Auburn foothills (Sacramento, Orange, Granite Bay: real estate, renting, houses)

[renting in tokyo]

Hi,
I hope that the people that live in or know Auburn can help me. Is the area near the foothills, the Auburn State recreational area, better than west of I-80 for a mature couple looking for:
- spacious (3000sqf) new(2000+) homes on a decent land (1/3 acre+)
- nature, mature trees, hiking trails
- starbucks, groceries and decent italian restaurants in a 15 miles radius
- cultural activities (concert, theater, etc) in a 35 miles radius
- decent shopping mall in a 25 miles radius
- no gangs, no pollution noise or otherwise
- a little cooler summers than Sacramento
- no infestation of insects (I lived in south Florida once)
- mid-liberal, some ethnic diversity, globally open minded community

I know it is asking too much, but I'm ready for trade-offs. I like the idea of being close to a State park but it may also bring a lot of hassle together like too many visitors with traffic and trash in the neighborhood.
Thanks

[NorCalMan]

Originally Posted by renting in tokyo

Hi,
I hope that the people that live in or know Auburn can help me. Is the area near the foothills, the Auburn State recreational area, better than west of I-80 for a mature couple looking for:
- spacious (3000sqf) new(2000+) homes on a decent land (1/3 acre+)
- nature, mature trees, hiking trails
- starbucks, groceries and decent italian restaurants in a 15 miles radius
- cultural activities (concert, theater, etc) in a 35 miles radius
- decent shopping mall in a 25 miles radius
- no gangs, no pollution noise or otherwise
- a little cooler summers than Sacramento
- no infestation of insects (I lived in south Florida once)
- mid-liberal, some ethnic diversity, globally open minded community

I know it is asking too much, but I'm ready for trade-offs. I like the idea of being close to a State park but it may also bring a lot of hassle together like too many visitors with traffic and trash in the neighborhood.
Thanks

Auburn is the foothills. It's the first foothill town you come to as you head east on Hwy 80 from Sacramento

There are numerous access points into the Auburn Rec. Area but Hwy 193/49 leaves from east Auburn and drops right down into the Rec. Area.

I don't know what you mean by "better than west of I-80 for a mature couple" There are no towns to the west of Auburn and I-80 unless you count Lincoln which is 15 miles away and not considered "the foothills". And immediately east of Auburn is the Rec Area where there are no towns. When looking at Auburn you will generally view other towns as being northerly or southerly. For example, Newcastle is west, southwest of Auburn and Colfax is north, northeast of Auburn. I don't know how "mature" you are but Colfax has a 55+ community.

To answer your questions:

-spacious (3000sqf) new(2000+) homes on a decent land (1/3 acre+)

Yes, don't know about a 1/3 of an acre though. If you want a home with acreage it's probably not going to be newish and if it is newish you'll probably pay a lot for it.

- nature, mature trees, hiking trails
Yes.

- starbucks, groceries and decent italian restaurants in a 15 miles radius
Yes

- cultural activities (concert, theater, etc) in a 35 miles radius
Yes

- decent shopping mall in a 25 miles radius
Yes

- no gangs, no pollution noise or otherwise
There are gangs everywhere, however in Auburn you'll probably come across local punk kids acting in a bad manner than you would gangs.

Pollution, yes. You need to understand one thing about the foothills that are on the edge of the Sacramento Valley. Smog and smoke rises up and since Auburn is above Sacramento all the smog just sits there. In fact, during the summer smog in Auburn can be worse than smog in Sacramento. However, the other three seasons of the year are great in Auburn.

- a little cooler summers than Sacramento
No, not really. Maybe a few degrees.

- no infestation of insects (I lived in south Florida once)
There are spiders and snakes, especially rattlesnakes. That said, in all my years of hiking and biking in the Sacramento-Tahoe area I've come across three rattlesnakes. The further out in the sticks you live, the more bugs there will be. But if you live within the Auburn city limits bugs and snakes are nearly non-existant.

- mid-liberal, some ethnic diversity, globally open minded community
Yes

I would suggest you look at realtor.com to see what home prices are in Auburn. Home prices are all over the map right now.

[wburg]

Not sure about the last one...Placer County is sometimes called "Orange County North," it is about the most Republican county in the state. Auburn is over 90% white, so not much in the way of ethnic diversity either. The aforementioned pollution is a real problem, the Central Valley is kind of like a big bathtub and Auburn is right at the altitude where the bathtub ring is, so to speak.

Because the area is not very humid, you certainly don't see bugs like one gets in Florida.

There are some nice restaurants in downtown Auburn, not sure about Italian in particular.

[renting in tokyo]

norcalman, wburg,
Thanks a lot for your replies. Auburn seems to be a perfect place for us, a mid 50s couple that learned a new appreciation for nature in Japan. The pollution issue is a little turn off, but the overall trade off seems very positive. I now have a better idea what Auburn is. My next step will be to contact a real estate agent to look around the next time I visit California. During my last trip last December, we visited Granite Bay and Eldorado Hills but we didn't really get very excited about the houses and areas we were shown.
Thanks again and all the best.

[Den Mathias]

Originally Posted by renting in tokyo

norcalman, wburg,
Thanks a lot for your replies. Auburn seems to be a perfect place for us, a mid 50s couple that learned a new appreciation for nature in Japan. The pollution issue is a little turn off, but the overall trade off seems very positive. I now have a better idea what Auburn is. My next step will be to contact a real estate agent to look around the next time I visit California. During my last trip last December, we visited Granite Bay and Eldorado Hills but we didn't really get very excited about the houses and areas we were shown.
Thanks again and all the best.

I suspect since time has passed that the home prices in Auburn have really taken a hit.

[Rocketir]

Originally Posted by NorCalMan

- mid-liberal, some ethnic diversity, globally open minded community
Yes

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by NorCalMan

- mid-liberal, some ethnic diversity, globally open minded community
Yes

I don't agree with this one. My ex is an ultramarathon runner who at one time considered moving to Auburn when he retired because he does a lot of training in the foothills and Sierras, and he concluded it was much too conservative for him. I also have a friend who owns a house there that has been in his family for 3 generations and he rents it out rather than live there for the same reason. Nothing wrong with being conservative OR liberal, but if a place tends the other way from the way you are, especially if it's a rather small community, it can make it a lot less comfortable to live there.