Relocating to area outside Davis? (San Francisco, Sacramento: cheap apartment, rentals, condo)

[elabut]

I need a new job and am looking into UC-Davis. We prefer to live very close to hiking & biking trails, swimming holes, etc. Such natural places don't have to be spectacular, just very close, say a 20 min drive. Another strong preference is to live somewhat rurally. We're looking for all of this in under a 35 minute commute from UCD. We plan to visit the Davis area at the end of this month. I'm guessing Woodland/Esparto or Winters may be good areas to live; and sounds like Cache Creek is great for outdoor rec.
- What areas offer what we are looking for?
- How is rush traffic?
- Will a $45,000 salary be tough to get by on?

[humboldtrat]

I would go with Woodland as it's fairly close to Davis and the town is big enough to have amenities such as shopping and things to do. The highway (113) is a 4 lane divided road between Woodland and Davis and traffic tends to move OK. Woodland is surrounded by farms. Woodland is also along I-5 for easy access to Sacramento and the airport.

Esparto is a real small rural town with a mom and pop grocery store and not too much else and with not too much to do there. About 10 miles west of Esparto there is an Indian casino Cache Creek. The road between Esparto and Woodland is a 2 lane rural road, but traffic tends to move OK when I have driven on it. Traffic on the main street in Esparto can get heavy, especially on the weekends with busses and people driving to the Indian casino.

Winters is another small rural farming town with not too much going on. There is sort of a truck stop area east of town along I-505 with a gas station and a few fast food places.

[ElleBebe]

Winters is a cute little town; rural definitely. It's great for driving around the countryside, or horses is you're into that. It's about 20 minutes from Davis to downtown Winters.

Woodland has some nice parts, but much of it is kinda worn down.

Traffic is mostly on 80; it can get pretty bad on the causeway between Davis and Sacramento, and at the 80/113 junction heading east where it goes from five lanes to three in a hurry, but that's avoidable by taking the backroads. But if you're looking at Winters or Woodland, that particular traffic doesn't apply.

Re: salary, it depends on how many people there are. If it's just you and one other person (since you said "we") I think that would be do-able, as long as you're not used to an extravagant lifestyle and are okay with renting. If you have children, it might be more difficult.

[elabut]

Thanks for the replies. I looked at home prices and they seem fairly affordable. There seems to be a lot of newer, bigger homes outside the Davis area, but that's not what were looking for. We are definitely making the drive down to explore Davis at the end of the month.

[WheninRoam]

Love Davis, but unfortunately it is too expensive for us.

Woodland used to be a great little farm town, but lately has been plagued by crime...and a lot of it. It is worn down, and not much to do or see.

Esparto is very rural and a bit too far out.

I'd consider Winters if I were you; close to Davis and yet set by Cache Creek...more of a town I'd think you'd be interested in given what you've told us.

Good luck!

[humboldtrat]

Also check out Vacaville along I-80, which is a bigger town with shopping and other amenities.

[wburg]

Broken record here--you might want to take a look at Sacramento or West Sacramento. There are some nice bike trails along the river, and one of the plus sides of having an "unredeveloped" waterfront is that it's mostly still trees and grass and dirt along the riverfront, boring for those who want an action-packed tourist boardwalk but kind of nice for fans of trees, grass and dirt. The American River bike trail is just to the north, and goes all the way up into Folsom through some darn pretty river country. There are also a lot of students in midtown, both from Davis and Sac State and the scattering of small campuses downtown.

Sacramento is about 10-15 minutes from Davis by the causeway, but you can also take the Capitol Corridor train from downtown Sacramento to downtown Davis, and there are Yolobus buses between both cities. There are surface streets, but during the heavy-rain months those tend to be underwater.

Two people living on a $45K income is do-able, if you aren't looking for a particularly extravagant apartment or lifestyle. Look for rentals that offer LI units, like CADA.

[zen_klown]

My hunch is that outskirts of Woodland might be your best bet. If that isn't rural enough you might also try Knights Landing. Its on the Sacramento River in a small old farm town. The buildings are old, and the river is pretty. Not much shopping there, but you aren't that far from Woodland either.

Its a little farther away as crow flies, but probably much cheaper.

[Species 8472]

Davis is a great town with biking paths. The traffic on I-80 is not too dreadful, relative to other cities such as San Francisco, NYC, or even Philadelphia. You wouldn't be able to purchase a home/condo, but you could rent in the area. Your least expensive bet would be to rent in predominantly college apartment complexes.

Woodland and Winters are bland compared to Davis, but then it depends upon what precisely you are looking for.

[ElleBebe]

Originally Posted by Species 8472

Your least expensive bet would be to rent in predominantly college apartment complexes.

Not necessarily - some of the larger property management groups that own a lot of the student-friendly apartment complexes seem to think that Mom and Dad pay the rent (and often they do) and are rich, and so jack the prices up accordingly. If you're looking for a cheap apartment in Davis, I've heard the best bet is to find the small un-advertised buildings and cold call.

1 bedroom apts in Davis tend to go for $750-1050 ish, 2 bedrooms go for $1100 - $1300 ish, 3 bedrooms for $1300-1500, 4 bedrooms for $1500 and up (Of course, there are always exceptions, and it depends on amenities).