country life and great schools? (Sacramento, Davis: house, school district, live in)

[mtraa]

I would like to know of towns, within a reasonable commute distance from downtown Sacto, that have a country feel and great schools. It seems that Shingle Springs might be a possibility, but I don't know what that commute is like. We would prefer to raise our kids on an acre or so, but I would like a great school district. Our budget is 400 K or less. Can it be done?

[CityGirl72]

What is a reasonable commute?

[mtraa]

Well, my husband drives 30 minutes now (no traffic) and that is fine. So, I guess 45 minutes or less would be good.

[wburg]

Shingle Springs is probably a 45 minute drive at off-peak hours...at peak, figure on at least an hour. 50 gets real crowded for the business commute.

You might look at Dixon. Despite a lot of new growth (and it doesn't seem like any of the old valley towns within an hour or two of Sacramento are free from new growth) downtown Dixon still feels pretty country-town. Not sure about the schools, but proximity to UC Davis (and the famously good Davis school system) can't hurt. Commute downtown is more like half an hour, and most of the traffic is going the other way.

Not sure about your price, though. I don't think 400K will get you an acre of residential land anywhere in California, except maybe parcels that don't have a house on them yet.

[CityGirl72]

There might be some rural areas out towards Woodland - maybe Marysville/Oroville area (not my preference) - but the farther you get out I'd say the "not as great" schools are there.

[mmcguire]

I live in Rancho Murieta. My commute to downtown is about 45-60 minutes during rush hour. Check out the community, we love it out here. Here are a couple threads talking about it from actual residents.

What do you love about Rancho Murieta? - Rancho Murieta, CA Forums

Why move to Rancho Murieta? - Rancho Murieta, CA Forums

[bigdave01]

I currently live in Penryn which fits exactly what you are looking for. The Penryn, Loomis, Newcastle area would be great.

[zen_klown]

As to the schools in Shingle Springs, that would be the Buckeye Union Elementary School District and Ponderosa High (see scores here)

County List of Schools

Loomis is probably much closer, but I am not sure if you can find an acre for less than 400k, but in terms of the rest of your requirements, it probably fits the bill pretty good so it worth researching to see if you can find something.

County List of Schools

As to the schools in Dixon, see here

County List of Schools

[mmcguire]

I grew up in Loomis and it is a great area with great schools.

[urban farmer]

We're looking for something similar to mtraa. Drove around Loomis to Newcastle area last weekend. We love the feel of that area, but property seems quite expensive going up the 80. We recently started looking online at Shingle Springs/Rescue and noticed that properties seem signifiantly less expensive. Does anyone know why that is?