Davis or Placerville (Sacramento, Folsom, El Dorado Hills: apartments, rental, houses)

[ringwise]

Originally Posted by justducky2

Don't judge Placerville by one blowhard academic....every community has their prejudiced people. Yes, Davis is MUCH more liberal and better suited for a gay family, I agree. Yes, El Dorado County is majority conservative Republican (although some of us are trying to change that Most folks I know in Placerville and the surrounding area are nice people. But to "avoid Placerville!" ???? It is all dependent upon what the OP is looking for...I value diversity, and have lived and worked in diverse areas in SoCal, but I also value neighborliness, outdoor recreation, scenic places, being able to go somewhere and there is no one else around, and EDUCATION...my child has attended blue ribbon schools here. I would welcome a family of color next door to me, or a gay family, with no problem, and so would the people I know.

You're trying to change the fact that El Dorado County is primarily conservative? Did it ever occur to you that the reason it has the things you like, such as neighborliness, outdoor recreation, scenic places and education is because it is so conservative?

You're typical of people that move from to this area because their neighborhood has gone to crap, and then attempt to change this area to be more like the one you left. You WILL be made to feel unwelcome if you have that attitude.

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by ringwise

You're trying to change the fact that El Dorado County is primarily conservative? Did it ever occur to you that the reason it has the things you like, such as neighborliness, outdoor recreation, scenic places and education is because it is so conservative?

Wow, so that's why we don't have outdoor recreation and scenic places in Davis - we're too liberal! And here I thought it was just our location in the middle of a valley!

And I don't know where people get this idea there is no neighborliness in Davis. I had to party hop from one 4th of July barbecue to another...my neighbors and I interact all the time, and I could call on any one of 10 people living near me if I had any kind of emergency and needed help. Heck, at least once a week one or the other of us borrows something from one another, be it a spice for cooking or a garden tool. Don't know how much more neighborly it can get than that.

The schools here are top-notch - 2 of the top 3 high schools for highest average SAT scores in the Sacramento area are located here, according to an article in the Bee a couple months ago. So I don't know where you come off implying we don't have good education here. Woodland is much more conservative than Davis, and has terrible schools with an astronomical high school dropout rate, so you can't generalize that conservative areas have better schools.

It IS flat - but that just makes using our many miles of bike paths that much easier!

[justducky2]

Mossy! Hey! Welcome! Yes, Placerville feels more down to earth to me...not that there aren't some rednecks here, just as in Davis there are some "uppity" folks there. Schools. They are VERY strict on the boundaries for the most part. Any school would be HAPPY to have you transfer IN, but most districts won't let you transfer OUT (because they need the funding - not a lot of NEW housing here, therefore, enrollment is dwindling so they won't approve transfers). Therefore, be careful where you buy. Motherlode Union School District in the Placerville area is excellent. Gold Trail School District is tiny but also very good. I personally wouldn't want my child going to school in the Placerville School District. There are issues with some of the kids that attend (this from employees who work in the area). For the same reason, I would not live in Pollock Pines. Buckeye School District is excellent, along the Highway 50 corridor in Shingle Springs, Cameron Park, and El Dorado HIlls. Rescue not as much (as an ex-teacher I personally dislike the Open Court Reading program). Be mindful of what high school the middle school feeds into!!! Ponderosa, excellent. El Dorado High School is also fed into by the Placerville School District...just to keep in mind.

Oh - Buckeye School District actually has a Montessori K-8 charter school in Shingle Springs! It is public.

Private schools - pretty much just religious ones. I can highly recommend that you NOT send kids to Holy Trinity....just awful. But with good public schools, there is no reason to send them to private

There is definitely 4H up here, big time.

Let us know if you have more questions!

PS All of these communities have different vibes, too...if you can spend any time getting a feel, talking to locals, it is a good thing

[luvsdogs]

i moved here from nyc one year ago..placerville is so different than davis..placerville is in the foothills..davis is a giant piece of sac..placerville has a ton of history and much more country ..the people can be as uppity as anywhere else but seem to let all be..davis may be cheaper to live..

[luvsdogs]

The tibetan monks stay here in placerville... there are liberals ,gays ,jews and chinese here too ..check a few of those for me... thank god maybe we will get some decent asian food...Seriously placerville has changed a lot in the last twenty years..the cowboys seem gone too..too bad.. it's a positive sign of the times when places change.. there is no room for shallow thinking anywhere we got ta live together..

[karierego]

Air quality far better in Davis that Sacramento and foothills. Check airnow and Sperling best places to live.

[luvsdogs]

Originally Posted by karierego

Air quality far better in Davis that Sacramento and foothills. Check airnow and Sperling best places to live.

What part of the map are you looking at ? The foothills (at least placerville)have less pollution then Davis.
I suppose Davis has less crime too?

[edwardius]

In the summer during the day when its hot, the pollution climbs the mountains. At night when temperatures fall, the pollution falls back down the mountain. The advantage that Davis has is that its upwind of most of the Sacramento region. The disadvanatage that Placerville has is that the prevailing winds blow the pollution from Sacramento into the foothills including Placerville.

ScienceMatters @ Berkeley. Sniffing Out Smog

[luvsdogs]

So whats this dude think of Placerville ?..I'M AFRAID TO ASK. There is another apples to oranges post ..Where should I live ..Sac or portland..Live where you can be happy and get a job.

[Screw Sacramento]

Originally Posted by Mossy

We have friends moving out and it has been tough for them to decide where to live. They are picking btw. Davis and Placerville. They asked me for an opinion but I am not offering one cause...well, cause of many reasons.

I wanted to get a 3rd opinion.

They like the country feel of Placerville and cost of living compared with Davis but the school are better in Davis but housing is thru the roof. I didn't think the schools were that bad in Placerville. They said Davis had this feeling of being uppity.

Just wanted to hear what you had to say....I told them I would get another opinion.

TIA!

Placerville, hands down. And yes, Davis is very uppity. No guarantee you'll get a quality education, probably just a miserable kid because of the "superior" peers they are surrounded with...not really great family values in any event.