Auburn or Davis? (San Francisco, Roseville, Folsom: good schools, community college, living)

[Mossy]

I have friends who want to move out to CA. They both love Davis and Auburn. They seem so different though.

Which would you move to and why?

They have children so good schools are a must and cost of living of course is important.

[wburg]

They are indeed very different. Davis is a very liberal city, while Auburn is the county seat of very conservative Placer County. Davis is completely flat, on a broad floodplain, while Auburn is nestled at the edge of the mountains. Davis is dominated by its educational institution, while Auburn is quite a drive from the nearest community college. I don't know anything about housing prices in Auburn, but Davis is notoriously expensive. Nor do I know much about Auburn's schools, but Davis schools have a very strong reputation.

Bothe have cute downtowns, Auburn puts a bit more emphasis on the historic due to the greater importance of tourism to their economy. Both are accessible by rail, but Auburn only gets a couple of "Capitol Corridor" trains per day while Davis gets all of them.

[Mossy]

Originally Posted by wburg

They are indeed very different. Davis is a very liberal city, while Auburn is the county seat of very conservative Placer County. Davis is completely flat, on a broad floodplain, while Auburn is nestled at the edge of the mountains. Davis is dominated by its educational institution, while Auburn is quite a drive from the nearest community college. I don't know anything about housing prices in Auburn, but Davis is notoriously expensive. Nor do I know much about Auburn's schools, but Davis schools have a very strong reputation.

Bothe have cute downtowns, Auburn puts a bit more emphasis on the historic due to the greater importance of tourism to their economy. Both are accessible by rail, but Auburn only gets a couple of "Capitol Corridor" trains per day while Davis gets all of them.

Davis schools are top nothc where I see schools in Auburn got modest reviews. The younger years in school seem okay but after 6th grade, parents seem to not give good reviews. Thanks for the reply.

[mattinsac]

A lot depends on where you are going to work and what your budget is. The commute from Auburn to Roseville is managable. The commute from Auburn to downtown might be a lot less appealing.

Other factors that might sway some would be the goal of getting above the tule fog. Remember the higher you get in Auburn the less frequently you have to deal with the tule fog. Moreover, there are afternoons where the tule fog is burning off in Auburn but where the valley is still fogged in. If you suffer from seasonal affective disorder just a few hours of sunlight in a day can make a big difference.

[Den Mathias]

Since Auburn is in Placer County, is it a safe bet that gold prospecting is an outdoor activity????

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by mattinsac

Moreover, there are afternoons where the tule fog is burning off in Auburn but where the valley is still fogged in. If you suffer from seasonal affective disorder just a few hours of sunlight in a day can make a big difference.

I have a bit of a problem with SAD, but the fog in Davis has never been long-lasting enough to cause me any trouble with it. Of course, I lived in the Sunset District (a misnomer if there ever was one, since you rarely see the sun at all there) in San Francisco for 17 years, so maybe it's just that relative to the fog there, it's just not that bad here. Auburn definitely is "above the fog and below the snow," though. I just don't think the fog is that big of a factor that it should enter into a decision about which place is more suitable to someone - I wouldn't trade mediocre schools for less fog, for example.

[Den Mathias]

Originally Posted by wburg

They are indeed very different. Davis is a very liberal city, while Auburn is the county seat of very conservative Placer County. Davis is completely flat, on a broad floodplain, while Auburn is nestled at the edge of the mountains. Davis is dominated by its educational institution, while Auburn is quite a drive from the nearest community college. I don't know anything about housing prices in Auburn, but Davis is notoriously expensive. Nor do I know much about Auburn's schools, but Davis schools have a very strong reputation.

Bothe have cute downtowns, Auburn puts a bit more emphasis on the historic due to the greater importance of tourism to their economy. Both are accessible by rail, but Auburn only gets a couple of "Capitol Corridor" trains per day while Davis gets all of them.

So Auburn is not the liberal hotbed I thought it was???

And when you say nestled against the mountains, does it still get a sufficient amount of sunshine?

It is awesome that the town does have train access. I am surprised more folks aren't moving up to the foothills?

[wburg]

Originally Posted by Den Mathias

So Auburn is not the liberal hotbed I thought it was???

And when you say nestled against the mountains, does it still get a sufficient amount of sunshine?

It is awesome that the town does have train access. I am surprised more folks aren't moving up to the foothills?

No, Auburn is not a liberal hotbed...liberalism in Placer County pretty much gets the cold shoulder.

The mountains get sunshine. Not quite as much as the valley floor, but quite sufficient amounts.

More folks aren't moving up to the foothills because the valley is not that densely populated, and it's not that much cheaper in the foothills. There is, I think, only one round-trip commuter train a day and one long-haul train (the California Zephyr) so it's not quite like the suburbs of Chicago with regular commuter trains for 50 miles in all directions.

Gold panning is a hobby for some in the Sierras, but considering people have been doing it for 160 years there isn't a whole lot of gold left to be found, and what is there takes some work to extract.

[hydro]

I've read that Placer county is hard core conservative by enlarge.

However, I have definately noticed a fair amount of new age/free spirit/hippie types in Auburn- and it is en route to Nevada City, which certainly has plenty of liberals.

I wonder if the large proportion of right wing folks are in Roseville/Rocklin/Loomis/Granite Bay?

[rdane1010]

I was just up in the Auburn state rec area today I noticed that it does get dark there earlier than in the valley as it was looking like the sun had set almost fully and then when I got back in the valley there was still a while longer of sunlight (over an hour and a half).. so I think the thing about the fog would even out since if the mountains are blocking the western view at all it may get less light overall than the valley.

Having grown up near Davis I can say its very different than Auburn.. the only places you can compare Auburn to are other communities that are also in or right near the foothills such as Rocklin, Folsom, Granite Bay, etc as its different there than in the valley.