How _____ friendly is Sacramento? (San Francisco, Folsom: fit in, rental, house)

[pba]

Maybe we could just lump all these posts into one and get a collective response instead of having to sit thru a couple of these ridiculous posts every week. I've seen posts about how gay-friendly, jewish-friendly, black-friendly, how ghetto is sacramento, how scary is sacramento, etc. etc. etc. I highly doubt these are serious posts but, if they are, that's even more discouraging.

Is it just a matter of time until we see posts that ask how fat-friendly, midget-friendly or dumb-person friendly that Sacramento is? My point is that NOBODY can accurately answer any of these questions. People that act as if they speak on behalf on entire neighborhoods or cities are just fooling themselves and their comments are irrelevant.

Can anyone honestly (and accurately) say that Folsom (just to pick a random place) is gay-friendly? If so, does that mean they've interviewed every resident of Folsom and can assure you it's a gay-friendly area? Come on, we're all adults here and you shouldn't be asking those types of silly or open-ended questions.

Show me a person that is thinking of moving to Sacramento and bases their decision on a post that they get out of this forum on a subject like that and I'll show you a person that doesn't know their head from a hole in the ground.

[clongirl]

I can see how these sorts of posts might annoy someone who hasn't had to worry about any sort of discrimination or odd looks/body language by people that aren't used to being around people that are too different than themselves... but .. discrimination does happen in places. How do I know? Well, I've lived all over Northern California and lived in Europe too. Feeling out of place or standing out like a sore thumb happens and not everyone is comfortable with standing out in the crowd.

I don't actually think that the questions are silly. These kinds of issues do concern people because of possible past experiences. My mom, who is Asian American feels completely and utterly at ease in Hawaii (her birthplace). Nobody as ever made comments about her nationality or how she met her husband in some war (didn't meet husband in any war).

Now, when I had moved from San Francisco to Sacramento area, it did seem really conservative and politically right leaning. It was a total culture shock for me and I wasn't used to seeing racist stickers on the back of pickup trucks quoting Hitler and such. Or again, racist stickers strategically placed at the local gas station pump for all to see. This was a shock for me and it might have swayed my purchasing a house there.

I can't see how knowledge about any area is a bad thing. It is generalizing, but for example, a very conservative right wing Christian wanted to buy a house in San Francisco's Castro district and wanted to know if they'd feel at ease, then I would give the advise that it might be a culture shock, they might get pissed off all the time. They might not fit in or feel like it was their kind of place. I don't see what the big deal is.

[jguillot]

Originally Posted by pba

Maybe we could just lump all these posts into one and get a collective response instead of having to sit thru a couple of these ridiculous posts every week. I've seen posts about how gay-friendly, jewish-friendly, black-friendly, how ghetto is sacramento, how scary is sacramento, etc. etc. etc. I highly doubt these are serious posts but, if they are, that's even more discouraging.

Is it just a matter of time until we see posts that ask how fat-friendly, midget-friendly or dumb-person friendly that Sacramento is? My point is that NOBODY can accurately answer any of these questions. People that act as if they speak on behalf on entire neighborhoods or cities are just fooling themselves and their comments are irrelevant.

Can anyone honestly (and accurately) say that Folsom (just to pick a random place) is gay-friendly? If so, does that mean they've interviewed every resident of Folsom and can assure you it's a gay-friendly area? Come on, we're all adults here and you shouldn't be asking those types of silly or open-ended questions.

Show me a person that is thinking of moving to Sacramento and bases their decision on a post that they get out of this forum on a subject like that and I'll show you a person that doesn't know their head from a hole in the ground.

You are correct in that no one can tell you with certainty that a city or town is going to be gay friendly or minority friendly. If they are gay or from a minority group, they can only base their opinion on what their what their personal experience has been or what they have learned from friends and acquaintances. Anyone considering a move to Sacramento or any other place should not base their decision to move solely upon what they read on this forum. I believe that much can be learned from this forum and people are wise to post questions here, but there are other things that they should do to find out more about an area. They should first visit the area more than once. While visiting, they should go to stores, restaurants, schools, public gatherings, etc. and talk to people. They should investigate, the job market, the housing market or if planning to rent, check into the availability of rental units. They should visit the Chamber of Commerce. They should purchase a good map of the area and familiarize themselves with it. They should take a look at weather trends for the area. They should also do some research on-line. City-data.com provides a lot of helpful information on just about any city or town in the United States, but other sites will provide helpful information as well. They should check out the city and county websites of the area they are considering. An on-line overall cost of living comparison between the place they now live and the place they are considering should be made. A lot of research should be done before deciding whether or not to move to a new city or town, otherwise you could end up regretting the move after it is made.

[pba]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Now, when I had moved from San Francisco to Sacramento area, it did seem really conservative and politically right leaning. It was a total culture shock for me and I wasn't used to seeing racist stickers on the back of pickup trucks quoting Hitler and such. Or again, racist stickers strategically placed at the local gas station pump for all to see. This was a shock for me and it might have swayed my purchasing a house there.

Let me summarize for you...

San Francisco doesn't have any racism.
Sacramento is full of racism and you'll see Hitler stickers everywhere.

Aren't generalities great? You see one sticker and all of Sacramento becomes a scary place to live. What a naive perspective but, I have to admit, it does help me make my point so thanks!

