have no problem riding 20 plus miles around the city...should i live in sacramento...getting to work, grocieries etc.

[julesbeek]

Having lived in Santa Cruz for 10 years, and now splitting time between Humboldt and Sac...

Santa Cruz temps are MUCH more temperate. If you don't mind heat (100+ during more summer days than I care to think of), then Sac is cheaper. Santa Cruz is VERY expensive (for very good reason - it's an awesome place to live and so many nature type things to do). When we left there 8 years ago, studios were going for about $1k. May be better now, but barely. You can get a studio in Sac for about 600 or 700, but depends on the area. Nature things to do, but I wilt in temps higher than 75, so that's my bias.

Check out the papers online: sacbee.com or www.santa (broken link)cruzsentinel.com/ -that'll give you a better idea of the housing prices, and other stuff.

As for cycling, well, both places have those available. Mountain biking? Or city biking. Sac has more and more bike commuters each day, as gas prices rise to about $4.05 or more. Santa Cruz has bike lanes, but then again, depends on where you want to ride. I wouldn't DREAM of riding from, say, Watsonville to Santa Cruz proper. And up the University - major major hills. Sac proper is more flat than SC proper.

Depends on what you're looking for, really, and how hot you don't mind it being. Sac is known as the City of Trees, for all the bazillions of trees planted there. But it's still the Central Valley. And it gets pretty dang hot in the summer...

JB

[faceofdeath]

yea as far as riding i just meant, i wouldnt mind riding accross the city or whatever, if my job want near my apartment. i probably wouldnt try to commute from one town to another on bicycle. and taking another look at my budget i may be able to afford something along the lines of 800/month. because im from the midwest, these may be off but here is what i had planned...feel free to correct me if these seem off

rent 600-800
utilities 100.00
grociers/food 300.00
public trans 50.00

do the utilities, food, and transit seem accurate?

[wburg]

A monthly bus pass in Sacramento costs $85. Other than that, about right. In my experience, food in California costs a bit more than in the Midwest (which is silly in the case of Sacramento, we're the center of a huge farming region) but you can feed yourself for $300. Maybe $150 for utilities including phone.

If you plan things right, yes, you can get by without a car in Sacramento. I did so for several years, and I take transit or walk most of the time right now. The key is living close to work, and close to transit.

Riding across the city in Sacramento would be kind of a chore, as the city is about 100 square miles--ten miles on a bike in rough weather would get old fast.

[faceofdeath]

thanks everyone for the help so far. i appreciate it a lot.