I don't see how I can afford to live here, long-term (San Jose: best cities, apartments)

[bluevelo]

Moved out here in April 2007, finally got divorced in April 2008. X and my kids live in Savannah, GA, kids are 8 and 6. I've thought about trying to buy something, but even making 93K a year, with 1K a month child support I don't see how I can buy a place that isn't either a) in the ghetto or b) 20 miles from downtown, where I work.

I like California in many aspects, but I'm having a hard time getting by all the homeless freaks walking the streets, the gang bangers on the train, and just how dilapidated and run-down so much of Sacramento looks. As I noted in the ghetto thread, I'm an Iowa kid who's moved from Iowa to MI, IN, OH, VA and MS... I have an opportunity to possibly get a promotion to Raleigh, but I really despise the socially conservative culture of the South... but I would be five hours drive time from my kids. I can't see myself being able to afford any house here (I'm 47) that's in a decent school district...

I'm living with my quasi-GF in Tahoe Park a block south of Broadway, and its not a bad neighborhood, but I still see way too many people walking around who look like they should be shoved down on the ground and handcuffed like an episode of "Cops"... is this just California, or is the rest of the country getting like this?

[NewToCA]

Kind of tough for me to judge what constitutes people who are walking around but look like they should be shoved down to the ground and handcuffed, if they aren't actually doing anything illegal.

If your wife took the kids back east, that looks like your priority to me. Being within driving distance of your young kids is more important than anything else to me, no contest at all. I'd go to Raleigh and find an area where you would be politically comfortable. North Carolina went for Obama, and they also switched from a Republican to Democrat in their senate race, so you should be able to find something to your liking in Raleigh.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Kind of tough for me to judge what constitutes people who are walking around but look like they should be shoved down to the ground and handcuffed, if they aren't actually doing anything illegal.

If your wife took the kids back east, that looks like your priority to me. Being within driving distance of your young kids is more important than anything else to me, no contest at all. I'd go to Raleigh and find an area where you would be politically comfortable. North Carolina went for Obama, and they also switched from a Republican to Democrat in their senate race, so you should be able to find something to your liking in Raleigh.

Only because of the Triangle vote. Without the Triangle, its a red state, and they just rejected a statewide smoking ban.

I work downtown and I avoid the K Street mall like the plague. Its full of panhandlers and vagrants and 'bangers that ride light rail all day illegally.

I've seen people doing crack deals on the street in broad daylight. Sacramento has no police presence downtown at all. I feel extremely threatened when I'm out and walking around.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

,,,,If your wife took the kids back east, that looks like your priority to me. ,,,,

It sounded to me that the OP had moved here away from the x and kids.
Difficult for sure.

[Ludachris]

Looks like Raleigh isn't a bad choice - it's #2 on Kiplinger's Top 10 Best Places to Live list....

Best Cities to Live, Work and Play - Kiplinger.com

And apparently they don't think Sacramento is all that bad either, since it shows up at #8 on that same list. Either way, you're bound to be in a good location whether you stay or leave.

[Sunnnee]

I say go for it. Moving to South Carolina in a year or so. Cost of living is cheaper and you can actually buy a house. California has never been the same since the dot.com days. After that bust most moved out, but traffic is still horrible and housing (apartments) are ridiculously priced. Housing in california is more worse then ever and the only way you could have benefited was to have owned a house before 1988. After that you were then stupid for buying some 50year old house for $800,000. Thank god I never fell into that trap. Saving to buy elsewhere, you actually get square footage.

[vdy1985]

If you want to live in California, but can't' afford to be near downtown Sac, just bite the bullet and commute the 20 miles. Otherwise head east. Best of luck.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by Sunnnee

I say go for it. Moving to South Carolina in a year or so. Cost of living is cheaper and you can actually buy a house. California has never been the same since the dot.com days. After that bust most moved out, but traffic is still horrible and housing (apartments) are ridiculously priced. Housing in california is more worse then ever and the only way you could have benefited was to have owned a house before 1988. After that you were then stupid for buying some 50year old house for $800,000. Thank god I never fell into that trap. Saving to buy elsewhere, you actually get square footage.

We actually made out okay having not owned a home before 1988 - we bought a home in San Jose in '00, sold it in '05, took that equity and bought a nice home in a Denver suburb, and are now looking into moving back to CA in the Roseville/Granite Bay area. We had a feeling we needed to get out when we did, but we had no idea the market correction would be that drastic.

Fortunately for us, we moved out of CA just in time and we chose a place where the market was much less volatile. We are pretty much break-even right now and are in a great position to go back to CA and take advantage of the big market correction that is taking place. Had we stayed in the San Jose home, we would have very little equity right now, if any at all. I actually feel bad for the people who bought it.

The Sacramento area is only slightly more expensive than the national average, so though some feel it's super pricey, it's actually not as bad as many other desirable areas in the US. After another 6-12 months, it will likely start leveling out and starting on a positive trend again. I have no desire to live in the Bay Area again at this point though...

[GLS]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

Moved out here in April 2007, finally got divorced in April 2008. X and my kids live in Savannah, GA, kids are 8 and 6. I've thought about trying to buy something, but even making 93K a year, with 1K a month child support I don't see how I can buy a place that isn't either a) in the ghetto or b) 20 miles from downtown, where I work.

I like California in many aspects, but I'm having a hard time getting by all the homeless freaks walking the streets, the gang bangers on the train, and just how dilapidated and run-down so much of Sacramento looks. As I noted in the ghetto thread, I'm an Iowa kid who's moved from Iowa to MI, IN, OH, VA and MS... I have an opportunity to possibly get a promotion to Raleigh, but I really despise the socially conservative culture of the South... but I would be five hours drive time from my kids. I can't see myself being able to afford any house here (I'm 47) that's in a decent school district...

I'm living with my quasi-GF in Tahoe Park a block south of Broadway, and its not a bad neighborhood, but I still see way too many people walking around who look like they should be shoved down on the ground and handcuffed like an episode of "Cops"... is this just California, or is the rest of the country getting like this?

If you haven't already, go visit Raleigh for a couple of weeks. It is not the epitome of the "socially conservative South". Access to Duke and The University of North Carolina provides numerous intellectual opportunities and people of all philosophies, conservative & liberal. In the interim spend some time on the North Carolina CD forums. I also agree with the other posters. Being close to the kids is probably the most important deciding factor. Good luck.

[ubu]

Tahoe Park is a transition neighborhood. The further you get away from Oak Park, the better it gets, but there is still a lot of riff raff in Tahoe Park.

I think you would do better in some place like Folsom, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Roseville, Campus Commons or Davis. But I think a lot of the problems you are encountering are less a function of living in California than in living in Tahoe Park.