[cityx]

[quote=pba;5021837]Maybe we could just lump all these posts into one and get a collective response instead of having to sit thru a couple of these ridiculous posts every week. I've seen posts about how gay-friendly, jewish-friendly, black-friendly, how ghetto is sacramento, how scary is sacramento, etc. etc. etc.

Oh boy, here we go again.....
Since you are presumably not a part of any of these demographics you are absolutely the least qualified person to decide of any these posts are "ridiculous" or irrelevant. With all do respect, you have absolutely no concept as to what you are talking about. And although you have every right to state your opinions, you cannot even pretend to understand the plight of what any of the above named groups experience in their daily lives. The fact that you are so dismissive and out of touch with people's valid concerns leads me to believe that you really need to take a few sociology or cultural anthropology classes in order to educate yourself and join the the rest of us in the 21st century. Trust me, if you ever get here, we'll welcome you with open arms....I promise.

[cityx]

Originally Posted by clongirl

I can see how these sorts of posts might annoy someone who hasn't had to worry about any sort of discrimination or odd looks/body language by people that aren't used to being around people that are too different than themselves... but .. discrimination does happen in places. How do I know? Well, I've lived all over Northern California and lived in Europe too. Feeling out of place or standing out like a sore thumb happens and not everyone is comfortable with standing out in the crowd.

I don't actually think that the questions are silly. These kinds of issues do concern people because of possible past experiences. My mom, who is Asian American feels completely and utterly at ease in Hawaii (her birthplace). Nobody as ever made comments about her nationality or how she met her husband in some war (didn't meet husband in any war).

Now, when I had moved from San Francisco to Sacramento area, it did seem really conservative and politically right leaning. It was a total culture shock for me and I wasn't used to seeing racist stickers on the back of pickup trucks quoting Hitler and such. Or again, racist stickers strategically placed at the local gas station pump for all to see. This was a shock for me and it might have swayed my purchasing a house there.

I can't see how knowledge about any area is a bad thing. It is generalizing, but for example, a very conservative right wing Christian wanted to buy a house in San Francisco's Castro district and wanted to know if they'd feel at ease, then I would give the advise that it might be a culture shock, they might get pissed off all the time. They might not fit in or feel like it was their kind of place. I don't see what the big deal is.

You offer a very realistic perspective.
I agree and nicely said.

[fillip]

Originally Posted by pba

...
...how fat-friendly, midget-friendly or dumb-person friendly that Sacramento is? ...

fat friendly....not very. It is CA. after all. Lots of superficiality. There aren't even any midgets here in Sacramento. Coincidence?!?!?! I think not...Ppl here love them dumb folks. Makes good livin' ez-er.

[wburg]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Now, when I had moved from San Francisco to Sacramento area, it did seem really conservative and politically right leaning. It was a total culture shock for me and I wasn't used to seeing racist stickers on the back of pickup trucks quoting Hitler and such. Or again, racist stickers strategically placed at the local gas station pump for all to see. This was a shock for me and it might have swayed my purchasing a house there.

I'm not used to seeing racist stickers on the back of pickup trucks or on gas stations either, and I've lived in the Sacramento area for about 30 years! Where the heck did you see that?

[pba]

Originally Posted by cityx

Oh boy, here we go again.....
Since you are presumably not a part of any of these demographics you are absolutely the least qualified person to decide of any these posts are "ridiculous" or irrelevant. With all do respect, you have absolutely no concept as to what you are talking about. And although you have every right to state your opinions, you cannot even pretend to understand the plight of what any of the above named groups experience in their daily lives. The fact that you are so dismissive and out of touch with people's valid concerns leads me to believe that you really need to take a few sociology or cultural anthropology classes in order to educate yourself and join the the rest of us in the 21st century. Trust me, if you ever get here, we'll welcome you with open arms....I promise.

Let me repeat myself....again. Seems like you're a reasonably intelligent person but why do you always insist on putting words in my mouth? Look at what I said....

My point is that NOBODY can accurately answer any of these questions. People that act as if they speak on behalf on entire neighborhoods or cities are just fooling themselves and their comments are irrelevant.

I'll translate for you. There isn't a single person whose perspective can reflect that of the entire Sacramento area (including me....everyone means 'everyone'). I'm not talking about the plight of minority groups and I'm not saying that people don't have valid concerns. I'm ONLY saying that the responses that people give back are only their own opinions and are in no way do they represent ALL of Sacramento. If one person had a bad experience and they then say 'All of Sacramento is a scary place' then that's just naive.

Please try to stay on the subject of each individual post. Part of the terms of service say there's no 'hijacking' of posts. Again, maybe a review of the TOS is in order for you. There's also a rule against trolling (intentionally trying to upset people who post questions) so either contribute to the conversation topic at hand or please stop responding to my posts.

[NewToCA]

A bit of an odd thread, the true answer is that your view of Sacramento will vary based upon your own personal points of view and where you previously have lived.

From a political perspective, which seems to be what posters want to discuss, the area has a significant tendency towards a very liberal city area with some much more conservative suburbs. This is quite common in many metro areas, certainly not unique to Sacramento.

From the personal perspective, I have generally noticed that folks interact less here than back east or the midwest. I find fewer folks will acknowledge you when you walk by, or give you a wave of thanks when providing a gap so they can exit from parking lots onto main streets. Without going into extensive detail, I would just state that overall many folks seem more "self contained", and less interactive on the inter-personal level.