Moving to Sac to work at UCDMC (Sacramento, Stockton: houses, neighborhoods)

[wburg]

Originally Posted by camer

Wow. When I worked @ UCDMC 25 years ago, the commute from the city of Davis was a straight shot over to the hospital. Is there now a rush hour? As bad as the SF Bay Area?

Like the original poster (sorry for intruding on your thread), we're relocating to CA. We're considering homes in Davis and employment @ UCDMC. Can anyone tell me how long that commute would take, say @ 6 AM and @ 6 PM?

Thanks.

It's not horrible, as it is generally in the opposite direction to most rush hour traffic, the only choke point is over 50 through downtown as there are a lot more people living in West Sac and working in Sacramento. Also, Davis is really quite expensive--it's nice if you have the means but definitely a premium-cost type place to live, even compared to East Sacramento or Land Park. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods around UCDMC are one hell of a lot more liveable than they were 25 years ago.

[d_deathrage]

A couple of things. First there is a shuttle from Davis to the UCD Med Center. You can read about the details here.

Shuttle Service

I don't know what your schedule will be but traffic can vary both by time of your travel and the day of the week. As the crow flies its probably 16 or 17 miles from Davis to the med center, but during rush hour I would probably allow about 25 to 30 mins. The other time traffic can be an issue is on Friday afternoons and evenings and on Sunday nights. 80 is the main route from the bay area up to Tahoe and Davis and the causeway area are located in a traffic bottleneck without many good alternate routes.

If you don't have kids, East Sac, Curtis Park or even Elmhurst are probably good choices. If you do have kids, in addition to Davis, I would look at Sierra Oaks or Arden Park. You can find strong schools in those neighborhoods and depending on where you live in those neighborhoods its probably possible to shave 5 to 10 minutes off your commute.

[Tripointsac]

MOD CUT There are some great neighborhoods near the UCD Medical Center. The most up-scale, and quite near the Center would be "The Fabulous 40's" area of East Sacramento. These are large 500K+ homes on the streets North of I-50 between 39th & 49th Street. Land Park and Curtis Park are also up-scale neighborhoods. The homes near the golf course in Land Park are also typically in the 500K+ range, but there are also some great finds (deals) to be found. These are older and established neighborhoods with great tree-lined streets. Also nice, and in the more affordable range are Elmhurst (VERY close to UCD Med. Center) and certain parts of Tahoe Park.

MOD CUT

[jribe]

Originally Posted by Prometheus57

I am a middle-aged MD about to relocate to Sacramento from Miami. I would like to live in a safe, upscale neighborhood where I am not too far from UC Davis Medical center. I heard that parking is tough and crime is quite high downtown. Will probably rent for a bit until I figure out where I want to buy. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

McKinley park is a great area! There's really nice homes, and it's supposed to be pretty safe. Pricey though, i've seen rents from 1,800+ there.. It's still close to the med center and probably a good fit for now.

[ucdmc]

I'm also moving to Sac to work for the hospital. Like the O.P, I am concerned about the diverse neighborhoods to choose from, but I think another way to ask where "most" UCDMC employees find most convenient and livable? Anyone?

I am married, no kids, not much savings at all (but not indebted to med school anymore... thank god), plan to rent first 3 months but will likely buy somewhere with good pre-school since I am planning to have a kid soon. Safety is my priority concern, followed by convenience since I abhor commuting.... I am interested in Elmhurst at this moment....

[jdfrost]

Sacramento commutes are alot worse than 25 years ago!!!! Expect to spend half an hour, on a the rare problem-free commute, to get to the Sac/UCD Med Ctr from outlying towns such as Elk Grove, Roseville, Folsom, or Davis.

Use the internet to get recent commuter and crime statistics, if those are your concerns.

And for EVERYONE who drives to the UCDMC in Sacramento, be aware of parking costs (both time and money). Parking passes, other than carpool passes, are expensive. And it can be a 10-15 minute walk from your on-campus parking place to your place of work.

All the more reason to live 2 blocks from the hospital If you have questions about Elmhurst, please ask!

Jdfrost

[Alicia64]

My husband works at the UCD Med. Ctr. We live in Fair Oaks and he takes his car to the Light Rail and then takes the Light Rail to the hospital. He really likes it.

Plus, his job pays for the train ticket. (I think.)

One community relatively close to the UCDMC (closer than Fair Oaks) is Arden Park. I highly recommend it. Close enough to midtown, great restaurants etc. but a very safe, upscale, friendly neighborhood.

You might also want to look at River Park or East Sacramento. East Sac is wonderful in that it looks like a community right out of the Andy Griffith years, but petty crime is starting to hit the area from midtown (break in's etc.) When we lived there, someone stole stuff right off my front porch (a plant, a small table, dumb stuff).

Depending on your income -- and just for fun -- check out the "Fab 40's". These homes are right next to East Sac and one of them is the home that the Reagan's lived in when he was Governor. They're not all million dollar homes, but they're all beautiful and really interesting to look at. Great tree lined streets w/ nice sidewalks.

You'd probably also really like Fair Oaks -- we do. High end homes but they're really coming down with the economy. Let me know if you'd like a Realtor who is a Fair Oaks specialist. I know a woman who is great.

I'd stay away from Curtis Park. Looks awesome, but my mil lives there, my husband grew up there and it's way too close to bad areas. Some people call it the "shopping neighborhood" because the homes get shopped often.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info. I've lived here -- I can't believe it -- 24 years. And between renting and owning we've lived in several very nice spots.

I'm scared to ask: what do you call middle aged??

Alley

[karierego]

Commute from Davis to SAC no problem. Nothing like a big city. Much nicer and more liberal place to live. We love Davis. Air quality in Davis far better than rest of area. Check AirNow. Sacramento too many cars - very bad air quality there and in foothills.

[jdfrost]

Elk Grove is a long commute on highway 99, which has terrible rush hour congestion. That's why square footage is relatively inexpensive there. Caveat emptor.

[annaboyd]

Commute from Davis to UCDMC is about 17 miles and 22 minutes - in non rush hour traffic.

Town of Davis is a sought after area - not much growth. Excellent school system. Downtown has
a small town feel.