Family Moving to The Area - Need some Guidance (Sacramento: for sale, real estate)

[MovingWestman2]

We are moving from Pittsburgh and would love some suggestions on where to concentrate our Home Search in the Area

A little about us: In late 30's / Early 40's - Two kids (5 and 4)

I will be covering the West Coast for Work - so will be traveling out of Sacramento Int. Airport... But don't mind the drive - as I leave Monday Am and Come home Thursday night.

Looking for a 4 - 5 Bedroom house - with Pool (a must) and on a golf course (optional). $450,000 to $650,000. Newer construction. Want great schools. Would also like an area with lots of families-- so we can meet people. If there is an area with lots of corporate / Relo families - all the better.

So far - I've read Roseville, Folsom, Rocklin, Loomis... Am I on the right track? If you had to generalize... could you generalize how these areas are different from each other? What is the # one shcool distict in the area?
We would pay more for a house - in the #1 school district... or do many families send their kids to private?

We are getting transfered - and can live anywhere in Califorina ... and thought the Sacramento area was the most affordable - and geared towards families... True? Plus we love to ski... and though how nice it would be to drive to Tahoe!

Any help would be great.

[NorCalMan]

Best School district by ranking is the Folsom district. However we pulled our daughter out of the highest rated Folsom school because the district is cutting everything but reading, writing, and math. Before she left, our daughter was getting 30 minutes of P.E., Art, and music each, once per week. Everything else was ditto, after ditto, after ditto, etc, etc. Then she would come home and have two hours of more ditto work. Just because a school tests high on standardized testing doesn't mean the kids are getting a well rounded education. If we couldn't homeschool our daughter as we do now we would consider sending her to Rocklin or Granite Bay schools.

As for how much you say you can spend on a house...$450-$650K for a house is on the upper end of the market in Sacto. I would reconsider spending this much because you would have a heck of a time selling it if and when the time came for you to move from Sacto. My mother is a real estate agent and she told me that any home she's done an open house for that was listed over $350K is getting no interest. Lending laws are making it difficult for all but the most qualified to get loans for that much so people in the more expensive homes are stuck. There are A LOT of nice homes in nice areas for between $250K and $350K. That said, if you want a home with a pool on a golf course and don't mind spending the money, look in the Woodcreek area of Roseville, the Whitney Oaks area of Rocklin, the Empire Ranch area of Folsom, and many areas in Lincoln like Twelve Bridges. All of these areas have homes built in the last 1-15 years.

If you want a gigantic home for cheap that's in a rural setting and near the airport look at Plumas Lake, it's about 25 minutes from the airport.

If you want to live in the best area of Sacto that has the nicest homes, and the nicest schools, and the price tag to go with it look at the Arden Arcade area.

Loomis is more rural, and homes come with more land, homes are usually older though. You might consider El Dorado Hills or Cameron Park as well as.

Make sure you check out realtor.com to find your "perfect home".

[wburg]

Arden/Arcade might work, or the areas along Fair Oaks between Howe and Eastern (Arden Park, Campus Commons, Oak Meadow Park.) Neither are right on a golf course but they're short distances from the Del Paso Country Club and Haggin Oaks golf courses. Carmichael a bit farther east is fairly comfortable too. I'm not sure about newer construction, as most of the area was built out in the postwar era, but there are probably some newer homes interspersed in the area. These are postwar suburbs, generally very low-density with a lot of mature trees and large lots. Along the back streets there is still some horse property out that way.

The Arden/Arcade-Carmichael area is also pretty convenient for shopping (Arden Fair and Country Club malls, Town & Country, Pavillions and Loehmann's Plaza shopping centers are all a few minutes' drive away) and it is comparatively close to downtown. It is also a lot closer to the airport than Roseville.

[NewToCA]

If top notch school ratings are the #1 concern, I'd probably go with the Granite Bay area. My brief search showed 45 homes for sale in your price range, many with pools.

You'd have some golf options too:

Granite Bay Golf Courses - Granite Bay golf course guide

[mattinsac]

The state of California ranks public schools on a test called the Academic Performance Index. You can use that to compare schools in different districts and different counties. The most relevant measure of schools may not be at the district level but at the level of the individual school. For example in the Folsom-Cordova School District, the schools in Folsom tend to be better than the schools in Rancho Cordova.

In the Sacramento region, the majority of housing options are in four counties, Sacramento County, Yolo County, Placer County and El Dorado County.

County List of Schools

County List of Schools

County List of Schools

County List of Schools

The high scoring schools in the Sac City District tend to be magnet programs. If you can get your child into them, you would have excellent schools very close to the airport. But admission is not guaranteed by buying into a specific neighborhood. In the rest of the region, most districts have neighborhood schools and if live near a high scoring school, your child will attend that school.

Professors tend to live near where they work. As a result the parental educational attainment levels and test scores tend to be highest near the Universities in the area. This is a big reason that test scores in Davis are so strong. But you can find some high scoring schools near CSUS as well, look at Arden Park, or Campus Commons.

After you look at the test scores of the schools you are interested in look up the school districts website and find the attendance zone for the schools you are interested in.

You can find good schools in Placer and El Dorado Counties, but the commute might be further to the airport.

If I had to generalize the No 1 school district in the area is in Davis in Yolo County. But you might have better results in your search by focusing on individuals school instead of generalising about districts.

[handiquack]

If schools are a priority, then Folsom or Granite Bay are your best bet by a landslide. Both are a bit of a drive to the airport though (the airport is just north of Natomas on I-5).

[quickfingerz]

At that price range, I would consider Davis as well. Schools in grades from 7th-12th will have more to do with your school district. There are great K-6th charter schools in areas of Sacramento closer to the airport (in case you're looking for a shorter drive). Areas that have better schools have better parents.

You have a lot of work narrowing things down.

[Damnitjanet]

Why settle for public schools?

You have the income to pretty much live in whatever community you choose in the region. You also have the resources to send your kids to private schools? You might prefer them. The newer regions of the area haven't been around long enough to develop many private schools.

Sacramento Country Day School

Sacramento Country Day School > Home

Sacramento Waldorf School

Sacramento Waldorf School :: Home

Jesuit High School

Jesuit High School, Sacramento - Home

Saint Francis High School

St. Francis High School - Sacramento, CA

If you lived in East Sac, Arden Manor or Willhaggen, you would be pretty close to any of these options.

Additionally you would be in close proximity to some of the more established clubs in the region. The Del Paso Country Club, The Sutter Club and Arden Hills.

Del Paso Country Club - Home

Sutter Club - Sacramento, CA, 95814 - Citysearch

Wilhaggin Neighborhood Association - Home Page

Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa | Sacramento Weddings

[cag25]

Look up El Macero, near/in Davis. Fabulous schools--you'd probably love it.