Where to live in sacremento? (Los Angeles, Sacramento: real estate, apartments, to rent)

[haileigh32]

Hello My DH is in the union and we are moving to Sacremento(where his union hall is based) but he will work within 40 miles in any direction at various times. So we are looking for a waterfront home whether it be lakeside or riverside. We would like to stay close to midland like within 20 miles. Also our price range is under $100k if possible. School district and safe neighborhoods are very important to us.

Also I have no job as of yet I currently babysit from my home and may continue the same thing there or try to serve somewhere so keep that in mind when recommending cities or towns.

And my husband works outside so how brutal are the winters? Does it snow alny? How brutal is the summer? Our main reason for leaving cincinnati Ohio is because there is nothing here to do. There is no hiking, our river is polluted, no lakes withing 90minutes. You can go to a park or a bar that's about it. So are there abundant things to do in CA. We are really into dirtbiking

[CityGirl72]

WHOA!!! You want waterfront property for 100K!??? you MIGHT be able to find a one bedroom condo in Sacramento for 100K right now.

Have you looked at any of the real estate listings lately? Gosh, I'm trying to think of something, but it's going to be SUPER rural, and I'm thinking more then 40 miles away.

[CityGirl72]

I just noticed you were looking at Midland (which is why it says that mistakenly in your post) - as well as Charleston.

I know that from your posts you have a 2 year old daughter - but will go into Kindergarten when you move - so that's in three years??

Plus - You can't afford anything over $750 a month in rent or buy. That won't get you much.

[haileigh32]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

I just noticed you were looking at Midland (which is why it says that mistakenly in your post) - as well as Charleston.

I know that from your posts you have a 2 year old daughter - but will go into Kindergarten when you move - so that's in three years??

Plus - You can't afford anything over $750 a month in rent or buy. That won't get you much.

Yes I am looking into several different cities as my husband is in a union and we are able to choose from several cities. We want warmer climate than Cincinnati Ohio. And I think a move across country takes about three years of planning if you want to do it right!

Plus In CA we could afford more than $750 a month because my DH rate of pay is based upon cost of living and his hourly pay would go up by $25.

But also we wouldn't be used to the cost of living anywhere and don't want to over extend ourselves and be in trouble with being so far away from family.

In Ohio $750 a month would get you a top of the line condo or apartment with all the luxuries.

We are looking into Charlotte, Tampa or Sacremento. We checked into Charleston but have decided that is not for us.

Like I said above we want out of Ohio and have several options and are trying to do all of the research to make the best informed decision.

So let me ask it this way If we make $120000 a year total is that a reasonable income for the cost of living in sacremento?

[CityGirl72]

yes making 120K is more than most families make in Sacramento, but if you make that much - why would your rent be so low?

When I made 45K and was a single mom, my rent was $1250 a month (4 years ago) - I didn't have many other expenses so this was an easy payment for me to rent a house

[haileigh32]

Well the $750 a month was based upon what we would of made in charleston. Like I said in cincinnati $750 is for a mansion so to just get our heads wrapped around the idea of $1000 or more is a little hard. But we have a lot of other loans to pay we have two car loans, a personal loan a little bit of debt still left over. We just would rather due as low as possible to figure everything out.

[ElleBebe]

Originally Posted by haileigh32

Like I said in cincinnati $750 is for a mansion so to just get our heads wrapped around the idea of $1000 or more is a little hard.

Oh man... maybe I should move to Ohio.

I read on another thread somewhere on CD that $400-500/month will get you really nice 2-3bdr apts in Chico. But I can't imagine finding a rent that low for really nice "mansion"-like apartments on water anywhere near Sacramento.

Last time I was in the area (2-3 months ago, maybe?) they were building condos/townhouses next to Raley Field with a big sign that said "Starting in the low 200's!!!" It's close to Old Sac, right on the river, close to freeways... urban living. I don't know if that appeals to you.

[wburg]

haileigh32: You'll definitely have to wrap your heads a little further around the realities of California prices. $750 is about what we pay for a half-decent one-bedroom apartment in a just-okay part of town. For a moderately sized house in a nice part of town, $1500 a month, at least, is more typical. These are considered bargain-basement fire-sale cheap compared to Bay Area or Los Angeles rents.

About being next to a river or lake: There's really only one lake of any appreciable size near Sacramento, and that's Folsom Lake. I don't think there are any houses right next to it, it is a park and recreation area.

There aren't any residences right next to the Sacramento River, it is a tidal river with steep levees. The riverfront in Sacramento used to be heavy industry (pretty much all knocked down now) and Interstate 5 was put very close to the river, so literally nobody lives along the Sacramento River downtown except the homeless people who camp there.

There are some fancy homes along the river (atop or just behind the levees) to the north and south, but those are typically very very expensive--we're talking million-dollar homes. The same goes for homes along the American River: through Sacramento it is protected wildlife area and flood zones, farther east in places like Fair Oaks there are super expensive homes alongside the river.

Climate: Sacramento gets very hot in the summer (over 100 for a couple of weeks) but it is a very dry heat. I'd rather be outside in 100 degree Sacramento summer than an 85 degree Midwestern humid, soggy summer. Winters are very mild compared to Ohio: it drops below freezing maybe a couple of days a year, we get one day of snow maybe once every decade or two. Generally it's rainy and foggy from November to about March, temps in the 40-50 degree range.

You probably can't get anything in an even remotely decent neighborhood for $100K. More like $250K at least, unless we have more price free-fall, which some here are predicting...

[PapaDoc313]

Are you looking to buy a home or rent? A nice 3-4 bedroom house in a decent but not great area of Sacramento will start at at least $1300-$1400 a month. Closer to $2000-2500 a month in a more upscale area. Lofts, also very expensive for their size, downtown and midtown are much nicer and can be rented to own, but I would never understand why anyone would want to own a single loft inside a larger building.

If you want waterfront property I would reconsider Sacramento. There isn't much water here to begin with which drives the prices way up (into the millions). If you want waterfront property for 100k stop looking at Sacramento right now.

Sac is a great place, though. Very populated but with a both a small town and big city feel. There is really something for everyone, all throughout the city. Only a few hours away from San Fran, Napa, Tahoe, Chico, etc... so there's always a place to go on a weekend. School systems are pretty good and Sacramento State is a great university (being located in the city's capital hasn't hurt).

Weather is pretty moderate. It will get above 100 a few weeks a year, and in the 90s for a few months. The heat is very dry and air quality (which isn't great to begin with) gets real bad for a week or two every year when the hill fires take affect. Winters are cold but not too bad. Somewhat windy. It will actually get below freezing but only a few times a year, and at night. We get some rain (less in recent years) and in my 22 years here I remember it snowing once. I think 7 flakes fell. So, no it doesn't snow.

You also should consider cost of living. Pretty much everything will probably be more expensive in California than you're used to. Gas, food, energy, entertainment, liscensing, taxes, housing, medical, etc...

Oh and there is only one 'e' in Sacramento. ;-)

[wburg]

Originally Posted by PapaDoc313

Oh and there is only one 'e' in Sacramento. ;-)

Great post...and yeah, the way I get people to remember it is the line, "You can't spell SACRAMENTO without RAMEN!"